The Devil is in the Detail in the Dictionary

Happy Halloween from Feral Skeleton



Fellow Swordians,
I know I'm a bit late in hopping on the Halloween bus, but having the flu can make you run late for your bus (and anyway I fell in love with the graphic & decided I wanted to keep it). Nevertheless as this last week has seen Halloween come and go, and in the spirit of Multiculturalism, which in Australia sees all national festivals from around the world celebrated, as opposed to seeking to contribute to the fomenting of distaste of Halloween as a potent symbol of American Cultural Imperialism, I have decided to present something light-hearted, fun, and just a little bit spooky to you. Spooky, that is, when you realise how old but how apt are some of the political observations that I am going to put before you today.

What I'm referring to is the fact that I am going to bring to you a few of my favourite quotes from the OTHER socio-political guide book, that isn't Machiavelli's 'The Prince', or Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War', but is Ambrose Bierce's 'The Devil's Dictionary'.

This is in acknowledgement of the 100 year Anniversary of the release of 'The Devil's Dictionary', and in the spirit of Progressivism, which is all for being Early Adopters of the new – I mean, Machiavelli and Sun Tzu are so last year ( they've even been adopted by the Conservatives!) – I am going to acquaint you with a list of my favourite definitions from the book, with a few added comments, here and there, that have a more contemporary flavour, about our own little devil in Australian politics, Tony Abbott.

Enjoy! And have fun drawing a few conclusions of your own from the words of Ambrose Bierce.







ABASEMENT, n. A decent and customary mental attitude in the presence of wealth or power. Peculiarly appropriate in an employee when addressing an employer.

Hmm, now where have I seen that before? Oh, that's right, it was Tony's Abbott's obsequious posture when he was filmed in the presence of Gina Reinhardt at the Minerals Council Dinner in WA. Or Tony Abbott around Cardinal Pell. OrTony Abbott around the Clubs' heavyweights. You get the picture.

ABILITY, n. The natural equipment to accomplish some small part of the meaner ambitions distinguishing able men from dead ones. In the last analysis ability is commonly found to consist mainly in a high degree of solemnity. Perhaps, however, this impressive quality is rightly appraised; it is no easy task to be solemn.

Which is why the electorate appears to believe that Tony Abbott has ability.

ABRIDGE, v.t. To shorten.

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for people to abridge their king, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

—Oliver Cromwell


Now that the Queen has departed our shores, might I offer a word of advice to Australian Republicans: Take heed of what Oliver Cromwell said, and, next time, lay out your case for an Australian Republic and an Australian Head of State, plus how they will be elected, BEFORE the Referendum is called, and then proceed to go about the country getting the electorate onside with your firm position.

ABSURDITY, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.

Which just about sums up every position on any issue which Tony Abbott takes a position on. They differ with which way the wind is blowing on any particular day, but may be different the next day, if the wind direction has changed. Such is the style of politics we are getting used to seeing from 'The Political Weathervane'. The deeply principled founder of the Liberal Party, 'Ming' Menzies, would be rolling in his grave today at the deeply unprincipled antics of the latter-day leader of the Liberal Party.

ACADEME, n. An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught.

Tony Abbott concentrated on Boxing at Oxford.

ACADEMY, n. [from ACADEME] A modern school where football is taught.

I think he thought Oxford was the English Academy of Sport.

ACCOUNTABILITY, n. The mother of caution.

"My accountability, bear in mind,"

Said the Grand Vizier: "Yes, yes,"

Said the Shah: "I do — 'tis the only kind

Of ability you possess."

—Joram Tate


That which Julia Gillard bears in mind and which Tony Abbott doesn't know the meaning of.

ACCUSE, v.t. To affirm another's guilt or unworth; most commonly as a justification of ourselves for having wronged him.

Tony Abbott does a lot of this.

ACEPHALOUS, adj. In the surprising condition of the Crusader who absently pulled at his forelock some hours after a Saracen scimitar had, unconsciously to him, passed through his neck, as related by de Joinville.

This happens to our own Christian Crusader a lot.

ACHIEVEMENT, n. The death of endeavour and the birth of disgust.

Tony Abbott may be a Rhodes Scholar but his biggest achievement is as above.

ACTUALLY, adv. Perhaps; possibly.

A good one to keep in mind when listening to politicians. Especially these days.

ADMINISTRATION, n. An ingenious abstraction in politics, designed to receive the kicks and cuffs due to the premier or president. A man of straw, proof against bad-egging and dead-catting.

Julia Gillard knows this only too well.

ADMONITION, n. Gentle reproof, as with a meat-axe. Friendly warning.



Consigned by way of admonition,

His soul forever to perdition.

—Judibras


Tony Abbott admonishes the PM all too frequently.

ADVICE, n. The smallest current coin.



"The man was in such deep distress,"

Said Tom, "that I could do no less

Than give him good advice." Said Jim:

"If less could have been done for him

I know you well enough, my son,

To know that's what you would have done."

—Jebel Jocordy


Is this where the saying, 'A wealth of good advice' comes from? Tony Abbott likes to give advice to all and sundry; that I do know.

ALLEGIANCE, n. 



This thing Allegiance, as I suppose,

Is a ring fitted in the subject's nose,

Whereby that organ is kept rightly pointed

To smell the sweetness of the Lord's anointed.

—G.J.


How Tony Abbott views the allegiance of his party to their leader.

AMBIDEXTROUS, adj. Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left.

Otherwise a definition of Tony Abbott's 'walk both sides of the street' economic policies, wherein he advocates, with a straight face and on behalf of a Conservative Party, economic policies of Centralised Big Government, such as his 'Direct Action' scheme to reduce Greenhouse Gases, combined seamlessly with Libertarian Absence of Government Interference policies which increase the Economic Elites' ability to make more profit from their businesses and to make a profit from previously Public Services, such as Health and Education.

AMBITION, n. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead.

'I predict' this in Tony Abbott's political future.

ANTIPATHY, n. The sentiment inspired by one's friend's friend.

Tony Abbott inspires more of this among his circle of friends every day it seems.

APHORISM, n. Predigested wisdom.



The flabby wine-skin of his brain

Yields to some pathologic strain,

And voids from its unstored abysm

The driblet of an aphorism.

—"The Mad Philosopher," 1697


This is what inspires the antipathy and the slow anti-Abbott burn which is occurring in the community.

APOLOGIZE, v.i. To lay the foundation for a future offence.

The Tony Abbott modus operandi.

APOSTATE, n. A leech who, having penetrated the shell of a turtle only to find that the creature has long been dead, deems it expedient to form a new attachment to a fresh turtle.

APPLAUSE, n. The echo of a platitude.

Tony Abbott hears lots of applause for his words.

ARENA, n. In politics, an imaginary rat-pit in which the statesman wrestles with his record.

In Canberra it's not so imaginary, it's called the Press Gallery.

ARISTOCRACY, n. Government by the best men. (In this sense the word is obsolete; so is that kind of government.) Fellows that wear downy hats and clean shirts — guilty of education and suspected of bank accounts. To which I would add: Fellows who wear bicycle helmets, and clean, white shirts ironed by women.

ASPERSE, v.t. Maliciously to ascribe to another vicious actions which one has not had the temptation and opportunity to commit.

And which are usually the subject of Prime Minister Censure Motions by the Leader of the Opposition.



BACK, n. That part of your friend which it is your privilege to contemplate in your adversity.

That part of the anatomy every politician knows the location of.

BACKBITE, v.t. To speak of a man as you find him when he can't find you.

The reason for there being so many corridors in Parliament House.

BAIT, n. A preparation that renders the hook more palatable. The best kind is beauty.

Tony Abbott's wife and daughters in other words.

BATTLE, n. A method of untying with the teeth of a political knot that would not yield to the tongue.

QANTAS' IR policy.

BEFRIEND, v.t. To make an ingrate.

Tony Abbott would like you to think he has lots of friends. They people his photo ops every day. He befriends a new lot of friends every day, and then he is gone. I wonder what some of the befriended think of him after he has gone.

BEHAVIOR, n. Conduct, as determined, not by principle, but by breeding.

We see it every day, in every way, from the Leader of the Opposition, and the Prime Minister too. By their behaviour, so shall ye know them.

BLACKGUARD, n. A man whose qualities, prepared for display like a box of berries in a market — the fine ones on top — have been opened on the wrong side. An inverted gentleman.

A favourite word of Tony Abbott's, however, in this instance, aptly describing Tony Abbott.

BONDSMAN, n. A fool who, having property of his own, undertakes to become responsible for that entrusted to another to a third. Philippe of Orleans wishing to appoint one of his favorites, a dissolute nobleman, to a high office, asked him what security he would be able to give. "I need no bondsmen," he replied, "for I can give you my word of honor." "And pray what may be the value of that?" inquired the amused Regent. "Monsieur, it is worth its weight in gold."

Tony Abbott gives his 'word of honour' on a regular basis. He wants us to believe it is worth its weight in gold too.

BORE, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.

No comment.

BOUNDARY, n. In political geography, an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of the other.

For example, Australia and Indonesia.



CHRISTIAN, n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbour. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

A Tony Abbott Christian by definition.

CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.

Or Federal Parliament.

COMMENDATION, n. The tribute that we pay to achievements that resembles, but do not equal, our own.

Tony Abbott's lifeblood.

COMMONWEALTH, n. An administrative entity operated by an incalculable multitude of political parasites, logically active but fortuitously efficient.

An Ode to Federal Parliament, Canberra:

This commonwealth's capitol's corridors view.

So thronged with a hungry and indolent crew

Of clerks, pages, porters and all attaches

Whom rascals appoint and the populace pays.

That a cat cannot slip through the thicket of shins.

Nor hear its own shriek for the noise of their chins.

On clerks and on pages, and porters, and all,

Misfortune attend and disaster befall!

May life be to them a succession of hurts;

May fleas by the bushel inhabit their shirts;

May aches and diseases encamp in their bones,

Their lungs full of tubercles, bladders of stones;

May microbes, bacilli, their tissues infest,

And tapeworms securely their bowels digest;

May corn-cobs be snared without hope in their hair,

And frequent impalement their pleasure impair.

Disturbed be their dreams by the awful discourse

Of audible sofas sepulchrally hoarse,

By chairs acrobatic and wavering floors —

The mattress that kicks and the pillow that snores!

Sons of cupidity, cradled in sin!

Your criminal ranks may the death angel thin,

Avenging the friend whom I couldn't work in.

—K.Q.


CONFIDANT, CONFIDANTE, n. One entrusted by A with the secrets of B, confided by him to C.

Or the definition of a parliamentary Press Gallery.

CONGRATULATION, n. The civility of envy.

CONGRESS, n. A body of men who meet to repeal laws.

Equally becoming the leit-motif of the Tony Abbott-led Coalition. Funny how things haven't changed at all with respect to the Conservative parties, both here and in America.

CONSERVATIVE, n. A statesman who is enamoured of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.

CONSULT, v.i. To seek another's approval of a course already decided on.

How Tony Abbott 'consults' his party. He really should rename it, 'The One Man Band Party'.

CONTROVERSY, n. A battle in which spittle or ink replaces the injurious cannon-ball and the inconsiderate bayonet.

A News Ltd. Speciality.

CONVERSATION, n. A fair to the display of the minor mental commodities, each exhibitor being too intent upon the arrangement of his own wares to observe those of his neighbour.

CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.

CORSAIR, n. A politician of the seas.

Tony Abbott in 'Boatphone' mode.

COWARD, n. One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.

Tony Abbott when Press Conferences get too hot to handle.

CUI BONO? [Latin] What good would that do me?

The Abbott family motto.



DANGER, n. 



A savage beast which, when it sleeps,

Man girds at and despises,

But takes himself away by leaps

And bounds when it arises.

—Ambat Delaso


Tony Abbott leaving Press Conferences precipitously shows he doesn't like to court it.

DARING, n. One of the most conspicuous qualities of a man in security.

Tony Abbott showed a lot of it when in 'relaxed and comfortable' mode, leading the polls.

DEBAUCHEE, n. One who has so earnestly pursued pleasure that he has had the misfortune to overtake it.

I would only add that I believe Tony Abbott has debauched the position of Leader of the Opposition.

DEBT, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave-driver.



As, pent in an aquarium, the troutlet

Swims round and round his tank to find an outlet,
Pressing his nose against the glass that holds him,
Nor ever sees the prison that enfolds him;
So the poor debtor, seeing naught around him,

Yet feels the narrow limits that impound him,

Grieves at his debt and studies to evade it

And finds at last he might as well have paid it.

—Barlow S. Vode


Still used a s a virtual whip by the Corporate Capitalists (is that an oxymoron?), and by the Opposition to scare small children and Widows.

DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.



A leaf was riven from a tree,

"I mean to fall to earth," said he.



The west wind, rising, made him veer.

"Eastward," said he, "I now shall steer.

"

The east wind rose with greater force.

Said he: "'Twere wise to change my course.

"

With equal power they contend.

He said: "My judgment I suspend

"

Down died the winds; the leaf, elate,

Cried: "I've decided to fall straight."



"First thoughts are best?" That's not the moral;

Just choose your own and we'll not quarrel.



Howe'er your choice may chance to fall,

You'll have no hand in it at all.

—G.J.


The thought processes that inform Tony Abbott's decisions from one day to the next must look a lot like this.

DEFAME, v.t. To lie about another. To tell the truth about another.

So that's how to get away with walking both sides of the street?

DEFENCELESS, adj. Unable to attack.

Mr Abbott's fallback position.

DEGRADATION, n. One of the stages of moral and social progress from private station to political preferment.

DEINOTHERIUM, n. An extinct pachyderm that flourished when the Pterodactyl was in fashion. The latter was a native of Ireland, its name being pronounced Terry Dactyl or Peter O'Dactyl, as the man pronouncing it may chance to have heard it spoken or seen it printed.

Not entirely a position confined to the Irish, just ask any modern day Creationist, Like Tony Abbott.

DELIBERATION, n. The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is buttered on.

Or, Tony Abbott's breakfast prayer: 'Give us our daily bread, Peta and Brian.'

DELUSION, n. The father of a most respectable family, comprising Enthusiasm, Affection, Self-denial, Faith, Hope, Charity and many other goodly sons and daughters.

DESTINY, n. A tyrant's authority for crime and fool's excuse for failure.

DIPLOMACY, n. The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

DISCUSSION, n. A method of confirming others in their errors.

DISOBEDIENCE, n. The silver lining to the cloud of servitude.

Go the 99% ers!

DISSEMBLE, v.i. To put a clean shirt upon the character.

Have you noticed how clean and white are the shirts Tony Abbott wears?

DISTANCE, n. The only thing that the rich are willing for the poor to call theirs, and keep.

DOG, n. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world's worship. This Divine Being in some of his smaller and silkier incarnations takes, in the affection of Woman, the place to which there is no human male aspirant. The Dog is a survival — an anachronism. He toils not, neither does he spin, yet Solomon in all his glory never lay upon a door-mat all day long, sun-soaked and fly-fed and fat, while his master worked for the means wherewith to purchase the idle wag of the Solomonic tail, seasoned with a look of tolerant recognition.

I just wanted to include this one for all the doggy people out there.

DRAGOON, n. A soldier who combines dash and steadiness in so equal measure that he makes his advances on foot and his retreats on horseback.

Coalition Tactics 101.

DULLARD, n. A member of the reigning dynasty in letters and life. The Dullards came in with Adam, and being both numerous and sturdy have overrun the habitable world. The secret of their power is their insensibility to blows; tickle them with a bludgeon and they laugh with a platitude. The Dullards came originally from Boeotia, whence they were driven by stress of starvation, their dullness having blighted the crops. For some centuries they infested Philistia, and many of them are called Philistines to this day. In the turbulent times of the Crusades they withdrew thence and gradually overspread all Europe, occupying most of the high places in politics, art, literature, science and theology.

DUTY, n. That which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.

Doesn't Tony Abbott say that it's his duty to hold the government to account?

Well, that's enough for now - part of the alphabet and plenty to chew on. I'll pore over the other half of the alphabet for next week. I'm pretty sure it will provide just as much amusement and edification.

What do you think?

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2353

7/11/2011EXCLUSIVE - Kevin Rudd has found his next career. http://youtu.be/je5G4uBopKU Sorry to hijack the thread from the getgo FS, but I'll lose the link if I kept it until later. (And it's a nice little story in itself - even though I regularly use Brisbane Central Station.)

Feral Skeleton

7/11/20112353, Thanks for that, and you are always welcome to make a pertinent comment, on topic, after the get-go. :D

Feral Skeleton

7/11/2011Here's a very interesting wrinkle wrt Andrew Bolt's blog: Sorry to you': Bolt blasts blog moderation. Conservative crusader Andrew Bolt has slammed the moderation of comments on his blog as a "dangerous state of affairs in a democracy". [quote]Over the weekend Bolt, who was named The Power Index's most powerful Megaphone earlier this year, announced to his blog readers that "for legal self-protection, I am not able to moderate my blog any longer. All comments must go through our moderating team". Bolt used to moderate the blog himself, with assistance from his wife Sally Morrell and other News Limited staffers.[/quote]

2353

7/11/2011Back on topic . . . [quote]BACK, n. That part of your friend which it is your privilege to contemplate in your adversity. That part of the anatomy every politician knows the location of. [/quote] Absolutely brilliant - the other examples aren't far behind (pun intended). Well done FS - hope the flu is better too!

BSA Bob

7/11/2011There's a story that when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize the satirist Tom Lehrer announced his immediate retirement, saying he could no longer compete with reality. Bitter Bierce would face a similar challenge if he were alive today when confronted with the machinations of Abbott, but I'd like to think he'd manage. I reckon his definition of patriotism has more current relevance than Sam's. P.S. maybe Ambrose is still alive, they never found him.

Feral Skeleton

7/11/2011BSA Bob, Like WorkJoyces, maybe Ambrose Bierce is back, after being 'Dead, Buried & Cremated', but with a new name. :)

psyclaw

7/11/2011FS Thanks for the Bolt comment. Obviously News sees Bolt as a liability now.

Roswell

7/11/2011Yes, Tony Abbott has the duty to hold the Government to account. But not to ransom.

Lyn

7/11/2011Hi Feral Thankyou for your informative well thought out enjoyable article. We really are well educated on the Political Sword. Sorry to hear you have the flu, hope you are feeling better tomorrow. Today has been a big news day or at least a lot of people has had a lot to say. Mr Abbott has gone to the UK to meet with David Cameron, some remarks were blind leading the blind. Q @ A I saw Malcolm Turnbull in his black leather bikie jacket, then I felt sick, but to make me worse Turnbull explained to everyone how poor Qantas are and all airlines in the world are poor; By then I got very sick so changed the channel. Newspoll tonight hope it's good news Cheers:):):)

Feral Skeleton

7/11/2011lyn, Isn't it the case that when Newspoll is bad for the Opposition they don't release it early? :)

NormanK

8/11/2011It's a miracle! It's a miracle! Forget the loaves and fishes - less than three months after our esteemed pundits had written Labor off they've seen a six point move in Newspoll. Coalition 53 to 47 TPP. Remember Labour was 55 to 45 at the time of the calling of the last election. What a crock these polls are. [quote]LABOR'S portrayal of Tony Abbott as too negative appears to have hit home, with the latest Newspoll finding voter dissatisfaction with the Opposition Leader's performance at a record high of 57 per cent. And Julia Gillard appears to be staging a political comeback, winning a three-percentage-point increase in Labor's primary vote in the past fortnight, and stretching her gains to six percentage points in the past seven weeks.[/quote]

psyclaw

8/11/2011NormanK As many here have had the feeling for 4 or 5 weeks, the tide has turned and is slowly but steadily pushing JG forward and drowning the fool Abbott. As someone said on PB a few minutes ago, how will Peta Credlin handle this. More to the point, how will the moderates, the former Turnbull supporters handle it. They've sacrificed their integrity to parrot Abbott's silly threats and mantras. Look out for adrenalin withdrawl symptoms from them ....it will be a great pleasure to watch. There's a real risk Abbott won't last much longer than the first half of next year .....that's a bit disappointing because once he's really frustrated he should begin to lash out irrationally and shoot himself in the foot regularly. The tight rein held on him in the 2010 election worked. But then he believed he was on a downhill run, going straight to the Lodge, and so he abided by his scripts. The coming months will be different. As JG slowly makes progress Abbott will get the gist of it i.e. that it's all up hill and getting steeper each day. I don't think his temperament will hold steady in such circumstances. Add to this the various wedges he's placed on himself (rescind ETS; rescind MRRT but support more super; rescind pokies law) and it isn't a wild prediction to say that he's increasingly in a position between a rock and a hard place. Congratulations to JG for her discipline and courage and skills in bringing this about.

TalkTurkey

8/11/2011Professor Skeleton Wry, quirky, droll, bizarre - erm - other apt adjectives? - I like this sort of humour. It's a bit like in Catch-22, Hitch-Hikers Guide and Far Side, it's always a surprise and it's sort of like gin and bitters, rather than like orangeade sort of. Thank you for helping us to realize that whatever it is in the entire lexicon, it's really about Abbottilla. Dog though, that pome about Dogs - Yep I know a little silky (mongrel) Dog like that, not 'mine' but very close and dear to me, 15-y-o, I always thought toy Dogs were silly until I got to know Muffy, then I realized they are the [i]most[/i] relevant of animals to the most people these days, not sheepdogs or pointers or pitbulls or retrievers or deerhounds, and [i]just as valid [/i]as those breeds in their specialised function: in toy Dogs' case, that is constantly to want to be the centre of attention, demanding 'love', filling voids in many people's lives even in inner-city places, where bigger Dogs just won't fit. Meanwhile little Dogs are unfailing sentinels, the best, the very first line of defence against aliens, and in most cases that is enough to convince would-be intruders to move on. Just saying. In defence of little silky Dogs that get pampered and lie around on cashmere mats. You should hear Muffy howl when we get her going, or watch her hunting instinct kick in when she has found a rat's lair, or as she challenges Rottweilers who come too close to her turf. She is a Wolf inside, not a joke at all! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There comes a time in a spring thaw when the ice is turning to water every way you look. The last few days have been like that for Abbortt - or am I kidding myself? Journalists suddenly [i]Oo-Er[/i], wanting to throw stones at someone every day, but no longer able to land any on *J*U*L*I*A*, and see, that's [i]Abbortt's[/i] fault!!! He was supposed to have dethroned her months ago, he's FAILED, so they have started just tentatively to toss pebbles in Abbortt's direction, not quite sure of their ground and not wanting to get out in front of the media peloton, so not savage as yet against him, but you will not have missed the change in the last fortnight from drips through trickles to runnels now of meltwater, to follow the metaphor. I have always said that ridicule is our greatest weapon against Abbortt in particular. Because he is so ridiculous. I wonder if I'll ever feel sorry for him. I actually think I might, once he is politically dead, heart-staked, entombed in concrete, nuked and vaporised. I will never feel sorry for Howard though I think. Terrible way to feel. I've also always wondered who will succeed him, the timing and manner of it. It does seem to me that the split should be something wonderful. There are those who have gladly gone all the way with Abbortt, - some who would like to go even further! - and there are those who already have grave misgivings about their direction, who will want to take the humiliating but necessary long trudge back to some more reasonable position. It looks like a queen-trap for them. I think they're forked. Bushfire Bill's 3-word description of Abbortt: Unhinged Lying Fool

jane

8/11/2011FS, great post. It probably would have paid to continue watching QandA. Jessica Rudd, Kate Ellis and Ray Martin (who woulda thunk it?)creamed Phone Card and Turnbull. I was very impressed with Jessica Rudd; she put a dickhead leadership questioner in his box smartly and beautifully. You would have enjoyed seeing Malvolio squirm when he was asked about climate change and Liealot's policy on it. Wong currently giving it to them in Senate QT. NormanK, a beautiful set of figures. Read them and weep cheerleaders!

Gravel

8/11/2011Feral Skeleton [i] ACCUSE, v.t. To affirm another's guilt or unworth; most commonly as a justification of ourselves for having wronged him. Tony Abbott does a lot of this. [/i] Everything he says is an accusation of everyone else's behaviour but I see it as what he would do himself. In other words, what I'm trying to say he projects his own actions onto everyone else. (Sorry about the ramble above, have been awake since 12.30am ) Thanks for this great piece, it was good to read it through slowly without interruptions. You have certainly put a lot of work into it. On the last thread the link you put up about extreme right parties coming to the fore overseas was very scary. Hopefully we in Australia will not be fooled into going that way, and as NormanK says above with the good newspoll maybe people are starting to wake up to the negatives. We can live in hope.

Jaeger

8/11/2011That's the problem with attack dogs - when their blood is up, they're just as likely to turn around and bite their handler. Abbott will probably blame "The Queen of No" for his poor performance, but she might act first and be forced to shoot him down the back paddock for worrying the sheeple. Who knows, maybe the Libs will seize the opportunity to get rid of them both. Interesting times!

