In support of Julia Gillard’s Citizens' Assembly on Climate

I suppose we should not be surprised that most journalists have sneeringly dismissed the proposal by Julia Gillard to convene a ‘Citizen’s Assembly on Climate’ as just another ‘talkfest’ or more derisively a ‘gobfest’, or just a cynical ‘stunt’ to make us believe she is doing something about climate change, or to enable her to coast to the election without a proper policy. Some journalists have called it a ‘massive failure of leadership’, and ‘an excuse for inaction’. Miranda Devine’s PM’s so sure Bob’s your uncle wrote one of the more acerbic pieces about it.  As one would expect, Lenore Taylor wrote a more balanced piece: Gillard seeks citizens' group on ETS policy.  

Of course Coalition members have joined in the chorus, but so have several niche columnists and bloggers, some of whom I respect as writers. Mungo MacCallum says: “Gillard’s idea of a people’s assembly to achieve consensus under the guidance of a commission of experts is the silliest and most pusillanimous proposal to date…”. Grog of Grog’s Gamut talks about “…her mind numbingly stupid climate change policy, I think this is proof that whoever advised her to adopt the citizen’s panel should be taken out back and shot…” – pretty strong sentiments that reflect annoyance and disbelief.

Even nine out of ten in an online poll, for what it’s worth, thinks the idea is ‘a lot of hot air’, having selected the option that canvassed that answer.

But is this onslaught of negativity based on knowledge of such forums, or experience in educational settings, or an understanding of how public opinion is formed and can be influenced? Or does the idea just seem daft and therefore something to be flicked away like an annoying cattle fly?

Writing in the National Times, Carolyn Hendricks, political scientist at the Crawford school of economics and government at the Australian National University, is not so negative, although you might not think so from the title of her piece: Citizens' assembly on climate may turn the heat on Gillard.  In The Australian Mike Steketee writes positively in Academic sees merit in citizens' assemblies.  

Education the answer

Those of you that have a background in education will be less skeptical than most in the media, most of whom are trained as journalists not as educators or in public relations. You will remember the work of Kurt Lewin who pioneered social psychology, group dynamics and action research. You may recall the way he used groups to persuade housewives to use offal in place of better animal protein during wartime shortages. He tried traditional ‘instruction’ with almost no resultant change in their behaviour; it was only when he involved the women in group discussions about how THEY might use offal, and how THEY ACTUALLY HAD used it, that a substantial change towards the use of offal in their kitchens resulted. It was the discussion that did the trick – the women reached conclusions themselves; it was that which changed their behaviour. Since then group process has been used extensively in education, health care, science, the arts, business and commerce to effect behaviour change. It works.

If this group process is what Julia has in mind, it stands a good chance of meeting her aim – to facilitate a new and deep consensus in the community about the need for action about climate change, the options for action, and the consequences of those actions.

So let’s not join the knockers without giving it a go, condemning it out of hand just because it doesn’t ring a positive bell. It’s the knockers who need to ask themselves: ’Why am I knocking this idea?’ and ‘What is the evidence I have to support a negative attitude to it?’ If they come up short, they might care to read on.

Unlike journalists who fume about the idea but offer no reason why ‘it won’t work’, my support for the idea will be accompanied by an account about how it might produce the results Julia seeks.

What is needed?

First let’s be clear about the skeleton of what’s proposed. The Citizens' Assembly is to be informed by an independent commission of experts whose task is to explain the science behind climate change and report on international action. This body will include climate scientists and credible, with the emphasis on ‘credible’, skeptics. There would be little point in including rabid deniers who cannot support their stance with scientifically verifiable facts and figures, and who have no intention of being persuaded from their viewpoint.

So the first point to make is that the Citizens' Assembly will not be required to collect its own scientific information; instead it will be presented with this by the independent commission and asked to appraise it in the context of what the nation ought to do.

So if one had the responsibility for fashioning such a Citizens' Assembly, what approach might work?

First, the aim of the exercise

It seems that the ultimate aim is to restore the resolve of the Australian electorate to pursue climate change actions that have the possibility of slowing, halting, and perhaps even reversing the adverse effects of climate change and global warming, and mitigating its immediate cause, carbon pollution.The more immediate aim seems to be to use the citizens’ group to create a narrative about the need for climate change action that is plausible, understandable and appealing, even although it might include elements that are discomforting, such as increased costs of energy and products and services that depend heavily on energy. The narrative would then be used to influence thinking in the community towards rational and timely action on climate change.

Some argue that the public already supports action on climate change and that the Government, having been given a mandate to act at the last election, should ‘show leadership’ and ‘just get on with it’. But since then, with the Coalition’s negative ‘Great Big New Tax on Everything’ mantra perpetrated with vigour by Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce, support has fallen. Look at the graph on Pollytics: Lowy Poll – climate change and public hypocrisy which shows a fall from 68% in 2006 to 46% in 2010 among those who want immediate action, and the rise in those who want something done, but at low cost and with little urgency from 24% to 40%, while the real deniers have moved from 7% to 13%. Moreover in 2010, 33% are not prepared to pay anything extra for electricity, whereas in 2008 it was 21%. Only one in five are prepared to pay $21 a week or more extra for electricity to tackle climate change.

This is why Julia is seeking ‘a deep community consensus on climate change’. There is NOT a strong enough consensus now, yet such a strong and deep consensus IS needed to support the radical changes to the economy and the lifestyle and budget of ordinary citizens that action on climate change entails.

Parliament not the answer

Some, including Abbott himself, says that the nation already has a 150-member forum to reach consensus on what to do about climate change, - it’s called parliament. That he could have the effrontery to say this is breathtaking. It was in parliament that he led the push to destroy consensus after the Coalition under Malcolm Turnbull had reached agreement with the Government to pass the ETS. It was HE who ensured that parliament could not be the forum where consensus was reached, a consensus that would have brought the country along in its train. No, destruction of consensus was Abbott’s intent, and he succeeded.

So how could this Citizens' Assembly work?

Choosing the citizens

First, the 150 citizens need to be chosen. To represent the Australian community they need to reflect the demography of the country, the age and gender mix, the geographic distribution and the mix of occupations. The Bureau of Statistics would be capable of randomly selecting a group that reflected these parameters from its census data. No, it would not stick a pin into a telephone book as Greg Hunt suggested. It would need to select many more than the 150 required as many would not be able or willing to participate; perhaps a thousand would be needed initially.

The next step would be to whittle this larger group to the 150 required. This could be done by communicating with them asking if they are interested and willing to be involved. If they were, they would then be asked to answer questions about their country of origin, ethnicity, educational achievement, past and present occupation, their status in the community, their beliefs about Australian society and their aspirations for it, and their beliefs about climate change and what ought to be done. Attention to these details would allow a spread of people to be selected that represented the wide variety of opinion that exists in our community.

Once the 150 had been identified an educational process would be needed to ensure that all had a similar understanding of the scientific evidence for global warming, the consequences of doing nothing about it, the action that could be taken to mitigate it, the costs and implications of taking suitable action, and the likely sources and nature of opposition to action. This educational process could begin with written material prepared by experienced educators that explained all this in a simple, understandable and convincing narrative, attractively laid out with check lists, diagrams, illustrations, graphs and photos, complete with references, particularly those available online, for those who wish to delve more. The information upon which this would be based would be derived from the independent commission of experts on climate change mentioned above, which would provide the facts, figures and pros and cons of the climate change debate.

The first meeting of the citizens

The next step would be a preliminary meeting of the 150 to ensure that the written material had been understood and assimilated, and that the task for the group is explained and agree with the participants.

The task would be to digest the material, clarify with the independent commission of experts anything that is not clear or is incomplete, and discuss the veracity of the arguments for and against global warming and taking action to mitigate it.

Then the group would tackle the question: “How can we convince the Australian community about climate change, what we need to do about it, the cost and expected outcomes, and the cost and consequences of doing nothing, or doing less than is required?” and “How can we achieve consensus in the community?”

Small groups of around ten to twelve would discuss all this in the security of a small forum with group facilitators to assist, and experts available on request to answer questions. Different groups might be assigned different aspects of the matter to discuss. Plenary sessions, where the small groups gathered together, would share the output from these groups. An iterative process would be followed until some concrete proposals for informing, educating and convincing the wider community emerged. These would be consolidated into statements that might be useful in community settings. This process would be commenced at the meeting and got into usable form by the facilitators.

Initially, a two day meeting, where most participants could fly in on day one and home on day two, would be the most economical.

Community consultations

The next step would be asking the participants, armed with the output of the first meeting, to discuss the material at a local level among friends, workmates, community groups and any other interested forum to gauge reaction, seek feedback, solicit changes that might improve the impact of the material, and elicit support. The outcome of these ‘community consultations’ would be fed back to the facilitators of the 150-strong Assembly for consolidation.

Meeting two – message consolidation

Then it would be time for a second meeting – a message consolidation exercise. At this face-to-face meeting, participants would share their experiences at a community level. Messages that resonated positively would be confirmed as useful, while those that didn’t would be discarded or modified. Responses from the community would be shared, analysed and examined to determine how best to respond to them. Some would be negative and need counterbalancing messages. Geographical and demographic variations in community opinion about climate change might emerge which would need to be accommodated. Some would signal areas not to be traversed. By the end of this two-day meeting the aim would be to have consolidated messages that worked, and to have modified those that needed further field trial. 

Second community consultation

After the second meeting the next task would be to field-test any new or modified messages. This time the testing would be more extensive, with community meetings being organized by the local Labor member and in Coalition-held electorates by a Labor official. The messages would be subject to scrutiny by as wide a variety of citizens as possible where feedback would be welcomed and advice solicited about how to improve them. Several local meetings might be held; the more the better will be the outcome. Group process would be used in these larger forums.

Meeting three – message finalization

The third meeting of the Citizens' Assembly would examine the outcome of this second community consultation and the same iterative process would occur with the aim of fashioning a set of convincing messages that could be used in a community-wide information programme.

At this meeting graphic designers would create and present near-final mock-ups of promotional material: fact sheets, graphic representations of the facts, pros and cons of action and non-action, an argument for action, the expected outcome of action and the time frame, and the cost of action in dollars, living expenses, changes to industry and commerce and to our way of life. Formats would include letters, pamphlets, posters, newspaper and online articles, videos and TV pieces, audio clips for radio, and the usual T-shirts and other attention-grabbing devices.

This stage might require further time for completion of the material by educationalists and designers. When ready, the material would be sent to the Citizens Assembly members for final comment and approval. Another meeting might be needed if further work was needed.

When all is ready, a large-scale promotional campaign would be needed to saturate the media.

After this, polling companies would need to be commissioned to determine if public opinion had moved. The polling would need to be extensive so that the margin of error in the results was low. Only then would it be apparent if a strong consensus had been accomplished.

One more thing

Let’s be clear about one more thing. The Citizens' Assembly is NOT to determine Government policy, despite the insistence of some that Julia had abdicated decision making about climate to the citizenry. She has no intention of doing so and has said so clearly. But some journalists just don’t listen, or want to hear anything other than their own preconceived notion of what they want to hear. The aim of the Assembly is to assist in the development of understandable and memorable information about climate change and what needs to be done, such that would bring about a solid consensus in the community.

So there is an outline of how a Citizens’ Assembly might be fashioned and how it might work. Skeptics might dismiss it as ‘unrealistic’ or ‘unworkable’ or just plain ‘’stupid’. So be it.

Could it work?

Of course it could. Will it work? If given a fair chance and community approval, it probably will. But if the adverse forces that have been pitted against timely and effective action on climate change have their way it may not. If the likes of Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce and Nick Minchin are let loose, they may have the same destructive effect as they have had on climate change debate to date. We should never dismiss or minimize the destruction that skeptics and obstructionists can wreak.

So all you skeptics and knockers out there, comment here and tell us what you think. But please don’t insult our intelligence by knocking it without cogent reasons for doing so. Any idiot can do that. Tell us why it won’t or may not work, and if you have any inclination to have it work, tell us how to do it better.

Please tell us what you think.

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Grog

28/07/2010Good post AA (thanks for citing my lovely bile!). My big issue is that this 150 citizens' assembly MAY be a good idea that MAY work (in fact the way you relate it is good). But announcing it now was seriously dumb. It became the only item in the news - the other measures were drowned out. That is poor work by a team who should have seen that the media would have focussed on it. Secondly it just looks too much like a Kevin Rudd idea - and the one thing that voters really started to get sick of Rudd was his "let's hold a review" vibe. It may not have been true, but that was the vibe, and announcing this just fed into it. It made Julia look like Rudd. Not good. I certainly agree she needs to build consensus. But she really should not have said this in her speech: "And if I am wrong, and that group of Australians is not persuaded of the case for change then that should be a clear warning bell that our community has not been persuaded as deeply as required about the need for transformational change." That makes it seem like it will determine if the Govt will do anything on climate change. This was an idea that they should have held over till after the election - get a clearer idea of what it will do and how. Sometimes - especially in an election - you have to keep some parts of the policy under wraps because they will overshadow the real message you want to get across. The message Julia wanted to get across was that she was determined to do something, but that she would not be rushing forward. The message that came across was that she was letting 150 people decide what she should do. That is a failure.

Ad astra reply

28/07/2010Grog Thank you for your comment. The fact is that consensus on climate change has fallen mainly I believe because of the GBNT mantra. It needs to be rebuilt. The Citizens’ Assembly is one mechanism. Whether or not it should have been mentioned during the campaign is debatable. Julia was being pressed by the climate change believers to do something, yet was conscious that the electorate was no longer behind radical action – Possum’s figures show that. So she decided to mark time by giving herself time to re-establish the consensus that once existed. So rather than seeing it as a dumb move, I saw it as logical step. Of course many misinterpreted what she was about, and saw it as a delaying tactic, some even saw it as handing decision making on what to do about climate change to the Citizens’ Assembly, which it wasn’t and she said so. Time will tell what become of the idea, but I believe it could work if done properly and if not destroyed by the Coalition yet again. If it doesn’t succeed this country has a serious problem, a lack of will to tackle the pressing problem of global warming.

Lyn

28/07/2010Hi Ad Thankyou Ad, In appreciation of another brilliant, very welcome, interesting piece for us all. The Piping Shrike explained some of the reasoning behind announcing the Citizens' Assembly. Amazingly Abbott stating that why would we need a Citizen's Assembly when we have a Parliament, he said this knowing that he refused to pass the ETS, after months of negotiating with the Government. [quote]We have seen that before our very eyes over the last year, a consensus established, Penny Wong as our minister shook hands on a deal. It was all going to be delivered through our Parliament and that consensus rapidly went away when Tony Abbott stepped in[/quote].