Lyn

8/11/2011Good Morning Ad and Everybody Newspoll is good news for the Government, ABC 24 haven't mentioned anything yet. Best report by William Bowe:- [i]Newspoll: 53-47 to Coalition, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Newspoll has Labor narrowing the two-party gap from 54-46 a fortnight ago to 53-47, with Labor on 32 per cent of the primary vote (up three), the Coalition on 44 per cent (down one) and the Greens on 12 per cent (down three from an aberrant result last time). On all measures, this is Labor’s strongest and the Coalition’s weakest result since May 27-29. Tony Abbott is up two on disapproval to a new high of 57 per cent, with his approval steady on 34 per cent. Julia Gillard is on 30 per cent and 60 per cent, down one in each case. Abbott leads as preferred prime minister 40-39, narrowing from 39-36 last time http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/11/08/newspoll-53-47-to-coalition/ [i]Julia Gillard lifts Labor off floor in latest Newspoll [/i] by: Matthew Franklin and Christian Kerr From: The Australian November 08, 2011 12:00AM [i]LABOR'S portrayal of Tony Abbott as too negative appears to have hit home, with the latest Newspoll finding voter dissatisfaction with the Opposition Leader's performance at a record high of 57 per cent. And Julia Gillard appears to be staging a political comeback, winning a three-percentage-point increase in Labor's primary vote in the past fortnight, and stretching her gains to six percentage points in the past seven weeks[/i] No Link provided, rest of the story behind paywall:- @GhostWhoVotesGhostWhoVotes #Newspoll Preferred PM: Gillard 39 (+3) Abbott 40 (+1) #auspol 7 hours agovia webFavoriteRetweetReply @GhostWhoVotesGhostWhoVotes #Newspoll Primary Votes: ALP 32 (+3) L/NP 44 (-1) GRN 12 (-3) #auspol 7 hours agovia web FavoriteRetweetReply GhostWhoVotesGhostWhoVotes #Newspoll 2 Party Preferred: ALP 47 (+1) L/NP 53 (-1) #auspol 7 hours agoFavoriteRetweetReply [i]Labor gains ground, Abbott loses sheen, ABC[/i] Dissatisfaction with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott hit a record high as Federal Labor's primary vote staged a comeback in the latest opinion poll . The Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper shows Labor's primary vote is up three points to 32 per cent and has now climbed seven points from its record low of 26 per cent seven weeks ago. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-08/labor-primary-vote-up/3651310/?site=sydney This is a very funny Blog I thought:- [i]The lynching of Tony Abbott by the MSM begins in earnest, The Right Pulse[/i] Economy in bad shape – blame Tony Abbott Business confidence down – blame Tony Abbott Budget facing a fiscal disaster – blame Tony Abbott The Federal government loses control of Australia’s borders – blame Tony Abbott Virtually every government programme a mess – blame Tony Abbott Industrial strife increases – blame Tony Abbott http://www.rightpulse.com/archives/4403 Cheers:):):):):)

Michael

8/11/2011In the following, Niki Savva blows hard and says nothing at all. Presumably paid to do so... behind that paywall. Which appears to be constructed as much of sand as Ms Savva's 'arguments' below. Odds on Shorten to lead, but not yet by: Niki Savva From: The Australian November 08, 2011 IF it is any comfort to the Labor Party, and this column will probably be as welcome as another boatload of asylum-seekers, once the poisonous Rudd-Gillard duel to the death concludes, and depending on the extent of the collateral damage and who is left standing, there are potentially good leaders waiting or in the making. They could, at a pinch, carry on the job in government, or help rebuild from opposition. The knack lies in making sure the right people get into the right jobs at the right time. If both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd are terminated, and in this climate anything is possible -- although people would be bemused if Gillard were deposed and Rudd somehow were eliminated again -- Stephen Smith is ready to take over. Despite the urgings of some, and what he purportedly told people months ago, Bill Shorten will, or he should, save himself for later. Much later. In between, the best person -- and this will probably shock a few people, including him -- is Wayne Swan. Despite protests of varying degrees of intensity that they have no interest in the job, front-line players lust over the leadership. Free trial The ever-cautious Smith grows ever more careful with his answers to leadership questions. For instance, when he was asked about Mark Latham's column last week putting him forward as an alternative to Rudd and Gillard, Smith did not pledge undying loyalty to the leader. Instead he batted away questions about whether he was well positioned by saying: "I'm constrained in terms of Mark's contribution to say in respect of what he's got to say about me as I've said about other articles that he's written, which is I don't frankly read them too carefully or take them too seriously." Was that a no? I don't think so. Shorten fell prey to the wily Neil Mitchell and tried to say that nothing whatsoever was happening, not now, not ever, and he wasn't interested in the leadership, not in this lifetime anyway. What both responses tell you is that Smith is a definite starter and Shorten isn't ready yet. Shorten's performance has improved markedly lately, both in parliament and in the media, especially since he stopped trying too hard, although he needs sharper reflexes to respond to tricky reporters' tricky questions. His greater prominence inevitably fired up speculation, but if there is one lesson Labor should have learned recently, it is that people should not be promoted too quickly. If Labor loses the next election, no matter who is at the helm when it happens, and given the rate at which opposition leaders are chewed up and spat out, Shorten would be best to sit pat. Although he has been around a while, he doesn't look much older than Wyatt Roy, and he is nowhere near experienced enough for political leadership. Ambitious politicians are an absorbing, combustible mix of ego and paranoia. They tend to always consider themselves ready, and they always reckon, privately and occasionally publicly, that they are better than whoever might happen to be leading. When this is combined with their often justified high levels of mistrust given the paucity of true friends in politics, they worry that if they wait, a rival will get there first. But if Shorten is as smart as people think he is, or he thinks he is, he will delay and let Swan plus even Greg Combet overtake him. Once upon a time Shorten was marketed as someone who could straddle the worlds of union and business. He should work on that again and leave the class war rhetoric to Doug Cameron. Strange as it might sound, given the almost universal low to no regard in which he is held now, the person who would be best to lead Labor in the early stages of opposition is Swan. Swan's performance as Treasurer has disappointed many in the Labor Party and he leaves business stone cold. The economy has been one of Labor's success stories, but voters give the government no credit for it, still saying they prefer the Coalition as economic managers. Much of the blame for this is sheeted home to Swan. He fails to inspire confidence partly because he doesn't exude it himself. Failure to return the budget to surplus will only exacerbate this. Swan, much to his chagrin, is invariably absent from lists of possible replacements for Gillard or Rudd. The other Glimmer Twin, Smith, presents an acceptable third way in the triangulated solution, from government at least. Smith has a reputation in the bureaucracy for being, shall we say, extremely methodical. Unkind people would say obsessive-compulsive. However, when you are running a department, this is no bad thing. He reads and corrects briefing papers down to the last full stop and comma. He rarely makes mistakes. He is a competent and confident performer. And he is immaculate. His appearance implies, if nothing else, that he leaves absolutely nothing to chance. If he does emerge to lead Labor into the election, he can definitely be marketed as a safe pair of hands. What he lacks in spontaneity he makes up for in surety and that's a saleable quality given what has happened during the past few years. Opposition requires different skills. Swan has the hide for it but his first battle will be to hang on to his seat of Lilley, where his margin has been whittled down to 3.2 per cent. Assuming he does, he would be the best immediate option to lead the Labor Party. His political talents are much better suited there than they are to government. As an opposition frontbencher, he was an unmitigated pain in the backside for the Howard government. He doggedly zeroed in on the critical issues of family benefits and cost-of-living pressures which he knew the government could do little about. He would brief off snippets to the Sunday newspapers, bounce off the stories with a doorstop, usually at his local shopping mall, and rip into the government on the top rating Sunday night television news. He kept to a tight script and he made sure he was matey with the journos so it was rare for him not to get a good run. Much like now, where mainstream economic correspondents can barely bring themselves to say a bad word about him. He seldom had to sell or explain a policy. All he had to do was slice into his opponents for their alleged neglect and mismanagement. All standard operating procedure for opposition and he was very good at it. He could be again if he has the heart for it. But all this is down the track. First the party must resolve its present dilemma, or endure the reality of the dead woman walking and the Ruddster stalking.

Lyn

8/11/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]What IR debate-, The Piping Shrike[/i] Others in the media, however, are starting to look beyong the phoney IR debate and pick up the embarrassment the reality is causing the Liberals. While Cameron kept on raising the Workchoices bogeyman, Lateline’s Ali Moore was more interested in pressing Frydenberg on the incongruous position that someone supposedly on the right side of IR was now pushing. http://www.pipingshrike.com/2011/11/what-ir-debate.html [i]Government terminates Australia Network tender, The Spy Report[/i] Recently the Government requested the Australian Federal Police investigate the tender including the leaks, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review, after The Australian newspaper published a story saying that Sky News had been selected as the preferred tenderer for a second time.The ABC will continue to operate the service until August 2012 while the Government resolves contractual arrangements. http://www.mediaspy.org/report/2011/11/07/government-terminate-australia-network-tender/?utm_campaign [i]7.5 and rising, Frank’s View,[/i] Public to sue CEO?, myk42Bushfire Bill Posted Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 5:12 pm i think TA has used a little political misdirection - his personal statement refers to a ‘lockout’ and not to grounding the aircraft. So did he know earlier? Its certainly a possibility. And of course if he knew he would make sure that he WAS booked on Qantas. Proof he did not know. http://afrankview.net/ [i]The Finnigan’s Beautiful Set Of Numbers -18/10/2011 Edition.[/i] http://afrankview.net/2011/10/the-finnigans-beautiful-set-of-numbers-18102011-edition/ [i]Caught like an Abbott in the Spotlight, Rex Ringschott , Club Troppo[/i] Abbott’s lashing out at everything like a shark in a feeding frenzy, or whether like me (and probably George) you think the whole thing’s a B-Grade act, by a B-Grade actor who’s learned his trade from Chuck Norris films – one things for sure – people will start to twig to Mr. Abbots fatal flaw -and maybe – just maybe – Labor is in with a shot. http://clubtroppo.com.au/2011/11/07/caught-like-an-abbott-in-the-spotlight/ [i]Leading The Way, Neil Cook, The Bannerman[/i] After waiting for three months to have the thing tied into the grid, which happened at the end of September, the results of just one month’s usage and generation are quite startling. There’s even a credit in the account, which I know will really piss off those who claim a price on carbon will spell the doom of modern society, cost every Australian $40,000 and bring the sky crashing down http://www.waddayano.org/blog/2011/11/leading_the_way.php#more #[i]28 RUDDMANIA – The power of propaganda media, disservice from a News Corporation, Utherssay[/i] The Insiders regularly gives stage to News Ltd “journalist” as commentators including Andrew Bolt, now host of his own program on Channel 10, Chris Kenny, Piers Ackermann, Nicky Sava, Michael Stutchbury among others who could be more accurately be described as Liberal spokesperson rather than journalists. Others also suggest that the 7.30 Report, at times appears to run with News Ltd narratives as well. http://utherssay.com/ [i]'Sorry to you': Bolt blasts blog moderation, The Power Index[/i] announced to his blog readers that "for legal self-protection, I am not able to moderate my blog any longer. All comments must go through our moderating team".Bolt used to moderate the blog himself, with assistance from his wife Sally Morrell and other News Limited staffers. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-move/andrew-bolt-rails-against-blog-moderation/20111107676 [i]Gillard's IR test: first Qantas, now the nurses union, Paul Barry, The Power Index[/i] This makes compulsory arbitration an attractive outcome for employers—so attractive that Qantas was prepared to lock out its workforce and ground its entire fleet to ensure it got there. "The reason why Qantas shut down the airline," says McCallum, "was that Joyce's advisers at Freehills would have told him that arbitration would bring an end to http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/head-to-head/gillard-s-ir-test-first-qantas-now-the-nurses-union/20111107677?utm_source= [i]Lessons from the Qantas shutdownm Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless[/i] The whole idea that the incumbent government is incompetent is starting to look a little thin, while far from being comprehensively rebutted. The whole idea that the Coalition are no better, and may even be worse, is starting to take hold and the proof coming from this incident counts against the Coalition http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/2011/11/lessons-from-qantas-shutdown.html [i]The Forecast Deficit , Mr Denmore, The Failed Estate [/i] Access Economics is one such body whose regular prognostications, helpfully dropped into the media's lap on slow news day Sundays, ritually enjoy a free plug (see Crikey) in the nation's newspapers and broadcast outlets with no attention ever paid to how much it gets wrong. Dear Aunty ABC felt Access was such an unbiased source http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/2011/11/forecast-deficit.html [i]Did someone mention a deficit?, Min,Café Whispers[/i] The Opposition’s accidental new best friend, Chris Richardson, economist of Deloitte Access Economics has suggested that a budget surplus may not be such a wise idea given that Europe’s economic outook is somewhat fragile, though not entirely horrific. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/did-someone-mention-a-deficit/ A[i] surplus of bluster - a deficit of understanding , Stephen Koukoulas[/i] While tough to achieve, it seems more likely than not there still will be a budget surplus in 2012-13 regardless of what Access or any other forecaster suggests.I will post something later why a return to surplus in 2012-13 is so important economically and politically - stay tuned. http://stephenkoukoulas.blogspot.com/2011/11/surplus-of-bluster-deficit-of.html [i]A Budget surplus in 2012-13: Good economics - Great Politics, Stephen Koukoulas[/i] This would also bring into focus the economic policies of the Opposition, who for the moment seem unable to work out the difference between the plus and minus signs in their fiscal spreadsheet. How would they deliver a surplus with no MRRT, no carbon price, yet deliver all of its promised spending? http://stephenkoukoulas.blogspot.com/2011/11/budget-surplus-in-2012-13-good.html [i]Accessing free publicity from an uncritical media, Bernard Keane, Crikey[/i] Access is an economic consultancy that hires itself out to anyone who wants an “independent” economic research report to strengthen their case. And Access isn’t shy about taking sides on major public debates. There was its intervention, paid for by the Distilled Spirits Council of Australia, in the alcopops debate, labelled “as dodgy as a three-day http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/07/accessing-free-publicity-from-an-uncritical-media/ [i]What’s so good about a budget surplus?, Pat McGrath The Conversation[/i] How important is it that Australia returns to surplus? It’s worth catching up with some of The Conversation’s coverage of this important – and highly contested – question. http://theconversation.edu.au/whats-so-good-about-a-budget-surplus-4180?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweetbutton&utm_campaign [i]Simons: Dear (Media) Diary, you are just so predictable …, Margaret Simons, Crikey[/i] The material I reported by Twitter on Wednesday afternoon was information that News Limited has spent more than 18 months trying tosuppress  — the Australian Federal Police Commissioner’s account of his conversation with then Australian editor Paul Whittaker, in which the latter allegedly questioned “how many lives” would be lost if The Oz published its scoop. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/07/simons-dear-diary-you-are-just-so-predictable/ [i]Short memories at the Oz, Dave Gaukroger, Pure Poison[/i] Joyce now appears to be a hero at The Australian due to his willingness to take extreme action to upset unions that represent his workforce, so there’ll be no more mockery of his accent or heritage thank you very much. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/11/07/short-memories-at-the-oz/ [i]Menacing media talks up another Labor coup, Mungo Maccallum, Unleashed[/i] the journalists. Particularly within News Ltd, they seem incapable of writing about anything else. If we actually entered a period of stability within the Labor Party (admittedly not likely in the immediate future) we would have to buy the Murdoch hacks a set of alphabet blocks to keep them occupied. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3644026.html [i]NBN enabled telework will mean businesses reap benefits, Senator the Hon. Stephen Conroy[/i] “The NBN will allow Australian businesses to work more efficiently by cutting costs and increasing staffing flexibility. It will open new opportunities to recruit and keep staff across Australia.” http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2011/277 [i]Paul Keating, Jon Faine, ABC[/i] Today we get an insight into the ambition and imagination that still drives former Prime Minister Paul Keating. Mining magnates, Kerry Packer, the Murdoch press and the Queen - they're all in the firing line. http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/11/07/3357979.htm?site=melbourne&microsite=faine&section=latest&date=(none) [i]Who's Protected By Unfair Dismissal Laws?, Joel Trigg, New Matilda[/i] As industrial relations returns to public debate on the back of the Qantas dispute, expect to hear much more from right wing commentators like Henderson about the evils of the unfair dismissal laws. Just don’t expect them to actually provide any data to support their arguments. http://newmatilda.com/2011/11/07/unfair-dismissal-laws [i]Qantas Says ‘Sorry’ With Free Tickets, Tracy Withers, Bloomberg[/i] Fair Work ordered an end to stoppages on Oct. 31, giving the airline and its engineers, long-haul pilots and baggage handlers 21 days to reach a new contract or face binding arbitration. The disruption cost Qantas A$68 million ($71 million), the airline has said. The offer of free flights may cost the carrier as much as A$20 million, the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph newspaper reported at the weekend. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-05/qantas-offers-free-flights-to-customers-disrupted-by-grounding-of-fleet.html?cmpid=bit [i]Labor negotiations resume in Qantas dispute, Asian Correspondent[/i] Both sides were back at the negotiating table Monday for the first time since the drama unfolded. Steve Purvinas, secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, said another negotiating session was scheduled for Thursday.“By today (Monday), we’ll know whether Qantas are interested in negotiating an outcome or whether they’ll continue to stonewall — which has been the case up until now,” Purvinas said. http://asiancorrespondent.com/69002/labor-negotiations-resume-in-qantas-dispute/?utm_source=Asian+Correspondent&utm_campaign [i]Grilling Qantas, Macro Business[/i] The hansard of last Friday’s Qantas Senate hearing was released today and it’s a real eye-opener. I recommend you read it cover to cover because you’re unlikely to find anything quite so darkly amusing for some time. What it shows is that there is something very weird happening in relations between government and business these days. Here, for instance, is one exchange between Senator Nick Xenophon and Jetstar boss Bruce Buchanon : http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/11/the-qantas-grilling/ [i]Scribe launches Journalism at the Crosswords as exclusive ebook-only publication,Jessica Au , Readings Com[/i] Melbourne publishing house Scribe has today made an interesting foray into the digital marketplace – releasing Margaret Simons’s Journalism at the Crossroads exclusively as an ebook-only publication.While many publishers have by now begun to release digital counterparts to their physical books, Scribe is one of the first Australian publisher to forgo a print edition altogether http://www.readings.com.au/news/scribe-launches-journalism-at-the-crosswords-as-exclusive-ebook-only-publication [i]FRACKING… THE BATTLE CONTINUES, Wendy Harmer, The Hoopla[/i] “Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial gas extraction technique that uses high pressure solutions to fracture rocks deep underground. The process is used in both coal seam gas and shale gas extraction and, if poorly executed, can contaminate groundwater and trigger seismic activity.” http://thehoopla.com.au/coal-seam-gas-view/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HooplaNov7&utm_content=HooplaNov7+CID_e6f725ea83b63c11607302c1633f1 [i]Analysis: "Blood oath" on CO2 laws to haunt Australia's Abbott, David Fogarty and Rob Taylor, Reuters[/i] A combination of pressure from business demanding certainty for investment, voter fatigue and the constitutionally tortuous process of repealing laws will likely force Abbott to back down, analysts say. If an Abbott-led government presses ahead with the repeal threat, it risks damage to the economy, legal action and high costs for industries, they say. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/us-australia-carbon-idUSTRE7A60PO20111107 [i]Question Time Awards Take Your New Paradigm and............[/i] THETHE WINNER OF 'THE MOST LONG-WINDED QUESTION' AWARD IS:It's a tie of sorts, between Senator Larissa Waters of the Australian Greens and Senator Ron Boswell of the National Party. http://takeyournewparadigmand.blogspot.com/ Interesting: [i]More Reasons to Indulge in Chocolate, Real Age[/i] We're also not talking slight improvements. Research reveals that consuming a healthy amount of chocolate reduces your risk of heart disease by 37% and stroke by 29% versus eating little or none. (Not coincidentally, it also lowers your bad LDL cholesterol.) In addition, it shrinks your risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 31%. These impressive numbers emerged from an analysis of seven studies involving more than 100,000 people. http://www.realage.com/health-tips/more-good-reasons-to-eat-chocolate?eid=1010648608&memberid=13037445 Cheers everybody Enjoy:):):):):)

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8/11/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx Lyn, that set of links is near record - many thanks for such a comprehensive collection of reading material.

Michael

8/11/2011If nothing else, last night's Q&A confirmed that if Malcolm is the Messiah, the Coalition is in a lot of trouble. He likes to talk the measured patrician tones, but just listen, listen. Abbott shouts nonsense, Turnbull pontificates it. The idea that he looks and sounds like a Prime Minister is nonsense. He could do Deputy PM if he was a National, one step behind the real power on the throne, but sitting on it? He'd disappear. With Turnbull as PM we would really be living in the land of Oz. Never forget, this guy was taken in by Godwin Grech. Perfectly confirming Paul Keating's opinion of him that the man may be intelligent ("brilliant"), he may be determined ("fearless"), but he lacks "judgement". In my judgement, his 'intelligence' is relatively impressive - relative to Abbott and his kitchen cabinet (you know, the one under the sink with the plunger in it); his 'determination' is manifest in his multiple positions on the NBN, each one sailed past as if it were one more building block in a consistent policy, not a marker buoy of his erratic steering back, forward, and under the Harbour. And his judgement? Witness not only Godwin Grech, but also... last night's vinyl-look leather jacket.

Lyn

8/11/2011Good Morning Ad Yes those links beat my record. Happy reading. there is some excellent writing there and wonderful reports. The bloggers are just wonderful they make me exhilerated , refreshed and energetic, It is so good to be home, with all my TPS friends, and my cottage comforts. We are very lucky, we can go out everyday just have to visit TPS. Have a nice day Ad Astra Cheers:):):):):):):):)

Lyn

8/11/2011Hi Michael Love your magnificent posts this morning, brilliant work. [quote]Never forget, this guy was taken in by Godwin Grech[/quote] Godwin Grech is etched on Turnbull's shoulder, cut in with acid. I saw Godwin sitting there last night. The jacket yuck speaks for itself, and his poor airlines, they are so poor, this coming from a millionaire: the share prices have been down for years Oh! dear. Cheers:):):):):)

2353

8/11/2011Wow Lyn - that there is a lot of links :). I'm reading "Merchants of Doubt" by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway at the monent. The subtitle is [i]"How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from Tobacco Smoker to Global Warming"[/i]. While I haven't got too far into it, there is a lovely concept in the early part of the book. [quote]THe writer C. S. Lewis once characterized this style of argument: "The very lack of evidence is thus treated as evidence; the absence of smoke proves that the fire is very carefully hidden". Such arguments are effectively impossible to refute, as Lewis noted. "A belief in invisible cats cannot be logically disproved," although it does "tell us a good deal about those who hold it."[/quote] The book is also going deeply into the anti-communist (conservative) beliefs of a number of the scientists who were involved in the Atomic Bomb project and then went on to become the "eminent" scienists in the USA during the 50's, 60's and 70's. It seems that a lot of US science was framed around the "requirement" to beat the Soviets. Could it be that Abbott has been using the "invisible cat" attack for so long - there is now some generalised doubt about the person (and his support system)?

Michael

8/11/2011More prognosticative tosh from Peter Reith. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3650636.html Reads like it was written by a man standing in front of a mirror with one hand full of Kleenex tissues. (No, don't try to picture that!)

Gravel

8/11/2011Michael I didn't watch last night, haven't watched it for ages, but all you say about Turnbull is true. He tried the raised voice on the radio today saying wtte 'this government bad' blah blah blah. He can't carry on like Liealot has, he'll have to be different, as going by the latest polls the population seems to have turned off abbott and or the liberals. If Turnbull plans to replace liealott, he'll need to talk sensible policy stuff and stay well away from playing the politics.

Lyn

8/11/2011 Hi Ad Very exciting day for Australia today, here are some tweets for you. Twitter is going wild with excitement over the Carbon Tax:- Abbott's Crash Begins, Darin Sullivan, The Left hack http://lefthack.net/abbotts-crash-begins-auspol z3n_digitalZen Digital #auspol a must have song for today to Celebrate Carbon Tax Day http://youtu.be/LiYZxOlCN10 Float away Mofo 18 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply AshGhebraniousAshGhebranious Carbon Pricing. A policy 20 years in the making. #auspol #abcnews24 22 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply GetUpGetUp! In Canberra to mark the passing of #CarbonPrice legislation - marquee's almost ready for our time-capsule ceremony: http://pic.twitter.com/582cD3CO TheKoukStephen Koukoulas by gordongraham Re Newspoll - The Coalition Primary vote is only a fraction above where is was when they lost in 2010... It cant win with 43% primary AndrewCatsarasAndrew Catsaras Wonder if @JuliaGillard might be singing this today? http://bit.ly/vq0dhF DrWomMark McDonell by MisdaMagoo #auspol Is it true @TonyAbbottMHR has bravely run away on the day the carbon legislation will pass the senate? #Hahahahaha Thought4rceThink Big by watermelon_man Carbon Pricing to be confirmed by the senate and the #mediainquiry to get under way. All in all a great day in politics today. #auspol z3n_digitalZen Digital #carbontax day today all LNP supporters , deniers , skeptics will run for the hills .. say good bye to them as they run AuSenateAustralian Senate by AboutTheHouse Senate starts today at 10am - see the agenda (the Red) http://bit.ly/gmrWlY I better hurry my husband is waiting to take me grocery shopping this morning, lucky for me he has a placid nature. Cheers:):):):):):)

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8/11/2011Hi Lyn I see you are right into it again, with links, tweets and comments. It’s gratifying that you get so much out of the dialogue here on [i]TPS[/i]; you bring verve and excitement to the site. It is pleasing to see Labor’s polling position trending upwards, although we ought not to get too excited about a few less unfavourable polls. We should not underestimate the capacity of News Limited to beat up an adverse story before the next [i]Newspoll[/i] in the hope of reversing the favourable trend towards Labor, so they can blast us with a headline: “Gillard recovery short-lived”.

TalkTurkey

8/11/2011On Poll Bludger Bushfire Bill said "My sister just pointed out to me that when Gillard was giving a speech to the troops in Afghanistan there was a large flatscreen in the background playing *an AFL games* [[i]sic[/i](TT)] [i]with the sound turned up loudly.[/i] This was right through the part of her speech that dealt with the death of the three soldiers just a week or so ago. I Googled it and checked. Just as my sister reported. Disgusting. They should find whoever was responsible for letting this TV program continue through a Prime Minister’s speech and take a stripe or two off their shoulders. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1602859/Gillard-greets-troops-in-Afghanistan" Now that's really sloppy reportage BB. I don't mean the typo. I mean, It's not [i]AFL, [/i]it's [i][u]Thugby[/u][/i]! :)

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8/11/2011Michael I read the Peter Reith article. Most of it could have been written by anyone who knows this man; he is so predictable. As expected, he is still urging Tiny Abbott to take action on the IR front. If he’s not careful he may push him in front of his IR train, which has a WorkChoices diner. Is Reith Abbott’s friend or just a means for Reith to have the Coalition return to its old IR ideology?

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8/11/20112353 The book you are reading sound interesting and relevant to contemporary politics. Please feed us more quotable quotes.

nasking

8/11/2011Feral, what an intriguing post...I'm lookin' forward to goin' thru it in more detail later in the day. BTW, what dya think of this Berlusconi fella?...talk about a hit-job on the world economy. The slightest indication of him resigning eases pressure. Sadly, I reckon this mini-Mussolini has mad a bloody mess of Italy due to endemic corruption, the crushing of respect for women, allowing underworld crims to run rampant, playing games w/ refugees & immigration, permitting certain buddies & super-rich to lord over others like old time aristocrats, impeding progress of business by way of shonky regulations that benefit his chosen businesses...oft flooding money into the accounts of him & his mini-empire...allowing property developers to ruin valuable historical & environmental areas for to create more moolah pipelines...rigging the judicial system...turning the media into a propaganda machine & joke... Bad seed: He is the [b]longest-serving post war Prime Minister of Italy, and third longest-serving since the creation of Italy, after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti[/b]. He held this position on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008. As of 2011, [b]Forbes magazine has ranked him as the 118th richest man in the world with a net worth of US$7.8 billion[/b]... Berlusconi has been criticised for his dominance over the Italian media. His broadcasting company Mediaset is the largest in the country and Berlusconi has never fulfilled his election promises to sell off his assets in the company to avoid a conflict of interest. His leadership has also been recently undermined by sex scandals. [b]In early October 2011, his government attempted to pass a law restricting internet freedom of speech. The law would have required websites to publish corrections of 'controversial' content...[/b] After completing his secondary school education at a Salesian college, he studied law at the Università Statale in Milan, graduating (with honor) in 1961 with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising. [b]Berlusconi was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in the Italian army which was compulsory at the time...[/b] Fininvest In 1978 Berlusconi founded his first media group, [b]Fininvest[/b], and joined the Propaganda Due masonic lodge. [b]In the five years leading up to 1983 he earned some 113 billion Italian liras (€58.3 million). The funding sources are still unknown because of the complex system of holding companies that makes them impossible to trace, despite investigations conducted by various state attorneys.[/b] Fininvest soon expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations which had similar programming, forming, in effect, a single national network. This was seen as breaching the Italian public broadcaster RAI's statutory monopoly on creating a national network which was later abolished. In 1980, Berlusconi founded Italy's first private national network, Canale 5, followed shortly thereafter by Italia 1 which was bought from the Rusconi family in 1982, and Rete 4, which was bought from Mondadori in 1984. Berlusconi was assisted in his successful effort to create the first and only Italian commercial TV empire by his connections to Bettino Craxi, secretary-general of the Italian Socialist Party and also prime minister of Italy at that time, whose government passed, on 20 October 1984, an emergency decree legalising the nationwide transmissions made by Berlusconi's television stations. This was because, on 16 October 1984, judges in Turin, Pescara and Rome, enforcing a law which previously restricted nationwide broadcasting to RAI, had ordered these private networks to cease transmitting. In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media group Kirch (now bankrupt) and then by public offer. In 1999 Berlusconi expanded his media interests by forming a partnership with Kirch called the Epsilon Media Group. On 9 July, a Milan court ordered Fininvest to pay 560 million euros in damages to Compagnie Industriale Riunite in a long-running legal dispute. fortune [b]According to Forbes, Berlusconi is Italy's third richest man, estimated to own assets worth $9 billion in 2010, in the fields of television, newspapers, publishing, cinema, finance, banking, insurance, and even sport.[/b] [b]Berlusconi's main company, Mediaset, comprises three national television channels, which together cover approximately a half of the national television sector; and Publitalia, the leading Italian advertising and publicity agency. Berlusconi also owns a controlling stake in Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, the largest Italian publishing house, whose publications include Panorama, one of the country's most popular news magazines. His brother, Paolo Berlusconi, owns and operates il Giornale, a centre-right wing newspaper which provides a strong pro-Berlusconi slant on Italy and its politics. Il Foglio, one of the most influential Italian right-wing newspapers, is partially owned by his wife, Veronica Lario. After selling her stocks in 2010, Paolo Berlusconi acquired a commanding interest. Berlusconi is also the founder and major shareholder of Fininvest, which is among the ten largest private companies in Italy and currently operates in media and finance. With Ennio Doris he founded Mediolanum, one of the country's biggest banking and insurance groups. He has interests in cinema and home video distribution (Medusa Film and Penta Film). He is also the owner of the European football club A.C. Milan which along with Boca Juniors has won the most FIFA recognized international club titles in the world.[/b]Overview of allegations [b]Silvio Berlusconi has an extensive record of criminal allegations, including mafia collusion, false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges. Berlusconi has been tried in Italian courts in several cases. In three of these cases accusations were dropped by the judiciary because of laws passed by Berlusconi's parliamentary majority shortening the time limit for prosecution of various offences and making false accounting illegal only if there is a specific damaged party reporting the fact to the authorities.[/b] Berlusconi has always been able to afford top lawyers, for example [b]Nicolas Sarkozy was one of his French top advocates[/b]. Some of his former prosecutors later joined the parliamentary opposition. Some of his attorneys are also members of parliament. Economic conflicts of interest [b]According to journalists Marco Travaglio and Enzo Biagi, Berlusconi entered politics to save his companies from bankruptcy and himself from convictions.[/b] From the very beginning he said it clearly to his associates. Berlusconi's supporters hailed him as the "new man", an outsider who was going to bring a new efficiency to the public bureaucracy and reform the state from top to bottom. While investigating these matters, three journalists noted the following facts: Mediobanca's annual report about the 10 biggest Italian companies showed that, in 1992, Berlusconi's media and finance group Fininvest had about 7,140 billion lire of debts, 8,193 billion lire of assets (with 35% of liquidity) and a net worth of 1,053 billion lire. [b]The asset-debt ratio represented a patrimonial situation bordering on bankruptcy.[/b] Between 1992 and 1993, Fininvest was investigated several times by prosecutors in Milan, Turin and Rome. The investigations regarded: alleged bribes (to political parties and public officials with the aim of getting contracts), alleged fake invoicing by Publitalia, the financing of political congresses and abuse of television frequencies. On the other hand Bruno Vespa noticed that "In January 1994, Silvio Berlusconi was under no proceedings. Two members of the staff from the Ministry of the Finances were charged to be corrupted for a minor episode by a Fininvest manager, but the accusation would have later fallen. Aldo Brancher, who was working with Fininvest at the time, was charged for having financed some stands at the "Feste dell'Unità" and "L'Avanti!", and he would have been declared fully not guilty only in 2004. Paolo Berlusconi [Silvio Berlusconi's brother] was instead arrested [...] after the Cavaliere went into politics." After having decided to enter the political arena, Berlusconi was investigated for forty different inquests in less than two years. Controversy concerning Berlusconi's 'conflicts of interest' are usually centered around the use of his media and marketing power for political gain. [b]However, there is also controversy regarding his financial gains. When RAI was being run by a two-man team appointed by the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (both in Berlusconi's coalition), the state broadcaster increased its viewers, but lost a significant share of its advertising revenue to the rival Mediaset group, owned and run by the Berlusconi family, which has led to large personal gain.[/b] [b]Berlusconi's governments has passed some laws that have shortened statutory terms for tax fraud.[/b] Romano Prodi, who defeated Berlusconi in 2006, claimed that these were ad personam laws, meant to solve Berlusconi's problems and defend his interests. Relationship with media Media control and conflict of interest Berlusconi's extensive control over the media has been widely criticised by some analysts, some press freedom organisations, and extensively on several Italian newspapers, national and private TV channels by opposition leaders and in general opposition parties members, who allege Italy's media has limited freedom of expression. However such covereage of the complaint in practice put under discussion the point of the complaint itself. [b]The Freedom of the Press 2004 Global Survey, an annual study issued by the American organisation Freedom House, downgraded Italy's ranking from 'Free' to 'Partly Free' due to Berlusconi's influence over RAI, a ranking which, in "Western Europe" was shared only with Turkey (as of 2005).[/b] [b]Reporters Without Borders states that in 2004, "The conflict of interests involving prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his vast media empire was still not resolved and continued to threaten news diversity".[/b] In April 2004, the International Federation of Journalists joined the criticism, objecting to the passage of a law vetoed by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2003, which critics believe is designed to protect Berlusconi's reported 90% control of the Italian national media. [b]Berlusconi owns via Mediaset 3 of 7 national TV channels: (Canale 5, Italia 1, and Rete 4).[/b] The former Italian center-left coalition of Romano Prodi was often criticised for failing to pass a law to regulate the potential conflict of interest that might arise between media ownership and the holding of political office, despite having governed Italy for an entire legislature from 1996 to 2001. [b]In 2002, Luciano Violante, a prominent member of the Left, said in a speech in Parliament: "Honourable Anedda, I invite you to ask the honourable Berlusconi, because he certainly knows that he received a full guarantee in 1994, when the government changed — that TV stations would not be touched. He knows it and the Honourable Letta knows it."[/b] [b]The authors of the book Inciucio cite this sentence as evidence for the idea that the Left made a deal with Berlusconi in 1994[/b], in which a promise was made not to honour a law in the Constitutional Court of Italy that would have required Berlusconi to give up one of his three TV channels in order to uphold pluralism and competition. According to the authors, this would be an explanation of why the Left, despite having won the 1996 elections, did not pass a law to solve the conflicts of interest between media ownership and politics. Berlusconi's influence over RAI became evident when in Sofia, Bulgaria he expressed his views on journalists Enzo Biagi and Michele Santoro, and comedian Daniele Luttazzi. Berlusconi said that they "use television as a criminal means of communication". They lost their jobs as a result. This statement was called by critics "Editto Bulgaro". [b]The TV broadcasting of a satirical programmme called RAIot was censored in November 2003 after the comedienne Sabina Guzzanti made outspoken criticism of the Berlusconi media empire.[/b] Mediaset, one of Berlusconi's companies, sued RAI over Guzzanti's program, demanding 20 million euros for "damages"; in November 2003 the show was cancelled by the president of RAI, Lucia Annunziata. The details of the event were made into a Michael Moore-style documentary called Viva Zapatero!, which was produced by Guzzanti. Mediaset, Berlusconi's television group, has stated that it uses the same criteria as the public (state-owned) television RAI in assigning a proper visibility to all the most important political parties and movements (the so-called 'Par Condicio') – which has been since often disproved. In March 2006, on the television channel Rai Tre, in a television interview with Lucia Annunziata during his talk show, In 1/2 h, he stormed out of the studio because of a disagreement with the host journalist regarding the economic consequences of his government. In November 2007, allegations of news manipulation caused the departure from RAI of Berlusconi's personal assistant. Enrico Mentana, the news anchor long seen as a guarantor of Canale 5’s independence, walked out in April 2008, saying that he no longer felt “at home in a group that seems like an electoral (campaign) committee” On 24 June 2009, Silvio Berlusconi during the Confindustria young members congress in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy has invited the advertisers to interrupt or boycott the advertising contracts with the magazines and newspapers published by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, in particular the la Repubblica and the newsmagazine L'espresso, calling the publishing group "shameless",[58] because is fueling the economic crisis speaking more and more about it and accusing also to make a subversive attack against him to replace with an "un-elected". The publishing group has announced to begin legal proceedings against Berlusconi, to protect the image and the interests of the group. On 12 October 2009, Silvio Berlusconi during the Confindustria Monza and Brianza members congress, has again invited the industrialists present to a "widespread rebellion" against a "newspaper that hadn't any limits in discrediting the government and the country and indoctrinating foreign newspapers". In October 2009, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard declared that Berlusconi "is on the verge of being added to our list of Predators of Press Freedom", which would be a first for a European leader. He also added that Italy will probably be ranked last in the European Union in the upcoming edition of the RWB press freedom index. The EconomistOne of Berlusconi's strongest critics in the media outside Italy is the British weekly The Economist (nicknamed by Berlusconi "The Ecommunist"), which in its issue of 26 April 2001 carried a title on its front cover, 'Why Silvio Berlusconi is unfit to lead Italy'. The war of words between Berlusconi and The Economist has gained notoriety, with Berlusconi taking the publication to court in Rome and The Economist publishing letters against him. The magazine claimed that the documentation contained in its article proves that Berlusconi is 'unfit' for office because of his numerous conflicts of interest. Berlusconi claimed the article contained "a series of old accusations" that was an "insult to truth and intelligence". According to The Economist's findings, Berlusconi, while Prime Minister of Italy, retained effective control of 90% of all national television broadcasting. This figure included stations he owns directly as well as those over which he had indirect control by dint of his position as Prime Minister and his ability to influence the choice of the management bodies of these stations. The Economist has also claimed that the Italian Prime Minister is corrupt and self-serving. A key journalist for The Economist, David Lane, has set out many of these charges in his book Berlusconi's Shadow. Lane points out that Berlusconi has not defended himself in court against the main charges, but has relied upon political and legal manipulations, most notably by changing the statute of limitation to prevent charges being completed in the first place. In order to publicly prove the truth of the documented accusations contained in their articles, the newspaper has publicly challenged Berlusconi to sue The Economist for libel. Berlusconi did so, losing versus The Economist, and being charged for all the trial costs on 5 September 2008, when the Court in Milan issued a judgment rejecting all Mr Berlusconi's claims and sentenced him to compensate for legal expenses. In June 2011, The Economist published a strong article dealing with Mr. Berlusconi, titled "The Man who screwed an entire country". Friendship with Bettino CraxiBerlusconi's career as an entrepreneur is also often questioned by his detractors. The allegations made against him generally include suspicions about the extremely fast increase of his activity as a construction entrepreneur in years 1961–63, hinting at the possibility that in those years he received money from unknown and possibly illegal sources. These accusations are regarded by Berlusconi and his supporters as empty slander, trying to undermine Berlusconi's reputation as a self-made man. Also frequently cited by opponents are events dating to the 1980s, including supposed "favour exchanges" between Berlusconi and Bettino Craxi, the former Socialist prime minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party convicted in 1994 for various corruption charges. The Milan magistrates who indicted and successfully convicted Mr. Craxi in their "Clean Hands" investigation laid bare an entrenched system in which businessmen paid hundreds of millions of dollars to political parties or individual politicians in exchange for sweetheart deals with Italian state companies and the government itself. Berlusconi acknowledges a personal friendship with Craxi. Legislative changes On some occasions, which raised a strong upheaval in the Italian political opposition, laws passed by the Berlusconi administration have effectively delayed ongoing trials on him. Relevant examples are the law reducing punishment for all cases of false accounting and the law on legitimate suspicion, which allowed defendants to request their cases to be moved to another court if they believe that the local judges are biased against them.7, 8 Because of these legislative actions, political opponents accuse Berlusconi of passing these laws for the purpose of protecting himself from legal charges. An enquiry realised by the newspaper La Repubblica sustained that Berlusconi passed 17 different laws which have advantaged himself; Berlusconi and his allies, on the other hand, maintain that such laws are consistent with everyone's right to a rapid and just trial, and with the principle of presumption of innocence (garantismo); furthermore, they claim that Berlusconi is being subjected to a political "witch hunt", orchestrated by certain (allegedly left-wing) judges11. For such reasons, Berlusconi and his government have an ongoing quarrel with the Italian judiciary, which reached its peak in 2003 when Berlusconi commented to a foreign journalist that judges are "mentally disturbed" and "anthropologically different from the rest of the human race", remarks that he later claimed he meant to be directed to specific judges only, and of a humorous nature. More seriously, the Berlusconi administration has long been planning a judiciary reform intended to limit the flexibility currently enjoyed by judges and magistrates in their decision-making, but which, according to its critics, will instead limit the magistrature's independence, by de facto subjecting the judiciary to the executive's control. This reform has met almost unanimous dissent from the Italian judges and, after three years of debate and struggle, was passed by the Italian parliament in December 2004, but was immediately vetoed by the Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, because of the unconstitutionality of some of the passed laws. Berlusconi has also been indicted in Spain for charges of tax fraud and violation of anti-trust laws regarding the private television network Telecinco, but his status as a member of the European Parliament allowed him to gain immunity from prosecution until 2005. All the accused have been acquitted by the Spanish Supreme Court in July 2008. During the night hours between 5 and 6 March 2010, the Berlusconi-led Italian government passed a decree interpreting the electoral law so as to let the PDL candidate run for governor in Lazio after she had failed to properly register for the elections. The Italian Constitution states that electoral procedures can only be changed in Parliament, and must not be changed by governmental decree. Italy's President, whose endorsement of the decree was required by law, said amid much controversy that the measure taken by the government may not violate the Constitution. [i]Alleged links to the Mafia“ Berlusconi, in order to solve his problems, has to solve ours. ” —Mafia boss Giuseppe Guttadauro in a wiretapped conversation.[/i] [b]Silvio Berlusconi has never been tried on charges relating to Cosa Nostra, although several Mafia turncoats have stated that Berlusconi had connections with the Sicilian criminal association[/b]. The claims arise mostly from the hiring of Vittorio Mangano, charged for Mafia association, as a gardener and stable-man at Berlusconi's Villa San Martino in Arcore, a small town near Milan. It was Berlusconi's friend Marcello Dell'Utri who introduced Mangano to Berlusconi in 1973. Berlusconi denied any ties to the Mafia. Marcello Dell'Utri even stated that the Mafia did not exist at all. In 2004 Dell'Utri, co-founder of Forza Italia, was sentenced to nine years by a Palermo court on charge of "external association to the Mafia", a sentence describing Dell'Utri as a mediator between the economical interests of Berlusconi and members of the criminal organisation. Berlusconi refused to comment on the sentence. In 2010, Palermo's appeals court cut the sentence to seven years but fully confirmed Dell'Utri's role as a link between Berlusconi and the mafia until 1992. In 1996, a Mafia informer, Salvatore Cancemi, declared that Berlusconi and Dell'Utri were in direct contact with Salvatore Riina, head of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s and 90s. Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafioso Vittorio Mangano, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (between 100 000 and 200 000 of today's euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular the harsh 41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in return for political favours. After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi’s allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi’s alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996. According to yet another mafia turncoat, Antonino Giuffrè – arrested on 16 April 2002 – the Mafia turned to Berlusconi's Forza Italia party to look after the Mafia's interests, after the decline in the early 1990s of the ruling Christian Democrat party, whose leaders in Sicily looked after the Mafia's interests in Rome. The Mafia's fall out with the Christian Democrats became clear when Salvo Lima was killed in March 1992. "The Lima murder marked the end of an era," Giuffrè told the court. "A new era opened with a new political force on the horizon which provided the guarantees that the Christian Democrats were no longer able to deliver. To be clear, that party was Forza Italia." Dell'Utri was the go-between on a range of legislative efforts to ease pressure on mafiosi in exchange for electoral support, according to Giuffrè. "Dell'Utri was very close to Cosa Nostra and a very good contact point for Berlusconi," he said. Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano told Giuffrè that they "were in good hands" with Dell'Utri, who was a "serious and trustworthy person". Provenzano stated that the Mafia's judicial problems would be resolved within 10 years after 1992, thanks to the undertakings given by Forza Italia. Giuffrè also said that Berlusconi himself used to be in touch with Stefano Bontade, a top Mafia boss, in the mid 1970s. At the time Berlusconi still was just a wealthy real estate developer and started his private television empire. Bontade visited Berlusconi's villa in Arcore through his contact Vittorio Mangano. Berlusconi's lawyer dismissed Giuffrè's testimony as "false" and an attempt to discredit the Prime Minister and his party. Giuffrè said that other Mafia representatives who were in contact with Berlusconi included the Palermo Mafia bosses Filippo Graviano and Giuseppe Graviano. The Graviano brothers allegedly treated directly with Berlusconi through the business-man Gianni Letta, somewhere between September/October 1993. The alleged pact with the Mafia fell apart in 2002. Cosa Nostra had achieved nothing. Dell'Utri's lawyer, Enrico Trantino, dismissed Giuffrè’s allegations as an "anthology of hearsay". He said Giuffrè had perpetuated the trend that every new turncoat would attack Dell'Utri and the former Christian Democrat prime minister Giulio Andreotti in order to earn money and judicial privileges. In October 2009, Gaspare Spatuzza, a Mafioso turned pentito in 2008, has confirmed Giuffrè statements. Spatuzza testified that his boss Giuseppe Graviano had told him in 1994 that Berlusconi was bargaining with the Mafia, concerning a political-electoral agreement between Cosa Nostra and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Spatuzza said Graviano disclosed the information to him during a conversation in a bar Graviano owned in the upscale Via Veneto district of the Italian capital Rome. Dell'Utri was the intermediary, according to Spatuzza. Dell'Utri has dismissed Spatuzza's allegations as "nonsense". Berlusconi’s lawyer and MP for the PdL, Niccolò Ghedini said that "the statements given by Spatuzza about prime minister Berlusconi are baseless and can be in no way verified." [edit] Foreign Relations[edit] Russia Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin.Berlusconi has a warm relationship with Vladimir Putin. [b]In November 2007 Italy’s state-owned energy company Eni signed an agreement with Russian state-owned Gazprom to build the South Stream pipeline.[/b] Investigating Italian parliament members discovered that Central Energy Italian Gas Holding (CEIGH), a part of the Centrex Group, was to play a major role in the lucrative agreement. Bruno Mentasti-Granelli, a close friend of Berlusconi, owned 33 percent of CEIGH. Italian parliament blocked the contract and accused Berlusconi of having a personal interest in the Eni-Gazprom agreement. On 1 December 2010, [b]Wikileaks[/b] leaked American state diplomatic cables showing that American officials voiced concerns over [b]Berlusconi's extraordinary closeness to Putin[/b], "including 'lavish gifts,' lucrative energy contracts and a 'shadowy' Russian-speaking Italian go-between". Diplomats consider him "to be the mouthpiece of Putin" in Europe... much much more here...including info re: Berlusconi's relationship w/ a former Libyan dictator: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi Italy has become a joke...the people have allowed themselves to be distracted, seduced & duped. Not unlike those in Russia. Berlusconi & his associates think they are UNTOUCHABLES...they are not. They are common criminals pretending to be saviours of democracy. They should've been jailed a good long time ago. But our corporate aristocracy & robber barons over the past few decades have permitted Berlusconi, Murdoch, Putin, Texan oil barons & many other crims to get away things that ruthless Middle Ages' kings & barons could only have dreamed of... How about some courage & integrity Italy? These are no Bicycle Thieves...Ladri di biciclette... rather they are the thieves who stole Italy's assets, money, pride, media, judicial system & women's rights...any many many other things valuable to that country. Berlusconi & associates OUT. N'

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Wow! Lots to catch up on today! :) That's what I get for making this morning sheet-changing and washing morning. Having a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze can do that to one. :) I will get around to making thoughtful replies to all your posts in time, because, from a quick scan, they are very,very good! Btw, did anyone catch the slippery Greg Hunt lying through his teeth in an interview with Lyndall Curtis on ABC24 just now? I can see all the new angles the Coalition have been workshopping now that they know the CPRS is going to be passed. If anyone has the time and the inclination, or I may do so myself(in my dreams ;-) ), then a breakdown and analysis of it would be a very worthwhile endeavour. So full of it was it. :D

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011lyn, Flu on the way out, just a few residual coughs and nose blockages to get over and I'll be AOK. :)

2353

8/11/2011Nas - seems like Italy needs a media enquiry as well. Can anyone else see a trend here?

NormanK

8/11/2011Feral Skeleton Thanks for an entertaining post. It may have come about because of a bout of the flu (which I am sorry to hear about and I wish you a speedy recovery) but your timing could not have been more exquisite. The tide has turned, the wind has shifted (and all those other excellent metaphors) and finally Abbott is being examined. All of your quotes and their attendant comments are pertinent to this new-found exploration of what Abbott is all about and what motivates him. I look forward to more of the alphabet in the weeks ahead. Well done.

jane

8/11/2011[quote]I wonder if I'll ever feel sorry for him. I actually think I might, once he is politically dead, heart-staked, entombed in concrete, nuked and vaporised. I will never feel sorry for Howard though I think.[/quote] Not me, TT. he deserves every body blow and then some. Same as that execrable pile of excrement, the Rodent. Both are due for extermination.