Lyn

28/07/2010Hi Ad Everybody don't miss Grog, another excellent piece, thankyou Grog [i]Election 2010: Day 12 (or let Julia be Julia) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] But I think there is plenty of Liberal Party policy that deserves scorn and rebuke, and she needs to do it. Be positive, but also show she can take down any opponent. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/

Acerbic Conehead

29/07/2010AA, I couldn’t agree more with you that Jooles is on to a definite winner here with her Citizens’ Assembly brainwave. In fact, she’s already at the advanced planning stage and composed the warm-up number that the comrades will sing (and do the motions to) at the commencement of each and every session. Here it is, to the sprightly airs of the 1910 Fruitgum Company’s great hit, “Simon Says”. Sing along and get into the groove. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTBpafu_DE8&feature=related :- ) I'd like to play a game That is so much fun And it's not so very hard to do The name of the game is Phoney Toney says And I would like for you to play it too :- ) Get right down on your knees, (Phoney Toney says) Look the martyr, ev’ry bit (Phoney Toney says) Do it when Phoney says, (Phoney Toney says) Just like a big hypocrite :- ) Phoney Toney says Put your hands down your daks Pull out a great big new tax, Phoney says Phoney Toney says I’ll be after the vote Cos there was no note, Phoney says :- ) Jog around on the spot (Phoney Toney says) Like you know what you’re at (Phoney Toney says) Pull Jooles’ ear-lobe on the left (Phoney Toney says) And her bigger one on the right :- ) Now that you have learnt To play this game with me You’ve surely got it down to a tee Lets try it once again This time more carefully And I hope the winner will be me :- ) Clap your hands in the air, (Phoney Toney says) Do it in a flap (Phoney Toney says) Point to your bum, cos as (Phoney Toney says) Global warming’s crap

Lyn

29/07/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Election 2010: Day 12 (or let Julia be Julia) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] But I think there is plenty of Liberal Party policy that deserves scorn and rebuke, and she needs to do it. Be positive, but also show she can take down any opponent. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ [i]The Australian – getting it wrong again, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics[/i] The Australian is ignoring the actual funding data and focusing on the application data to run an editorial line on alleged Labor pork barrelling. Now, sure – you’d have to be as thick as two short planks to believe this nonsense – but to see just how silly this is, let’s take the argument they are running to its logical conclusion. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/07/28/getting-anao-wrong-again/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrikeyBlogs%2Fpollytics+%28Pollytics%29 [i]The sisterhood? Jesus. How about common decency?, Bernard keane, Crikey[/i The Australian yesterday launched a series of personal attacks on the Prime Minister, with the clear aim of ridiculing her and delegitimising her as a political figure. It complements an effort by Liberal Party figures to attack Gillard over her childlessness and her de facto marital status. http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/28/the-sisterhood-jesus-how-about-common-decency/ [i]Julia's engagement, Rob Burgess, Business Spectator[/i] This document will be no laughing matter for the Coalition – the mag has an audited circulation of 502,441 copies, and because it is then passed from aunty to sister to niece and, just maybe, nephew, its Roy Morgan Readership figure is 2,185,000. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/POLL-POSITION-Why-this-leak-could-help-Gillard-pd20100728-7RTCS?OpenDocument&src=sph [i]Leaks, leaks, leaks, Massivespray, Spray of the Day[/i] The media is obviously on the warpath and will do absolutely anything to sink the boot into Labor as much as possible this campaign. I’m pissed off about this for a few reasons: http://sprayoftheday.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/leaks-leaks-leaks/ [i]The rising tide of border security, Peter Chambers, Inside Story[/i] though Tony Abbott and others might consider it to be their reliable instrument for re-election, the messy fact is that this divisive complex of issues is capricious and destructive for almost all involved http://inside.org.au/the-rising-tide-of-border-security/ [i]The Coalition defends its lack of NBN alternative, claims policy delay is standard, david Ramli, ARN[/i] We’ll release the policy at the appropriate time and that’s a standard issue during campaigns when there are a whole range of policies to be released.” http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/354812/coalition_defends_its_lack_nbn_alternative_claims_policy_delay_standard/ [i]Gillard finally becomes Prime Minister , Peter Brent, The Australian[/i Maybe today was just a one-off, a reaction to special circumstances and the other Gillard will return tomorrow Maybe the snippets on tonight’s news won’t convey much. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/gillard-finally-becomes-prime-minister/story-e6frg6n6-1225898119215 [i]Abbott’s Axe – Part 2, Miglo, Cafe Whispers[/i] If Abbott wants to jeopardise business interests by sending us to the electronic Dark Ages, is there a hidden agenda we mere mortals are unaware of? Mark Scott, Managing Director of the ABC unwittingly opens up this thought for we mortals to ponder, predicting that: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/abbotts-axe-part-2/ [i]Two of the most recent attack ads of the Federal Election 2010 :, Darryl Mason, The Orstrahyun[/i] http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com/2010/07/price-of-bread-to-rise-by-two-carbons.html [i]It’s not whether you win or lose, Graham Young, On Line Opinion[/i] Labor was always odds-on to win - four-to-one at the moment according to the betting markets. But there are battles and there are wars. It’s not who prevails this time, but who prevails most times that ultimately counts. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10746 When the media gets bored: Why Labor's campaign is not "in crisis", Ben Eltham, The Drum When journalists get bored, they get cranky. They get antsy. They get all riled up over relatively little things, and they get themselves worked up into such a lather that they can't wait to pounce on a gaffe,http://blogs.abc.net.au/drumroll/2010/07/when-the-media-gets-bored-why-labors-campaign-is-not-in-crisis.html Anonymous sources,Tim Dunlop, The Drum Laurie Oakes has again asserted his 'doyen' status by 'reporting' claims from unnamed sources about what Julia Gillard said in confidential cabinet meetings about paid parental leave and increased pension rates. http://blogs.abc.net.au/drumroll/2010/07/anonymous-sources.html Unions launch ads against WorkChoices, Brigid Glanville, ABC "Tony Abbott has said that he won't change the legislation to bring back WorkChoices, but the ACTU has identified 198 ways he can take us back there without actually changing the legislation." http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/28/2967062.htm

Ad astra reply

29/07/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

George Pike

29/07/2010Does anyone agree that a referendum with the question; "do you want an ETS and if yes, at what effective rate of reduction do you want it to be set prior to any global consensus being found; 10%, 20% or 30% of 1990 levels?"...would have cleared the whole problem away until any future government gained enough political strength to deal with the issue effectively? The link below from the ABC's Justin shows us how arrogant the Opposition has become under the facade of relevance being constructed for them by the compliant media. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/29/2967126.htm?section=justin The sheer hypocrisy of Robb's remarks regarding government chaos and dysfunctionality can be quickly demonstrated by simply pointing to the Liberal leader himself...a leader placed there by one single vote and then only because one of the Liberals took too long to quaff her champers for brecky that morning and missed the vote! The fact that at least 60% of the Liberals also believe in applying an ETS, but that policy is declared dead and buried by their great leader and his sidekicks, also shows us how very fragile the Liberals really are. Back to the point! The Liberals have no policy on climate change action, yet the media continually fail to point that small issue out to the public. Instead they focus on the government's problems in implimenting the ETS...even though those problems stemmed from Liberal Party chaos...a lack of continuity that no doubt was driven from outside the party by those with vested interests in seeing the policy slaughtered in the senate...a coal miner or two perhaps? What ever drove the chaos, it worked. Now the government has no choice but get a clear and concise mandate from the public to do what it must to lower our emissions...and while I think the referendum previously mentioned would have done exactly that and it would have cleared the decks for the government to concentrate on its economic successes, the PM's line does have that end result in mind. Albeit under a much less transparent and publicly comprehendible set of processes. I guess the truth is that in the end it will be the global consensus that decides exactly what Australia will do...and what ever we do now will only be a stop gap process until that consensus is found. The amount of media meddling with the issue is really only political manipulation of something that is actually out of our governments control in the long run...but they (the Opposition and their media allies) will continue to use nonsense arguments such as business security to keep rattling the cage anyway. As with the boat people quandry, only international events can decide the ultimate outcome, and we will just have to put up with the nonsense arguments until circumstances change to bring those quandries to a close. Hopefully the public will realise that all the pulic scaremongering etc is exactly that, and that they will then vote using their logic and intelligence to ensure that the only party with any real credibility, on ANY issue, is returned to power.

janice

29/07/2010Good morning all. As astra, I fail to comprehend why so many appear to be against a Citizens Assembly. In 2007 something like 75% (?) of people wanted their elected government to take urgent action on climate change. When the government proceeded, developed its policy and put it out there in the public forum, the deniers and sceptics with help from the media, embarked on a scare campaign of such magnitude that it confused people and muddled their thinking so that they ended up believing Abbott's Great Big New Tax on Everything. The Greens stood on their dig and demanded their way or no way without much consideration as to the affordability of their demands. So, out in the electorates people became concerned and more or less concluded that yes, they'd like action taken but not if it was going to cost them much. I think Julia is correct that we must now go back to basics and again work to bring the people on board. I would think that the Citizens Assembly is intended to inform people about the options, how a Carbon Tax and Trading Scheme work and the pros and cons of each as well as explaining the cost to the economy and their own pockets. Well, that is what I understand Julia is on about.

Valerie

29/07/2010 well, here's a surprise from Gottliebsen www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/How-Rudd-turned-on-Gillard-pd20100729-7

Lyn

29/07/2010Hi Valerie A big welcome to you and thankyou for commenting on "The Political Sword" Thankyou so much for the link to Gottliebsen's story. Would you mind if I asked you, to put the link up again, for us please. Cheers

macca

29/07/2010AA, Something I posted on Grog last week.While all and sundry are belting the PM around the head re the climate change policy ask yourselves this; Can this country afford another debate such as the first one? Vested interests , deniers, flat earthers all making sure that the science was buried in the noise? The Greens demanding what the economy has no chance of providing. The politics of sheer bastardry by the Opposition? Can we go through this again and still end up nowhere? Can we afford to? I think that this policy is sensible in that it basically saying;….let’s slow down, take a breathe and have a rational discussion. Who is going to be the first politician to claim that the concerns of average Australians are of no import. The change to our way of life, the way we produce and manufacture is going to be immense and it can’t be done overnight. We have to be prudent. There is no other way. Think about it.

George Pike

29/07/2010Isn't it amazing how these "investment advisors", people like Gottleibsen, who have strong interests in getting the Liberals into power to stop the new regulations pertaining to superannuation etc from going ahead, keep coming up with these damaging revelations! They make you laugh, they truly do...if the average Joe or Josephine can't see through the thin facade of false care and concern for the punters I will be very suprised indeed!

Valerie

29/07/2010 Sorry, having trouble with link but I googled "How Rudd betrayed Gillard gottliebsen" and first link took me to the article in Business Spectator.

Ad astra reply

29/07/2010Valerie Welcome to the [i]TPS[/i] family. Please come often. The link you provided did not work for me; if it was the article [i]How Rudd betrayed Gillard[/i] the link I found is http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/How-Rudd-turned-on-Gillard-pd20100729-7STND?OpenDocument&src=rab

nasking

29/07/2010You've convinced me Ad astra. I appreciate the education aspect of your argument. The assembly is democratic, useful & looking forward. I condemn a Liberal Party that has few fresh, innovative ideas...that looks backwards...and works alongside 'The Australian' to enhance xenophobia and feed on people's trauma. I've posted on it here: [quote]Why I Dislike & Distrust the Liberal Old Guard[/quote] http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/why-i-dislike-distrust-the-liberal-old-guard/ N'

Ad astra reply

29/07/2010AC Thank you again. What a great ending - so to speak. Lyn Thank you for your kind remarks. That Tony Abbott can say things that fly in the face of the facts and defy logic ought not surprise us. He does it every day, and the media seem either mesmerized by his spin, or unprepared to counter it, or maybe both. So he continues to make outrageous statements and gets away with them.

Ad astra reply

29/07/2010Lyn Thank you for your kind remarks. That Tony Abbott can say things that fly in the face of the facts and defy logic ought not surprise us. He does it every day, and the media seem either mesmerized by his spin, or unprepared to counter it, or maybe both. So he continues to make outrageous statements and gets away with them. George You’re right, Andrew Robb is steeped in hypocrisy and double-speak. He’s having a field day with the ‘leaks’ and the ‘disunity’. But I wonder how much credence undecided voters will give to such a droll, uninspiring, melancholic fellow who is as dull as dishwater. You raise the issue of an international consensus on climate change – that would be part of the task of the Citizen’s Assembly to appraise after receiving information from the independent commission of experts. That is part of the equation in reaching a consensus about what this country ought to do. I have faith in ordinary citizens, many of whom have extraordinary insight, to sort through the information and reach a balanced conclusion, so long as the Assembly is not pushed around by vested interests, or unduly influenced by those with extreme views. Selection of the members of the Assembly would be critically important, with emphasis on selecting those with an open mind, those who are willing reach a reasoned conclusion based on verifiable data.

Lyn

29/07/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS PART 2[/b] [u]Dash of passion in a bland campaign, Amber Jamieson, Media Wrap Crikey[/u] Yesterday Julia Gillard came out swinging against allegations she had not supported the paid parental leave http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/29/the-campaign-finally-gets-a-dash-of-passion/ [i]Morgan Phone Poll: Gilard approval slump, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] My federal election guide will be unveiled in all its glory today, work on which has prevented me from providing more than sporadic coverage of late. Hopefully that will now improve. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]The Cabinet leaks keep coming: Now it's the Fair Work Act, Kim, Larvatus prodeo[/i] [b]Now Robert Gottliebsen at Business Spectator has one[/b]. http://larvatusprodeo.ozblogistan.com.au/2010/07/29/the-cabinet-leaks-keep-coming-now-its-the-fair-work-act/ [i]Why I Dislike & Distrust the Liberal Old Guard, Nasking, Cafe Whispers[/i] the Murdoch media which by way of the national newspaper The Australian has become a virtual propaganda tool for the Liberal Party of Australia. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/why-i-dislike-distrust-the-liberal-old-guard/ [i]Tony Abbott. Who’s really “out of control?”, Reb, Gutter Trash[/i] This Labor Government helped steer the Australian economy through the world’s greatest economic downturn since the great depression and http://guttertrash.wordpress.com:80/2010/07/29/tony-abbott-whos-really-out-of-control/ [i]Climategate investigated, cleared, still waiting for apology, Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] Yeah, well, the final of the three investigations into it has now reported, and the answer is clear: there was no impropriety – it was a massive beatup. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/

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29/07/2010macca If the Citizen’s Assembly becomes yet another forum for the vested interests, the rent-seekers, the entrenched deniers, the radical advocates and the political opportunists, it will surely fail. The selection of open-minded, thoughtful, earnest people who really want to address the issue of what needs to be done about climate change, what options are available, and which might apply to this country and when, is the most important ingredient for success. That is why there needs to be a large group selected initially and a stringent vetting process to select the members, not those who will give the desired outcome, but those of independent mind with the capacity to process a range of data and fashion convincing and memorable messages that can be presented to the wider community to establish a consensus about how we ought to proceed and how quickly.

George Pike

29/07/2010"the Murdoch media which by way of the national newspaper The Australian has become a virtual propaganda tool for the Liberal Party of Australia." I think it could well be the other way around...the Liberal Party is now just a tool of the Murdoch empire. They will use an Abbott government to get every single aspect of Australian corporate legislation changed to suit themselves and their fellow industrialist mates. Look at the benefits the Liberals will hand over to the corporate sector already; no mining tax, easing Labor's banking regulations, industrial relations changes, no super changes..etc etc etc...Abbott is heaven on a stick for them.

Miglo

29/07/2010Julia can hold this assembly is because she has the skilled people at her disposal to consult. Didn't Howard have them sacked/de-funded when he was PM for their public opposition to his stand on climate change?

George Pike

29/07/2010When you read articles like this in the foreign media it makes you wonder if anything is EVER going to happen regarding climate change action. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/jul/28/sachs-obama-climate-change

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29/07/2010Folks You might be interested to read the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Report out today [i]NOAA: Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48 Countries[/i] http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100728_stateoftheclimate.html This would be the material, or a summary of it, that would be useful to the Citizen’s Assembly. Note the value of the graphics in transmitting a message, and the links to other sites where further information is available. It’s a rather frightening report. One of the links goes to [i]State of the Climate 2009[/i] http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2009.php where more detail can be found. On [i]The World Today[/i] there was also a report of a survey of attitudes about climate change, which I can’t find in the above documents. I’ll post the link to the transcript of that piece when it’s available. I’ll be away for a couple of hours.

Valerie

29/07/2010 Has Milney given up already? http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2967385.htm

Lyn

29/07/2010Hi Valerie Thankyou for another link, you are a constant source of information already. It is hard to tell what Milne is up to, he had a column in The Drum last week that was rather odd, for his usual well known behaviour. Maybe he is trying some weird reverse psychology. Umn, suspect, definately not to be trusted Valerie. Cheers

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29/07/2010Folks Here’s the link to the piece on [i]The World Today: Survey says action now on emissions [/i] that dealt with the NOAA Report and a local study of attitudes to climate change: http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s2967725.htm The relevant paragraphs read: “[i]Coinciding with that report is the release of one of the most detailed studies ever taken of Australian public attitudes towards an emissions trading scheme by the University of Technology Sydney.