TalkTurkey

8/11/2011I LOVE the sound of Abetz unwinding! It sounds like [b][i][u]VICTORY[/u] ![/i][/b] Australia is at last about to take its first tiny but vital step towards trying to save the World. Abbortt scuttles off to the UK Conservatives (who will despise him too!) *J*U*L*I*A* flies in! The Question on Abetz's futile fulminating stalling motion has been put, The Division has been called for, The Bells are Ringing! Now the vote count . . . which We'll win . . . :) . . . And now still more nonsense from the Coalons . . . doesn't matter . . . we'll win anyway. Joe O'Brien trying desperatately to salvage some crook news e.g. job losses please please? but not a sausage. He's a squirmy little feller who does a good job of looking insignificant but he is still on Their ABC a lot. Oh and now he says to Lyndal curtis How will JG get around this promise of no carbon tax? I would suggest Joey that She already (nearly) HAS! [u][b][i]VENCEREMOS![/i][/b][/u] :) The bells are ringing for *J*U*L*I*A* But they are tolling for Tony

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011I'm so excited! I'm just watching the Senate attempting to pass the Climate Change Bills. It will happen though. :D

BSA Bob

8/11/2011So Tony's off to London! This is both interesting & illustrative. Surely the Nation's Self Appointed Saviour should stay at his post until the last fateful minute, berating the Greens Senators whou've brought this upon us, appealing to Independent & Labor Senators of good & patriotic character to show some ticker, do the right thing & scuttle this vile tax. But no, he's gone, because he bloody lost & this is intolerable to him. To make a fuss today would reinforce this in the public mind. So, as he always does, he drops what's no longer useful to him. He walks away.

nasking

8/11/2011Congrats to the government... a long journey, more of an adventure than some expected...but the long journey helps gather unexpected & useful allies... it provides an opportunity to express the good message far & wide and shines a light of scrutiny on the negative propaganda for the poison it is... the long journey creates a [i]strong fellowship[/i]...and helps expose the enemy for the frauds & fanatics they are... it demonstrates the determination, courage & passion of the true believers... and reveals their willingness to sacrifice the individual ego for the common good... so the LIGHT does break thru the dark clouds... and shows the way for THE MANY... in a world once handcuffed & oppressed by THE FEW... [i]Let the light shine on[/i]... to a [i]better future[/i]. No longer eyes wide shut. The dark mob might HOWL...but they do protest too much...as they wither...and shrink...soon into obscurity. N'

2353

8/11/2011A small step on the way to a sustainable future - well done to the Government. As for Abbott flying off today to London - I thought the Captain was supposed to go down with his ship!

nasking

8/11/2011[quote]seems like Italy needs a media enquiry as well. Can anyone else see a trend here?[/quote] 2353, Indeed. Once Berlusconi & his associates have been removed...so Italy...Europe...the world...can begin healing. You might find this worth reading, from May 2010...and the films mentioned worth watching: [b]Italian Cinema: Maestros and mobsters[/b] [b]Cinematic nostalgia, endemic corruption and the deadening hand of Silvio Berlusconi have prevented Italy’s real story from being told on film for 30 years, says Nick Hasted. But now a new generation of film-makers is finding its voice[/b] When Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo and Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah caused a double sensation at Cannes in 2008, Sorrentino dryly noted, “Two films is rather few to launch a renaissance.” But in the last year Gianni Di Gregorio’s Mid-August Lunch (Pranzo di ferragosto), Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere and, most of all, Luca Guadagnino’s current festival barnstormer I Am Love have taken the count to at least five. Beneath these international successes, too, there has been a noticeable stiffening in the quality of Italian films. If nothing else, these films help to remove the cultural cringe young Italian directors feel towards their own cinema’s past. The attitude of Saverio Costanzo, director of In Memory of Me (In memoria di me), was typical of his generation when I canvassed them in 2007. He felt oppressed by the old maestros. “They destroyed our cinema,” Costanzo mourned. “They consumed Italy by portraying it in such an absolute, timeless way. And I sometimes have the feeling that nobody cares what Italy is now. As young directors, we are working to escape this enormous legacy of ‘Why should I see Saverio Costanzo’s movie if I have an Antonioni?’” Domenico Procacci, Italy’s most important producer even before he made Gomorrah, feels the weight of the past lifting now. “What’s happened in the last year, because of Gomorrah and Il Divo and a few other films, is that the perception of Italian cinema has changed a bit abroad. Often people say, ‘I loved your film. But La dolce vita is better.’ I quite agree! It’s difficult to compete with Fellini. But I think Italian film is becoming better known for what we are doing now.” I Am Love’s dazzling title sequence – cut, designed and scored to brashly recall some great Italian art film from 1960 – defines this new confidence. “We were trying to connect the chromosomic code of great movies that we love, from Visconti to Antonioni, with a vision of Milano today,” Guadagnino says. “You can’t start in a humble, hypocritical way, saying, ‘Those were masters and we are not.’ We have to say, ‘Let’s aim for the stars and see where we go.’” But if Italian cinema now stands at a pivotal, hopeful point, it is still only taking the first steps in reversing a seemingly terminal 30-year decline. This is anatomised in another new film, Valerio Jalongo’s polemical documentary What Do You Know About Me (Di me cosa ne sai). It describes an industry a long way from the one that literally rose from the ruins with Rome, Open City (Roma, città aperta, 1945), propelled by the need to tell a national story suppressed by fascism and war. By the early 1970s that great tradition was at its popular zenith, with a generation of maestros enjoying international box-office success. But Italian cinema since then has reflected only Italy’s cultural devastation: an inward-looking attitude, hooked on bad television, and dependent on one man – if Fellini was the maestro of Italian cinema’s golden years, Silvio Berlusconi orchestrated its implosion. With rare exceptions, Italy’s national story from the 1980s until 2008 was defined by the great films it could no longer make. Jalongo’s film lists most of the political choices in the 1970s that triggered the decline, most tellingly Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti’s replacement of the state subsidies that had previously encouraged international co-productions with ones for purely domestic work, and the 1976 legalisation of commercial television, which showed thousands of films over hundreds of (initially) unregulated channels and paid too little for them to fund new productions. But Jalongo also suggests more shadowy manipulations behind the collapse, rising out of what Sorrentino calls “the occult nature of power in Italy” – he equates American cultural intervention with Italian state-sponsored violence. “In the last 30 years,” Jalongo says, “there have been a series of terrible massacres and bombs placed to kill civilians. In these cases we have never managed to reach the truth. I think the Americans were really worried, because the Christian Democrats were losing ground to the Communist Party. Something was done, using bombs and cultural intervention – there have been a lot of Italian secret-service convictions for these bombs.” What Do You Know About Me sees 1975 as the moment when malevolent attention turned towards a thriving Italian industry that was challenging a Hollywood in commercial free fall since the 1960s. That year, Dino de Laurentiis led the sudden exodus of Italy’s most powerful producers from the country and [b]Pasolini was murdered in murky circumstances[/b], days after writing that he knew who was behind the carnage. “Then commercial television came,” says Jalongo, “and changed the political and emotional temperature in Italy in a matter of five years. Normally I’m not the kind of person who is always seeing a CIA plot, but I think there was planning, with complicity from Italian politicians.”... Berlusconi has affected Italian cinema more indirectly. What Do You Know About Me shows how even television news bulletins are tailored to suit Auditel audience-approval ratings. Erik Gandini’s complementary documentary Videocracy shows the sexed-up game shows and talk shows propagandising Berlusconi the boss. “With his television stations, he’s succeeded in changing the people themselves,” Soldini believes. “He’s taken everything down to the lowest common denominator. We’ve all become children.” Jalongo sadly agrees: “Italians are sedated by television, and by this political situation. When we had a strong, controversial, aggressive cinema, there was a lot of debate and depth in our cultural scene. Not any more.”... Above investigation Aside from Nanni Moretti’s brave The Caiman (Il caimano, 2006), which satirised Berlusconi (with mostly French backing), the central figure of Italy’s last 15 years has only been dealt with obliquely. Maybe, like Hollywood’s decade-late Vietnam cycle, it’s simply too soon. “It’s very hard for us to portray what’s happening in Italy,” says Costanzo. “Or maybe we are not talented enough. But nobody’s succeeded in making a movie about Berlusconi. That’s because Italian reality is stronger than our imagination. Berlusconi is already a movie, already something that you cannot imagine. Maybe in 20 years [films will depict him], when we get out of it.” Il Divo drops his name twice alongside Andreotti. “At the beginning, there’s a glossary,” says Sorrentino. “Berlusconi is mentioned as being in the P2 Masonic Lodge.... much more here: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49611 Long live Italian cinema!!! N'

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011BSA Bob, I thought Abbott was going to "spend every second, every minute, every day, every week, every month and every year until the next election fighting this Toxic Tax"? ;-) Julia came back to Australia especially to see the Senate pass the Clean Energy Future Bills, before she jets off to Hawaii for APEC later this week. Tony Abbott left early for the IDU Meeting and Conservative Conference, all so he can get another 15 minutes with David Cameron, where he will probably have to sit there and hear congrats from Cameron about Julia passing the CEF Bills. :D

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Roswell, Tony Abbott holds the whole country to ransom with his spoiler tactics.

nasking

8/11/2011[quote]As for Abbott flying off today to London - I thought the Captain was supposed to go down with his ship![/quote] 2353, Abbott believes he is running towards allies who can help him sh*tstir... I hope that Mr. Cameron & his government live up to their "clean green" promises durin' the election... My grandfather was a Tory mayor...so I am willin' to give this government in the UK a fair-go... but am troubled by their relationship w/ the Murdoch empire...and moves that seem to be weakening their previous "clean green" approach... I'm pleased they were useful durin' the Libyan situation...good stuff... but these "austerity measures" seem too oppressive, random, discriminating, community dividing & short-sighted. I hope they don't allow Abbott to persuade them to become NEGABORES & WRECKERS like him & his cohort. N'

Casablanca

8/11/2011[b]"The economy has been one of Labor's success stories,..." [/b] I had to read that statement more than once to convince myself that my eyes were not deceiving me. A positive assessment from a member of the Liberal attack team and a Costello staffer to boot. WOW! Niki Savva continued "but voters give the government no credit for it, still saying they prefer the Coalition as economic managers." Well that is only too true but I'll file the first part of the sentence under quotable quotes.

TalkTurkey

8/11/2011http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20bells%20are%20ringing%20for%20me%20and%20my%20gal&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNOsCYEGHnME&ei=JZG4TpDcJK2YiAfX6d2xBw&usg=AFQjCNE8Epq9w_4EkK0whzUX07sNBG5OWg The Bells are Ringing For Our Ranga Girl! Her praise we're singing For Saving the World! :) All Right-Wingers are whingeing It's a lovely unhingeing And for hours I've been bingeing On the insults they've hurled! We'll soon be voting For Saving the World And I'll be gloating With Our Ranga Girl For this day We're gonna see a price on carbon use Though huge abuse was hurled - It's OUR land! [b]GO[/b] [i]Our Ranga Girl![/i]

nasking

8/11/2011Interesting: Gordon Brown wins ruling over Sunday Telegraph's 'Murdoch rant' story Article claiming former PM threatened to smash press baron's empire was inaccurate and misleading, rules PCC Jason Deans guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 November 2011 Gordon Brown has won a Press Complaints Commission ruling that a Sunday Telegraph article claiming he told Rupert Murdoch in a phone conversation that he would "smash the tycoon's media empire" was inaccurate and misleading. However, although the PCC ruled that the article, published in July 2011, had breached clause one of its code of practice on accuracy, it found that the Sunday Telegraph had taken sufficient steps to remedy the former prime minister's complaint and no further action was necessary. In the article, headlined "Inside story of Murdoch's special relationship with our politicians", an aide was quoted as saying that Brown, when still at No 10, had warned Murdoch during a telephone call in late 2009 "that he would smash the tycoon's media empire if Labour won last year's general election" and that he "told Rupert he had made his choice politically and … 'you had better win the election or we are coming after you' – or words to that effect". This was after the Murdoch-owned Sun had ditched Labour and endorsed David Cameron. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/07/gordon-brown-sunday-telegraph-murdoch N'

nasking

8/11/2011The Australian & other Murdoch press luv to focus on government waste...often we read hyperbole & exaggeration rather than facts... ...but it seems News Ltd's mogul Murdoch & the corporation he thinks he OWNS need to get their own house in order: [b]Murdoch writes off $91m for shutting News of the World in hacking scandalNews Corp also lost anything up to $130m over failed bid to get 100% of BSkyB satellite broadcaster, in quarter's 'other charges'[/b] Dominic Rushe in New York The Guardian, Thursday 3 November 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/03/murdoch-news-corp-losses-news-of-world-bskyb-broadcaster ------------- Imagine if Rupert & co. didn't have control, ownership over so much?...weren't gettin' revenue from big films, Foxtel, The Wall Street Journal, TV/cable shows etc etc.? His failures & compensation for bad moves would probably bankrupt the corporation, him & his family. Instead, he relies on so many imaginative & expert job creators, some who do not share his Napoleon-like principles & goals...some who do not approve of his "anything goes" approach...or the actions of others, crims in News International/Corporation...to keep the moolah flooding in. It's as tho he owns an entire country himself...able to move money around...avoid charges...distract...propagandise the people...influence the politicians...avoid paying appropriate taxes...destroy or damage opposition & competition at will...ensure that children learn his myopic views by way of his media influence and the extent of it...reaching into every household...creating economic & community chaos if it suits him & his medias' agendas... tentacles everywhere... just like Berlusconi in Italy... but world-wide... Rupert everywhere... working for Rupert...and his clones. Suckin' the life out of democracy. But Mr. KERCHING KERCHING KERCHING... is worried... by the GURGLING SOUND... money & reputation goin' down the drain... and it's unlikely the sound will stop...rather, it will get louder & louder... as it always does... when empires fall... when the royal carpet is lifted...and we see the FILTH that lies beneath. N'

Catey

8/11/2011Loved your piece FS and look forward to more. So much to take in-it deserves several more reads. Looks like Tony is exactly following your definition for Coward slinking out of the country in the face of defeat. I also think he's trying to rack up photo ops with Cameron in an attempt to compete with the PM's current international commitments. Just want to say what a great site this is. I love all of the blogs, comments and links. It's a lonely life over here in WA for a Labor supporter - now, not quite so lonely.

Patricia WA

8/11/2011I'm sure like everyone else here I've been glued to the unfolding of the Clean Energy legislation in the Senate, and as well for me with accompanying commentary at PB where Bushfire Bill and the Bludger himself, William Bowe, are likening Prime Minister Gillard to Queen Elizabeth I! That's our cue, TT and *J*U*L*I*A*s Cheer Squad to bring our flags, our verse etc. to demonstrate how we've been of this opinion long since! [b]Welsh Strains[/b] Our PM states she has no religion; None at all, no, not even a smidgen Of faith in a God or some afterlife. Perhaps because she has seen the strife So often caused by strong belief Which leads to warfare, deaths and grief. Now she is the leader of our nation She should consider Reincarnation As the ideal Australian opiate. That would strike and surely reverberate! Here she is recognised, praised and seen To be much like the Tudor Virgin Queen. They have in common ancestries in Wales, Giving rise to wondrous and mystic tales Of another Celt, mighty Boadicea Whose spirit surely once again lives – here! Having left the climes of Borealis Does she now dwell with us in Terra Australis?

Patricia WA

8/11/2011Apologies TT - I should have refreshed before commenting! I might have known you'd come up with something new and spot on! Beautiful! Well done!

Ad astra reply

8/11/2011Catey I’m glad you feel at home here. We enjoy your comments. TT, Patricia WA Thank you for your rousing verses. Nasking Thanks for keeping us up to dated on international matters. Folks I missed QT today; did any of you see it? I wondered what it was like without the attack dog.

Patricia WA

8/11/2011FS, I've had to go back over your post bit by bit when I have time it's so dense with potential for even further satire. I refer particularly to [quote]DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.

[/quote] How you found the time to write that commentary with all your other commitments and contributions here, I can't imagine. Your brain must work at twice the speed of light to produce all of that. Well done.

nasking

8/11/2011What's w/ Stephen Harper, Canadian PM? We know his government has no time for a carbon price/ETS. They let us know in no uncertain terms when visiting CHOGM. Speakin' to two Canadian family members on the phone the last f/t (one votes Conservative more often than not, the other occasionally) they reckon he's become extremely arrogant, full of himself now he has majority control. Kinda reminds me of John Howard when he got the senate. His government has given corporations big tax cuts... billions spent on huge prisons... and now this: [b]Gun registry: Go to court to block bill, province urged[/b] By WILLIAM MARSDEN, The Montreal Gazette.com November 5, 2011 [quote]As tensions mount between Quebec and Ottawa over the federal government's proposed law to abolish the longgun registry, a wide-ranging group of activists and politicians gathered at Dawson College on Friday to urge the province to take legal action to save the registry and its vast database. Heidi Rathjen of Poly sesouvient.ca, a group that has tracked gun laws since the massacre at the École Polytechnique that killed 14 women on Dec. 6, 1989, said Quebec should do everything in its power to ensure the gun registry is maintained in the province. Rathjen called on the government to seek a court injunction that would block bill C-19, the proposed law that would end the requirement that long-gun owners must register their weapons in a central database that can be consulted by police everywhere in Canada. The gun registry law makes it a criminal offence to possess an unregistered firearm. She noted that if C-19 is approved, not even gun dealers will have to register their sales. Guns will become an invisible weapon in our society, she said. She called on the Quebec government to act quickly before C-19 becomes law. "The Conservative government wants to act as fast as possible to pass this law," she said. "They voted to limit debate on Oct. 25 and two days later passed the second reading. - We could get royal consent within the next few weeks." The Quebec government has said it will set up its own registry and is demanding the federal government maintain the database and hand it over to province. Premier Jean Charest said Quebecers paid for their share of the registry and therefore should get the data. Meanwhile, the National Assembly unanimously approved a motion Thursday ordering Quebec's chief firearms officers to "take all the necessary measures to preserve the completeness of the data from Quebec entered in the firearms registry." The National Assembly vote puts the firearms officer in a legal bind. He is an agent of the Surêté du Québec, but he reports to Ottawa. Charest has stated that he is ready to seek a court injunction to stop C-19. But he said he has to wait until the bill becomes law. Critics say they fear this will be too late because the Conservative majority will move fast to destroy the data. Many groups, including provincial politicians, members of women's groups and student associations, spoke at the news conference in support of seeking an injunction or launching a constitutional challenge. Rathjen said court actions would be based on the section of the Charter that gives every citizen the right to liberty and security. Many speakers called Bill C-19 undemocratic because polls show that 74 per cent of Quebecers and more than 60 per cent of all Canadians suport the gun registry. Jean-François Larivée, whose wife was killed at the Polytechnique and who campaigned for the gun registry, said the government was motivated only by ideology and has ignored evidence that shows the gun registry has saved lives. "I feel anger and disappointment at what the Conservatives are doing and have lost total confidence in the Conservative government," Larivée said. "This is the best tool ever for the police (to protect citizens), even better than their own gun."[/quote] http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/registry+court+block+bill+province+urged/5661773/story.html AND THIS: [b]Harper’s crime bill is government by angry old uncle [/b]brian topp Globe and Mail Update Posted on Monday, November 7, 2011 [quote]To be specific, [b]the Tories want to amend article 4(d) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (1992). The relevant clause establishes the principle “that the service use the least restrictive measures consistent with the protection of the public, staff members and offenders.” [/b] Why do the Tories want to remove this principle? They have been talking to themselves about it for some time. For example, in 2007 a review panel presented a detailed report to then-minister Stockwell Day on corrections issues. Entitled A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety, it takes direct aim at the clause in question: “The panel believes that this principle has been emphasized too much by staff and management of CSC, and even by the courts in everyday decision-making about offenders. As a result an imbalance has been created that places the onus on SCS to justify why the least restrictive measures shouldn't be used, rather than on offenders to justify why they should have access to privileges based on their performance under their correctional plans.” This past weekend I was out canvassing in Saskatoon. One of the good citizens I encountered on the doorstep was a former senior official at Corrections Canada. Ms. Mackrael's article was on his mind. “I've spent more time in federal prisons than anyone I know,” he told me. “I've had meetings with prison administrators, and then I've explored ever corner of our prisons right down into the hole. I know what's going to happen if they take that clause out of the Act. What's going to happen is that guards are going to feel free to use more force, a lot more force, to control inmates. There's going to be an enormous rise in violence in our prison system.” Is this what the Tories want? Is this what Canadians want happening in our prisons? Hard to say, because the Tories don't think they owe Parliament an explanation or a debate on this or any other issue. Instead they are using time allocation to ram a bloated omnibus bill through it without accountability. Critics have highlighted some of the other issues with the Tory crime package. Some of the proposed minimum sentences are disproportionate and perverse compared to others in the legal system. All evidence from the United States shows that increasing prison populations – the basic goal the Tories are pursuing – leads to more crime. And the federal government is cheerfully creating more prisoners for provincial corrections systems, without providing any funds to house or rehabilitate them. All of this while willfully ignoring the evidence that crime in Canada is already steadily declining. In all of this, the Conservatives are demonstrating the real character of their government. This is rule by angry old uncle. A character in many families, not without his charm and soft side, who shouts his angry views for the hundredth time, demanding firm measures and an end to many abuses, even if the facts all point the other way. Unfortunately, the angry old uncles are now in charge of the government of Canada, and our justice system.[/quote] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/brian-topp/harpers-crime-bill-is-government-by-angry-old-uncle/article2227788/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Politics&utm_content=2227788 Pretty suss if ya ask me. You'd think Harper was a Texan. Oil pipeline to smoke anyone? N'

nasking

8/11/2011[quote]CONSULT, v.i. To seek another's approval of a course already decided on. How Tony Abbott 'consults' his party. He really should rename it, 'The One Man Band Party'. CONTROVERSY, n. A battle in which spittle or ink replaces the injurious cannon-ball and the inconsiderate bayonet. A News Ltd. Speciality. [/quote] LOL. Good stuff Feral. N'

Lyn

8/11/2011Hi Catey What a lovely comment you have made and what a lovely person you ae. We are thrilled to bits you have found TPS, you are so right, kiss loneliness and goodbye when you join in on TPS. [quote]Just want to say what a great site this is. I love all of the blogs, comments and links. It's a lonely life over here in WA for a Labor supporter - now, not quite so lonely[/quote] [quote]rack up photo ops with Cameron [/quote] I am thinking this time his efforts are not going to work for him, he didn't get any photo's of his Sunday marathon, or on any commercial tv news. Poor little Petal. Cheers:):):):):):):)

nasking

8/11/2011[quote]Our PM states she has no religion; None at all, no, not even a smidgen Of faith in a God or some afterlife. Perhaps because she has seen the strife So often caused by strong belief Which leads to warfare, deaths and grief. [/quote] Patricia, I likey. :) I note that PM Gillard shows respect for some religious individuals & charities that attempt to heal...and help the needy w/out stuffin' myopic & exploitive beliefs down peoples' throats. Some. N'

jane

8/11/2011Michael @8.44am, people have very short memories wrt Malvolio. The tosser on QandA who begged him to resume LOTO so he could vote for him should be made to revisit the Grech affair until he recants that nonsense. Not only does he lack judgement, he has no political nous, has colossal arrogance, ditto hubris and is a complete tosser into the bargain!! And by kowtowing to Liealot's agenda he has fatally compromised himself, imo. I know his adoring fans will dispute what I've said, but like LIealot, he has serious form. Incompetent, arrogant, intemperate, superiority complex, lacking in judgement and leadership skills. When he was rolled, he suddenly became Saint Malcolm the Messiah who had been cruelly cut down in his prime by a slug like Liealot, who is Phone Card's hero now, apparently. He said so without batting an eyelid on QandA last night. Trotted out the old "genuine" descriptor, which leads me to conclude that SerfChoices Mk III is waiting in the wings, ready to visited on the masses. The Liars Party has a huge problem atm. They have bugger all talent in their ranks. Everywhere you look in that line up is some Tea Party scumbag with a brain the size of a pea and about as much integrity as a rat dropping!

Lyn

8/11/2011Hi Nasking Thankyou so much for your brilliant information, you are now officially "TPS's foreign Correspondent". We just need Ad Astra to endorse. Thoroughly enjoyed your post about Berlusconi, all your posts are brilliant. Talk Turkey delightful again, love the Ranga song - poem [i]All Right-Wingers are whingeing It's a lovely unhingeing GO Our Ranga Girl![/i] Patricia WA you just go from good to better and best. Cheers:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

nasking

8/11/2011No problemo Ad. Cheers. Many thnx Lyn for all those useful links...I found the followin' info worth takin' in: Media Release Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity [b]NBN enabled telework will mean businesses reap benefits Working from home with the help of the National Broadband Network’s high speed and ubiquitous broadband will provide an economic boost and cost savings to Australia’s industry according to a new report welcomed today by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy.[/b] “The Deloitte Access Economics report Next Generation Telework: A Literature Review gives a ringing endorsement to our world class National Broadband Network in terms of the benefits it will provide Australian businesses through increased teleworking,” Senator Conroy said. “The Gillard Government has an aim, set out in the National Digital Economy Strategy, that [b]by 2020 the number of people working from home would double to 12 per cent so that at least one in eight employees will have an arrangement with their employer to work from home.[/b] [b]“And this report shows that more flexible working arrangements can be beneficial to both parties.[/b] “The NBN will allow Australian businesses to work more efficiently by cutting costs and increasing staffing flexibility. It will open new opportunities to recruit and keep staff across Australia.” The Deloitte Access Economics report noted that: •The benefits of telework for employers are significant, and have the potential to generate large cost savings and productivity gains to business; •The Sensis Business Survey (2009) found that 82% of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which had adopted telework felt it was positive for their business; •Companies can save $2 for every $1 spent on equipment and extra phone lines for teleworkers; •SMEs have been seen to use telework at a higher frequency once it is adopted and so encouraging telework adoption among this group of businesses may increase participation; and, •Two to three days of teleworking will provide the greatest benefit for employers. The report indicates a lack of access to appropriate information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure is a large barrier to telework and that increasing the level of broadband penetration increases the rate of telework. [b]“So clearly, the fast broadband speeds, the ubiquity and reliability of the NBN will encourage more businesses and employees to negotiate teleworking arrangements,” Senator Conroy said.[/b] “Businesses understand that faster, more affordable broadband enables them to adopt more efficient business processes. Until now, working from home has simply been too difficult for many organisations.” NBN champion and tech businessman Dave Abrahams uses teleworking and welcomes the report’s findings. “High-speed broadband enables more teleworking, which means, as I’ve found out personally, employers have the flexibility to keep valued staff when their situations change,” Mr Abrahams said. [b]“This flexibility is good for our personal lives, but added up, it’s very good for the economic productivity of Australia.[/b] “There is no doubt the NBN is a game-changing technology. Its ubiquity will position many organisations and staff to adopt teleworking arrangements.” The Australian Government has committed to a range of actions to boost telework. The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy will work with the Australian Information Industry Association to promote telework with case studies and videos. The Department will also meet with industry groups and Commonwealth agencies to develop practical guidance related to telework. [b]In addition the Department will promote telework across the Australian Public Service, including for disabled Australians, Indigenous communities and other groups, in consultation with Commonwealth agencies and relevant peak bodies.[/b] -------------- There's hope for the MANY stuck at home yet. Go NBN rollout!!! The Howard government ensured communication technology rollout in OZ progressed in a painfully slow way... Abbott has no luv for the NBN...Turnbull has shifted his view of it, yet still farts on in negative fashion...confusingly... which clown is running that Coalition asylum? NO, MAYBE, POSSIBLY, TERMINATE, IT'S A WHITE ELEPHANT...blaaah, blaah, blaah. If Abbott & Turnbull were in cyberspace they'd be a virus that slows our computers down. And spam promoting corporate allies. Useless. N'

Gravel

8/11/2011Ad Astra There was no question time in the green house, only the red one, and the opposition were very shirty. Nas You certainly keep yourself busy finding out all that information and can I confess I only read the bold bits as I figured they would be the most important. Catey Welcome to this wonderful space for Labor people. Others are also welcome but must conform to The Political Sword protocol, which we all very willing observe. I read a few other blogs, including Lyn's links, but this is the only place I feel comfortable adding my 2/6's worth.