 Professor Jordan Louviere is the director of the UTS Centre for the Study of Choice.

 “JORDAN LOUVIERE: We've got such majority public support to start now, not to wait for what China and the US does, to make deep cuts, to redistribute the revenues that will be raised by the trading scheme in interesting ways.

 “ALISON CALDWELL: The survey interviewed people in four phases from August 2008 about their preferred ETS model.

Instead of offering them yes/no questions, researchers presented them with a series of possibilities which forced them to make trade-offs between deeper emissions cuts, later starting dates for a scheme and costs.

 “JORDAN LOUVIERE: People really have to make trade-offs and it becomes apparent to them that this is a trade-off like any other trade-off in real life. “ALISON CALDWELL: You found that reducing taxes for business was actually unpopular with most of the voters. 

 “JORDAN LOUVIERE: Very unpopular. Reducing business taxes or improving government services and reducing the deficit were very unpopular. The most unpopular plans also have by a fairly large majority waiting for China and the US to do something.

 “ALISON CALDWELL: They want to go now?

 “JORDAN LOUVIERE: Yes. And the least popular plans by again a large majority have waiting 'til 2013 to start. The most popular plans are ones that start in 2011. I guess that's not surprising. It's just the reverse - that take the revenues that are raised by the plans and give to the poor and seniors. 

That's actually a clear majority. Eight out of 10 want to do that. And two out of 10 want to use it to lower the GST. That's of the 10 most popular plans.

One hundred per cent of the 10 most popular plans have, make large reductions in emissions now. And of the 10 most popular plans almost all of them involve 20, 25 or 30 per cent reductions. 

 “ALISON CALDWELL: When you see what the Opposition is saying and what the Government is saying and then you look at what you've got in this survey that you've been carrying out over a couple of years – “JORDAN LOUVIERE: Well its 180 degrees the opposite isn't it? We think that the parties you know clearly have not made much of an effort to really understand either the trade-offs involved or whether or not the public is willing to support plans that have these trade-offs and that the debate's been pretty simplistic really.”[/i] Note the third last paragraph. Again this is the type of information that would be fed into the Citizen’s Assembly.

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29/07/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

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29/07/2010Folks The article by Rodney Tiffen, emeritus professor of government and international relations at the University of Sydney, in the [i]National Times: You wouldn't read about it: climate scientists right.[/i] on 26 July, is one that people on the Citizen's Assembly would find informative. It concludes: "It is a common criticism of the media that it prominently publishes allegations, but gives less coverage to the prosaic facts that later refute them. But rarely is the disproportion so stark. Rarely has such an edifice of sweeping accusation and extravagant invective been constructed on such a slender factual basis. Rarely does it do such damage." The link is: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/you-wouldnt-read-about-it-climate-scientists-right-20100725-10qev.html

Canbra Dave

29/07/2010In regards to the article, there already is a consensus on acting on climate change. All three major parties support tackling climate change. The difference is that of the three the Coalition doesn't support putting a price on carbon, Labor supports putting a price on carbon but not until the very end of its next term (if that), and the Greens support putting an immediate price on carbon. so the real challenge is to build a consensus around establishing a price on carbon, which realistically is the only way that we will ever achieve the reductions in emissions that we require. If the federal Labor party would bite the bullet and negotiate with the Greens they could pass an ETS that would actually work to reduce our emissions. But they are afraid that the Coalition will push the 'cost-of-living' issue.

Lyn

29/07/2010Hi Ad Interesting: Agendas and bias on the media trail, Jonathan Holmes, Abc Day after day, the attack continues. Not just one, but three or four stories on the front page designed to discredit, undermine, or ridicule the Government, plus a couple trumpeting the Coalition's latest policy announcement in far less critical terms http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/29/2968077.htm

Jason

29/07/2010Canberra Dave, The Greens are nuts,they think that what was put up didn't go far enough. But they don't seem even interested in the thought of 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.What Labor put up may not be perfect but it was at least a start, and if the Greens get the balance of power they had better learn the art of compromise.

George Pike

29/07/2010Just watched TAbbott trying to bond with the boys in the Essendon footy sheds...hahahaha! Is this guy a loser or what! The Liberal freak show rolls on..and on..and on...

nasking

29/07/2010You’ll find more good reasons not to trust nor vote for Tony Abbott here: The war was not about oil http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/the-war-was-not-about-oil/ Abbott was a key minister in a government that took us into this mighty ripoff. N’

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29/07/2010Canbra Dave The Greens are imprisoned by their ideology. My guess is that Labor is taking its stance on climate change to avoid the GBNT mantra from destructive Abbott and Co, and once the election is over, if Labor is re-elected, it will negotiate with the Greens to get something going – indeed Abbott is predicting that and trying to scare people that the Labor preference deal with the Greens means we will get a carbon tax. He might be right. Jason The Greens have been a big disappointment. We could have had carbon trading now, but their pursuit of ideological purity has resulted in us having nothing. Can they, will they, be able to compromise should Labor be re-elected?

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29/07/2010Lyn Thank you for the Jonathan Holmes link. His piece [i]Agendas and bias on the media trail[/i] is well written as one would expect, and is right on. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/29/2968077.htm He gives a very cogent description of some of the defects in Australian journalism, and it's sad.

Jason

29/07/2010AA, Having just watched 730 report I have come to the conclusion it's not the message on climate change that is the problem sadly I think it's the salesman, the sooner Penny has a portfolio better suited to her "talents" the better.

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29/07/2010Jason Whatever you may think of Penny Wong, to me Greg Hunt is the most disingenuous obfuscater on climate change ever. I can understand Penny, but I have never been able to understand what Greg is saying despite his repeated use of the words - 'it's simple'. To me he talks gobbledegook every time he opens his mouth. This is why we need a Citizen's Assembly to fashion simple messages people can understand.

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29/07/2010Folks I guess you've caught up with Morgan's latest TPP: 53-47 phone poll, 54-46 face-to-face and an unsurprising decline in Julia's personal ratings. She's still ahead of Abbott on PPM but I can't determine the actual figures from the Morgan report: http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2010/4545/ Despite all the talk about a Galaxy being 50/50 the only poll I can find gives a 52/48 on July 23/25. If there's a later one I can't find it, and if it did show 50/50 it would be curious that it could fall so far in a couple of days, and if it did, what does it say about Galaxy's reliability? http://www.galaxyresearch.com.au/ It does show that the polls are settling at the 53/47 to 52/48 mark which is almost identical to the results at the last election. Polls almost always close as the election approaches We should not get exercised about the current polls which are running much as one would expect. I'm turning it in for the night

Hillbilly Skeleton

29/07/2010The lovely Jonathan Holmes from Media Watch, in 'The Drum',sticking it to 'The Australian': http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/29/2968077.htm?site=thedrum

Hillbilly Skeleton

29/07/2010Ad Astra, The answer to your Galaxy poll question, I think, is that Channel 9 commissioned it especially, and it is different to the 'normal' Galaxy poll. Thus, I would imagine that Ch9 would likely pay for a smaller sample size, as they seem to have contracted Galaxy to poll for them once a week during the election campaign. Thus the MOE would be greater, and so a 50/50 could be a 52/48. Not that they would tell anyone that.

Jaeger

30/07/2010Someone (Lyn? HS?) mentioned Tony Abbott's cropped photo on Wikipedia, but I can't find that post to respond to it directly. Anyhoo, this may be what you were thinking of. I've made Tony's picture B&W and scaled it to the same height as the brothers, but that's all. Enjoy. http://i26.tinypic.com/2a4pklh.jpg

Lyn

30/07/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Morgan: 54 - 47 phone poll, 54-46 face to face, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] The news is on the whole cheering for Labor, who lead 54-46 on the face-to-face poll (or 55.5-45.5 if you use the respondent-allocated preferences rather than going off 2007 election preferences) and 53-47 on the phone poll (the same result on both measures). http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]Highlights of week two, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] My federal election guide is at long last open for business – note the link on the sidebar below the Crikey Daily Mail ad. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2010/07/30/highlights-of-week-two-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrikeyBlogs+%28Crikey+Blogs%29 [i]Election 2010: Day 13 (or why is Abbott running for Premier?) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i]There’s a long way to go and Julia seems to have worked out what to do, and how to do it. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/ [i]Gillard's Freudian slip,Rob Burgess, Business Spectator,[/i] The leaks crisis, though it be raked over in all directions by national media, has so far revealed very little. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/POLL-POSITION-pd20100729-7SS5L?OpenDocument&src=sph&src=rot The politics-media death spiral, Tim Dunlop, The Drum The media redoubles its efforts to play gotcha, to highlight the "gaffe", to spotlight the "stumble", to acquire the leak that makes someone look bad http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2967248.htm [i]Cabinet leaks Could Make Or Break Pm, Leon Delaney [/i] giving Julia Gillard enough breathing space to respond to this attack from within,which might actually turn out to be an opportunity for her to demonstrate just how effective she can be as a leader. http://leondelaney.blogspot.com/ [i]Expect to hear less about prices, rates out of control,Peter Martin[/i] Low inflation has knocked the stuffing out of the debt/deficit/doom campaignl http://petermartin.blogspot.com/ [i]INSTABILITY, The Piping Shrike[/i] The sole purpose of these leaks from inside Labor is to undermine Labor’s election campaign and damage the government http://www.pipingshrike.com/2010/07/instability.html#comments [i]Why is the Federal Government's Asia-Pacific television service going to tender?, Stop Murdoch.[/i] As The Australian itself pointed out yesterday in a separate article: "The battle of Australia Network comes at a particularly tense time for the ABC and Sky, which is owned by Seven, Nine and and BSkyB (part-owned by News Corporation, publisher of the Australian). http://stopmurdoch.blogspot.com/ [i]The ALP and the environment, Richard Denniss, On Line Opinion[/i] ALP strategists are reportedly already distancing themselves from the Prime Minister’s [b]“Citizens’ Assembly”[/b] and you can see why. It could be the single worst idea that has ever been floated by an elected government in a federal election. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10759 [i]The Knives are out, Leon Delaney[/i]Why is it that nobody is running a media campaign to undermine Mr. Abbott on the same sort of spurious grounds applied to Ms. Gillard? http://leondelaney.blogspot.com/2010/07/knives-are-out.html [i]AEU ad shows Abbott moving backwards on education , Joe kelly, The Australian[/i] The viral ad attacks Mr Abbott for cuts to education services and public school funding, dubbing the Coalition's planned cuts "a plan that will take us backwards, not forwards". Wrong way Tony! An ad about Mr Abbott's plan to cut $3 billion in education. The Australian Education Union believes all parties should be committed to investing more, not less in public education. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/aeu-ad-shows-abbott-moving-backwards-on-education/story-fn59niix-1225898377776

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi Jaeger Jaeger a big welcome to "The Political Sword", we hope you keep coming back, Ad Astra will be very pleased. Thankyou for the photo, excellent. I am not sure what post you are referring to, but it doesn't matter, I will save the photo for my collection. Cheers

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30/07/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

Jaeger

30/07/2010Thanks Lyn. The post may not have even been on The Political Sword; I normally start with Possum's Pollytics and see what's new in his links (PS, Grog's Gamut etc.) If I guessed wrong, hopefully the original poster does the same thing and will find it. :-)

janice

30/07/2010Jaeger, It was a post from Cybercynic. He/she posted the photo as Abbott's twin.

Lyn

30/07/2010[i]TODAY'S LINKS PART 2[/i] [i]Leaks drown Gillard, Amber Jamieson, Crikey[/i] back in the glory days when Mark Latham ruled the roost, journalists didn’t have to ring the Labor frontbench after shadow cabinet. They called you,” reveals Samantha Maiden in The Australian. http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/30/leaks-drown-gillard/ [i]Two Morgans and a Galaxy, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics[/i] We normally get some polls out on the weekend papers during elections, so we’ll wait until tomorrow to run our trend measures. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/07/30/two-morgans-and-a-galaxy/#more-8501

George Pike

30/07/2010HS, did you read some of the comments below the Jonathon Holmes piece you alluded to? It absolutely amazes me how utterly blind some people truly are to the truth. How could you honestly state, as many of the commentators did, that the ABC and News Ltd favour the Labor Party and the Greens over and above the Liberals! These people must surely only watch and read the cartoons...because no intelligent adult mind could possibly come to that conclusion if they saw or read even a small proportion of the political reporting from either organisation. Just watching Ticky Fullerton and Paul Espie run what can only be decribed as a blatant anti-government propaganda skit last night on Lateline Business, would have confirmed that bias for any doubters. Reading the front page of The Australian on ANY day would also prove beyond doubt that it is now nothing more than a Liberal propaganda sheet. Fullerton also ran a piece on Rio Tinto, and how Du Plessis has announced, with a big smirk on his face, how Rio has just sold 45% of its west African iron ore mine to Chinalco, citing SOVEREIGN RISK issues as the reason for the sale...after running the scare campaign against the RSPT which included moving much of its operations to west Africa because of SOVEREIGN RISK issues in Australia. Note how the ABC's editors have cut the Rio story to a tiny portion of the actual story...bit of embarrassment there for them maybe you think? Here are the transcripts from the Lateline Business sections mentioned above. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/business/items/201007/s2968348.htm http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/business/items/201007/s2968341.htm

Valerie

30/07/2010 Jaeger, love your tinypic of Abbott. I almost choked on my coffee, to say nothing of the mess that needed cleaning up. To those not familiar with Andrew Elder, here's a blog I find interesting. Hope you do too. http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/

George Pike

30/07/2010Just in case anyone is wondering, it's the Cutty Sark in Sydney waiting to take on a load of wool for England...favourite ship, favourite harbour and indicates the high level of salt in the blood!

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30/07/2010Jaeger Welcome to the [i]TPS[/i] family. Do come often. LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

FFreddy

30/07/2010Just when you’ve reached the depths of despair and loathing of the msm in this election campaign a small sliver of light breaks through the clouds. On Ten’s Adelaide news last night they had their summary of the days political news which was probably a bit much ‘msm-meme” for most people on this site but by no means anywhere near as bad as 7 or 9 ( or ABC?). After the summary they had a cross to Paul Bongiorno and George Donikian(?) asked him a scripted dorothy-dixer “…~with all these leaks can the govt. get its campaign back on track?”. PB replied “…we’ve seen how even a second-hand, third-hand leak like the one we saw two days ago can derail the campaign…”. It’s the first time I’ve heard the leak referred to in this way and it was a revelation. I see ACA were beating the muslim drum the past two nights. I have run short of msm vomit bags in the past two weeks and was unable to bring myself to watch it but it reminded me of ACA’s ‘efforts’ in the lead up to the 1996 election. ACA ran two twenty five minute ‘specials’ on union thuggery on building sites which involved allegations of deceased persons on union electoral roles and having Mike Munro leap out of a van he and a cameraman were hiding in and confronting a union official putting the hard word on a contractor/worker. The next day Peter Reith popped up and announced the Coalition’s industrial relations policy. I must have been pretty naïve in those days because my first inclination was that this was just a coincidence. A week or so later they had another twenty-five minute special this time on some dodgy military aircraft and the next day the Coalitions defence policy was released by Senator Newman. My naivety ended at this point! I think one of the most despicable of these types of tactics occurred when the economy was going through a rough patch (~1999??) and losing sometimes up to 50,000 jobs per month. There was a six-month period where once a month on the Monday or Tuesday both ACA and TT would run their usual dole-bludger smear pieces and then on the Thurs. the unemployment figures would be released. Really grubby stuff.

debbiep

30/07/2010 Hi all The Best recent journalism was John Clarke and Bryan Dawe gauging the public mood on the streets skit on the 7.30 Report last night, lol. Sums it up nicely. KERRY O'BRIEN, PRESENTER: The perspective on this campaign now from John Clarke and Bryan Dawe gauging the mood on the street. BRYAN DAWE: Thanks for your time. JOHN CLARKE: Oh good evening, it's very good to be here. BRYAN DAWE: You're a voter, correct? JOHN CLARKE: Yes, I am I'll be voting in the big eisteddfod next month. BRYAN DAWE: Do you know who for? JOHN CLARKE: Yeah, Laurie Oakes. BRYAN DAWE: I don't think Laurie's a candidate, is he? JOHN CLARKE: That's disappointing. Really!, he's fantastic. BRYAN DAWE: What electorate are you in? JOHN CLARKE: We're in Australia, that's where the voting is going to occur.. BRYAN DAWE: No, no, what electorate, what area are you in? JOHN CLARKE: Precisely, we're in media coverage. BRYAN DAWE: Oh media coverage, that's near Gossip I think, isn't it? JOHN CLARKE: Well it's beneath Gossip and between Prejudice West. BRYAN DAWE: Is it north of Rumour? JOHN CLARKE: Yeah,Northwest of Rumour... BRYAN DAWE: Right.. JOHN CLARKE: It's actually got a border with both Rumour and Innuendo. *transcript cont......on the abc 7.30 Report website.