Gravel

8/11/2011Ooops that should be 2/- worth.

2353

8/11/2011Just watching the start of the ABC News - interesting they put Al Gore ahead of Joyce or Brown. Seems a reasonably balanced report on the surface. Item two is on communications technology. I just want to Skype with rellies outside Brisvegas without lags or delays - at the moment I can't. Roll on the NBN.

nasking

8/11/2011[quote]You certainly keep yourself busy finding out all that information and can I confess I only read the bold bits as I figured they would be the most important. [/quote] Cool Gravel, I sometimes put the bold bits in for those people who don't have the time to read the full comment. Glad they were useful. I'm in a rush tonite but thought visitors might find this article useful: [b]Climate Change's Health Costs Projected To Be Enormous [/b] Tom Zeller jr., Huffington Post [quote]The researchers examined morbidity and mortality data -- including [b]expenditures for hospitalization, visits to the emergency room and other medical services -- arising from a California wildfire in 2003 and a 2006 heat wave in the same state; the 2004 hurricane season in Florida; an outbreak of West Nile virus in Louisiana in 2002; a river flood two years ago in North Dakota; and nationwide ozone pollution between 2000 and 2002. [/b] Although none of these scenarios can be definitively linked to climate change, all six were chosen as emblematic of the types of episodes that experts expect to see more of as the planet warms. They were also selected, Knowlton said, because robust health impact data for each was available in the peer-reviewed literature. In reviewing that data, the researchers concluded that these six events resulted in 1,689 early deaths, 8,992 hospitalizations, 21,113 emergency department visits and 734,398 outpatient visits, with estimated costs totaling more than $14 billion. Almost all of that expense -- 95 percent -- arose from the foreshortening of human life. The researchers used a valuation developed by the Environmental Protection Agency that puts the health cost of each premature death at $7.9 million. Encounters with the health care system in these six scenarios accounted for as much as $740 million. The highest health costs were associated with ozone pollution, which tallied $6.5 billion, and the California heat wave, which came in at $5.4 billion... [b]Tabulating the potential costs of climate change to society has become an increasingly important pursuit for policy planners, particularly given the lack of global agreement on measures to combat the phenomenon, as well as the inability of the United States, the world's largest per-capita emitter of greenhouse gases, to pass domestic legislation that would begin curbing such emissions.[/b] [b]A 2008 analysis commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council, for example, estimated that hurricane damage, real estate losses, energy and water costs associated with global warming could cost as much as $1.9 trillion annually by the end of the century. Various other studies, including one by the British economist Nicholas Stern, have put the potential cost at anywhere between 1 percent and 5 percent of the total national product of all countries, or the gross world product, which is currently estimated to be just over $63 trillion. [/b] The authors of the current study suggested that the costs could be reduced through policies aimed at ensuring adequate preparation -- heat wave warning systems at the community and workplace level, for example, or reductions in ozone-contributing pollution. [b]Currently, 13 U.S. states have established specific public health measures as part of their wider change adaptation plans.[/b] Last week, Rep. Lois Capps, a California Democrat, introduced legislation that would "direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategic action plan to assist health professionals in preparing for and responding to the public health effects of climate change." The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.[/quote] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/health-costs-of-climate-c_n_1080473.html America...includes the united dopey states of unpreparedness & mayhem...and the united smart states... N'

nasking

8/11/2011[quote]Thankyou so much for your brilliant information, you are now officially "TPS's foreign Correspondent".[/quote] Lyn, you are so kind & supportive. I do enjoy foreign affairs...particularly overseas political economy, cinema & music...however, I know that Feral joins me in that foreign affairs' passion. As do a number of others on here. Speakin' of European/Italian films above, I was fortunate enuff to attend a Canadian uni for awhile in the late 70s & in 1980 that showed a number of thought provokin', taboo breakin', cuttin' edge, controversial Italian, French & German films (and some from Asia)... and whilst livin' in Graz & Vienna, Austria in the early 80s I was fortunate to see superb films by Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder, Vittorio De Sica, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Lina Wertmüller, Bernardo Bertolucci, Elio Petri, Federico Fellini, Theo Angelopoulos, Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Taviani brothers, Roberto Rossellini, Ettore Scola, Jean-Luc Godard , François Truffaut...and many more... and have been to plenty of alternative cinemas here in Brissie & the film festival... and expanded my media-related horizons durin' my time at Griffith uni... and feel confident in sayin' that Europe has produced some amazing, high quality, mentally stimulatin' films... and if the likes of Berlusconi get outa the way we'll get plenty more. and, Europe needs somethin' like HBO. Enuff of this Berlusconi style rampant sexist, dumbed down, glitzy, con-artist filled, distractin', infotainment, propaganda TV in Europe. I hope to travel there w/ S' in a few years, durin' a world trip by sea & train...hopefully broadband & satellite access w/ changes in leadership & media ownership & an increase in desperately needed funding will have brought sanity & more quality to their programming schedule. There is increasingly quality stuff...but there's a long way to go from what I've heard. I wish I had more time to watch SBS & World Movies...shows like [b]Global Village[/b]... N'

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Finally back connected to TPS after the electrical storms here this afternoon and tonight. So...I'd better get cracking on replying to your lovely posts. :)

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Nasking, What do I think of Silvio Berlusconi? I think he's a Smooth Criminal. He figured out a long time ago that those who make the laws can evade the laws. Those who can make the message, can control the message. Yet he has never figured out how to live forever. It gets all of 'em in the end.

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Gravel, I'm glad you have savoured the delightful Mr Bierce's wry point of view on matters political, which are matters eternal it seems. I thought that they were views that needed airing for a new audience because they make you think about politics in a humorous way. Which is never a bad thing. Also, his epigrammatic poems are delightful to read. And don't get confused by all the names put at the end of them, they are all him I think.

TalkTurkey

8/11/2011Do you see everywhere you look the unhingeing, the melting, the unravelling of the Coalition? The speculation as to who might replace Abbortt? The sudden, if not deferential, at least slightly less contemptuous tones of the likes of Wormtongue Jones and Chris OOman? Because I think it is astonishing how quickly it is happening. The lovely part is that whomsoever Abbortt's hapless successor might be, there can really be no-one to unite their talentless party. Abbortt's implosion will leave a huge crater in the centre, with Turdball on one side, with few followers and almost no rivals, but a lot of traditional-base voter appeal, yet despised by those on the other side, the whacky Right of whom there is quite a dazzling array. Many of them are even more extreme than Abbortt himself, I'm not going to bother naming names, they're too obvious. But between the lot of them, moderates and extremists, they have not the slightest policy, and really, no possible way I can see that they could cobble one together with any cogency. Or credibility. And they are snookered by Abbortt's Blood Oaths and commitments none of them would never be able to, let alone want to honour were they ever unlucky enough to find themselves in power. I am tipping a great schism in the ranks of the Coalons, I think they are locked into it. Let us do all we can to help . . .

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Nasking, In that article about Berlusconi that you exerpted from, they spoke about his being accused of 'abuse of television frequencies'. I wonder what that means?

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Catey, Thank you for the kind words, all the way from WA. I didn't think, aside from The Greens voters, and PatriciaWA, that there was anyone left over there who still believed in the Labor Party. Colin Barnett, Twiggy Forrest, Julie Bishop & Big Gina Reinhardt, seem to have the anti-Labor propaganda machine all revved up to spray WA with, day after day. I still have friends who live over there, from back in the day when I lived there myself for 15 years. :)

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Talk Turkey, What can I say? Your words are magical and a tonic when we need it most. You have such unfailing faith, that even when the rest of us might have doubts, you pick us up and make us wake up to ourselves, much like a Brush Turkey who invites themselves into your loungeroom and proceeds to fly around madly trying to find the exit again! And, when there are successes to celebrate, you make us all feel good about it, and cause us to pause to appreciate the enormity of the successes of the Gillard government. I like that you like my Left Field ( ;-) ) take on politics from the perspective of Ambrose Bierce. He was a character. Just like you. I like quirky people. They provide the zest in life. :)

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011jane, Good to see you 'Maintaining the Rage'. I think there should be more of it. In fact, it may well be that which has percolated through the community, with the PM as inspiration, the 'knock us over, and we'll just get back up again' attitude. With a sense of humour, of course. Which, if you were watching the Senate today, you would have seen was signally lacking on the Opposition Shadow Front Bench. George Brandis and Cory Bernardi could barely even look at each other, such must be the animus between the 'moderate' and the arch-conservative Climate Change Denier Wing of the Coalition. Good!

Feral Skeleton

8/11/20112353, May I take the opportunity to rub the nose of a Banana Bender in the NBN(being a Mexican and all :) )? I was pleasantly surprised last week to find out the NBN is coming to my neck of the woods next April!

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Nasking, Did you hear that grub Peter Reith on The Drum on Tuesday, extolling the virtues of Canada not going to put into action a country-wide Global Warming policy? As if Canada was some beacon of enlightenment on the issue. Of course he didn't mention that Canada is now in the thrall of a hubristic Conservative Prime Minister, who thinks he can hoodwink the electorate into not having to take action on Climate Change. It must break your heart to see what a knave is leading that once great bastion of democracy.

jane

8/11/2011FS @9.23pm, it helps that he's also the Rupert Murdoch of Italy.

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Talk Turkey, When I heard that Abbott had included Barnaby Joyce, but excluded Andrew Robb, from his Coalition Economic Advisory Group, I truly knew that the 'GreatUnhingeing'(thanks be to Possum), had come to the heart of the Opposition.

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011jane, I just heard on Lateline that he is almost no more Mr Prime Minister, and for the reason, similar to our own Right Wing political party, that he hasn't been Right Wing enough in his actions once in government. It was, in fact, the Centre Left party in government that passed the most economically-reforming measures for the nation. Whereas the so-called Right Wing government just encouraged bloated bureauocracy, and corruption by favouring their oligarchical, kleptocratic mates with tax breaks. Anyway, the country's broke now, so Berlusconi has to go, along with all his ill-gotten gains. Interesting that Nicolas Sarkozy used to be one of his legal advisers in France.

Feral Skeleton

8/11/2011Interesting...: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Govt-to-review-workplace-bargaining-report-pd20111107-NDQRC?OpenDocument&src=hp7&src=amm

Patricia WA

9/11/2011Wondering if this link works here at TPS. It was sent to me last September by 'my say' and inspired me to do my my <i>Welsh Strains</i> pome, actually the closest thing to a poem I think I've written. Amazing how Prime Minister Gillard has in this gruelling year met the expectations 'my say' and I both had for her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8pPiCgMV8 The background music is lousy by the way. If TT hasn't already seen it I think he'd love it. If it doesn't play here from my comment it does when linked into into the notes in my post http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/welsh-strains/

Patricia WA

9/11/2011FS and jane - Canada! I lived there many years ago. Half a century ago to be exact! What's happening there now doesn't fit my memories of it. Of course, like Oz, it has a wealth of minerals beneath all that ice and snow up there in the Sub-Arctic. Those rotten mining magnates would have developed quite a hold on the land and the economy. With the help of Mr. Murdoch and Fox News just across the border Harper and the Conservatives would be achieving exactly what Abbott and the Libs have here. But surely no Canadian pollie could be anything like as crass and self-serving as Abbott and get away with it?

TalkTurkey

9/11/2011Catey Yes The Political Sword is a haven of sanity* really, Ad astra our host is the most reasonable reasoner I've ever followed the reasoning of, and it's infectious. Even our maddest contributor Acerbic Conehead is incurably profoundly sane. It helps us to realize we are not alone in our thoughts and feelings about matters sociopolitical, but rather, deeply interconnected. You are very welcome here. Lyn, Feral Skeleton, Patricia WA, Ad astra, and erm any others, :$ I owe responses to, thank you for nods and winks, they have brightened my birthday today :) , what you didn't know about, which makes it even nicer. Nasking I am sorry not to have got to grips with Greece and Canada etc, I'm not really as much across international affairs as I would like to be, but let me warmly [i]second[/i] Lyn's proposal of your good self as '"TPS's foreign Correspondent". We just need Ad Astra to endorse.' FS "DECIDE, v.i. [i]To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.

[/i]" Funny, the day you posted the Devil's Dictionary definitions, I had earlier been talking to a friend about the literal derivation of the words 'decision' and 'decide'. Simply, they relate to [i]cutting down[/i]. (From Latin, [i]de[/i] down, and [i]cido/cidere/cidi/cisum[/i] to cut.) So every decision is in some sense a permanent separation of [i]yes[/i] from [i]no[/i]. If as I do you have a bit if trouble with indecisiveness, it may help just to realize this simple clear meaning. Oh and btw DECIDE even by the above definition isn't a v.i. it's a v.t. :) As for my 'unfailing faith', well the Coalons have built their house of straw and I am certain that it will not weather the gathering storm of accountability which We ourselves are striving and helping to energize; and then, there is only one attitude that makes sense, [i]sanguinity[/i], even where I am deeply pessimistic about some other matters I won't go into now. Well alright, like biodiversity yeah. But in both a political and ecological sense we must first put out the bushfire before we can save the remnant anyway, so the first and urgent thing to do is to defeat the Right in this country, and that we [i]can[/i] do. Thanks to *J*U*L*I*A* primarily. I think amongst her colleagues her standing has probably never been so high, so much for leadership speculation on [i]our[/i] side. Now, as for that absconding absentee, Abbortt . . . Patricia I do agree about the music! As for Boadicea and QE1 and JG, it's all in the hair eh. (and I just have to barrack for the home team too.) Seriously I think that red hair is quite heavy karma, probably more often for ill than good, (e.g. we're always the first to get arrested, I speak from experience!), but you may see that in concert with exceptional other qualities, it sure helps to stand out in leadership roles. 'Rah for Rangas! [i]Go *J*U*L*I*A*! [/i] I think she's magnificent. Who've I missed, sorry, too late now. *Who but the manifestly stark staring sane would be writing posts at 3-5AM eh?!

Lyn

9/11/2011Good Morning Ad Our in house TPS confidant Talk Turkey is keeping our spirits alive, with his brilliant encouraging posts.[quote]defeat the Right in this country, and that we can do. [/quote]. [quote]Go *J*U*L*I*A*! [/quote] Happy Birthday talk Turkey. Ad Astra they are saying , There is a lynching mob evolving ThefinnigansTheFinnigans天地有道人无道 Latest: Paul Kelly joins the Abbott lynching mob: Oakes, Farr,Tingle, PVO, Pascoe, Coorey, Uhlmann & Taylor.will keep counting #auspol 39 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply Cheers:):):):):):):)

Jaeger

9/11/2011I haven't found Grog's original post to quote directly, but from memory he predicted that either Gillard or Abbott wouldn't be leader of their respective parties by the end of the year; he may still be right! Obviously the media tried very hard to topple Gillard, but has weathered the storm well. I think the Gibberal/Irrational coalition (and media) will turn on Abbott quickly if the current polling trends continue - perhaps now while he's out of country?

Jason

9/11/2011Happy Birthday Talk Turkey!

Lyn

9/11/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]Tony Abbott: Run run away!, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] all of a sudden, Abbott flies out of the country the day the senate passes legislation that he himself declared his political death. Further, he plans to meet with heads of states that he basically ridiculed re CHOGM and the G20. Will David Cameron even recognise him this time? http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/tony-abbott-run-run-away/ [i]Enough with the Green trivia, let's canvass some policy, Greg Jericho, The Drum[/i] Sure Bob Brown should stop talking about the "hate media", but it's also about time some in the media turned their attention to the policies and notthe trivia. They should do this for no other reason than the 1,667,315 voters who voted for them in the Senate at the 2010 election deserve an honest account of the result of their votes. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3653066.html [i]How Australian Pollsters lean, Possum, Pollytics[/i] Nielsen and Morgan tend to be more favourable to the Coalition by a small margin while EMC and Newspoll tend to be more favourable to Labor by a small margin – at least compared to what the aggregated results of all the pollsters together were saying at any given time.So yes – our pollsters do lean relative to each other, but not by much, and at varying levels of consistency. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2011/11/08/how-australian-pollsters-lean/ [i]Trend Updates for November, Possum Pollytics[/i] Updating our Pollytrend estimates for the last month’s worth of polling shows a substantial move back to Labor of around 3 points of two party preferred, all coming directly from a 3 point boost to their primary vote over the same period. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2011/11/08/trend-updates-for-november/ [i]The tide turns for Labor-, Kim, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] In a rather tortuous (or tortured) metaphor on 7 30 last night, Chris Uhlmann proclaimed:The political runes might just be turning Labor’s way.I don’t think runes turn, so it might be better to stick with that tide metaphor http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/11/08/the-tide-turns-for-labor/ [i]Fears of Murdoch domination aired at media inquiry,ABC[/i] Founder of Crikey and self-titled shareholder activist Stephen Mayne told the inquiry the sale of pay TV network AUSTAR to News Limited should only be approved on the condition the latter sells one of its metropolitan newspapers. "There should not be any more approval of further extension of the Murdoch domination in Australia," http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-08/fears-of-murdoch-domination-expressed-at-media-inquiry/3653160?WT.svl=news2 [i]Notes on Evidence Given to the Media Inquiry, Robert Manne, The Monthly[/i] Finally I raised as a matter for concern the question of the standards governing newspaper blogs in general and the Andrew Bolt Herald-Sun-Daily Telegraph blog in particular. Recently an email correspondent, David Barrow, had provided me with an electronic version of some blogs andcomments published on the Bolt blog since 2006. http://www.themonthly.com.au/blog-notes-evidence-given-media-inquiry-robert-manne-4218 [i]An hour of combat with The Fink after 4000 word submission, The Mayne Report[/i] Robert Manne had detailed a litany of criticisms and even said he'd felt "shaken" on reading much of the vitriol on Andrew Bolt's blog, I got on the frontfoot and recited plenty of colourful anecdotes about the likes of Rebekah Wade, Bolt, Peter Blunden, Terry McCrann, Piers Akerman and Greg Baxter. http://www.maynereport.com/articles/2011/11/08-0212-5482.html [i]Who's who in the media inquiry zoo?, Matthew Knott, The Power Index[/i] The Gillard government's controversial media inquiry, led by former Federal Court judge Ray Finklestein, begins its first public hearings in Melbourne today. So who's fronting up and what will they have to say? Here's a hint: they're not all Murdoch bashers. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/guidebook/who-s-who-in-the-media-inquiry-zoo/20111108679 [i]Media inquiry: ‘marketplace of ideas’ not working that well, Margaret Simons, Crikey[/i] The witnesses agreed that the internet opens up new possibilities for citizens to inform themselves and participate in media but that so far this was a“molehill” compared to the mainstream media. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/08/media-inquiry-marketplace-of-ideas-not-working-that-well/ [i]Carbon price is through: it’s about the future, the economy…and the wind beneath our wings , The Fifth Estate[/i] Watch the mustering army of carbon and clean energy experts, the consultants, engineers, inventors, investors, philanthropists, doers and sayers bring out the heavy artillery.The Climate Institute says it will be a winner for Australia on the global stage; it can stand once more as a leader in this space.It will put “wind in the sails of other jurisdictions about to introduce, or considering, http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/29333 [i]And It Passed! Australia Sets A Price On Pollution, Ben Eltham, New Matilda[/i] The Coalition has committed itself to rolling back so many of the government’s policies that it now faces a huge policy development challenge simplyin working out how to sensibly roll them all back. The task becomes explaining exactly how an Abbott government will repeal swathes of complex legislationand policy in areas such as the mining tax, the carbon tax, the NBN, poker machine regulation … the list goes on. http://newmatilda.com/2011/11/08/and-it-passed-australia-sets-price-pollution [i]Gracious in defeat on carbon pricing- Hardly, The Conscience Vote[/i] Even at the last minute, the Opposition tried every possible tactic to delay the final vote in the Senate. They tried for amendment after amendment, which were designed to render the bills useless and which had no chance of passing. Senator Eric Abetz led a desperate charge to suspend standing orders after debate ended, arguing that there hadn’t been sufficient time to examine the legislation properly. http://consciencevote.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/gracious-in-defeat-on-carbon-pricing-hardly/ [i]Price on carbon as Clean Energy Bill passes Senate: expert reactions, Matthew Thompson, The Conversation[/i] Professor John Quiggin, Professor of Economics, University of Queensland and currently Hinkley Professor at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USThis is a big achievement, coming at an opportune time. With South Korea planning to follow suit, momentum towards carbon emission reductions in the Asia Pacific is starting to build. Even more significant, although it received little attention, is China’s introduction http://theconversation.edu.au/price-on-carbon-as-clean-energy-bill-passes-senate-expert-reactions-4195 [i]History is Made in Australia , Al Gore[/i] This is a historic moment. Australia's Parliament has put the nation's first carbon price into law. With this vote, the world has turned a pivotal corner in the collective effort to solve the climate crisis. This success is the result of the tireless work of the leadership of Prime Minister Gillard, http://blog.algore.com/ [i]$23 carbon price to stay, Indaily’s Blog[/i] Mr Swan noted that Mr Abbott was avoiding the vote by travelling to Britain to attend an international meeting of conservatives.“He is scurrying off with his tail between his legs.” Opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt scoffed at suggestions his leader was leaving the country toavoid the Senate vote. http://indaily.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/23-carbon-price-to-stay/ [i]CARBON POLLUTION TAX , wmmbb, Duckpond[/i] If it works at all there will be interest groups that will promote the various forms of carbon gas abatement and alternative technologies. And then there is the possibility the legislation will be part of a broader international development, in which case the argument that it does not influence globalemissions will be undermined. http://wmmbb.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/carbon-pollution-tax/ [i]How will the carbon price affect you?, ABC[/i] Nine out of 10 households will get assistance to cope with extra costs under the carbon price. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-10/how-will-the-carbon-price-affect-you/2789092 [i]Does Abbott face a tough demolition job? Blood oath. Annabel Crabb, ABC[/i] Digging up the National Broadband Network. The backbreaking grunt work of returning all that money to all those mining companies. Dismantling the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.All this before you even consider the work involved in designing stuff to take the place of all this wreckage. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-08/crabb-carbon-legislation-abbott-demolition/3652544 [i]ABCTV News24 on the economy, Afghanistan and Murdoch thuggery, Antony Loewenstein[/i] I appeared last night on ABCTV News24′s The Drum (video here).I argued that chequebook journalism is only problematic when the public increasingly distrusts the media and presumes exploitation is taking place. http://antonyloewenstein.com/2011/11/08/abctv-news24-on-the-economy-afghanistan-and-murdoch-thuggery/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_ [i]Australia records largest quarterly trade surplus, Dr Craig Emerson MP [/i] In the three months to September 2011, the surplus was $7.3 billion, up 16 per cent on the three months to June.The quarterly record came after a trade surplus of $2.6 billion in September, the seventh consecutive monthly surplus since floods and other weather-related disruptions led to a small deficit in February. It was also the fifth-largest monthly surplus on record. http://trademinister.gov.au/releases/2011/ce_mr_111108.html :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

psyclaw

9/11/2011Some light reading for those interested. What a great day was yesterday! And still the wails of the vanquished prevail. [quote] Good morning again Mr Hunt I have just listened to you with Fran Kelly on ABC National radio. You continue to talk absolute rubbish. You will fund the costs of the ETS recision by "deep consideration of the budget". Come on now! You're already looking for $70billion of cuts and no economist agrees that you'll be able to find anything like that in the budget. No previous government has been able to find more than about $20 billion by cuts. And you talk of your Direct Action "reverse auction". You'll buy the cheapest carbon capture on offer. Who on earth will voluntarily be offering what for you to buy? And when their "offering" is not bought by you, what will motivate them to participate again? What will motivate any entity to participate in your "auction"? As to the cost of electricity, you blithely ignore the Electricity Association's view that the uncertainty created by your recision threat will raise the cost impact of the ETS from 10% to 30%. You continue to waffle on talking absolute nonsense that will never come to fruition. In the very hypothetical situation of an Abbott led government with the silly Mr Joyce as deputy PM, with their denialist views about AGW do you really think that anything at all will be done to address the matter? Get real! On another matter, I know that the faceless men who control your party will be noticing the inexorable rise of the government's stocks in ALL the polls and the corresponding demise of Abbott's figures. They have now reduced from a high of 58-42 in your favour to a mere 53-47 (some polls say 52-48). Since you only set up Direct Action to appease the Abbott and Minchin denialism, I assume you'll have a more realstic plan B to move to when Abbott is shafted by your party during the first half of 2012 and the leadership returns to a more moderate person. (Kevin Andrews! [Ha Ha..that's a joke!] Your leadership cupboard is pretty bare! I know you'll all want an effective backwards thinker ..... let me recommend BB, but only if she replaces the big red scarf with a blue one). I look forward to further communication with you then and will invite you to explain your superficial behaviour and views manifested during Abbott's truncated role as your leader.[/quote] And Abbott, the man who said that the ETS vote was the most crucial vote ever and which required [b]all[/b] MP's to be present, and that therefore he would refuse pairs for it, was at the time flying to the International Conservatives Conference in London. As we've all noted before, for him it's only today's words that count ..... tomorrow they can be rejigged and any inconsistency can be assuaged by Confession and divine forgiveness. To any rational person, this process is of course known as hypocrisy and lies.

Ad astra reply

9/11/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

psyclaw

9/11/2011Hi Jane I agree with your statement yesterday that the Colonition's leadership shelf is empty. Can you imagine Andrews, Pyne, Dutton, J Bishop (vomit!), Morrison, Mirabella (double vomit!), Bob Baldwin or vacillating Hunt as alternate PMs. That only leaves Sloppy Joe who has no discipline (self or other ..... Dec 2009 "yuse can all have a conscience vote on what our AGW policy will be") or Prince pontificator Turnbull (who can pontificate tongue in cheek that he believes in things that he obviously doesn't believe in). So in this prematurely speculated landslide to the Colonition in 2013 which one of these could possibly lead us (And with Barnyard at the side as Deppity PM!). FS You are so true about Reith's half truths about other nations not going down the ETS road. In his reference to USA he fails to say that the Republicans have been captured by the Tea Party and that Obama has in turn been captured by the Republicans (congress) and therefore any momentum about any progressive policy is well off the table. He is a set-in-stone sleaze.

Lyn

9/11/2011 Good Morning Psyclaw Thankyou for your light reading, very enjoyable. But look what the Undertaker said, Julia Gillard deliberately rearranged the whole of parliament, rescheduled 150 MP's, all this to spite Mr Abbott, how stupid are they. Abbott's gaffes last week, Qantas, Superannuation wouldn't have anything to do with anything would they. [quote]Abbott, the man who said that the ETS vote was the most crucial vote ever and which required all MP's to be present, and that therefore he would refuse pairs for it, was at the time flying to the International Conservatives Conference in London[/quote] Abetz defends Abbott's absence. Channel9 [quote]Senator Abetz said Mr Abbott's trip was scheduled before the Gillard government decided to bring forward the upper house vote on the carbon tax. It was originally scheduled to be held by November 21 at the latest. "It was the Australian Labor Party combining with the Australian Greens that decided to guillotine this legislation, not once but twice, to bring the vote forward," he told reporters in Canberra. "One now assumes, given their propaganda, (it was done) deliberately knowing that Tony Abbott would not be in the country. "To try to make Tony Abbott wear that is quite frankly a ludicrous assertion."[/quote] http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8371567/abetz-defends-abbotts-absence Cheers:):)::):)

Michael

9/11/2011Bad Abbott (factor) This is an interesting perspective on a(ny) leader of the Opposition. 'As the tax passed through the Senate yesterday 36 votes to 32, AGL Energy boss Michael Fraser said Mr Abbott's plan to repeal the tax was "very unfortunate". "The uncertainty created by the Abbott factor is unfortunate and we will have to proceed with absolute caution," Mr Fraser said at the Carbon Expo Australasia 2011 in Melbourne.' The "Abbott factor"??? I wonder how many similarly high-level Australian businessmen also see Shouldabeen not as an alternative PM, but as a disruptive factor in commercial decision-making? Which is to say, an impediment to confidently moving forward? (now, that phrase has a ring to it)

Lyn

9/11/2011 Hi Ad Bushfire Bill brilliant posting again, link posted on Twitter by Markjs1: markjs1Mark Shove Are the Murdochs about to have their heads chopped off?....Bushfire Bill suggests that might happen: http://bit.ly/tCmpZ2 1429Bushfire Bill Posted Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 8:43 am |1429 [quote]Kelly, Shanahan, Franklin, Albrechtsen, McCrann, Savva and the rest of the crew have been highly paid for getting most things wrong, for too long, in the Holt St. sheltered workshop. Kelly, van Onselen and Shanahan have been pleading with Abbott to leave off with the thought bubbles and the naysaying for a while now. Not because it makes Abbott look bad, but because it makes them look like the lazy fools they are.[/quote] Cheers:):):):)

Ad astra reply

9/11/2011Hi Lyn As usual BB has written an entertaining commentary about the Murdoch malevolence. Thank you for the link, and of course for your large set of links this morning.

Lyn

9/11/2011Hi Ad Another great read by Bushfire: @markjs1Mark Shove Aussie media have created their very own Frankenstein Monster...Bushfire Bill is on fire today...don't miss it: http://bit.ly/saAagh #auspol Bushfire Bill Posted Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 7:36 am 1386 [i]Four years wasted on this… four years… of no policies, no structure to the party platform, parliamentary filibusters and interference as a substitute for debate, shadow ministers constantly having to double check Abbott hasn’t snookered them with yet another brain fart from his book, their budgetary structure shot to hell, backflips, slogans and stunts[/i]. [i]And on the day of his defeat, Abbott the fighting general, Rommel-like, arranges to be recalled for “a briefing” 10,000 miles back to Berlin London, leaving – of all people – [b]Eric Abetz, boy wonder Greg Hunt, the beetroot-faced Barnarby Joyce and (fer f**k’s sake!) Ron Boswell to front the cameras as the living, breathing faces of conservatism in Australia[/i].[/b] That’s what happens when you create Frankenstein’s Monsters from [i]assorted bits and pieces found around the dissecting lab: they eventually start believing they’re human, and that’s when the real trouble starts.[/i] [b]The Kellys, the Shanahans, the Franklins, the Bensons, the Steve Lewises, the Peter van Onselens and their malignant boss in New York have created this mess. They can clean it up[/b]. http://bit.ly/saAagh http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/11/08/newspoll-53-47-to-coalition/comment-page-28/#comment-1082191 Cheers:):):):)

janice

9/11/2011Good morning all. A very happy birthday to you TT - When I reached three score years and ten I resolved to ignore birthdays forthwith. Since then I've stayed put and my family and friends do not dare remind me when another birthday comes around. :D: Another big tick on the Government's achievement card. And, as Bushfire Bill opines [quote]Kelly, Shanahan, Franklin, Albrechtsen, McCrann, Savva and the rest of the crew have been highly paid for getting most things wrong, for too long, in the Holt St. sheltered workshop. Kelly, van Onselen and Shanahan have been pleading with Abbott to leave off with the thought bubbles and the naysaying for a while now. Not because it makes Abbott look bad, but because it makes them look like the lazy fools they are. [/quote] They backed a hollow carcass and now they're hurting.

NormanK

9/11/2011Happy Birthday TalkTurkey. (K) (K) (K)

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011psyclaw, Immodestly, and I don't care, I have taken to calling that person of whom you spake, 'Greg the Lying Hunt'. :)

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011Things are getting so bad for the Conservatives that Peter Van Onselen Tweeted the other day that he couldn't decide whether to be a Libertarian or a Social Democrat. I Tweeted back, he should join me and become a Social Libertarian. :D If you want to know what a Social Libertarian is, it is a new paradigm in politics that my late husband and my son came up with between them about 7-8 years ago(when my baby was about 9 years old). In a nutshell, it advocates for a robust Social Safety Net and Public Services, and no government subsidy at all for any Private Industry, like Health or Education. Government may provide for R&D that is advantageous to the nation's forward momentum, plus keeps subsidising the CSIRO etc., but tax rates are lowered and the Tax Free Threshold is about where it is going to be soon. However, any family beyond a Means-Tested level of Income or Assets, can opt in to the Public Health and Education system if they pay a Levy. That's basically it. :)

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011HAPPY BIRTHDAY TALK TURKEY!...(for yesterday). Keep 'em coming! :D

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011As far as the LibSpill goes, I think that, like the Labor Party if it was ever going to happen, the Coalition will have to knock Tony off when he gets back to parliament next week, or not until Feb-March next year, by which time the damage to the Coalition vote may be irreperable(we can only hope that such sense prevails abroad in the community). However, if they knock him off next week, either Malcolm Turnbull(heaven help us again), or Scott Morrison(who is the other valid contender in my book, after the way he prosecuted the Coalition's grubby Asylum Seeker case so 'successfully'), will then have the long break away from parliament to get out and about among the peeps. One thing's for sure, I'm getting in a monster load of popcorn for next week and will be camped in front of the TV to watch parliament. :D

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011Great line, on the day after the Climate Change vote, about Global Warming, from the comments to a great article: [quote] SimonCohen: Denying humans effect on global warming is denying that burning fuel generates heat.[/quote] http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/21/world/americas/climate-study-warming-real/index.html

TalkTurkey

9/11/2011Question for each possible contender for leadership after the demise of Abbortt: "If you were leading a Liberal Government would you regard yourself bound by Abbortt's Blood Oath to rescind the price on carbon? Please note that it is vital that a clear and definite reply is provided because of the commercial imperative for certainty." H'mmm, funny that, because NO MATTER WHAT they say - Yes, bound to rescind or No, freed of rescission oath or Refuse/fail to give clear answer It will not help certainty anyway! (Because some will [i]Yes[/i], some will [i]No[/i], and some [i]won't reply[/i]! :) ) But it [i]will[/i] tie each potential candidate, (Dog forbid Liberal PM), to that vow, or [i]not[/i], and if not, [i]or[/i] if so, they're all either in the sewer or the cesspit, no certainty either way possible, they have lost the gambit. In Chess one of the most delicious coups is to position your pieces so that no matter which way your opponent's Queen moves it will be taken, it's called a Queen Trap. Black King scuttles sideways out of danger for the moment . . . Red Queen on the offensive, Black King in disordered retreat, sort of resonates eh, not that I wish to denigrate [i]Black![/i] ([i]Denigrate[/i] = UN-blacken literally but actually blacken really!)

Patricia WA

9/11/2011Happy Birthday,TT!

psyclaw

9/11/2011FS If he was a National and not a Lieberal and if it was 1960, he would say "I'm a Country Member" and we'd all shout out "Yes! We remember!"

psyclaw

9/11/2011Lyn Thanks so much for the BB quote about all those journos who are not just lazy .... they are lazy prarpicks. (My long deceased father-in-law used talk "arp"ee language in WW2..... simply insert the syllable "arp" before every vowel). And that descriptor is apt for Abetz too ...... he is one of the most conscience and honesty free zones in the Lieberals. Does any Australian actually believe the smarmy crap that he repeats and repeats and repeats? He is the classic "if my lips are moving I'm lying" example. As for Abbott, today's solemn statement ("it's so important we must all be there for the vote") is just a bit of verbiage when the relevant action is needed tomorrow. Confession cures all!

TalkTurkey

9/11/2011FS Not yesterday, this very day :) the REAL 9/11, NOT the bloody 11th of September the way the STUPID Yanks have #*cked the date/month order around! Psyclaw: WE [b][u]DO[/u][/b] REMEMBER!!!

psyclaw

9/11/2011Anyone know why the House QT is not on ABC 1 or ABC 24 or ABC radio? The Senate QT is on all my appliances. Thanks.

Lyn

9/11/2011Hi Psyclaw As far as I know the House of Reps is not sitting this week, only the Senate. Someone else may know more. Cheers :):):):)

Jason

9/11/2011psyclaw, As Lyn said it's only the senate this week! http://www.aph.gov.au/house/info/sittings/index.htm

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011psyclaw, Only the Senate this week, which is why Abbott has scarpered but why his excuse about the government bringing on the Clean Energy vote in the Senate and catching him unawares and overseas is just another load of old boots.

nasking

9/11/2011This latest Harper-led Conservative govt in Canada has really got me shakin' my head in disgust: [quote]The Harper Government is facing controversy over its pending budget cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs at a particularly awkward time — as the country prepares for Remembrance Day ceremonies Friday. On Tuesday, federal Liberals announced they’ve gathered nearly 9,000 signatures on a petition protesting cutbacks that will total $226 million. That sum is to be added to another $175 million to $350 million that is to be eliminated as a result of the Conservatives’ strategic review — a government-wide federal austerity process aimed at balancing the federal books in the next few years. The government has justified the austerity measure by noting a reduction in the number of World War Two and Korean War veterans. But Veterans Affairs watchdog Guy Parent has pointed to the Afghan engagement and says the number of Canadian veterans in fact is on the rise. The government cannot front-end load, buying all manner of new military equipment and sending soldiers into battle as readily as it has been without preparing for the clean up costs at the other end of the process, just as it cannot expect that it’s omnibus crime legislation can be imposed without presenting a corresponding fiscal challenge for provinces trying to provide correctional services flowing from that legislation. Liberals, in their Tuesday news release, state: “Canadians make a promise to our men and women in uniform that, in exchange for their commitment and sacrifice, we will be there for them when they come home, to provide support to them and their families.”[/quote] http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/11/08/awkward-timing-on-veterans-budget-cuts/ Ya look out for those who put their lives at risk for the country. You invest in the courageous, those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice...not mega bloody prisons & gun companies to make huge profits for shareholders off the back of increased gun-related crimes based on government negligence & jails filled due to dopey drug laws. These [i]austerity measures [/i] across the planet are oft disgraceful... the little people get screwed whilst the impression is given that the rich are also havin' to sacrifice... but in fact the system is sneakily bein' setup in some countries to ensure that they will benefit further...scrutinise the budgets in Canada, the UK, the EU & you'll get where I'm comin' from. Plenty of American states have also misused, redirected stimulus to do same. Think Ohio & Texas. N'

psyclaw

9/11/2011Thanks Jason, FS and Lyn.

nasking

9/11/2011[quote]Happy Birthday TalkTurkey[/quote] And so say all of us. :) Have a goodie TT. N'

nasking

9/11/2011Good riddance. [b]John Hartigan resigns as News Ltd chief[/b] [quote]News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch has announced that John Hartigan will step down as chairman and chief executive officer of the company's Australian arm, News Ltd, at the end of the month, beginning a major shift in the leadership of Australian media companies. He will be replaced by the Foxtel chief executive, Kim Williams, as CEO, and as chairman by Mr Murdoch, the dominant controlling shareholder and chairman of News Corp. Mr Hartigan's touted successor and head of its digital operations, Richard Freudenstein, will replace Mr Williams, with News having the right to appoint Foxtel's chief executive despite now owning only a quarter of the company.[/quote] http://m.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/john-hartigan-resigns-as-news-ltd-chief-20111109-1n6xg.html Makes ya wonder why he's running for the hills...what will the media inquiry reveal? N'

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011Nasking, The Conservatives of every stripe globally live and die by the motto, "Never let a disaster go to waste.' So it has been with the GFC, that parties of a Conservative stripe the world over have used it as an opportunity to further their Slash and Burn government agenda, and give back the 'Savings' to their Kleptocrat mates. We've seen it here, we see it there, we see it in the media everywhere. However, the community are starting to wise up to the fact they've been treated like rubes. There will be a bite back from the Rabid Dogs of the Right, however, hopefully the Sentinels at the Gate will keep the Barbarians at bay. :)

Feral Skeleton

9/11/2011Blood Oaths and 'Rock Solid, Iron Clad Guarantees': http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_1761.asp?s=1

Lyn

9/11/2011Hi Ad The Media enquiry is underway and now this: As Nasking says:- [quote]Makes ya wonder why he's running for the hills...what will the media inquiry reveal[/quote] Farewell Big Harto: News Ltd CEO John Hartigan resigns , Andrew Cook, Crikey Holt Street insiders told Crikey this afternoon that the newsroom was in “total shock” at the decision I’m completely shocked, no-one saw it coming basically. Nobody seems to know why he was sitting down or was pushed. I really can’t work out why. I know the rumour has been around for months. I did hear some rumours floating about that it might happen but I still don’t really know why.” http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/09/farewell-big-harto-news-ltd-ceo-john-hartigan-resigns/ Cheers :):):):):)

nasking

9/11/2011[quote]What do I think of Silvio Berlusconi? I think he's a Smooth Criminal. He figured out a long time ago that those who make the laws can evade the laws. Those who can make the message, can control the message. Yet he has never figured out how to live forever. It gets all of 'em in the end.[/quote] Spot on Feral. I noticed Berlusconi is hangin' around to get the austerity measures thru... let me guess, he's got stuff in the bills that will benefit him, his family companies & his cronies...RIGHT? What sickens me is these bloody bigtime crims get away pretty well scott-free...think Cheney, Rumsfeld...now probably Berlusconi & his associates... because so many of the politicians & judges & top police & media who could NAIL THEM are corrupt themselves and are threatened, blackmailed...afraid of bein' EXPOSED. The system stinks like a rotting buffalo carcass...like bad mozzarella... like struggling farmers/vege growers land & water holes in Italy that have poisons & toxic crap dumped on/in them by characters workin' for the mafia/crim underworld...makin' moolah by poisoning valuable fertile areas...and coastal areas. Havin' been to Italy & watched Monty Don's garden shows for the BBC...I know how beautiful & vibrant Italy's gardens & crops & markets can be... but some put irresponsible greed for gain property development & money for garbage/toxin dumping/bad waste management practices before a CLEANGREEN ITALY... think of all the Chinese, Japanese & other Asian tourists that might oneday travel thru Italy searching for beautiful historical gardens...and looking to taste & import top veges & cheese... only to find they've come to a toxic wasteland...where badly thought-out property development has eaten up the best fertile land... and mafioso bosses think they can treat their country & countrymen/women like crap. Italy needs to get sane. ASAP. Berlusconi OUT. N'

Lyn

9/11/2011 Hi Ad and Everybody No sympathy for Harto: MayneReportStephen Mayne john Hartigan has managed to avoid what would have been a very uncomfortable 2 hour grilling next week with the impressive Ray Finkelstein. 1 hour agoFavoriteRetweetReply BernardKeaneBernard Keane So, Harto's finest hour? The Storm scandal? The leader of "Right to Know" trying to suppress an embarrassing affidavit? [b]I'm torn.[/b] 47 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply RupertMurdochPRNot Rupert Murdoch #NewsLtd CEO John Haritgan had to resign, before all the photos and videos leaked online. 58 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply wolfcatWolf Cocklin So John Hartigan has 'resigned' after 41 years, just after #mediawatch goes off air for the summer HendoABCIan Henderson by AndrewBGreene News Ltd CEO John Hartigan steps down. A co-incidence that Rupert's in town? More @ 7pm Cheers :):):):):):)

jane

9/11/2011TT, happy belated birthday and many more to come. Nas' @8.09pm, 8/11, makes you want to take the deniers by the throat, chuck them in a rocket and send the buggers straight into the sun! Jaeger @7.54am, a palace coup while the erstwhile leader is big noting o/s. How sweet that would be. Better than a vienna chocolate with mt everests of whipped cream! Bugger, visitors. Transmission will resume later when I can drink in Lyn's links and the buzz that is TPS.

nasking

9/11/2011[quote]The Conservatives of every stripe globally live and die by the motto, "Never let a disaster go to waste.'[/quote] Sadly, I'm beginning to think yer right Feral...my Tory Grandads would be DISGUSTED if they were alive. Reminds ya of Naomi Klein's [b]The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism [/b] [quote]The book argues that the free market policies of Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman have risen to prominence in some countries because they were pushed through while the citizens were reacting to disasters or upheavals. It is implied that some man-made crises, such as the Falklands war, may have been created with the intention of being able to push through these unpopular reforms in their wake.[/quote] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shock_Doctrine Sometimes I feel like the modern day conservatives/neo-cons do try to talk down the economy... sabotage it by way of their corporations (not hiring such as in USA right now...not providing loans for small business...sabotaging products of competitors)... using & abusing the share markets...suddenly selling off & buying currencies... tricking centre left governments into policies/subsidies etc. that they begin...knowing they have a rotten core...waiting for them to implode and then usin' their media to place ALL BLAME on the centreleft govt (think bankrupt Solar company, guns goin' missin' in America)... usin' their business channels to change market perceptions... usin' their corporations to halt projects...or put in place bad construction etc. that could lead to oil spills etc. to be blamed on centreleft govts. And once they've brought down a government they can then talk DEBT DEBT DEBT and bring in austerity measures to benefit their own. N'

Ad astra reply

9/11/2011TT Happy birthday. Hi Lyn It looks like John Hartigan is running for the hills. This man, who has demeaned our PM at every opportunity, is finding it too hot in the Murdoch kitchen. Folks The big storm is approaching our home, with lost of static and lightning, so I'm closing down all our computers for the night. I'll be back tomorrow.

nasking

9/11/2011Lyn, thnx for the Crikey link...the other links...and the tweets. You have been busy. Good onya! [quote]makes you want to take the deniers by the throat, chuck them in a rocket and send the buggers straight into the sun![/quote] jane, when ya go thru the list of corporate bosses & major shareholders that have benefitted bigtime from govt lobbying...have taken the public for a ride...it makes ya wanna shoot 'em off to the moon or sun or that passin' asteroid. Americans for instance, are bein' screwed over by companies related to military expenditure... yet Republicans & usual suspect Dems & their corporate media [i]scream red & blue bloody murder [/i]if anyone calls for military expenditure cuts... better/easier to screw over teachers & firemen & homeowners & the unemployed & the strugglin' poor it seems...than the bloated military industrial complex: November 08, 201 [b]The Washington Post Boards the Pentagon Gravy Train[/b] [b]Defense Cuts Hysteria[/b] [quote]by MIKE LOFGREN Over the last five years, we’ve spent money on the military – in real, inflation adjusted dollars – at a higher rate than at any other time since World War II. That includes the late 1960s, when the United States simultaneously faced a competitor with 10,000 nuclear weapons and sent a half million troops to Vietnam. The Pentagon is spending recklessly at a time of fiscal crisis when America’s debt has been downgraded for the first time since formal credit ratings began in 1917. Yet the Washington Post has joined the hucksters of the military-industrial complex in forecasting imminent doom if one cent is cut from Pentagon budgets. Supposedly, the Defense Department has already cut $465 billion from its budget, and further cuts would be ruinous. But those $465 billion in cuts are fake, mostly paper “savings” pocketed by the president from adjustments to unrealistic past projections of the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and from other baseline manipulations. Despite what Secretaries Gates and Panetta have claimed, the DOD budget has been, next to the Bush tax cuts, the single greatest contributor to the drastic swing from surplus to deficit since 2001. Including debt service costs, the wars have cost about $1.7 trillion. Additionally, the Pentagon has spent about $1 trillion above inflation on its non-war budget. Adding debt service makes that about $1.3 trillion, for a grand total of roughly $3 trillion added to the debt, courtesy of DOD. As for the military’s doom-saying, such rhetoric has been standard procedure for service chiefs testifying to Congress for at least the past three decades that I served as a congressional staff member. Deliberate threat inflation, such as the hyperbolic overestimation of Soviet military capabilities in the 1980s, was the genesis of serious intelligence failures and billions wasted on weapons designed for imaginary threats. China-as-military-threat is now in vogue at the Pentagon and in Congress. There is a threat, but it comes not from the rust-bucket aircraft carrier China bought from Russia. China now owns about one trillion dollars in U.S. Treasury securities – 36 per cent of all foreign holdings. According to the IMF, China is poised to pass the U.S. in gross domestic product by 2016. That is the real threat we face, not death rays and stealth air fleets. If you want to gaze upon the threat China poses, not because of any inherent evil on its part, but because of our own tax policy, spending priorities, “free” trade ideology, and general indifference of our elites, go to Youngstown, or Toledo, or some other post-industrial wasteland. The U.S. spends about as much on its military as all other countries in the world combined. It could shave a trillion off a projected $6.1 trillion in spending over the next decade and still be miles ahead of the next power or any conceivable combination of powers. But what about another 9/11, ask the Cassandras? In 2001, the U.S. already spent as much on its military as everyone else in the world, but that was irrelevant to preventing 9/11. That disaster was an intelligence failure: a failure of our intelligence agencies to some degree, but even more a failure of the cognitive intelligence and good judgment of our elected so-called leaders. The Post cites figures from biased DOD-funded sources (think tanks, trade associations, contractors) claiming that a million jobs would be lost. But national defense is not supposed to be a jobs program, and in any case, if creating publicly-funded employment were the objective, a dollar spent on infrastructure would produce more jobs than a dollar spent on the military. The United States is now a bloated military empire on the cusp of economic decline. Historically, the danger in such cases is that when the fiscal stability of the empire begins to weaken, the governing elites double down on the very policies of military profligacy that caused the fiscal crisis in the first place. History is littered with powers that followed this ruinous path: the Spanish Empire, the Dutch Republic, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union. Chest-pounding rhetoric to the contrary, our military policies of the last decade have left us less prosperous, less secure, and less free. A course correction is desperately needed, regardless of what entrenched Beltway elites like the editorial board of The Washington Post think. MIKE LOFGREN retired in June 2011 after 28 years as a Congressional staffer. He served 16 years as a professional staff member on the Republican staff of the House and Senate Budget Committees.[/quote] http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/11/08/defense-cut-hysteria/ Sad days indeed. N'

2353

9/11/2011FS @ 5.20 (daylight time) The first paragraph of you link reads [quote]With the Federal Government under fire over its decision to restrict access to the Medicare safety net — breaking a core election promise — the Health Minister, Tony Abbott, is really in the hot seat, after his comments in September last year: "That is an absolutely rock-solid, iron-clad commitment." Mr Abbott will be talking to Sunday's political editor, Laurie Oakes, about what happens now that the pledge has been dumped ... [/quote] So hang on here, a "core" promise from Howard and Abbott was dumped (regardless of the justification) and there were no calls for the Government to immediately resign, there were no "campaigns to Canberra", the shock jocks didn't repeat calls to "Ditch the Witch" and so on. In my view, Gillard hasn't reneged on a promise to "not introduce a Carbon Tax" because she hasn't - it is a carbon pricing mechanism with a fixed price for three years. However a lot of hot air has been generated saying it's a tax. Let's assume it is for a minute. Why when Howard can break a promise there is nothing but a civilised interview on "Sunday" - when Gillard is seen to dump a promise there is almost rioting in the street?