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30/07/2010Folks
 You might like to read one of Lyn’s links in [i]Online Opinion: The ALP and the environment[/i] by Richard Denniss, Executive Director of [i]The Australia Institute[/i] and an adjunct associate professor at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10759 It begins: [i]"ALP strategists are reportedly already distancing themselves from the Prime Minister’s ‘Citizens’ Assembly’…"[/i] Here we go again - 'reportedly', but no evidence advanced. Then Denniss goes on to say: "[i]It could be the single worst idea that has ever been floated by an elected government in a federal election. Not the most dangerous or wasteful idea, but the idea most likely to ensure ridicule, confusion and, most importantly, cost votes for no apparent purpose. Which raises the question, what were they thinking? Presumably they thought that there is nothing that some on the progressive side love more than a nice long chat so why not announce a forum for one?"[/i] The 'evidence' advanced to support his assertion is [i]"The simple fact is that the vast majority of the population support the need to take serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Most people accept that they will have to pay a small price to do so, and only around 10 per cent of the public believe that we should wait until there is more evidence before we act."[/i] This might be a valid reason if it were true. But according to actual data as assembled by Possum and detailed in this piece it is not. Denniss offers no alternative data to refute Possum's analysis. Presumably he thinks that putting something in print makes it true - not great gear for an adjunct associate professor and someone writing for [i]The Australia Institute[/i] which purports to be “the country’s most influential progressive think tank; based in Canberra, it conducts research on a broad range of economic, social and environmental issues in order to inform public debate and bring greater accountability to the democratic process.” Then he sarcastically asks if there should be a Citizen's Assembly to determine defence spending or how our tax system should work, apparently not cognisant of the profound influence that action on climate change will have on every citizen's way of life and hip pocket, which is not the case with defence or the tax system. Nor does he take into account the effect of Tony Abbott's GBNT mantra in poisoning the people's mind against taking action on climate change. He assumes a consensus among the people and a willingness to pay for climate change action that scarcely exists. It is because of that clear fact that a Citizen's Assembly has been suggested, a mechanism not designed to tell the Government what to do about climate change, but to assist it craft messages that might restore a strong and deep consensus for action that will inevitably impose a cost on everyone. He makes an analogy that people insure their cars in case they have an accident, and therefore will happily pay to insure against climate change. Perhaps his analogy is one the Citizen's Assembly could use as part of its message, but to assume that people will make the conceptual leap without it being pointed out to them, is a leap of faith that academics are prone to make, removed as they so often are from the thinking and the feelings of the bulk of the populace. It's a pity that someone like Denniss, who must possess the capacity to gather data and reason logically from them, allows himself to be drawn into populist writing with political overtones.

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30/07/2010debbiep That was a lovely piece of satire - so pointed, so true.

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi DebbieP Excellent, funny but exactly as it is: [quote]Precisely, we're in media coverage. BRYAN DAWE: Oh media coverage, that's near Gossip I think, isn't it? [/quote]

George Pike

30/07/2010The Liberals and the media continually tell us that nothing is going on overseas regarding climate change, but this link to The Guardian shows just how much just one paper is doing. Australia appears to be the least climate aware nation on the planet to tell you the truth. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/10-10

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010Folks You may be interested in an article in [i]Crikey's Rooted: What would you ask a climate scientist[/i] http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2010/07/28/what-would-you-ask-a-climate-scientist/ It suggests how questions that a Citizen's Assembly might have about climate change could be answered. The fact that this special group of scientists from the American Geophysical Union is willing to provide their services is laudable and just what is needed to augment the information that the local independent commission of experts mentioned in this piece would feed to the Assembly. Quality information IS available. As the Citizen's Assembly requires scientific information about climate change all it has to do is ask. I so wish the knockers would go away and knock something else and let Julia get on with her Citizen's Assembly, which in my view has a good chance of working so long as it is not continually ridiculed, so long as Tony Abbott's destructive forces are not unleashed against it.

NormanK

30/07/2010Ad astra Thanks very much for your article. It is pieces such as this which make TPS such a valuable resource. Having had no experience with this type of process, I look forward to feedback from people who have done and can report on its efficacy. On the surface, I would have to agree that given the hype surrounding Ms Gillard's announcement, presenting it as part of an election campaign left me a little puzzled. But then I would have advocated spending time spelling out the possible content of a future ETS and firmly declaring it as still being on the table. Guess that's why they didn't ask my advice on how to run their campaign. On the broader state of play, the MSM's spiral of inventing news by keeping topics in the spotlight when they might otherwise have drifted away is really depressing. This is not new of course but one would have hoped that at election time media houses would have given some consideration to the greater good and reported news instead of creating it. Ms Gillard's press conference on the NBN today is a case in point. (She performed admirably and this issue alone should win Labor another term.) A journalist asked, with no sense of irony, whether she was being distracted by all of the questions (of which this was the last of many) about Kevin Rudd. Answer : Yes you stupid person so why ask yet another one and waste valuable time which could have been better spent discussing the pros and cons of the NBN or some other meaty subject. That this same reporter or their ilk will later report that politicians have nothing of consequence to say because they are too busy with spin and obfuscation is sadly a given. Follow this up with talk-back announcers reporting back to TV journos that their callers are saying that they are sick of pollies mouthing empty slogans and the circle is complete. There is plenty of policy detail in the pipeline, particularly but not exclusively from Labor, but the MSM has its hand on the faucet and only lets through drips which it considers sensational enough to attract viewers//readers. Ear-lobes, Tim's speeding tickets, will there be a god in the Lodge (no mention yet of which one they would prefer) and when are you going to get married are far more important topics it seems. I've mentioned her here once before so I'll indulge again. My 84-year-old mother, who is not especially politically motivated, is spitting chips about all this nonsense. This is a woman from a generation where marriage was an imperative, children out of wedlock was seriously frowned upon and for many of her peers, Christian values were held in high esteem. She can't see how any of this has a bearing on whether an individual will make a good PM or act responsibly in government. Not unrelated and back on topic, why is it that no-one in the mainstream has seen fit to pen an article such as your one above? Surely something similar (minus any partisan references) would have served their readership well. Does spelling out policy detail immediately imply bias? I would have lost my ten bucks on the debate by the way. Bland no-risk "debating" which the media condemns and yet they are the main manufacturers of it. Chris Ulhmann is a huge worry and worthy of a longer post. The new Laurie Oakes. Acerbic Conehead Thanks for the song and reminders of misspent youth. You have been sorely missed.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010George Thank you for the [i]Guardian[/i] link to the 10:10 campaign. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/10-10 It shows a commitment to action on climate change, action to which even the new UK Government has committed itself. This is what is lacking here. We had a sound consensus about the need for action here in 2006 but this has faded and needs rebuilding. We need something like 10:10 here. It is possible - if only the knockers and destroyers would find something else to oppose.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010NormanK Thank you for your kind remarks. Julia Gillard is committed to action on climate change, as was Kevin Rudd. Tony Abbott’s destructive approach has killed consensus, leaving climate change action advocates with a skeptical community that has been persuaded that there are real doubts about the reality of global warming, that there is plenty of time to deal with it, and that the only approach generally agreed to be the best way to mitigate carbon pollution – a carbon trading scheme – will be nothing but a GBNT. This campaign is iniquitous since it has delayed action as the planet approaches the tipping point. So Julia is left with the task of rebuilding consensus. Could you imagine the barrage of vitriolic opposition and the GBNT scare campaign that would follow if she were to do what so many are urging – just get on with introducing an ETS and to hell with people’s reactions. ‘Show leadership’ they urge, even if it kills you politically, which Abbott would be bound to ensure it did. Regarding the media, I am infuriated and exasperated with ABC headlines: ‘The Prime Minister Julia Gillard has again been dogged by questions about Kevin Rudd as she tried to (insert here the day’s announcements)’, when it is the press pack THAT IS DOING THE DOGGING. They create a situation then report it as if someone else is doing what they themselves are doing!!!! You ask why no one from the MSM is writing pieces such as the above. I don’t know, but if pressed for an answer, I would say that groupthink inhibits most journalists from straying too far from the conventional contemporary wisdom of their peers. It takes courage to oppose the opinion of colleagues. It takes guts to be the odd man out. Independent thinking is curtailed by group pressure. Another reason is that it is so much easier for journalists to knock, so much easier to ridicule, than it is to put in the hard yards researching the concept of a Citizen’s Assembly and explaining its pros and cons so that their readers can reach an informed position. Finally, because the media thrive on conflict, scoops, gotchas, stark headlines and dramatic vision, journalists, even people like Chris Uhlmann, in whom we placed so much hope for a balanced approach, are seduced by all of this, as he was on the ABC News 24 launch where he started the ‘leaks’ that have now become endemic. The media is pathetic in this country. Thankfully we still have a tiny handful of journalists, like George Megalogenis, who are not cowed by their colleagues or their editor or proprietor, and say it the way it is, in a non-partisan and balanced way.

Kevin Rennie

30/07/2010Excellent piece. The subverters would have a lot to lose from an effective CA.

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi Kevin Rennie A big welcome to you, thankyou so much for your comment on "The Political Sword," we hope you keep coming back frequently, Ad Astra will be very pleased. I have read quite a few of your pieces and have always found your opinion to be very interesting. Cheers

Lyn

30/07/2010 Hi Ad Would you give me some or your expert medical advice online please, needs to be covered by medicare though. Can the nasty mean media cause gall bladder, they have been heaping so much bile on Kevin Rudd, lots today, during the NBN media conference. [i]Rudd in hospital to remove gall bladder,ABC[/i] The former prime minister suffered acute abdominal pain yesterday and spent last night and this morning undergoing a range of medical tests. http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/stories/2010/07/30/2969206.htm

George Pike

30/07/2010"Germany and China - Moving Ahead Together" is under the joint patronage of the Federal President of Germany Horst Koehler and the Chinese President Hu Jintao. In 2006, the program was launched by the Federal Chancellor of Germany Dr. Angela Merkel and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Looks like the PM might have followed the lead from the Chinese and Germans with the election slogan hey! Nearly anyway... http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/7086333.html

jj

30/07/2010Wow this is the most extreme, dumb, idiotic blog i have ever seen. "Why is a good government down in the polls?" "In support of Julia Gillard’s Citizens' Assembly on Climate" "Destructive politics - Abbott style" What absolute garbage! You guys will support this party whether they are hopeless, incompetent, rash or/and totally absurd! Is this mob running for re-election even the Labor Party any more? They support off shore processing for refugees. They support doing deals with the mining industry and get the amount of income earned through the tax slashed. They support a smaller Australia without saying what this is. Far out what is up with you guys! You claim anyone that asks tough questions of the PM is a Liberal supporter. You claim that the axed pm, Kevon Rudd was a fantastic, competent pm. You claim that anything written by the Australian in biased. You claim that Abbott is an extremist and Robb is as "Boring as a dishwasher" You support the idea of a citizens assembly. You claim that this government has been a successful one e.t.c. This government has been an absolute failure. No leadership, no action, just spin, symbolism and waste. Let us just run through some of the failures: -nothing on climate change. -nothing on whaling. -wasted money on school halls -wasted money on pink bats -wasted money on green loans scheme -wasted money on grocery watch -wasted money on fuel watch -nothing substantial on health -a $20billion surplus turned into $20billion deficit -$90billion of debt -an NBN scheme without any business plan -no improvements in closing the gap. -only 2 of 138 recommendations taken up from the Henry Review. -a pm gets sacked because of his poor opinion polling. -treating the Australian public like idiots with their continuous spinning of the same lines. -wasted money on our bid to get on the security council -wasted money on our bid to get the world cup -e.t.c. But dont worry you keep defending and voting for this bunch and there will be more to add to this list. -

George Pike

30/07/2010We've only got to say two words to blow the conservatives out of the water: Tony Abbott What a fetid pile of human detrius...a true madman who is being swept to power by a ruthless pack of corporate thugs who have the morals and ethics of the average sewer rat.

George Pike

30/07/2010Don't worry fellow swords...these guys aren't really as smart as they look...it actually takes ten of them ten days to write these things, and they cut and paste most of it from News Ltd gutter rags, then copy it into every progressive blog they can find....nauseating little chasps, are they not!

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi George I thought we may have to call 000, seems like one of our commenters is suffering a severe billious attack,

George Pike

30/07/2010Better make it quick, if TAbbot gets in their won't be any hospitals to take him to!

janice

30/07/2010jj, Mind the door doesn't slam your bum on the way out.

Acerbic Conehead

30/07/2010AA, thank you again for your encouragement. Yes, I believe we don’t do enough listening. As my mum used to say when us kids were creating a racket, “you’ve got only one mouth but two ears – so do a lot more listening!” And, on another note, it was sad to hear about Kevin Rudd’s impending surgery. Maybe when the surgeons remove the offending gall bladder, they will give it back to him, topped-up with tomato ketchup, and he can use it as a back-up to his trusty sauce bottle. But, seriously, I’m sure we all wish Kevin a speedy recovery and hope he will feel strong enough before the end of the election campaign to get back out again on the hustings. And NormanK, thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the alternative version of Simple Simon Says. Hopefully, you were able to do the motions in private or in the company of consenting adults. Otherwise, you might end up getting collared by the feds, lol. Keep up the great work – you are a tremendous asset to AA’s blog. Have a great weekend everyone.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010jj Welcome to [i]TPS[/i]. Do return. But when you, do try a little logic, use a few facts, and don’t just regurgitate the vitriol that the Coalition is so adept at spewing over us again and again. You obviously have a list of Labor misdemeanors that you will trot out whenever the occasion arises. Did you notice that the Labor Government saved this country from recession, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, kept unemployment around 5% while other countries had double that figure, insulated a million homes, built a massive number of school facilities and in the process create or saved jobs and kept local economies going, in the process of building an NBN that will revolutionize medicine, business and education, a build that the Coalition will scrap and commit us to the last century communications? If you want to live in a past age, by all means support the Coalition, but if you want the country to advance and prosper, that would not be a good choice. Your tirade is one we seldom see here, but it serves to remind us what attitudes still exist out there in what we had hoped was a forward-thinking country. Do come back but treat the intelligent people who blog her with respect, and spare us your bile. There’s enough of that in the MSM.

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi Acerbic Conehead Your pieces on "The Political Sword" are thoroughly enjoyed by one & all. You are a tremendous asset to AA’s blog, as well you know Acerbic Conehead.