2353

9/11/2011By the way - happy belated birthday TT and I'm in envy of anyone that gets the NBN before I do FS.

Acerbic Conehead 2

9/11/2011FS, Great piece, very well written. I see Tones is well and truly in the alphabet soup! And a belated Happy Birthday, TT!

nasking

9/11/2011I'm part way thru a recording of the latest Four Corners & my blood is boiling. Fancy putting our pristine gorgeous QLD coast at risk, including heritage areas, great barrier reef, endangered & amazing species...lunacy. Short-term greed & energy addiction = long-term destruction... all those blasted ships goin thru there...that awful dredging...the risks from storms & flooding related to global warming...crazy...think Alaska & New Orleans...and the recent spills off QLD coast & NZ... DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN bloody stupid. Sick of this fckn resource boom. Gonna RUIN the place so a FEW can pocket the billions. Do in a few years what the Aborigines didn't in 60,000 + years. Is there no politician immune to the seductive call of the multinational voracious beasts? I doubt a certain QLD treasurer will be gettin' many Green preferences after this revealing program... such a damn shame. Feel duped. I'll comment more on this tomorrow...I'm really pissed...and disappointed. http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/ N'

Feral Skeleton

9/11/20112353, Yes, amazing isn't it how controversy can be manufactured out of hot air? Conversely, if an issue isn't given oxygen, it dies.

BSA Bob

9/11/2011Another controversy being manufactured, we learn tonight that a TAXPAYER FUNDED advertising campaign will soon commence re the Carbon scheme. I suppose this means Twiggy Forrest won't be paying for any of it. It's been a while now but I don't recall the media considering it their duty to constantly remind us that our taxes were paying for Howard's advertising for the GST & Workchoices.

psyclaw

9/11/20112353@7.05pm You are correct....it isn't a tax. The HC defined "tax" in the Air Caledonie case in 1988. If it (a) is optional or (b) is a fee for service or (c) it doesn't go to consolidated revenue for discretionary government spending, it's not a tax. All these apply ot the carbon price. It's optional(emitters can install better filters), it's a fee for service (atmospheric garbage dumping) and all proceeds by legislation go to specific related payments (compensation, industry assistance, R and D). So on any of these three grounds it is not a tax. But when you'll say or do anything to get the keys to the Lodge, the truth is irrelevant. Greg Combet was really good on John Laws today and put him in his place a few times. But Laws commented after GC had gone "what's the use of a tax that is collected and then straight away given away?" The fool just doesn't want to see that putting the pinch on emitters and using the revenue to protect family costs (a) sends a big message to all and (b) gives the emitters an incentive to improve their methods and save on carbon permits forever.

D Mick Weir

10/11/2011Good Morning Swordsters, rain has temporarily prevented play so have done some catch up reading. Whew heaps of it. Some food for thought in this one from the Krugster: [b]Bombs, Bridges and Jobs[/b] Paul Krugman @ NYTimes [i]A few years back Representative Barney Frank coined an apt phrase for many of his colleagues: weaponized Keynesians, defined as those who believe “that the government does not create jobs when it funds the building of bridges or important research or retrains workers, but when it builds airplanes that are never going to be used in combat, that is of course economic salvation.”[/i] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/opinion/bombs-bridges-and-jobs.html Of course we don't have the same problem in Aus 'cos we aren't arch militarists are we?

psyclaw

10/11/2011Good Morning Swordsters A request, per favore. Which Swordster introduced me to the great title "Dog Albitey". I am interested in gaining a "licence" to use this intellectual property occasionally. Come on...own up and be a sharer!!!!!

Lyn

10/11/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]The Shady Marketing Scheme That’s Buying Off Your Favorite Bloggers, Gawker[/i] There's the plan: get paid under the table to insert links to advertisers in editorial content; if you're caught, just remove the linkswithout a word; if not, continue to get "paid handsomely." According to Mr. Clark, this is already happening at some of the most popular media sites on the internet—with or without the boss's knowledge. http://gawker.com/5853502/the-shady-marketing-scheme-thats-buying-off-your-favorite-bloggers [i]Who’s got the Abbott proof fence? Do we need one?, The Fifth Estate[/i] Hilariously, Gillard was also asked at the conference if the clean-energy reforms came with an “Abbott-proof fence”, after Opposition Leader vowed to remove the tax.“My prediction would be we are seeing the maximum drama right now but it will abate over time,” she said during aquestion-and-answer session” Fairfax newspapers reported she told the crowd,” Gillard said.“The reality is Tony Abbott knows http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/29400 [i]Oh, Andrew!, Bill, Billablog[/i] We can see what Bolt is up to here. He’s preparing to make criticism of Joyce look like homophobia. He wants to protect Joyce from… well, people like him. I didn’t know Joyce was gay until this morning and I don’t care. It’s irrelevant. It makes no difference to the way I see him. I don’t care which way you swing. If you’re a decent person, then you’re a decent person and if you’re a prat, then you’re a prat. http://the-billablog.blogspot.com/2011/11/oh-andrew.html [i]Abbott’s Canberra- a smoking ruin, ROBERT MACKLIN, City News Com[/i] If you think I’m being a little extreme you’re right. But that’s because the mainstream press has been so obsessed with their misogynisticattacks on Julia Gillard they have totally ignored the actual policies of the [b]swaggering, schoolyard bully [/b]who leads the Opposition. http://citynews.com.au/2011/news/abbott%e2%80%99s-canberra-a-smoking-ruin/ [i]Fortescue under fire for not paying tax, ABC[/i] They have never paid a dollar in company tax to date and they want to resist having to pay the Mining Resource Rent Tax," Senator Evans said. "A large mining company owned by Australia's richest man won't pay tax ... that is not something the Australian people should accept." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-09/fortescue-mining-company-tax/3655270 [i]Peter Costello confesses, Macro Business[/i] during the “dotcom” bubble is the ONLY time that the US has run budget surpluses in decades. It was the one achievement of Robert Rubin that is still given some regard. It was not the dot com period that hobbled the US Budget so that it went into the GFC “so exposed”. It was George W. Bushand his foreign wars that did that. Wars that Mr Costello enthusiastically endorsed. Which is, presumably why he’s making up an alternative history. http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/11/peter-costello-confesses/ [i]NOTW hearing set to test Rupert's would-be heir, Paul Barry, The Power Index[/i] But the one man who should have been there was absent. Rupert was actually in Melbourne, as part of his annual Australian visit, but he was too busy lunching with business leaders and touring his newsroom to bother attending. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/dynasties/notw-hearing-set-o-test-rupert-s-would-be-heir/20111108682?utm_source= [i]Bolt's queer take on the Qantas dispute, Hadley's war on NSW teachers..., Matthew Knott. The Power Index[/i] What a fine challenge to the notion of gays as effete, flighty and soft – a straitjacketing that limited the media careers of gay friends, keener to talk politics than showbiz," writes Bolt.It's an interesting take from Bolt: we can think of several experienced, and well-regarded, political journos who identify as gay or lesbian. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/megaphones-watch/bolt-s-queer-take-on-the-qantas-dispute-hadley-s-war-on-nsw-teachers?utm_sourcel [i]Qantas is waving the Australian flag … goodbye,Michael Rafferty, The Conversation[/i] Qantas has been busy offshoring its work for some time. Its wholly owned subsidiary Jet Connect runs all its New Zealand flights and although badged with the Qantas kangaroo, is run out of New Zealand and pays staff about 30% to 40% less than comparable Qantas employees. http://theconversation.edu.au/qantas-is-waving-the-australian-flag-goodbye-4188 [i]News Ltd admits 'poor relations' with govt, Paul Osborne, Channel 7[/i] Incoming News Limited chief executive Kim Williams said the company had a "poor relationship" with some members of the government. "I don't think there is any point in trying to gild the lily about the fact that there are some within the government that are solidly opposed to our work," Mr Williams told Sky News. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/11515938/news-ltd-admits-poor-relations-with-govt/ [i]News Limited boss John Hartigan steps down, Mumbrella[/i] News Limited chairman and CEO John Hartigan has stepped down after 41 years of service.Hartigan will be replaced by Kim Williams, CEO of Foxtel. Richard Freudenstein, currently boss of News Digital Media and the Australian will move across to Foxtel to replace Williams. http://mumbrella.com.au/news-limited-boss-john-hartigan-steps-down-64347 [i]Hot to Trot on Karl Marx's dogma at the federal government's media inquiry,Andrew Carswell, The Daily Telegraph[/i] In his submission yesterday, Professor Hirst attacked News Limited for slanting stories in a way that was against the government, saying: "If they can find a way of attacking Julia Gillard ... They will do so."Last night Professor Hirst stood by his criticism of Western capitalist democracy and said he still described himself as a Trotskyist. "I don't resile from the fact that I've got left-wing politics," he said. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/hot-to-trot-on-karl-marxs-dogma-at-the-federal-governments-media-inquiry/story-e6freuzr-1226189409778?t=1320790065 [i]Media inquiry day one: Chicken Little takes the floor, Fiona Martin, the Conversation[/i] he called for better moderation of news blogs such as Andrew Bolt’s, where both posts and comments were “extremely vicious and even more frequently ill-informed”.Eric Beecher, publisher of Crikey.com.au, also suggested yesterday that the independence of any future Council would be better ensured by government funding – this in turn would diminish the incentive for publishers to have any frontline, normalised involvement http://theconversation.edu.au/media-inquiry-day-one-chicken-little-takes-the-floor-4209?utm_source=ut [i]What banks do, and why they are changing what they do,Peter Martin[/i] The bottom line is that banks are having to evolve their businesses. The policy objective is to make them safer and less prone to failure. This is a good thing. Just be aware that your money may be part of the solution. And all investments, event term deposits, carry risks. Accordingly, do your homework before you enter into one." http://www.petermartin.com.au/ [i]Abbott's moral dilemmas , Ian Harris, The Blowfly[/i] His Jesuit-influenced upbringing will be telling him that all things are possible if he sets his mind to them. So, personally, he desperately wants to be PM, but the route he has to take is to repudiate everything that that Labor puts on the table. In the Parliament his language is so dreadfully negative that one can only relate the experience to the bully in the schoolyard who continually tells you what a drongo you are. http://www.theblowfly.com.au/2011/11/abbotts-moral-dilemmas.html [i]NBN to breathe new life into regional Australia, Richard Patterson, Broadband Expert[/i] one of the potential benefits that is being highlighted with regards to the NBN is how it could help to breathe new life into regional Australia in terms of thenumber of people moving there and the number of new businesses being set up in these areas. http://www.broadbandexpert.com.au/broadband-news/broadband-news/nbn-to-breathe-new-life-into-regional-australia_773860 [i]Saving the media industry without walls, Charis Palmer,Technology Spectator [/i] “There’s a huge fear…and the solution they’re looking for is the paywall because the paywall has the ability capture both the subscription and the advertising, but I think the paywall is going to be difficult. Not impossible, we see examples where the paywall is working, but difficult. ”http://technologyspectator.com.au/industry/media/saving-media-industry-without-walls?utm_source=Technology+Spectatol [i]We may be two-speed, but we are all sharing dividends, Ross Gittins[/i] How'd you like to be living in Perth, in the winners' circle where everything is on the up, not doing it tough in Sydney or Melbourne, on the wrong side of the two-speed economy? http://www.rossgittins.com/2011/11/it-may-be-two-speed-economy-but-we-all.html [i]It’s time to leave…and quickly, damob, Throwing Stones from the Glass House[/i] Stop the bullshit, stop trying to turn other countries into pathetic copies of your own and leave these people to sort out their issues like they have been sorting them out for years. This is a part of the world that has a totally different understanding of leadership and governance. It alsohas a completely different understanding of how its citizens are treated, http://damob.wordpress.com/ [i]Robert Rapier on Misconceptions About Peak Oil, Science Blogs[/i] for example, the Soviet Union (in reality the "collapse" process took quite a while, but it seemed very fast) - food shortages, male lifespans kicking back to the 50s, lack of access to goods, rapid rises in infant mortality - all these things are pretty nasty. http://scienceblogs.com/casaubonsbook/2011/11/robert_rapier_on_misconception.php?utm_source=selectfeed&utm_medium=rss :):):):):):):):):):):):)

Lyn

10/11/2011Good Morning psyclaw I think it was Talk Turkey. Cheers:):):):):):):)

psyclaw

10/11/2011A very interesting interview on Radio National a few minutes ago..... Fran Kelly with Bruce Guthrie who Hartigan sacked as ed-in-chief of Herald Sun last year. He thinks Hartigan "went" for a number of reasons including his inept handling of the Storm salary cap fiasco last year, the poisonous relationship with Canberra, and disastrous circulation figures across News to be announced tomorrow. Guthrie said that the replacement of Hartigan by Kim Williams, Foxtel CEO who has no newspaper experience at all, was because of William's success in much increasing Foxtel's subscriptions over the last 18 months [i]and[/i] (get this!!!!) because Williams enjoys good relationships with Canberra. Williams is [b]the[/b] EGW's son-in-law. Murdoch himself will chair the board. What does this all mean? Is there a view / intent by Murdoch to be less critical of JG? Has Murdoch realized that Abbott is a fool and a loose cannon and is backing away from supporting the Colonition? Will News begin to publish pro- or at least even handed commentary about the government? Will Abbott at last come under scrutiny and fair (ie inevitably adverse) comment? If all or any of these, what are the implications for the proposed Abbott landslide victory in 2013? Or for his retaining leadership of the ship-o-fools? What do yuse think?

TalkTurkey

10/11/2011Psyclaw Woof. :)

TalkTurkey

10/11/2011Dog has actually gone a bit viral, and I'm delighted because unlike his inverse Dog is alive and truly a friend to our species which shows that Dog is truly infinitely tolerant and forgiving, as well as incredibly loving and faithful. The good thing about Dog Albitey is that everyone who uses the term is lost to the world of the cloud-cuckoos who believe in partisan ghosts, I mean, Dog Albitey! Can you come to grips with the fact of Religion? Because I CAN'T! And I [i]don't want to![/i] Psyclaw you are more than welcome along with many here on TPS and many on Poll Bludger and Cafe Whispers and other blogs to take Dog with you in your heart and with Dog in your heart you'll never walk alone. Any Dog'll do. May He put ghosts to flight! This isn't very well thought through I'm afraid but seriously, I'm being imposed upon by J**** to take little Muffy for a walk! Oh and Thanks to all who wished me Happies yesterday.

Feral Skeleton

10/11/2011psyclaw, Rupert has seen the writing on the wall. He has seen the Clean Energy Future Bills pass. He has seen the Plain Packaging Bills pass. He is seeing the MRRT come to fruition. He is seeing a Prime Minister giving Boadicea a run for her money, after having everything the combined forces of News Ltd in this country could throw at her deflected, she's still standing, and her standing is even going up in the polls as a result! I think he sees a formidable politician in other words, every bit as capable in her own way as John Howard was in his. And there's one thing Rupert does well, sniff the wind and react accordingly. Don't forget he backed Tony Blair. JG even has Tony Blair's old Media guy on board now. So, I imagine Rupert, after having a chat or two with his old mum, has decided to get on board the SS Julia. :)

Ad astra reply

10/11/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Lyn

10/11/2011Good Morning Ad Here we have another member of the lynching mob: [i]Still polls apart, but the tides, they are a changing, Barrie Cassidy, ABC[/i] Oakes said of Abbott that his style "is pure attack dog on Monday: David Uren in a comment piece (alongside a story headed: Robb ropeable On Tuesday: Michael Pascoe accused Abbott of being guilty of "a gross failure of economic credibility On Wednesday, Paul Kelly : "How can he (Abbott) campaign to have no mining tax whatsoever policy becomes absurd." On Thursday: Barrie Cassidy: Tony Abbott and the Coalition devised a short-term strategy - a strategy that could last just 12 months - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-10/cassidy-new-poll-marks-a-slow-changing-of-the-tide/3655146 The Government is working hard: RT @AboutTheHouse: 23 bills were introduced and 27 debated in the House last week http://bit.ly/kK0JL9 Cheers:):):):)

Jaeger

10/11/2011psyclaw: "Williams is [b]the[/b] EGW's son-in-law." Pardon my ignorance; who is EGW?

D Mick Weir

10/11/2011Jaeger, my guess would be he of the 'It's Time' and winner of the 1972 election Edward G Whatsisname. :)

debbiep

10/11/2011 Hi All- Lyn- great set of links, and updates.Good to see your chirpness back. Happy ( belated now) B'day TT. Nasking- couldn't agree with you more especially on the disgust and shock of the story re mining in QLDs which was on 4 Corners. You say it all. To all the lovely people on here, please , have a nice day :) By the time I read the links, and comments, I never have enough time left over to comment like I would like, to all points of views. [i]What I would like for xmas, is more time in the day. Oh, and night cause I like my sleep , & to dream.[/i]

Lyn

10/11/2011Hi Ad Bushfire Bill is onto Cassidy , Bushfire's link posted on Twitter again, thankyou to Mark Shove: markjs1Mark Shove Bushfire Bill warns Barrie Cassidy against using current Polls as a guide to how pple will vote in 2yrs time: http://bit.ly/vrWQfE #auspol 28 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply Bushfire Bill Posted Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:32 am [i]Cassidy has just told us that – presumably by an Act Of God that no-one could forsee – the polls are improving for the government. He is in effect stating that looking at a few polls with a magnifying glass and drawing predictions from them so far out from an election is a flawed process. OK, right now Labor is still behind, but it’s likely to be two years to the election, as Cassidy concedes.[/i] http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/11/08/newspoll-53-47-to-coalition/comment-page-53/#comment-1083426 Cheers:):):):):):):)

Trevor

10/11/2011FS The real test to at the Oz will be if Chris Mitchel keeps his job or is moved sideways. A bit like a cabinet re shuffle. From what I have read Chris Mitchel and Hartigan did not get on anyway. So if one of Kim William's first jobs is to move CM I think we can then be sure the winds of change have turned into into a gale.

Lyn

10/11/2011Hi DebbieP Thankyou, you are a sweetie. [i]What I would like for xmas, is more time in the day[/i] I know, I get up at 5.30am so to have more daytime, still doesn't work for me, especially when I fall asleep about 3pm at my computer, and drop my mouse, poor mouse. Grog's reminder: @GrogsGamutGreg Jericho Remember tonight at 10pm AEDT James Murdoch is up before Brit parliament committee again Cheers:):):):):)

Lyn

10/11/2011Hi Trevor Great comment: [quote]move CM I think we can then be sure the winds of change have turned into into a gale[/quote] I can't wait, it's just so exciting. Leroy_LynchLeroy Change of tack: man overboard-Bruce Guthrie on resignation of John Hartigan #newsltd #auspol #murdoch #ausbiz #newscorp http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/change-of-tack-man-overboard-20111109-1n7g7.html Rupert Murdoch's choice of a man without ink in his veins to replace News Ltd CEO John Hartigan suggests big changes. http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/change-of-tack-man-overboard-20111109-1n7g7.html Cheers:):):):):)

Gravel

10/11/2011Feral Skeleton I am green with envy here, can't wait to read how good the NBN is when you get connected next year. Talk Turkey Happy birthday for yesterday, sorry I'm late but missed reading TPS yesterday, things got very busy. 2353 I really am just repeating what you said, but I had it written down and thought 'what the heck' so I said it too. psyclaw Now I don't necessarily want the Liminted News to go Pro-Labor, although it would be great, but I would love to see it become even or neutral. We can but dream though. Jaeger In case no one has answered yet, EGW, is Edward Gough Whitlam.

TalkTurkey

10/11/2011[u]"The[/u] EGW" = Edward Gough Whitlam Sure makes interesting reading when you know that! And WHY is the man who can write the below not posting on TPS [i]as well as [/i]PB ? Get the metaphor folks: 'Cassidy, a supposedly savvy political guru himself, seems only capable of drawing a tangent to the curve of wherever he is at the moment. It’s the crudest form of extrapolation: basing your whole world view on today’s poll results, or weather, or how your back’s feeling when you get up in the morning. “Gee, it’s sunny this morning, and my back’s a bit stiff. So my back will be stiff forever and it won’t rain all day. What else have I got to go on except what’s happening right now?”' BB your flame needs to burn for longer than it takes to boil an egg! And you know what, I KNOW you will end up reading this so don't pretend you never got my (and others's) invitation. Anyway YES, well we are all independently projecting tangentially into the future, but it's from the surface of a wrinkled oblate spheroid spinning at different rates depending on one's position, there's gravity and lightning and sunspot activity and they all hit us differentially; but with a certain use of what Catweazle calls 'the Eye of Time' (as employed by Ad astrafix!) one may at least extrapolate that things will be [i]different[/i] in two years' time, or two days for that matter (as in this last few :)); and things what's different ain't the same. How many of the MSM have ever noticed this? . . . Oh but and when the Government is achieving everything it meant to, and breaking really courageous new ground, all Yes Minister jokes aside, being the most diligent and successful Government since EGW's :), and when it will be all in place and concreted, and people are apprised of as well as noticing the benefits, and knowing all this, I don't really need a crystal ball, just the Eye of time, to project a Dire End for Abbortt and his Coalons, and Glory and Acclaim for *J*U*L*I*A* and the Guvnors. You know what I always say : [i]VENCEREMOS![/i]

Ad astra reply

10/11/2011Hi Lyn Thanks again for your links and tweets. BTW, this morning I haven’t been able to get Twitter to accept my usual tweet about your links being posted. I’ll keep trying – maybe Twitter is getting overloaded. I too heard Barrie Cassidy this morning commenting adversely about Tiny Abbott’s strategy and citing a number of instances where he has engendered annoyance and dismay among his colleagues and supporters, including those in the media, even Paul Kelly. While we should be cautious about claiming the tide has turned against Abbott and in favour of the PM, the current signs point that way and the polls are in harmony with that view. In my view Julia Gillard’s best strategy is to continue to develop and implement good policy, even if it is opposed by the rich and the powerful, and let Abbott self-destruct with his negativity and ‘policy’ stupidity. Like you and debbiep, I find there is not enough time in the day to read everything that comes onto [i]TPS[/i]. There are many links that arrive during the day that take time to follow up. Add to that the time taken to service the site, post pieces and write new ones, and I find the days are never long enough. I thought I had ‘retired’!

Jaeger

10/11/2011Thanks for the clarification re: EGW; I didn't realise he had a silent "E". :-) I'm not holding my breath for change at Ltd News just yet; Williams was towing the party line in this article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-10/news-ltd-new-boss-tells-politicians-to-harden-up/3656420

Lyn

10/11/2011Hi Everybody More exciting news to share: hope it's bye bye AB [quote]Owners of MTR headed for court in dispute over whether to shut it down [/quote] Colin Veckery, Herald Sun [quote]The future of the station's big name stars, including Steve Price and Steve Vizard, hang in the balance. The future of MTR has been under a cloud ever since Macquarie failed to buy rival radio station 3AW last month. MTR has been bleeding money, posting a $6.2 million loss in the last financial year.[/quote] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/owners-of-mtr-headed-for-court-in-dispute-over-whether-to-shut-it-down/story-fn7x8me2-1226190967885 Cheers:):):):)

Lyn

10/11/2011 Hi Ad The Telegraph doesn't know what poor means, these people are poor: [i]Carbon casualties - three million families will suffer under new carbon tax regime , Nathan Klein and Gemma Jones From: The Daily Telegraph[/i] [i]THE Samuelsons are the face of the carbon tax three million - the families who will bear the cost of the Gillard government's latest levy. [/i] The stay-at-home mum said her husband worked "bloody hard for his money" the family battling existing expenses and the cost of raising three boys in Sydney on Mr Samuelson's wage of more [b]than $150,000 a year.[/b] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/carbon-casualties-three-million-families-will-suffer-under-new-carbon-tax-regime/story-e6freuzr-1226190666034 NeilMcMahonNeilMcMahon [b]Poor petals on $150,000 a year[/b]? I don't know you could be subject, author or publisher of this and not be embarrassed. http://goo.gl/BezOT Cheers:):):):)

Ad astra reply

10/11/2011Hi Lyn Poor petals indeed! $700 per year is less than half of one percent of a salary of $150,000. $700 is $13.46 a week, hardly a budget breaker on $150,000 a year – the price of a couple of coffees. This just another [i]Telegraph[/i] beat up by Paul Whittaker; I wonder how long they will be able to keep this up as the ‘tax’ passes into history, and the world does not implode. Neither will Barnaby Joyce be able to sustain his clown act for long – people will get bored and begin to laugh.

Ad astra reply

10/11/2011Hi Lyn What a shame it would be if we lost the cultural benefit of MTR and Steve Price! The world as we know it might evaporate for ever. Oh dear! I'm off shopping for couple of hours now.

Patricia WA

10/11/2011FS, says [quote]I imagine Rupert, after having a chat or two with his old mum, has decided to get on board the SS Julia. [/quote] I saw it as Mum giving him a good talking to! I also think Rupert might not want to spend his declining years seen as a pariah in his native land. Maybe he is thinking about what might be his perceived legacy and wants some of that affection and respect earned by his parents. And yes, he does like to back a winner.