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi Ad Our friends over at Cafe Whispers are having a lovely Friday chat: Friday Siesta at the Cafe, Nasking, Cafe Whispers Apparently PM Julia Gillard has earlobes…and Liberal leader & avid cyclist Tony Abbott has a fondness for pretending he’s a corporate billboard. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/friday-siesta-at-the-cafe-8/ Our friends at Gutter Trash and Labor View from Bayside, aren't we lucky to have so many friends. Weekend Gab Fest with our Special Guest Laurie Oakes, Reb, Gutter Trash “Look, I’m a very experienced journalist. I work for Channel Nine, the same channel that brings Australians the type of quality journalism that you’ll find in A Current Affair and Sixty Minutes http://guttertrash.wordpress.com:80/2010/07/30/weekend-gab-fest-with-our-special-guest-laurie-oakes/ Iron Ladies Quiz Tony Abbott's Budgie, Kevin Rennie, Labor View from Bayside Thanks to Larvatus Prodeo for alerting us to this election video, Tony Abbott Iron Ladies + Budgie http://laborview.blogspot.com/2010/07/iron-ladies-quiz-tony-abbotts-budgie.html

janice

30/07/2010Ascerbic, [quote]“you’ve got only one mouth but two ears – so do a lot more listening!” [/quote] My dear old Mum used to say "If you had less of what the cat licks its bum with, you would be able to give your ears a chance." Love your writings.

Jason

30/07/2010AA, According to Adelaide ABC radio "Cheryl Kernot" is saying that both Rudd and Swan would frequently leak to Lorrie Oakes. Why news rooms even go on with this I don't know but it should be put in the bin of woman scorned as Oakes revealed her affair with Garreth Evans.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010Lyn Kevin Rudd has had gall bladder trouble reported in the past. Whether or not it has flared up now in the midst of an election campaign because of stress is debatable. But we never underestimate the deleterious effect of stress on health. While one can't be certain about these things, I would be surprised if the stress under which Kevin has been operating these last few weeks has not had an effect on his health. I hope that this episode will get the vicious press pack off his back and Julia's too.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010Nasking Thank you for your link to {i]TPS[/i] from [i]Cafe Whispers[/i], and for your kind remarks. Your comments under [i]Friday Siesta at the Cafe[/i] are spot on: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/friday-siesta-at-the-cafe-8/

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010Jason I doubt if people will give much credence to what Cheryl has to say. Anyway, with Kevin Rudd in hospital, I hope the malignant media will give all their vitriol a spell.

Jason

30/07/2010AA, I agree but now that she is running for the senate again who knows what else she could come up with!

macca

30/07/2010TPS must be cutting through somewhere if the likes of JJ are venting their moronic spleen....AA can spleens be moronic, or is their owners?

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi Ad Tell me what you make of this column by Mr Oakes, seems to me, he is out to get Julia Gillard. Plenty of long awaited praise for Kevin Rudd, funny he never had any before. PM must stress economic health Laurie Oakes From: Herald Sun July 31, 2010 12:00AM The election is focused on other things. Cabinet leaks apparently calculated to damage the Prime Minister. Gillard's earlobes and marital status and lack of religion. Gangs and knife crime. WorkChoices. The most glaring was making the [b]ridiculous citizens' assembly idea the centrepiece of the climate change policy.[/b] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/pm-must-stress-economic-health/story-e6frfhqf-1225899204983

NormanK

30/07/2010macca On behalf of spleens everywhere, I have to protest your remarks. Like Conservative supporters, we spleens serve very little purpose and won't be greatly missed if removed from the system but we do have a right to exist. From where would humans be said to vent if not from the spleen? jj was venting his bowel? No! I don't think so. Venting his heart? Didn't sound like it. Liver? Mmm. Brain? Absolutely not - nothing to spare there. Until such time as a better expression can be coined, we spleens (moronic or otherwise) demand to be given the respect we deserve. Incidentally, spleens are much more contented once they've been vented.

RN

30/07/2010Hi Ad astra, at last a commonsense perspective delivering the facts on the Government's climate change approach. People (the MSM) sure do have short memories or live in a parallel universe. It is so refreshing to read blogs such as TPS and so depressing to read anything delivered by the MSM who seem hell bent on making it up as they go along. When I first read about the citizen's assembly I considered it to be a grand idea due to the opposition's and media's relentless attacks on any policy the Government put forward. I am a great fan of forums as they get results - at least in my line work they do (healthcare). Educating a representative group on climate change - can't get much better than that. I must tell you that I am a patron of Cafewhispers but I'm often so busy with life that I have little time to stop in for a chat. And now, with the quality of the contributions here at TPS I will be hooked to at least lurk from time to time if I don't comment. Please keep up this very excellent work!

macca

30/07/2010Normank, Love it...LOL

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi NormanK I love what you write, you are hilarious. My heart has no respect for the spleens, perhaps my gizzard could kill them all off.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010Lyn Laurie Oakes seems to be losing it. After extolling the virtues of the Government’s economic record and how well it got us through the GFC, he says: “[i]At the moment, Labor's campaign is in a trough. Things keep going wrong. No strong message is getting through. There is growing pessimism in the ranks. The ghost of Kevin Rudd hovers over everything. If she is to win this election, Gillard needs somehow to get voters to pay attention to the economy. She must start telling what is, for the Government, a very good story.”[/i] Yet HE has been the one that has distracted Julia from her campaign task. It’s almost as if Oakes is attributing Julia’s problems to herself while he is throwing bombs into her campaign almost daily. If he is serious, one has to question his reasoning process, if he’s not, he's being typical game-playing Oakes. Neither are attractive.

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi RN Thankyou so much for your compliment and comment on "The Political Sword", we wish you would keep coming back. [quote](People (the MSM) sure do have short memories or live in a parallel universe)[/quote] Read Laurie Oakes column for tomorrow's paper (above) he has, forgotten that he, himself, has caused what he, is complaining about. We are patron's of Cafe Whispers too, and thoroughly enjoy their conversations, also invites for nice glasses of posh reds sometimes. I have to ask who your Gravatar is?, I really would not like her for my nurse, she would give me a pain in the gizzard.

NormanK

30/07/2010Lyn Your blood's worth bottling. That Laurie Oakes' story is a breath of fresh air. Even if it is some kind of set-up, he must have a very high profile at present and this article can only do good in the short term. By the way, someone your size should show respect to all things which are larger than it. RN If you can spare the time, could you give us an anecdote of this type of forum in action? It is completely outside the scope of my experience and a story would be educational. Cheers.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010macca Why the spleen is the venting organ is a mystery to me. I think it was assigned this function before the real function of the spleen was discovered. But it's the owner of the spleen that’s moronic. NormanK has got it right.

Ad astra reply

30/07/2010RN Welcome to the [i]TPS[/i] family. Do return often. Thank you for your kind comments about [i]TPS[/i]. As an RN you know how valuable forums that use group process can be. What would we do without them? But journalists seem unfamiliar with them; perhaps the cut-throat competitive atmosphere in which they work precludes group process.

RN

30/07/2010Hi Lyn, the Gravatar in question is Matron Conniving Bitch from a TV show in the 70s titled <i>Let the Blood Run Free</i>. I wouldn't like her for my nurse either. She would be a quick fix to the current hospital bed shortage problem though. I think Laurie Oakes, like most journalists have an agenda to bring MRabbott to the throne. Surely they can't all be lacking in perspicacity.

RN

30/07/2010Make that 'has an agenda'

Lyn

30/07/2010Hi Ad Here is Grog with another brilliant column again, for our enjoyment, thankyou Grog. [i]Election 2010: Day 14 (or waste and mismanagement the media) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i]Yep a member of the media was suggesting it would only be a good story for the ALP if the media decided to cover it. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2010/07/election-2010-day-14-or-waste-and.html

Miglo

30/07/2010Very often I've seen RN walk out the Cafe half sozzled, spilling her long black all over the sidewalk as she sets off into the night. ;-) If you want a laugh have a look at Kevin's video at the Cafe, Tony Abbott's Iron Ladies: http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/tony-abbotts-iron-ladies/

Acerbic Conehead

30/07/2010AA, it’s just been reported that Kev’s high-powered medical team has just arrived in his hospital room to give him the once-over before his operation. Stephen Smith has just left and there are bunches of grapes everywhere. He says the Margaret River area is now basking in a Kev-led stimpac recovery. Julia Gillard is still there, asking Kev for advice on what colour of curtains to choose for the Lodge. The medical team, surrounding Kev’s bed like a band of banshees, comprises the surgeon, Dr Barnaby Joyce; Laurie Oakes, the dietician; the staff nurse, ‘Bedpan’ Bronny Bishop; the radiologist, Dr Julie ‘Blaster’ Bishop; the anaesthetist, Dr Wilson ‘Iron Bar’ Tuckey; and the physiotherapist, Dr Phoney Abbott. Kev: Well, guys, thanks for coming in this evening to put me in the picture regarding my up-coming operation...But before we go any further, can something be done about this bloody bed – the mattress is jolly uncomfortable... Phoney: Not a problem, Kevin...consider it done...Tomorrow, I’ll arrange for a nice consignment of dodgy pink batts for you to lie on...heh...heh... [Kev doesn’t like the idea of that at all, and is just about to retort when Barnaby jumps in] Barnaby: As you know, Kevin, I’ll be your surgeon during the operation and I just want to ask you what size of an incision you’d like...You see, I’ve just had a squiz at the manual I wrote and I can’t make out if the cut is to be 3 cms or 3 metres...Any thoughts on the matter? [Kev is gob-smacked at the question and, as he trying to work out if he has fallen down a rabbit-hole or something, Julie Bishop chimes in] ‘Blaster’ Bishop: Mr Rudd, it is my great pleasure to be on your medical team, but...and I hate to contradict my esteemed colleague, Dr Joyce... there will in fact be no need for an incision...The most modern technology is available to you and it entails the use of laser-like rays that will blow the stones in your gall bladder to smithereens... Kev: Riiiiight...that sounds a lot better than having a slit from my goolies up to my left nostril and back down again... ‘Blaster’ Bishop: That’s the spirit, Kevin – you obviously know the Scores...hee...hee...But, I need to tell you the bad news as well – when I use my death-stare to obliterate your gall stones, it quite often happens that your nuts receive a fair amount of collateral damage as well...You can live with that, can’t you? [Kev is speechless. Laurie Oakes, the dietician, is the next to put his two-bob’s worth in] Laurie: Good evening, Mr Rudd...it’s my great pleasure to tell you how we are going to get you nice and ship-shape after the operation...As you know, I’m fond of revelations, so for every meal afterwards I’ll be serving you about fifty scoops of ice-cream...In no time, you’ll be looking as fit and healthy as me...ho...ho... [by this stage, Kev is looking forlornly at Julia, wishing instead she were Scotty, ready to beam him up. At this moment, ‘Bedpan’ Bronny pipes in] Bedpan: Right, Mr Rudd...let’s have no more of this shilly-shallying...it’s time for your kerosene bath now...All that medical mumbo-jumbo can wait until later... [if Kev has any doubts he’s descended into Dante’s Inferno on a one-way ticket, they are by now dispelled, when the anaesthetist, Dr Wilson ‘Iron Bar’ Tuckey, starts to make his spiel] Iron Bar: Right, Rudd – don’t be asking for any of these new-fangled anaesthetic drugs before they cut you open...Round here, there’s only one form of pain-relief, and its a good old bop across the bonce with my trusty iron bar...heh...heh... [Kev, at this point, reckons St Catherine on her wheel had a better time than what’s in store for him. He turns, panic-stricken, to Julia.] Kev: Julia...Julia...please...you’ve got to help me...these lunatics shouldn’t be let loose with a packet of band-aids, never mind a set of lethal surgical instruments...help me...please... Julia: Hmmm...There’s only one other solution I can think of, Kevin – why not engage a different team of medical experts... Kev: Wh...Who like, Julia? Julia: Why, Doctors Shorten and Arbib do a great number on gall stones... Kev: What’s their speciality, then? Julia: Oh, they just pull your gall bladder out your belly-button and crush the stones with a good whack between two half-bricks...it’s so quick, you hardly feel a thing... Kev: Erm...I’m not too sure that one’s any better, Julia...But, hang on a minute...isn’t there a nice clinic at the UN I could sign in to... Julia: Hmmm...Yes...now that you mention it, Kev, that is definitely another option...when do you want it arranged...

sawdustmick

30/07/2010For JJ Sorry Ad I just hade to put in a little bile list for our new friend JJ. Perhaps we on this site could have a little bile list for Abbott on a word file that we could trot out now and then and just stick it in one of the Murdock press bloggs. Here are some of the things that Abbott and Co would not have done No stimulus to economy = 1 million people unemployed and thousands of small and large business lost. Australia would now be in a deep recession that we would never have recovered from. No Health Plan No Education Plan No IR Plan No ETS Plan No Tax on Mining giving 10.5 billion back to multinational companies and in fact Abbott said miners are paying too much tax No plan on asylum seekers No Infrastructure plan No additional money for health No money for education No plan to save water Great big new tax on large companies to pay for his maternity leave which only applies to women. Said he will cut company tax in July 2013 by 1.5 %, which means he will increase the GST to 15% Will withdraw funding for schools projects Will cut the funding for Health Would never have increased the aged pension Retirement age would now be 70

Lynchpin

31/07/2010The Nielsen poll in SMH has Libs 52 to Labour 48. Its all over. From this moment I will no longer look at MSM. I am completely disgusted. Night all.

Rx

31/07/2010I hope Kevin Rudd is OK. Life has dealt him a hard blow these past months. He doesn't deserve all this.

Lyn

31/07/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Nielsen: 52 - 48 to Coalition, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] a bombshell Nielsen poll which puts the Coalition at an election-winning 52-48 lead, from primary votes of 45 per cent for the Coalition, 36 per cent for Labor and 12 per cent for the Greens. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ Nielsen poll shows Labor in Latham territory, Mark Bahnisch, The Drum Electors need to hear, much more sharply, just why electing a Gillard government is important, what it stands for, http://blogs.abc.net.au/drumroll/2010/07/nielsen-poll-shows-labor-in-latham-territory.html [i]Day 15: Candidates announced, Ben Raue, The Tally Room[/i] There has been a marked reduction in the numbers of candidates standing. The AEC reports that only 849 candidates have nominated for the House of Representatives, down from 1054 in 2007 http://www.tallyroom.com.au/6204#more-6204 [i]How Labor Made Abbott electable, The Piping Shrike.[/i] how Abbott was regarded as a serious threat was revealed in Hartcher’s discussion around the nerves that was over-taking Labor in the run up to Rudd’s dumping. http://www.pipingshrike.com/2010/07/how-labor-made-abbott-electable.html [i]Election 2010: Day 14 (or waste and mismanagement the media) Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] Yep a member of the media was suggesting it would only be a good story for the ALP if the media decided to cover it. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2010/07/election-2010-day-14-or-waste-and.html [i]Victorian federal redistribution proposal, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Antony Green notes Sharman Stone’s seat of Murray is abolished – perhaps setting up a Liberal-versus-Nationals contest involving Stone at the next election in the seat of Mallee http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]A Lazy Possums Catch Up and Open Thread, Possum Comitatus, Polllytics[/i] Laura Tingle has a marvelous little piece on the politics and hackery that accompanied the resources tax circus particularly, but policy reporting and analysis generally. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/ That was the week that was: week 2, Eltham, Bahnisch, Dunlop, Farnsworth, The Drum The only thing that didn't shrink was the amount of space given to Mark Latham to vent spleen. http://blogs.abc.net.au/drumroll/2010/07/that-was-the-week-that-was-week-2.html#more [i]The good buarghers of Griffith, Andrew Bartlett, The Stump[/i] I find the media focus on who is leaking what and why gets very tiresome very quickly. That’s not to say that voters aren’t interested at all in such things, but it does run a poor second to those issues that directly affect people’s lives http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/ [i]Aren’t the media bored of it yet? (Because we are., Jeremy Sear, Onymous Lefty[/i]it’s an INSULT to the majority of Australians who are much more interested in what the two big parties* have to offer them and the country. http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/arent-the-media-bored-of-it-yet/ [i]The awfulness of ABC Online's cross-promotion, Robert Maerke, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] Maybe he spent a lot of time analyzing the rollout. Maybe he’s speaking off the cuff. How would we know from the incredibly brief quotes here? http://larvatusprodeo.ozblogistan.com.au/2010/07/30/the-awfulness-of-abc-onlines-cross-promotion/#more-14528 [i]Tom Switzer’s murky position on climate change, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] It’s interesting as well that Switzer seems to think there is one strict boundary where adaptation doesn’t apply — and that is where we put a price on carbon. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2010/07/30/tom-switzers-murky-position-on-climate-change/#more-6713 [i]A bit of economic competence would be nice ,PAUL BARRATT , Australian Observer.[/i]If he were not so bored by economics Tony Abbott could also make the point about the resource rent tax that there is no basis in economic theory for differing rates of company tax, http://aussieobserver.blogspot.com/2010/07/bit-of-economic-competence-would-be.html [i]Abbott's plans don't stack up as power prices set to rise, Big Gav, Peak Enegry[/i] so much for the party of the free market ("no carbon price") - Abbott's plans don't stack up as prices set to rise . http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2010/07/abbotts-plans-dont-stack-up-as-power.html [i]We're getting less Australian! Abbott and Gillard make the point., Peter martin[/i]Whichever candidate takes office after the poll will be the first foreign-born Australian elected Prime Minister since at least John Gorton, http://petermartin.blogspot.com/ [i]Election Diary, Day 14: I didn't realise elections were supposed to entertain Journalists, Alex White[/i] Of course it will be news to most people that elections are primarily for the entertainment of the Canberra Press Gallery. http://alexwhite.org/2010/07/election-diary-day-14-i-didnt-realise-elections-were-supposed-to-entertain-journalists

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad A Get well card delivered express mail to Kevin Rudd, Dear Kevin, All at the Australian are sad to hear of your operation, & severe pain. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Kind regards from "The Australian" [i]Once Again, the campaign's all about Rudd,Sid Maher and Patricia Karvelas, The Australian[/i] [b]KEVIN Rudd has again dramatically overshadowed Julia Gillard's election campaign, revealing yesterday afternoon that he was in hospital for a gall-bladder operation [/b] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/people-in-politics/once-again-the-campaigns-all-about-rudd/story-fn61yti2-1225899270038

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31/07/2010[b]BEST WISHES TO KEVIN RUDD FOR A COMPLETE AND RAPID RECOVERY.[/b] LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx

Paul of Berwick

31/07/2010And these leaks - can anyone remember Godwin Grech? Along the same lines - is there anyone within any federal public service national security organisations that may feel threatened by upcoming Labor decisions?

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010It just goes to show that you cannot be a nice government. It appears that the source of the leaks about the NSC meetings was, if I have connected my dots together correctly, a member of the Liberal Party and former bodyguard to Alexander Downer, whom Ms Gillard took onto her staff after the change of government, and who was the one who supposedly deputised for her in NSC meetings, but which fact cannot be confirmed or denied by Ms Gillard because it would cause her to commit a cardinal sin of Westminster democracy and talk about what actually went on in Cabinet. Thus she has been snookered by another Godwin Grech, someone almost imperceptible to the naked eye of a Labor government member, a worm in the wood, who has been working away since the ALP has been in government to gain the confidence of the Deputy PM in order to undermine her. How despicable can you get? And emblematic of exactly the sort of government you will get if the Coalition come back to power. Note how the media focus is not on the sleazy behaviour of the leaker, but on the 'optics' of a Deputy PM not going to NSC meetings. I also note that there appears to be 2 parallel tracks of leaking. Those aligned to the NSC meetings, which involved Rudd not attending and Gillard not attending, which I put down to a sinisterly-orchestrated campaign of destabilisation straight out of the Liberal Party HQ and their moles in the Public Service and Defence and Security establishment, allied with their scribes in the media; and the internecine war track that involves Kevin Rudd and his supporters(tho for the life of me I can't think who they are), pitted against Julia Gillard and her supporters, and whose leaks are about leadership transition deals and the like. Suffice to say, it's all very slimy, dirty, messy and sad. Just to give you an insight into how well-co-ordinated it is though, I advise you all to read this article by Laura Tingle in the Walkley magazine about the RSPT war that was waged by the Miners: http://www.walkleys.com/features/788/ * Read it and weep about how our democracy is being traduced.

George Pike

31/07/2010Good to see that rabbit Peter Hartcher changing political preferences with the wind as usual. What a total jerk that guy truly is! His entire argument can be booted to the bottom of the garden along with all his other worthless renditions by taking one line from his excercise in pointless jounalistic bastardry in todays SMH..."Gillard has been listened to for 32 days now..."...Hard to believe that anyone could make such a statement, when it is the Murdoch media and jerks like Hartcher who have been listened to for 32 days now....not Gillard...she can barely get a word in edgeways for all the propaganda being flung around this country like fertiliser over a paddock. It is Murdoch and his evil little goblins, along with the gutter rats at Nine, Seven, ABC, SBS and the odd scribbler from Fairfax, who are muddying the waters so badly that the government cannot be seen through the murk. We should be glad that Rupert Murdoch is imposing the government of his choice upon us though hey. His puppet Liberal fascist government will ensure that all women are kept barefoot and pregnant and chained to the sink, he will bring in national service to get the dole bludgers off the streets and into uniform to fight the good fight in Afghanistan...and those that aren't up to that task will be shot off the coal mines or iron ore pits to help out his corporate mates. Then we'll have wages frozen right up until the cusp of the 2013 election, and absolutely nothing done on climate change until then either, and all those horrid little wage earners will be forced to work whenever their bosses want them to, without the disgusting penalty rates applying or anything nasty like unfair dismissal laws hanging over their heads. Then we can have Telsra resume its influence over telecommunications, keeping us with 1990s technology at 2020 prices...and the foreign and local mining magnates alike will be able to keep screwing us for all we are worth as well...and the kiddies who have a school to go to will be able to use their nice new abacusses to do their computing...no doubt about it, this country under Murdoch's puppets will just great hey!

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010George Pike, You know that Clipper you are using in your avatar, well it looks just like the one my greatgrandfather used to captain as he sailed it from Esperance to Pyrmont, and Esperance to Fremantle, full of wheat, back in the early days of last century and before. :)

George Pike

31/07/2010Hi HS, that's the Cutty Sark in Sydney preparing to take on a load of wool for England. Go to the site below, type shipping into the search bar, and you will get a few thousand pics of early shipping, your greatgrandfathers ship may be there somewhere. http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?mode=Basic&vid=MAIN&tab=pictures Here are some other sites to do with shipping if people are interested...mainly picture sites. I've downloaded over 6,000 pics from these sites, galleries and from google earth panoramio and have them all on my screensaver...people sit here and just watch it for hours...fabulous place our planet they! These sites are all user friendly and are not commercial. http://www.mightyseas.co.uk/ http://www.maritimequest.com/photo_gallery.htm http://www.photoship.co.uk/Search%20Links%20Ship/ http://www.shipphotos.co.uk/gallery/cargoships5.htm http://www.merchantships.info/index-6.html http://www.panoramio.com/map/ http://koti.welho.com/rhurmal1/linnat2004/caspic01.html

janice

31/07/2010Hillbilly [quote] It appears that the source of the leaks about the NSC meetings was, if I have connected my dots together correctly, a member of the Liberal Party and former bodyguard to Alexander Downer, whom Ms Gillard took onto her staff after the change of government, and who was the one who supposedly deputised for her in NSC meetings, but which fact cannot be confirmed or denied by Ms Gillard because it would cause her to commit a cardinal sin of Westminster democracy and talk about what actually went on in Cabinet. [/quote] And people wondered why each incoming Government had a 'night of the long knives' to get rid of such people. It has been making me angry to read all the speculation going on over in Poll Bludger with Labor supporters taking the MSN line and blaming Rudd and Tanner for these leaks. They appear to have forgotten Godwin Grech and don't appear to have given enough thought to the fact that those working for the PM or even a Minister, have access to information and often overhear conversations or are able to embellish gossip. LYN, I hope Rudd knows what to do with the Get Well Card sent to him by the Australian - not worth any more than bum fodder IMO.

George Pike

31/07/2010http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/abbott-will-cut-services-emerson-20100731-1108n.html The facts are beginning to emerge! Holes are appearing in the Liberal policies that will ultimately sink their campaign. I would not put it past Labor to pull a few more tricks out of the box yet either!

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad Nasking speaks the truth: [i]So Abbot’s Won, Labor’s Dead, Howard Era Was Great, Nasking,Cafe Whispers[/i] one of the most manipulative & perception manufacturing campaigns by some ruthless media outlets & complicit talking heads I have ever witnessed. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/so-abbots-won-labors-dead-howard-era-was-great/ [i]Coalition in Election Winning Position!, Reb, Gutter Trash[/i] On a positive note for the government, 69 per cent believe it will win the election while only 21 per cent back the Coalition. http://guttertrash.wordpress.com:80/2010/07/31/coalition-in-election-winning-position/

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad I just had to post these excerpts from Alan Ramsay's piece again, just in case anyone has forgotten what the Coalition Government was. [quote]Howard's cronies should join him in the wilderness Alan Ramsey November 26, 2007 As for this last election, the one that kills Howard off politically, along with the [b]nastiest, meanest, most miserable, self-absorbed Commonwealth government to blight Australia in living memory[/b], Rudd out-campaigned him, with discipline and immense energy, like Howard has never previously been thrashed in his 33 years in political life. [b]Howard and his strategists pulled on every ugly negative they could come up with[/b], not just in these past six weeks but over the past year, it was a delight to see him flounder so badly and fail so completely. All that remains to sweep him out of sight is to [b]get rid of the more obscene remnants of his governance in the months ahead[/b].[/quote]

Valerie

31/07/2010 Hi all, Here's reminder of what we can expect on 21 August if the MSM is to claim they have done their job. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVt4-BLFBJU&NR=1 NormanK, love your work

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad Poor Kevin Rudd,, On Kevin Rudd and gallbladder operations, Mark Bahnisch, Larvatus Prodeo if his doctors are recommending a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, his condition is probably fairly serious. I can testify to the fact that gall stone pain is intense, http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/07/30/on-kevin-rudd-and-gallbladder-operations/

nasking

31/07/2010Thnx for linking my post Lyn: So Abbot’s Won, Labor’s Dead, Howard Era Was Great http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/so-abbots-won-labors-dead-howard-era-was-great/ The title is purely sarcastic...a go at our pathetic media. And for the doubters...for gawd’s sake stop bellyaching about the change of leadership. I was pissed too initially but I’ve moved on. And I'm fired up. I have no intention of sitting back & letting the crusading, religiously fanatical, recently "softly spoken scumbag w/ fake sincerity", can't be trusted "gospel truth" Abbott win this election because the media are willing to give him a FREE RIDE. And DISTORT Labor achievements. I say to Laborites: Go after Abbott’s weaknesses…there are plenty of them. Promote stimulus positives, as others recommend across the blogosphere. Remind people of Howard government crap & waste & war & community dividing (why they voted them out in the first place…remind them Abbott was one of the inner-circle…part of the OLD GUARD). Go to the bloody schools that are happy w/ the BER & computers in schools program. Advertise/promote the positives courageously. Take the fight to the Coalition. No more pussyfooting around. Get FEISTY…FIRED UP. And dominate media coverage. I heard all the same negabore, negative BS during the QLD election…then Anna Bligh got out there full-bore…got fired up. I predicted we’d get a late Green/Labor surge…and we did. There will be no WAKE. Just a VICTORY. Believe it. Confidence. Clear-minded, absolute confidence. No more doubts. Go for it! N’

nasking

31/07/2010Lyn, thnx for puttin' up Alan Ramsay's piece...wonderful. The people need reminding. N'

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31/07/2010Lyn Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, like almost any operation, can result in complications, as Mark Bahnisch testifies. But mostly it is straightforward and recovery is rapid. My guess is that his surgeon will keep him in hospital until early next week and advise him to take off all next week. If all goes well he will probably be fit to resume campaigning the week after. After all he has suffered emotionally, even up until the present time, it would be wise to give his body ample time to recover before getting back into seething cauldron of hate and conflict that is modern day politics.

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31/07/2010Paul, HillbillySkeleton, janice I was thinking just the same thing – that the ‘leaker’ is not a Labor parliamentarian but a public servant who is privy to the internal workings of Cabinet and NSC meetings – a latter day ‘Grech’. It seems to me highly improbably that a Labor politician would act in a way that had the effect of bringing the Labor party down. What would be the point even if vengeance were the motive? In support of your belief HS that the leaker may be a left-over from the Howard era and probably should have been cleaned out after the change of Government, lest damage be done, I read in [i]The Age[/i]today this quote from Niccolo Machiavelli “[i]Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them, they take vengeance, but if you injury them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that an injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared”[/i]. I guess this is why John Howard had a night of the long knives and cleaned out a host of public servants when he came to power. Kevin Rudd did not. So we had Grech and now probably another of his kind.

NormanK

31/07/2010Well, I was going to sit down this morning and draft a little cheer-myself-up post based on Laurie Oakes' article pointing to Labor's economic credentials when blow me down we've got another leak and a bad poll. Regular readers will know that I have a very low opinion of polls (even exit polls at booths on the day have been known to be wrong) but it must be conceded that they do provide ammunition for the Opposition and the dreaded MSM. Not a good start to the day. However, there may be a positive to come from this or these polls. Jonathon Holmes had some sound advice in one of his recent items on the Drum. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/15/2954330.htm Advice which could be fairly said to be aimed at we here at TPS. To paraphrase and interpret - not all anti-government stories on the ABC can be categorised as biased and should not be added in to some conspiracy theory about bringing down the government. In my experience, Holmes is a good commentator so I've given his advice a spin. Much of what we've seen in the MSM in recent months, whilst it can be described as anti-government // anti-Prime Minister, it need not be seen as pro-Liberal. (The Murdoch Press is excluded completely from this hypothesis. Dead, buried, cremated, dug up and put in an old fishing boat, sent out to sea and sunk by our border patrollers, swallowed by a whale, taken to Antarctica and excreted beneath an ice-sheet.) There seems to be a game being played by senior journalists and young wannabes. It has been described here in part as "gotcha" and elsewhere as "bomb-throwing". Points are given for the nature of the hit and the stature of the target. Oakes got ten out of ten for the Press Club salvo - good shot & high profile target. Uhlmann got two out of ten for trying the same thing during the debate with the "how many strikes before a PM is out?" question - he missed his target badly and his pout after the debate reflected this. Sometimes, the question asked has become more important than the answer given and how this can be seen as good journalism is beyond me. A Current Affair comes to Canberra. So if you want a high score, you must have a telling scoop or a great question; it must be delivered for maximum effect; you target must be "hard" or high profile. The most popular PM in recent decades qualifies well in this regard. With this in mind, Tony couldn't-possibly-win-the-election Abbott and his cronies are soft targets who are, as we've noted here. providing ample ammunition with which to be attacked. Not many points to be had by kicking the underdog though. As a case in point, Oakes is a cat playing with a half-dead mouse : "It was typical Abbott - wrong, but delivered with such absolute confidence that he got away with it." www.heraldsun.com.au/.../story-e6frfhqf-1225899204983 The arrogant implication from Oakes is that he could take Abbott apart piece by piece should he choose to do so. There was also an example on Insiders on the 13th June where the three commentators - busy bashing Rudd - stepped around discussion of the Opposition as if they were dog poo on the footpath. For as long as the outcome of the election seemed to be predictable (despite the hype of conflict) the Opposition were low-scoring targets. The latest polls have changed all that. Now that Abbott has a sniff of a chance of being PM, he is worth more points and he should be acutely aware of every utterance he has made in recent weeks because they are all there on tape waiting to be revivified. Add to this the fact that serious journalists and commentators are now obliged to examine him and his policies more closely and we may see interesting times ahead. At least, I'd like to think so. Hi Valerie A belated welcome to TPS.

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31/07/2010sawdustmick That is a good idea. I’ve used your list as a starting point and have added an ABBOTT’S LEGACY under ‘site pages’. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/ABBOTTS-LEGACY.aspx Visitors, please let me have an items you wish to be added.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010Nasking, I think you'll be interested in my next blog. It ticks a couple of the boxes you suggested. I heard some 'expert media commentator' say the other day, that this election has an undercurrent, where data is showing that people are getting their election information from the 5th Estate more in this election than ever before. Now, I know that is off a v.low base at the last election, but it at least shows that there are some watchers, watching the detectives, being us, out there in the blogosphere. So, I'll keep on plugging away. Even if I only change one vote, it may be the 50%+1 vote that swings it the other way. And then it would have all been worth it. :)

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010Hello Valerie, Thank you for making the time in your day to come and read what we have to say here at TPS. :)

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad Ad this is very nice of Alex White to feature "The Political Sword", Thankyou Alex. The Climate Change Citizens Assembly, AlexWhite [b]Ad Astra over at The Political Sword has a very interesting post about Julia Gillard’s citizens assembly policy. It’s a long post and it is all worth reading. I’ll excerpt a fairly large part below:[/b] http://alexwhite.org/2010/07/the-climate-change-citizens-assembly/

nasking

31/07/2010Hillbilly Skeleton, good stuff. I'll be looking out for it...and linking it wherever I can. Cheers N'

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010N, 'One for all, and all for one'. :)

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010Not that it will make a hill o' beanz difference to the election outcome. But hey, I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

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31/07/2010Lynchpin The Nielsen poll is disappointing and does reflect a downward trend for Labor as reflected in Possum’s graphs http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/07/31/nielsen-thump/ but it’s just one poll and this week we had [i]Morgan and Essential[/i] Polls that were positive. Don’t be surprised if next week’s [i]Newspoll[/i] is poor for Labor – the headline in [i]The Oz[/i] today was about Julia Gillard sending her ’bodyguard’ to NSC meetings, placed there at that time because [i]Newspoll[/i] is in the field this weekend. This is what they do. But recall the recent SA election where Mike Rann’s Labor was down with the same figures at the time his personal relationships were all over the media, yet he won comfortably with loss of just a few seats, and we’ve heard almost nothing about Ms Redman and the Coalition since then. There’s plenty of time for the polls to revert to what they were, especially when Labor’s positive policies are publicized and the Coalition’s policy are put under the Treasury blowtorch. You’re probably wise not looking at the malignant MSM that seems hell bent of dragging the Government down to defeat, but don’t lose heart yet.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010Has anyone else noticed how Abbott's Travel Rorts story has been studiously ignored by the MSM? Of course, it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that if Julia Gillard had been caught doing the same thing, there is no doubt she would have been crucified for days as a result of it. One standard for 'Fair Dinkum' Tony Abbott; and another for his opponent.

nasking

31/07/2010'One for all, and all for one'. Indeed HS. Well said. :) N'

Valerie

31/07/2010 Lyn, Ad, Hillbilly Skeleton and NormanK, TPS is a new find for me but well worth the discovery. Enjoying the diverse but same opinions on our favourite 'RAbbott'. Hillbilly Skeleton full marks for your Gravatar.

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31/07/2010Lyn Thank you for finding the Alex White blog and his reference to the current [i]TPS[/i] piece. Than you Alex for your reference and linking to [i]TPS[/i]. http://alexwhite.org/2010/07/the-climate-change-citizens-assembly/

jj

31/07/2010Just listen to you all! Abbott is going to take Australia back! Gillard is moving forward! Gillard saved us from a recession! Abbott is a right wing villain! Just look at your PM. She couldnt give a stuff about those serving overseas for our country; sending a staff member in her place to National Security meetings; justifying her actions by saying that because he is an ex member of the police force he understands security matters! On asylum seekers we have a PM that rung the wrong man when inquiring whether we could build a new off-shore processing center. The parliament in East Timor then rejects the idea and Gillard claims that they have made big steps forward! Oh and by the way i suppose you folk believe that off shore processing is ok now that Gillard is in favour of it! On the mining tax, Gillard just stitched up a deal with the biggest miners in the country, and then tried to fool us all into thinking that the deal had only cost $1.5 billion, when it really cost $7 billion. I wonder when Kevin and Julia were going to tell the public that they were lying when they said that the tax would raise $12 billion when they new it was really going to raise in excess of $20 billion! Climate change! Huh, what a fiasco! "Delay is denial", "We must move ahead of the world", "The longer we wait for action the more costly it is going to be". Oh i suppose you forgot about these comments, and by looking back i am pretty sure you supported those comments. But it is ok now! It was all the evil Liberal Party's fault! The Labor Government couldnt have gone to a DD election, it was just the Liberals fault. Now what have we got? Cash for clunkers! A citizens Assembly! A promise to stop coal fired power stations from polluting so much, by using technologies that don't even exist yet! Come on surely you would be a little bit mad about all of this crap? Or maybe not. Maybe you people are just sooo one eyed, you would let all of the above fly. God, you would probably even vote for the NSW Labor party because you are so subjective. Now i am not saying that i am a fan of Abbott. Nor am i saying i am a fan of the party or some of their policies; but for crying out loud, why cant you guys give the winging and wining a bit of a break! You do realise that your party, the Labor party can make mistake. And you do realise that you can accept that it was the party, and hell maybe even the PM that made them; no not the media, not the opposition, not The Australian; The PM! So lets just recap: Asylum seekers- Gillard moves to the right. Climate change- Gillard moves to the right. Aboriginal intervention- Gillard moves to the right. Doing deals with those evil miners- Gillard moves to the right. Debt and deficit- Gillard moves to the right. Fiscal prudency- Gillard moves to the right. Crime laws- Gillard moves to the right. COME ON PEOPLE. WAKE UP AND REALISE THAT SHE IS MORE LIKE TONY ABBOTT THAN YOUR IDOL, WHITLAM; AND HEY, MAYBE IF YOU SEND THEM A MESSAGE ON ELECTION DAY, THEY MAY REALISE THAT THEY HAD MOVED TO FAR TO THE RIGHT! Be a bit objective for once, and accept that your party isn't as pure and clean as you make it out to be! They do make mistakes, they do, do backflips; just accept it!

jj

31/07/2010"It seems to me highly improbably that a Labor politician would act in a way that had the effect of bringing the Labor party down. What would be the point even if vengeance were the motive?". Oh my god! You are sooooo one eyed that you believe that this couldnt have been the Labor Party! What is your problem? Dont you think that there are people inside the party i.e. KEVIN07, that might be a little angry about what was done! Why should Kevin care if Julia is elected? He is going to get a good posting somewhere in New York anyway!

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010This is a very salient post from Poll Bludger: * 'Mick Wilkinson Posted Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 10:00 am | Permalink OK.. I compiled this before reading the new poll. I have spent a dozen hours on this, looking at the betting market and marginals polls, then put through Antony Green’s calculator to calculate swings needed to achieve the seats the betting market are heading towards: A summary of where the money is: *caveats/assumptions: a) Dead heat 50/50 calls on markets arbitrarily given to incumbents ingnoring notionality after recent re-distribution b) Factors in a possible Greens win in Melbourne, assumed to fall to the ALP if hung c) Sitting independents to retain and fall to Lib/Nat/LNP if hung NSW: Market/Polls Predicts 4 seats to Coalition: a statewide swing of 1.5% would deliver VIC: Market/Polls Predicts 2 seats lost to ALP: Corangamite to Coalition, Melbourne to Green: 1.5% swing would deliver WA: 2 seats likely to fall to Coalition, Hasluck & Swan, equates to 1% Coalition swing, QLD: 7 seats likely (net) to Coalition, including new seat of Wright (Notionally LNP): equates to 3.4% swing NT: Solomon is knife edge, but Griggs (CLP) firming, 1 seat net to coalition: equates to 0.2% swing to Coalition SA, TAS, ACT all point to Labor strength but, some would say perversely not enough to tip seats with current median swings to Labor around 1%, 3.5% and 5% respectively. The SA factor may be Julia Gillard as the ‘home favourite’ as Rudd/Swan were seen to be in QLD 2007. This gives an overall national swing of only 1.4% to deliver the parliament (just) to the coalition, providing Independents (but not Green) seats support a Coalition government, allowing, of course, a speaker. This finding surprised me. I would have thought that the number of seats required (more than the swing required.. always a limited predictor) would have been too much. Though it reflects the very marginal state that over fifteen electorates in outer suburban seats/coastal regionals exist in. This, along with the Neilsen Poll, (which may well be rogue-ish) would not come as good news for the ALP.' * If I knew how to do an exerpted link from one PB post, I would, but I don't. :)

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010This one is also apt: * evan14 Posted Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 9:50 am | Permalink What’s hurting Gillard? 1. Her totally inept election campaign 2. That farcical citizens assembly policy announcement 3. The public perception that Rudd has been harshly treated 4. The various leaks 5. The malign influence of Bitar and Arbib 6. A hostile media 7. The lack of scrutiny of Abbott and his policies.

jj

31/07/2010Oh and by the way as far as i am concerned this is an open blog. I have my right to express my views just as you have your right to express yours... so please dont use such derogatory words such as bile, as you have no more credibility in what you say than i do!

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Paul of Berwick [quote]can anyone remember Godwin Grech?[/quote] Paul we sure do remember Utegate: Just to remind everyone: The Bowels of Despair for Turnbull, Grog, Grog's Gamut Senator ABETZ—A person, a journalist in fact, has suggested to me—That there may have been a communication from the Prime Minister’s office.— http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com:80/2009/08/bowels-of-despair-for-turnbull.html

Michael

31/07/2010The real problem with democratic government is that it is based on the idea that "the people" can do it (govern) better than a king, emperor, or any other form of dictator. The 'shining light' of modern democracy, the USA (I'm talking shared mythology here), was defined by Abraham Lincoln as government "of the people, by the people, for the people". And yet, has there ever been on Earth a leader - prince, king, emperor, dictator - with greater power to alter the entire planet than whoever is 'currently' President of the United States of America since the end of the Second World War? The individual decades-long routinely labeled "the most powerful man on Earth"? Visit through Time Athens of Ancient Greece, the source of Eurocentric democratic ideas, and you find that the people, for all that citizens were the 'government' of Athens, still elected prominent men to lead the city, and when it was under mortal threat, ceded authority to a one man dictatorship. My point is, "the people" can't get by without a focus for their ideal of leadership. We actually crave a Big Daddy to tell us what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. (Even Big Mummies have to don a cloak of Daddy-ness to be taken seriously - Thatcher wasn't The Satin Lady, was she?) Contemporary democracy offers us contesting Daddies, so we can pretend that we have a choice of who we actually want to hand over all our authority to. But, at core, we just want someone else to do it, make all the hard decisions, look after us. Conservatives at the far end of the conservative scale decry Big Daddy-ism, deny any role for decision-making apart from their own, but seem remarkably seducible by Big Daddies who feed that line back at them, then keep them in order by military adventurism and extravagant enunciations of national pride (and innate superiority to anyone else's national pride, Big Daddy, military muscle, etc., etc.). Supposed libertarians at the obverse far end of the philosophical scale also espouse a theory of free will and free action for all. But they are just as enamoured with leadership figures who embody and espouse their ideas. In this country we routinely talk about the electorate not being "engaged" in the political process until election time, and whether or not this is true, it does seem that Australians are relatively happy to cede running the country to the 'professionals'. In a sense, in an ideal democracy, this is exactly what citizens could confidently do. Government would be benignly 'invisible'. Except citizens are actively involved in other aspects of their lives which government inevitably rubs up against, and causes reaction, positive or negative. 'Invisibility' is shed, and benign-ness brought into question. Creating in the citizen a response to the actions of government which define the nature of that government to said citizen, thus shaping his or her conclusion about how to use the power they have in nudging government to be closer to their wishes - by targeting their vote. There are many citizens who will explore exactly what it is they want in a Government that inevitably influences aspects of their lives, and will almost certainly conclude that no 'real' government could meet all their requirements, but that the actions and policies of one group contending for Government are closer than any other group's to meeting our citizen's ideal model. "Best of a bad lot", or "not perfect, but who is?", the citizen will throw in his/her lot with the group he/she's settled on. Maybe not forever, but said citizen has worked out which set of arguments, beliefs, philosophies and enacted policies, best matches their own. Sound like hard work? Could be, but most people identify with shared ideas and philosophies in Government-seeking groups through years of behaviour and thinking which organically develops that identification. It's a process of recognition. Unfortunately, there's a short cut to recognition, easier to take, and far less demanding to embrace as being closest in nature to you - 'Big Daddy'. It's a heck of a lot easier just to go with someone who'll do all your political thinking for you, enunciate your prejudices and sincere beliefs for you, embody your sense of what true leadership 'really' is, and just... just let you get on with the important things in your life, for pete's-sake. Like, what’ya doin’ furthaweegend? This is why, I believe, when anyone has a set against the current government they decry “lack of leadership”. What they are saying, of course, is that “this government isn’t giving me what I want for the forests/the disabled/the mentally ill/whales/parents/grandparents…” fill in the ‘space’ for yourself. “Lack of leadership” is a whinge, basically, but the phrase has been inflated by abuse into the ultimate brand of a politician’s failure, and manifest inability to ever rise above the critical personal flaws that have shaped the ‘failure’. All the whingers never consider a country’s leader has to respond to the demands for ‘leadership’ from such a vast mob of ‘wanters’ who have dollars attached to their wants that the country would be broke in a week keeping them all happy. And then… with Australia bankrupt, guess what, it was “lack of leadership” that got us there. The simple answer, emphasis on “simple”, is Big Daddy, who will rescue us, put things to rights, make sure we don’t have to take responsibility for anything, and ensure that, in the glow of his leadership, we are second to no-one on Earth. Abbott and his supporters in the Murdoch Press have so successfully lied to the Australian people since he assumed leadership of the Coalition about what government is, and about what leadership of a nation is, that now it seems voters can actually look at Tony Abbott and see ‘prime minister’ written all over him. Big Daddy style. Big lies snare small minds. Big lies scare small hearts. Hey, what’ya doin’ thlngweegend, eh?

Ad astra reply

31/07/2010jj You seem to be angry with the views expressed here. We all see what we want and hope to see, yourself included, although it seems you would like us to believe that you are objective. Just to take one part of your comment – that it’s not [i]The Australian[/i] that is responsible for Labor’s situation. Nobody is saying it is, but if you cannot see that that newspaper has been gunning relentlessly for the Rudd and now the Gillard Government for years, something obvious to many columnists and bloggers, you are as blind to these matters as you accuse us of being to other matters. So rather than patronizing us and giving us a good schoolmasterly dressing down for being so one-eyed, so slow to wake up to the misdemeanors of the Labor Party, while exhibiting yourself the very characteristics you find so appalling in us, why not accept that most of us here on [i]TPS[/i] see things differently from you. You seem to expect us to accept without question the validity of your condemnatory remarks about the Citizen’s Assembly and the ‘cash for clunkers’ scheme, – you see us as ‘a little bit mad about all of this crap’. Well, you enjoy your views, which we acknowledge you hold strongly, and let us enjoy ours.

Valerie

31/07/2010 This just out in the Australian. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/gillard-must-reveal-security-committee-attendance-abbott/story-fn59niix-1225899390475 That piece of shite known as the Australian continues to refer to the leaks as Labor instigated.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010Michael, Exactly. The Coalition are going with the, 'If you say a big enough lie people will more than likely believe you because they don't believe that you would stand there and say such an almighty whopper, with a straight face, in the middle of an election campaign', principle. And it's working a treat. :)

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010...Oh, and by the way, the footy's on, so I am just gonna agree with Ray Hadley, instead of engaging in anything more than a superficial way with the campaign.

jj

31/07/2010Well could you at least give me the reasons why what i said was wrong, rather than just stating your opinion as being fact.

Ad astra reply

31/07/2010Michael Thank you for your erudite comments on democracy. You’re right, the ‘lack of leadership’ mantra is uttered ceaselessly by columnists without any attempt to define what they mean by the term. It’s like many other terms journalists use – they just assume we have a common understanding. Yet if we asked a hundred people what would constitute ‘leadership’ in a politician, we would expect a multiplicity of answers. And of course groupthink takes over, and every journalist within sight is using the term. Leadership is stated as the "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." or "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." Both definitions involve getting others to contribute. That is why I believe the Citizen’s Assembly has merit. Of course many look to ‘Big Daddy’, but if Big Daddy doesn’t impress them, doesn’t consult them, doesn’t match their image of what a Big Daddy should do and be, they become unhappy. Big Daddy Abbott will soon be seen as having feet of clay – you can’t deceive all the people all of the time – Truth will out.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010@ Ad Astra, 'Big Daddy Abbott will soon be seen as having feet of clay – you can’t deceive all the people all of the time – Truth will out.' * I don't know about that. Howard survived for many a long year despite the same affliction, with the aid of a supportive MSM.

George Pike

31/07/2010Did anyone notice that the nazis at The Australian had a photo of TAbbott with his chin up, standing under a naval gun, looking like the great super hero who is going to save us from those boat people come what may, while having a photo of the PM sipping coffee sedately somewhere in Perth on the same page, as if to clearly intimate that the women should be at home doing girly things while the men get on with running the country! I dare anyone to tell me that is not blatant propaganda, as was the drawing of a very old Julia on the front page of the Herald Sun the other day. This is pure old Goebellian propaganda at its very ugliest...and how those people could even dare to call themselves Australians is completely beyond me.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010jj, 'Well could you at least give me the reasons why what i said was wrong, rather than just stating your opinion as being fact.' * The problem is, we have done just that, many, many times before, but blaring Coalition megaphones like you never take any notice. You just keep coming back, time and again, with the same old, same old. And around and around we go in circles. As I'm not willing to waste my precious time doing that all over again, for no perceivable gain, because you know you will never be able to be convinced of our arguments, no matter how well we put them, what's the point?

Ad astra reply

31/07/2010jj I did give one example of where I think you are wrong – in absolving [i]The Oz[/i] from any responsibility in bringing the Government to the position it is in. Through headline after headline it has sought to place what the Government is doing in a bad light – the BER is an example. We know there have been problems of rorting and overcharging, but all the paper publicizes is the couple of hundred problems in 24,000 projects. When has it lauded the beneficial aspects? Find me on article when the enormous benefit to school communities, children and the local tradesmen and businesses has been featured by [i]The Oz[/i]. But don’t waste too much of your life doing so – life is too short to waste on a pointless task.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010Julia in full flight today re NSC leak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW4NtYIu2XE&feature=youtu.be * 'bout time JG got the Boxing gloves on. :)

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010George Pike, I make the obvious observation that the Terror/Hun front page ageing treatment wasn't carried out the next day, to be fair and balanced, on Tony Abbott.

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Michael Thankyou so much. Thoroughly enjoyable piece, you have written for us. Cheers

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi NormanK [quote]Well, I was going to sit down this morning and draft a little cheer-myself-up post based on Laurie Oakes' article pointing to Labor's economic credentials when blow me down we've got another leak and a bad poll. [/quote] NormanK you are delightful, I love reading your pieces, thankyou so much. Cheers

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Hillbilly, Your wrists are feeling better I hope. Thankyou for your enjoyable comments and thankyou for the youtube video "Julia Gillard slams Downer over security" That whining, miserable Downer, someone should have put him out of his misery a long time ago. Cheers

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010lyn, Thank you for the kind thoughts. :) It's actually my elbow that has been affected. I tore the ligaments out of it just over a week ago. It is getting better, slowly. However it has not stopped me from contributing. Just a bit slower than usual. They'd have to chop my arms off before that would come to pass, and then I'd cast around for a chopstick to tap out a comment, by taking the bit between the teeth, so to speak.

nasking

31/07/2010YES…Julia Gillard slams Dolly Downer (he of the AWB Scandal who seemed to be looking everywhere but where it was needed) over security… this vid linked also by Lefty E at Lavartus prodeo here: http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/07/30/nielsen-coalition-leads-52-48/#comment-135877 N’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW4NtYIu2XE

nasking

31/07/2010Crikey, Hillbilly yer on top of it...you already have that link up. Well done. Just scrolled up and saw yer useful contribution. Won't hurt to watch it twice. :) Don't we miss Dolly? What a piece of work he was/is. N'

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad This is Grog: Recommended reading July 31, 2010 – 3:11 pm, by Tobias Ziegler I could have dropped this in the weekend thread but it deserves more publicity than that. Read this post from Grog. It’s excellent, in the sense that it’s a cogent indictment of the poor media coverage that’s contributing to the overall medicority of this election campaign. Comments (1) | Permalink [quote]bring home your journalists following Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard, because they are not doing anything of any worth [/quote] http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/

nasking

31/07/2010Sorry to hear about the elbow HS. I did my knee & back recently. Can relate. But we keep on keepin' on. :) N'

Jason

31/07/2010jj, a question for you about Gough. Of the many things he introduced, how many did the Fraser government wind back? Answer, Medibank. The rest of his agenda remained. The Hawke government ended free university education, and reintroduced Medicare. From this vantage point, the Gough agenda looks like a permanent part of our national life.

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad Thankyou to Alex White again: [i]The 'Boring" Election, Alex White[/i] [b]Over at the Political Sword (an excellent blog whose authors’ commentary rivals that of the most experienced Press Gallery hack), Ad Astra has some insightful views about the role the media is playing at this election:[/b] http://alexwhite.org/2010/07/the-boring-election/

jj

31/07/2010So who do you think it was that leaked the latest little treat? The Labor Party? Someone in defense? Someone in the coalition perhaps?

nasking

31/07/2010Thankyou for the alex white & Grog's Gamut links Lyn. Very useful & insightful. Have posted the links at the Cafe. Cheers N'

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Nasking Thankyou, Nasking for all you do for "The Political Sword, I enjoy your comments very much . Cafe Whispers is growing fast, & becoming a very welcome stop over for many to enjoy a variety of topics, with constructive, interesting, opinions and conversations. Congratulations, Nasking well done.

Hillbilly Skeleton

31/07/2010jj, The leaker was a scumbag of course!

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Hillbilly Excellent comment.

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad Grog has this brilliant column tonight, thankyou Grog [i]Election 2010: Day 15 (or Let's Keep Working!), Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] The stimulus wasn’t done just for larks; it was an emergency. Arguing against it should be like arguing against emptying a pool to help put out a fire because you don’t want to use the water. Madness. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2010/07/election-2010-day-15-or-lets-keep.html

Lyn

31/07/2010Hi Ad So Mr Latham is just about exhaused, let's find aother nasty person out there. Oh! that's right, Oh! where, Oh! where, can Downer be, we know he hates Labor, we know he hates Kevin Rudd, we know he wants Phoney elected, Liberal sugar to go with his latte. Hi, Ho , the Deerio 'O' a running we will go. Alex ,Alex tell me quick, did Kevin Rudd dob on anybody, did he gossip to anybody, when he was Shadow Foreign Minister, did he swear? spit it Alex, spit it quick. [b]Rudd leaked against ALP for Libs: Downer , The Age July 31, 2010 - 9:49PM[/b] Mr Brereton declined to comment specifically on Mr Rudd's alleged political conduct for News Limited, but Mr Downer was more forthcoming."I don't use the c-word, but I do use the f-word pretty freely, and I can tell you that Kevin Rudd is a f***ing awful person," he said."He was so incredibly unprincipled." http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/rudd-leaked-against-alp-for-libs-downer-20100731-110c7.html

Arbietchoices nien macht frei

31/07/2010Swordians Abbott will say anything, do anything to win and thanks to the MSM it is beginning to work. This election is a fight against fascism. the election of Herr Abbott is the thin edge of the wedge. If elected, Herr Abbott will wield a great big new shiny axe to all the good social programs of the Rudd/Gillard Govt. We can't allow this to happen.

Lyn

1/08/2010[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]The 'Boring" Election, Alex White[/i] [b]Over at the Political Sword (an excellent blog whose authors’ commentary rivals that of the most experienced Press Gallery hacks), [/b][b]Ad Astra has some insightful views about the role the media is playing at this election:[/b]http://alexwhite.org/2010/07/the-boring-election/ [i]Nielsen – Thump, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics[/i] female vote collapsed for Labor on the two party preferred, dropping by a massive 9 points in a week. [b]Again, that doesn’t happen in the real world[/b], http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/07/31/nielsen-thump/ [i]Advertiser poll: 52-48 to Liberal in Boothby, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Adelaide electorate of Boothby, which shows the Liberals with a 52-48 two-party lead http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/ [i]Election 2010: Day 15 (or Let's Keep Working!), Grog, Grog's Gamut[/i] The stimulus wasn’t done just for larks; it was an emergency. Arguing against it should be like arguing against emptying a pool to help put out a fire because you don’t want to use the water. Madness. http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2010/07/election-2010-day-15-or-lets-keep.html [i]The Political-media death spiral (Roundtable), Mark Bahnisch, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] [b]Grog’s Gamut posted a passionate piece on his blog, critiquing the performance of the media pack in this election campaign specifically. You can read it here[/b]. http://larvatusprodeo.net/ [i]Abbott Our Biggest Threat to National Security, Kevin Rennie, Labor View from Bayside.[/i][b]We have a leak obsessed media without any real analysis of policies and issues[/b]. http://laborview.blogspot.com/2010/07/abbott-our-biggest-threat-to-national.html Coalition policy EPIC FAIL, Massivespray,, Spray of the day As the media is completely fascinated by rumour and hearsay and not in any great rush to report on actual facts, you may have heard this policy announcement slip by. http://sprayoftheday.wordpress.com/ [i]Compare and contrast, Tobias Ziegler, Pure Poison[/i] The Liberals go in hard, with a reworked Kevin O’Lemon ,Does Tony Abbott approve of chopping people in half with a cleaver? http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/ [i]Economic myths, Gary Sauer-Thompson , Public opinion[/i] This myth has been pushed by the Coalition and most professional free market economists since the global financial crisis http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2010/07/economic-myths.php#more [i]The end of politics, Peter Sellick, On Line Opinion[/i] We have aspirations to be excellent, efficient, creative, adventurous, brave, etc, but we have no narrative that would tell us how these would produce a society. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10753 [i]Latham's unpublished five word critique of Kevin Rudd, David Penberthy, The Punch[/i] Today’s Sunday Telegraph quotes Alexander Downer accusing Kevin Rudd of being a leaking double agent who was fed information from the Howard Government and used it against his Labor rival, former shadow foreign affairs http://www.thepunch.com.au/

Lyn

1/08/2010Hi Ad You probably already know this from The Insiders: [b]Downer denies Rudd double agent report,ABC[/b] Kevin Rudd was not used by me or other members of the Liberal Party as a so-called 'double agent' to leak material against other members of the Labor Party." http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/stories/2010/08/01/2970025.htm

Hillbilly Skeleton

1/08/2010That's as may be today for the Liberal Party, in the form of Tony Abbott and Alexander Downer, to come out and deny the story that is on the front page of the Sunday papers. However, as is the case in these situations, the damage to Kevin Rudd's reputation is already done, and no amount of backing and filling by the Liberal Party to cover their behinds from the threat of the defamation action that Kevin Rudd is said to be about to institute against Downer, will compensate for the damage that has already been caused. If the MSM had real balls, they would produce the tape of Downer's conversation with the reporter who filed the story to prove, one way or the other, who's telling the truth. In the interests of transparency and good journalism, of course. :)

Rx

1/08/2010I hope Mr Rudd seeks and gets redress in the courts.

NormanK

1/08/2010Hillbilly Does this mean we can look forward to a sky full of porcine mammals which will help feed the poor and starving of the world? We will all be most grateful to the MSM should both of these outcomes eventuate.

Hillbilly Skeleton

1/08/2010NormanK, I know, I'm an idealist. I don't know why, after having been around for half a century, but there you go. I think it's because I'm an Aquarian. :)

Hillbilly Skeleton

1/08/2010Hi guys, Here's a very interesting blog from An Onymous Lefty: http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/the-most-spectacular-contradictions-of-the-campaign-so-far/#comment-19001

Lyn

1/08/2010Hi Hillbilly I have just emailed Jeremy asking permission to copy his today's blog onto The Political Sword. Hey! isn't Jeremy's list just brilliant, absolutely wonderful. Cheers lyn

Ad astra reply

1/08/2010LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/Lyns-Daily-Links.aspx Folks Note that LYN'S LINKS are available now for: APRIL: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-LINKS-APRIL.aspx MAY: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-LINKS-MAY-2010.aspx JUNE: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-LINKS-JUNE.aspx JULY: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-LINKS-JULY-2010.aspx When you see how many links Lyn has provided over the last four months, you will appreciate even more what a valuable service she provides for the thousands who visit [i]TPS[/i] regularly, some specifically to check LYN'S LINKS for the day. Thank you Lyn. We are all very grateful. You save us so much time by searching out these links, some from obscure places, that give us such profound insight into what is going on in the political world and particularly the political blogosphere.

Lyn

1/08/2010Hi Ad This is a very serious possibility, the authorities need & should be checking: 3 Reasons why Tony Abbott may have Brain Damage, Socialist Internationl Australia [b]The marathon endurance running could have depleted oxygen supply to the brain and damaged tissue in some way. He could be an obsessive compulsive personality type.[/b] , http://sia2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/3-reasons-why-tony-abbott-may-have.html

macca

1/08/2010Check out(pun intended) post#126 on poll bludger. This could go viral very quickly. Lets get it going

Lyn

1/08/2010Hi Macca I have just furiously gone through the comments over at Poll Bludger and can't find the one you mentioned. Gee there are a lot of interesting comments over there, recommended reading Cheers

macca

1/08/2010Lyn, Here it is; "love the look on the faces of the young ckeck out persons at the supermarkets when i assure them that i will not be voting for Abbott to bring back workchoices which will slash their wages."

Ad astra reply

1/08/2010Folks A piece by HillbillySkeleton [i]The election climate[/i] has just been posted. Enjoy. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2010/08/01/The-election-climate.aspx

Lyn

1/08/2010Hi Macca Thankyou for the copy. What a wonderful idea. Excellent, I have decided, that is exactly what I am going to do, everytime I check out, just told my next door neighbor, she is going to as well. In our mail box just now, a very polished glossy flyer, from Tony Abbott says: Stand up for Australia Stand up for Real Action (whatever that means) We will not bring back WorkChoices Workchoices is dead and any suggestion to the contrary is wrong. We listened We learned And Workchoices is Dead Photo in a row: Tony Abbott animated, talking Julie Bishop taking shorthand Scott Morrison watching Bishop Joe Hockey very very angry, bottom lip dropped below his knees, looking sideways at the camera Andrew Robb vacant I think this Curly Locks, Downer stuff is going to blow up in their faces. Not much use of denial by Downer, the damage is done. Judging by some of the comments on The Poll Bludger, people are saying: So Tony Abbott says the Government is in shambles because of the leaks. But it was really the Liberals leaking to Kevin Rudd so he would leak to Labor. I think that is how it goes, I think it's comedy plus. See what happens to people who tell lies. My poor old Mum used to say, if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Lyn

1/08/2010Hi Ad Thankyou Ad, your kind words are greatly appreciated. I am humbled, you have brought tears to my eyes. You Ad and "The Political Sword" is such a worthwhile place to be, thankyou.

Ad astra reply

1/08/2010Arbietchoices nien macht frei Welcome to the [i]TPS[/i] family. Do come again. Your right, the prospect of an Abbott Government is frightening. He uses the well tried Goebbels 'Big Lie' technique of propaganda, which is based on the principle that a lie, if audacious enough and repeated enough times, will be believed by the masses. Notice how often, and at every opportunity, Abbott repeats that he will: ‘end the waste, repay the debt, stop the new taxes and stop the boats’, and the people are likely believing it!
How many Rabbits do I have if I have 3 Oranges?