Lyn

10/11/2011Hi Ad I have been in sympathy with you for 2 hours. Telstra ADSL service down for over 2 hours. It really is hopeless trying to get service or even report the problem. I phoned Bigpond, after many recordings I got an operator, he couldn't understand me. I said to him, there is nothing wrong with my computer, there is nothing wrong with my modem, all the boxes are ticked on my options tools menu. He said well it will take 48 hours, they are working on it. Working on what I said, put me on to your Supervisor, he said wait on, 15 mins later the recording asked me for feedback, press 1, press 2, and then she cut me off. I wish I could put Malcolm Turnbull on Jane's Pike she has reserved for Tony Abbott. I want them both on Pikes while Jane and I both bash their heads. Cheers:):):):):)

2353

10/11/2011Cultural Benefit and MTR in the same sentence and it made sense. Well done AA :)

Ad astra reply

10/11/2011Hi Lyn I can empathise with your problem. Since Telstra seems unable to provide 3G services in central Melbourne, while they work well here in the country, I will probably have to take up ADSL in the city, and keep 3G here as there is no ADSL! 2353 I see MTR will now close tomorrow.

psyclaw

10/11/2011Patricia 2.46pm I think you may be correct about RM yearning for Australia. Australia's greatest singer songwriter Graeme Connors has a song "Sicilian Born". It tells of a family who migrated here post WW2 from Sicily. They had a 3 sons who all grew up and married Aussies. Left alone, the parents grow old and she dies at 84....he's very sad and lonely. The key lines in the chorus are "and he never talked in his native tongue and he never said where he'd come from, and he told me once the reason why......he said home's not where you're born ..... home is where a man's prepared to die". Anyway, quite suddenly to all the neighbours' shock, the old guy disappears. One neighbour knew of his leaving and said "he just packed up and went back to wherever he came from". For all the expediency and benefits of becoming a Yank, at 80 years RM might just be a bit lonely for his true home.

Feral Skeleton

10/11/2011Hello All! Back from a spot of shopping, Mum's Taxi services and being a 'Feral Who Lunches'. :) Tostart with tonight I have an Edward Gough Whitlam Fun Fact! I am the proud owner of a vinyl record, the name of which is: 'The Word According to Gough'. It is a collection of some of his most famous words and I will treasuer it forever. I wanted to get the great man himself to sign it, but alas, he hasn't been well enough to get out and about lately with pen in hand.

Ad astra reply

10/11/2011Folks I'm calling it a day to watch ABC TV.

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011Just thought everybody should be made aware of this: @grahamfarmelo Graham Farmelo One to remember: tomorrow morning, at a ninth of a second after 11.11, it will be 11:11:11:11:11:11.111111111111111111111111111.. As it is already tomorrow (Friday) for most Aussies read today instead of tomorrow in the above if that makes sense :) And on another topic I suspect NK is a happy little vegemite given the state of play in the cricket. Incredible stuff and what a sterling effort by the Springboks with a deiant 10th wicket stand of 1. :) :)

2353

11/11/2011Apparently James Murdoch didn't cover himself with glory overnight it London

Lyn

11/11/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]The new boss of News Ltd gets off to a bad start:, Tim Dunlop, BSides[/i] The politicians, on the other hand, by going public with their complaints, not only risk the sort of insulting, dismissive comments that Mr Williams has now deployed, they take the substantial risk of copping even more "robust examination" by the media organisation they are chastising .http://tjd.posterous.com/htfu [i]The Peta Principle, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless[/i] The way Credlin and Abbott work is to create a constant sense of crisis in the government, which means that any Liberals who think about alternative ways of governing the nation are splitters and not people with the wider interests of party and nation in mind. Alternative approaches are not considered because they have no capacity to do so - http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/2011/11/peta-principle.html [i]The end of News Limited being led by a journo – now it’s the man who gets paid content, Tim Burrows, Mumbrella[/i] But I’d be very surprised if it was News Limited’s poor relationship with parts of the Government that triggered this. That’s not Murdoch’s style.What is about to change though, is the style of leadership at News Limited, which is of course soon to be rebranded as News Australia. The rebrand will start at the top. http://mumbrella.com.au/the-end-of-news-limited-being-led-by-a-journo-now-its-the-man-who-gets-paid-content-64362 A[i] new broom for News Limited as Hartigan exits, but what now for Murdoch’s empire?,Martin Hirst, The Conversation[/i] Whatever the ultimate reason for Hartigan leaving, perhaps equally surprising is the choice of replacement as News Limited CEO. The former Foxtel chief Kim Williams will step up and many are seeing this as a break with tradition. Williams is said to enjoy a good relationship with Rupert Murdoch – but most do, until the dinner, or the phone call, or the boardroom coup which ends their http://theconversation.edu.au/a-new-broom-for-news-limited-as-hartigan-exits-but-what-now-for-murdochs-empire-4236?utm_ [i]News Ltd heavies toast Harto at boozy farewell, Tom Cowie, The Power Index[/i] Certainly Williams and Hartigan could not be more different. While Hartigan enjoys a drink and a punt, Williams is an aesthete by comparison, favouring a good book and a night at the opera over a party," he wrote in the Fairfax press today. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/out-on-the-town/news-ltd-heavies-toast-harto-at-boozy-farewell/20111110693 [i]Carry on my legacy , The Baffled Kettle[/i] Because after a fashion, in a certain light, you are, after all journalists. I in turn will remember you all most fondly as my golden parachute conveys me downwards, ever downwards, to my eternal reward http://baffledkettle.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/goodbye-world/ [i]Changes at News helm, Indaily’s Blog[/i] dwindling circulation numbers and a flailing relationship with the Gillard government.Mr Guthrie said he suspected Mr Williams had been appointed to rebuild that relationship.“He has links to the Labor party in the sense that I think he’s Gough Whitlam’s son-in-law.“Maybe that’s another kind of advantage for him taking the job.” http://indaily.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/changes-at-news-helm/ [i]Robert Manne, the Finkelstein Media Inquiry and blog comments, Kim, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] Although there might be nothing that could be done about this new form of newspaper-supported hate speech if the newspapers were unwilling to act, its appearance at this moment in our history should not pass unremarked.Manne’s evidence hasn’t gone unnoticed by Andrew Bolt. http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/11/10/robert-manne-the-finkelstein-media-inquiry-and-blog-comments/ [i]Murdoch press tries to make Australia believe it has been in the grip of a gimme culture since 2, Clarencegirl, North Coast Voices[/i] With predictable regularity the Murdoch media runs articles on the level of Centrelink welfare payments. This month it is the turn of The Telegraph with its erroneous headline Massive blow-out in dole queue above an article telling us that Centrelink "customers" have swollen to 7.1 million since 2007. http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2011/11/murdoch-press-tries-to-make-australia.html [i]News Ltd: ideology takes over , Gary Sauer – Thomoson, Public Opinion[/i] The Nanny State meme is a favourite of the News Ltd media, and it stands for an opposition to governmental policies of protectionism, economic interventionism, or strong regulation of economic, social, environmental and health. They have winner take all ethos, a political agenda, and they use their concentrated media power to push that agenda which includes destabilising the Gillard government. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/11/news-ltd-ideolo.php#more [i][b]July 01, 2009:[/b]0- Murdoch Boss Viciously Attacks Murdoch Bloggers For "Political Extremism" And "Radical Sweeping Statements", Daryl Mason,The Orstrahyun[/i] News Limited CEO John Hartigan didn't have time to explain how New Limited lawyers acting for two journalists have tried to shut down independent blogs; desired to find out anonymous blogggers' real names; demanded payments for "immeasurable hurt" allegedly caused by bloggers to News Limited journalists, all fit into his high-profile 'Right To Know' campaign to protect sources, shield whistleblowers and demand greater freedom for the media. http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com/2009/07/murdoch-boss-viciously-attacks-murdoch.html [i]Perilous News Bid for Australia Network, Barry Everingham, Independent Australia[/i] The Gillard Government owes News Limited and its subsidiaries absolutely nothing — and is certainly under no obligation to reward Sky with the contract to buy the networkThe Sydney tabloid, The Daily Telegraph, is a disgraceful rag but has a very wide circulation. It is the print version of Alan Jones — and like Jones will say anything with scant regard for fact. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/media-2/perilous-news-bid-for-australia-network/ [i]Improving climate change reportage – a must for the media enquiry,Mary Debrett , The Conversation[/i] A common knee-jerk response to public ignorance on the topic is to blame the government for not “selling” its carbon price effectively. However, the mainstream media, who host the public conversation, also have a responsibility.They should cut through the stunts and controversy and offer information and broad-based discussion and analysis. http://theconversation.edu.au/improving-climate-change-reportage-a-must-for-the-media-enquiry-4220 [i]Australia Finally Puts a Price on Pollution, Alex Schlotzer[/i] Tony Abbott, has responded by deserting the country to be coddled by his conservative buddies from around the world. The Coalition is now left with Greg Hunt and Malcolm Turnbull trotting out the lines but they’re delivered with the might of a limp lettuce leaf. Barnaby Joyce seems to have been let of his leash http://alexschlotzer.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/australia-finally-puts-a-price-on-pollution/ [i]Struggle street, Min,Café Whispers[/i] sell 4 of their 6 computers ,half the number channels subscribed to on pay television, send the kiddies to (gasp) public schools, shop at St Vinnies, change to generic brand loo paper, seek out the latest supermarket bargains http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/struggle-street/ [i]Intense competition as technology advancements impact upon TV broadcasting, Paul Budde, Budde Blog[/i] There is currently much attention on TV sets becoming Internet enabled with multiple function screens. Known as Smart TVs, these new Consumer Electronics (CE) devices are fast becoming the focus for home media centres with some already able to stream movies and content straight from the Internet and allow access to real-time data and interactive services. It is predicted that these TVs will soon rise sharply in popularity http://www.buddeblog.com.au/frompaulsdesk/intense-competition-as-technology-advancements-impact-upon-tv-broadcasting/ [i]Killing the landline, Supratim Adhikari, Technology Spectator[/i] telling iTNews that NBN Co had a 30 per cent chance of pulling off a complete fibre rollout due to Labor's chances of returning to power at the next election. According to Jameson, the most likely scenario was a half-built network with coverage of between 30 and 50 per cent of Australian homes. http://technologyspectator.com.au/nbn-buzz/nbn-buzz-killing-landline [i]BHP, Rio to pay extra $1.9b in State royalties, Natasha Boddy, The West[/i] BHP Billiton is proposing to expand its Pilbara iron ore production capacity from current capacity of 250 million tonnes per annum to 350 million tonnes per annum by 2020, known as the Iron Ore Growth Plan, which includes a new outer harbour at Port Hedland. It is estimated the growth plan will involve an investment of the order $15 billion to $20 billion, including the outer harbour development,” he said. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/11544724/bhp-rio-to-pay-extra-1-9b-in-state-royalties/ [i]Mining has jumped the shark, passed the point where it helps – study, Peter Martin[/i] The benefits of the mining boom have peaked, with the boom “no longer boosting growth or contributing to additional improved welfare for Australian citizens” according to a major new study. http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/11/mining-has-passed-point-where-it-helps.html [i]Modern media: Necessary evil or saviour of democracy?, Hugh Martin[/i] Of course there are many influences to which this political stability can be attributed, but it is worth acknowledging that one of the very important components is ... the media http://hugh-martin.blogspot.com/2011/11/modern-media-necessary-evil-or-saviour.html [i]PAYDIRT- Mining tax looks doomed with Wilkie hitting the jackpot, Vex News[/i] the tightly-balanced House of Representatives, Labor(72), the Greens (1), Tony Windsor (1), Rob Oakeshott (1) are expected to support the MRRT, with the Coalition (72), Bob Katter (1), WA Nats Tony Crook (1), considered certain to vote against. Many in the Press Gallery had assumed Wilkie would end up supporting it. That now seems quite unlikely from what we hear, meaning the bill would be defeated. http://www.vexnews.com/2011/11/paydirt-mining-tax-looks-doomed-with-wilkie-hitting-the-jackpot/ [i]Optus proves: Coalition wrong on NBN pricing, Renai LeMay, Delimeter[/i] But I warn both Turnbull and Fletcher. If they continue to insist upon claiming — against all the available evidence — that the NBN policy will lead to higher prices in Australia’s broadband market, they will demonstrate themselves to be not only inflexible thinkers, but dogmatic pursuers of cynical political outcomes which run contra to objective truth. http://delimiter.com.au/2011/11/10/optus-proves-coalition-wrong-on-nbn-pricing/ [i]There’s a Harvey Norman Store near you! Kelsey, Getup[/i] Harvey Norman has contracts with loggers in Tasmania, NSW, Victoria and WA to source wood from our most precious native forests. Harvey Norman has started using industry spin and a dodgy industry certification scheme to try and deflect mounting public pressure and protests. http://blog.getup.org.au/ [i]Oh MTR, we hardly knew you. (Seriously, hardly any of us knew you.) Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] Troubled radio station MTR could be closed as soon as tomorrow, according to documents lodged in the Supreme Court of Victoria today. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/11/10/oh-mtr-we-hardly-knew-you-seriously-hardly-any-of-us-knew-you/ [i]James Murdoch hearing - live-blog, Samira Shackle, New Statesman[/i] Instant coverage and analysis as the MPs question the News International chairman about phone-hacking. http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/11/phone-hacking-coverage-culture [i]Fat bonuses don’t work, Rumplestatskin, Macro Business[/i] Globally the corporate world appears to be slowly heading towards a new era of accountability, and Australia is keeping pace with these developments. I hope that this provides opportunities to better understand the motivational and decision making impacts of bonus payments, and be able to isolate and reward the tough decision that prove beneficial for the company, http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/11/fat-bonuses-dont-work/ [i]Explosive Tom Crone statement Posted by Keir Simmons. 10 November, 2011, ITV News[/i] It is regrettable, but I can perfectly understand why James Murdoch felt the need to discredit Colin Myler and myself.“The simple truth is that he was told by us in 2008 about the damning email and what it meant in terms of wider http://blog.itv.com/news/keirsimmons/2011/11/explosive-tom-crone-statement/ Newspapers [i]MTR set to close, Karl Quinn and Andrea Petrie, The Age[/i] Troubled radio station MTR is likely to cease local broadcasting as early as tomorrow after a Supreme Court application to stop it taking content from a Sydney station failed this afternoon. A number of high-profile presenters appear on the station, including Steve Price, Andrew Bolt, Steve Vizard and Sam Newman http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/mtr-set-to-close-20111110-1n8u0.html#ixzz1dI3oc19l :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Ad astra reply

11/11/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Ad Abbott changes his mind again, again and again. I didn't see anything in the newspapers online. Do they forget what Abbott said already, and also Laurie Oakes report. twitter reports: Clarke_MelissaMelissa Clarke Abbott tells #abcnews in London re: extra IMF funding: "[b]I never said [/b]Aust should fail in its duties in international citizenship..." AshGhebraniousAshGhebranious [b]Yes you did you lying toad Abbott[/b]. You DID say that we should not be putting money in the IMF. Now what? You meant non IMF? Idiot #auspol 24 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply @marqoftheshireMarq James [b]Abbott supports Gillard's investment in the IMF[/b]. Is that the same Abbott that left Aus? Has he had a moment of clarity? #auspol marqoftheshireMarq James @kimworldwide @breakfastnews Did you notice TA supported investing in the IMF whilst in the presence of the UK PM. Hypocrite. #auspol [quote]5th November 2011 Mining tax has exposed Abbott , Laurie Oakes, Herald Sun[/quote] Abbott's feral irresponsibility was also on view in Parliament over the Government's decision to support improved resourcing of the International Monetary Fund as it deals with the fallout from Europe's financial crisis. Pointing to Australia's Budget deficit, [b]the Opposition Leader thundered: "Why is the Government planning to provide money it does not have to prop up the eurozone, which is the world's biggest economy?"[/b] ABBOTT knew - or should have known - that Australia's contribution to the IMF would be in the form of a loan, with no impact on the Budget bottom line. In fact, it will earn interest. He also knew - or should have known - that money provided to help the IMF handle new contingencies will not go towards any European rescue package. Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, who sometimes shows a disturbing tendency to match his leader's cheap populism, asserted that "the suggestion that we should be putting money into the IMF to bail out the eurozone when not even the British are prepared to do so is extraordinary". http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/mining-tax-has-exposed-abbott/story-e6frfhqf-1226186251139?sv=f9116cefb0e169945351a3b155bae Cheers:):):):)

Feral Skeleton

11/11/20112353, The valid point was made by one of the British MPs last night about James Murdoch that, if he didn't know about all the things that he proclaimed not to have any knowledge about last night, then the shareholders in the company should be asking him to step aside from his positions in News International because it shows he's not very good at his job, and if his surname wasn't Murdoch, or it was any other comnpany, then they probably would. I also liked the line that it was a business run very much like the Mafia, with Rupert Murdoch as the Godfather. Or should that be the Grandfather? ;-)

TalkTurkey

11/11/2011You beat me to it DMW Thank for going to the trouble too I was going to remind folks about 11.11.11.11 But I didn't realize that there would be a moment that would recu[i]rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr[/i] [i][u]Could we be locked in a time-warp moment[/u]?!!![/i] Dog I hope I'm not in mid-blink right at that instant! Mid-bonk might be OK I suppose. Bad Turkey. Anyway D Mick Weir said "Just thought everybody should be made aware of this: @grahamfarmelo Graham Farmelo One to remember: tomorrow morning, at a ninth of a second after 11.11, it will be 11:11:11:11:11:11.111111111111111111111111111.. " BUT, [i]truly[/i], (and do get this please), SOME organisation or other is asking that as many Aussies as possible [b]TAKE A PHOTO [/b]at that moment, (well 11.11 AM anyway), FOR POSTERITY. I don't know what the postitutes are going to do with all the photos but [i]beware of your movie camera freezing[/i] in that awwwwweful instant! Yeah so TAKE A PHOTO eh please, I'm sure someone will tell us sooner or later who the org is that wants them. Camera ready for action? Right there? Battery charged? Just checking. OH and F#S have your chronometer set precisely . . . Otherwise . . . You might be LOST FOREVER in [i][u]NO TIME AT ALL[/u]!!![/i]. PS I bet poor 11.11.11 [b]P[/b]M feels a lot like Tony Abbortt feels about *J*U*L*I*A* :) WHY ISN'T IT ME!!!!???? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh DAM! I just remembered! At that moment we are supposed to be standing ramrod straight for The Last Post! IT CAN'T BE DONE! LEST WE FORGET Ned Kelly's Judicial Murder, 1881 The Armistice, 1918 The Dismissal of Edward Gough Whitlam, PM, 1975 Oh but think of those poor [i]postitutes [/i]. . . Oh yes and there is a whole minute of 11.11.11, you can include one of each other, your class at school, mob at work, etc and the sea sky view babby whatever. [i]Light! Camera! [/i] and . . .

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011Talk Turkey, It's the ABC that wants us to take the photos. :) I think I'll be either having 11s at 11.11.11.11(I shoulda baked a cake for posterity!), or I'll be looking at the clock. :) In his usual way, when I said to my eldest son that he will be able to tell his grandchildren that he was alive on 11.11.11.11, he replied, "And that I was still alive at 11.12.11.11." :)

TalkTurkey

11/11/2011Lyn your Links are Lovely Thank you ever so What we'd do without 'em Dogdam, I dunno! FS said "a business run very much like the Mafia, with Rupert Murdoch as the Godfather. Or should that be the Grandfather?" He sure ain't worthy of being a Dogfather! An honorary and honourable title to which decency is crucial.

psyclaw

11/11/2011LYN Thanks again for great links. I hadn't heard that the fool Abbott has flipped on the IMF "donation" issue. Words just fail me!!!! This should be the lead story all over the country today. Either he didn't know what he was talking about when he condemned the government or he did, and just lied. Either way he's really not fit to be an MP let alone any higher office. As to Hockey, each day he shows himself more clearly to be a lightweight, a man of insignificance. I watched James Murdoch last night. It'd be a dead heat between him and Abbott in a lie race. The main issue he wanted everyone to believe him on is this: Two men, one with a 10 thousand quid spend authority and another with a 50 thousand quid spend authority come to him for a cheque for "500 thousand to 1 million pounds" to pay off an ex employee who has been jailed for hacking. Murdoch asks (1) "Have you got a silk's advice?" (they say they have) and (2) "would he have a strong case against us in court if we don't settle?" ('of course', they say). Here's the crux. Murdoch then asks no more. He doesn't ask what the silk said. He doesn't ask for details of the case. He doesn't ask what it's all about. He just says OK. He is 100% guilty of lying or of willful blindness/deafness. I think it's the former. Any non-verbal communication expert would have a field day analysing Murdoch's manifest body signals that he was fibbing. And he's attempts to obfuscate, side track, speak most seriously about red herrings, praise and support "this process so WE can get to the bottom of it" were theatre of the absurd.

nasking

11/11/2011[quote]couldn't agree with you more especially on the disgust and shock of the story re mining in QLDs which was on 4 Corners. You say it all.[/quote] Debbiep, good to read that someone else cares about our environment on here. When Anna Bligh got so buzzed about satellites discoverin' so much gas in QLD I mentioned I was worried they'd turn this state into another Texas (gawd forbid). I realised that in many ways gas exploration & production would cause as much, if not more, environmental destruction as coal. Quite frankly, I'd prefer to see the next generation of nuclear power generators setup in areas least prone to earthquakes & tsunamis than watch this country's Great Barrier Reef, food bowls & amazing animal species & their habitats be put at risk by this gas madness. The Greens need to get their head around this. I understand much of this is for exports...and I understand that there will be drilling & extraction in some areas that pose less danger to heritage/protected areas etc...fair enuff.. .but I don't want to see this country ruined so a bunch of multinational & local money hungry grubs can pocket billions... and Asian/Chinese customers can overuse/waste the gas as they live the high life...actin' like America in the 20s, 80s & mid 2000s... providing China w/ less incentive to use renewable energy sources. My wife & I have already signed this petition, like many thousands of others: http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/coal-seam-gas/great-barrier-reef/save-the-reef I like many of the ALPs policies...but SHAME on them for this. No better than Texas oil barons. Once the addiction's present...it's never ending. N'

Lyn

11/11/2011 Hi Ad This is interesting, both about Peta Credlin and the Australian's Paywall black Hole. I am intrigued with this Peta Credlin, she seems to be doing a perfect job of destroying Abbott. I like her this Peta Credlin. Peta Credlin featured in Andrew Elders piece of opinion this morning in Today’s Links”. Latika Bourke provides a link to a story in The Australian, about Peta Credlin, the statuesque, politically astute chief of staff you might have seen standing in the shadow of Liberal leader Tony Abbott. latikambourkeLatika Bourke [quote]You should definitely read this: http://latika.me/tOLEKW Kate Legge on Tony Abbott's Chief of Staff - Peta Credlin. (from last w/e).[/quote] latikambourkeLatika Bourke [quote]RE that last link and paywall. Just google the top line and the article comes up in full. Sorry about that link, I thought it would work. :([/quote] 5 minutes agoFavoriteRetweetReply When you click on Latika’s link you will get this: [quote]Who's the boss? Subscribe to continue reading[/quote]. But if you copy the URL, enter the URL in Google search, you will get the whole story. Guess I am going the long way around a story, but trying to point out so much for the Murdoch Paywall. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/whos-the-boss/story-e6frg8h6-1226182439093 [i]Credlin describes herself to colleagues as "the Queen of No" and her sole mission, for now, is to get Abbott into the Lodge. With her husband Brian Loughnane, the federal director of the Liberal Party, the power couple are focused on victory; Loughnane has lost two out of three federal campaigns and wants another win to even the score. Chiefs of staff stand a heartbeat away from the boss. They serve as sounding board, sentry, touchstone, battery charger, keeper of the flame, navigating the future as well as the next five minutes. Most commonly they anchor the leader's office, travelling sporadically. Credlin used the flight to Melbourne that morning to extract decisions from Abbott and tighten lines on industrial relations. He has a habit of derailment. She's a control freak. She even tries to hijack my story. The couple has everything riding on Abbott's success. "Peta and Brian have got stars in their eyes," snipes one insider. "They've got 'soon to be PM' fever. They think they are going to be in the Lodge in the next 10 minutes." Discontent is kept in check while Abbott prospers. "You can't fault their performance," shrugs another. Both political junkies, they were drawn together in the party's engine room and its demands dictate the tempo of their marriage. He's older by 13 years and the quieter of the two. Curious to hear what Loughnane gave Credlin for her birthday, since the surfboard from Abbott's office If Abbott stumbles, Credlin will suffer some collateral damage. While his numbers are sweet, she's rock solid. If he goes on to win, her name is on the chief of staff's door. If not, she may pursue political dreams of her own. She once sought the counsel of senior Liberals on a Senate spot. They think she'd be stunning.[/i] Cheers :):):):):):)

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Ad and Everybody Link to Bushfire Bill just been posted again by Mark: markjs1Mark Shove Bushfire Bill explains why Coalition's party of NO! is almost over....Gr8 read as usual: http://bit.ly/suVT7f #auspol #Mediafail #Abbottfail 11 seconds agoFavoriteRetweetReply [i]3514 Bushfire BillPosted Friday, November 11, 2011 at 10:06 am [/i] But, as Labor gains in polling position, what needs to be considered is just how vulnerable Coalition marginals might be to a wave of instantaneous support for Labor. What’s kept the Gillard government on tenterhooks is the threat that just one by-election loss will consign them to oblivion, but if they get ahead – a distinct possibility in the relatively nearish future –[b] the boot’s on the other foot. Haven’t seen much discussion of that by our esteemed belly-fluff examiners in the not-the-media.[/b] http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/11/08/newspoll-53-47-to-coalition/comment-page-71/#comments And The Australian. It deserves a whole paragraph to itself. The “national broadsheet” has been a disgrace: climate denialism, rampant nagativism, demented upside down analysis of its own polls (see what I mean about belly-fluff?) and the Big One: Ruddstoration. At News, they’ve gotten rid of Hit Man Harto and put Harry Potter in his place, but not really in charge. The withered malignance of Rupert “The Godfather” Murdoch will be Chairman as the tsunami of Hackgate approaches our shores. Rupert is taking personal control… but he’s fiddling while Rome drowns. Shit… where does the Coalition start when their very own party is over. First, some reality: re-badge it as a wake. Something died in 2007, but they couldn’t bring themselves to admit it. http://www.afr.com/p/world/murdoch_accused_of_adopting_mafia_p2IPtxaau8DqTPEVN7StkO AFR article on James Murdoch. Not behind the paywall. Murdoch accused of adopting Mafia-style tactics PUBLISHED: 6 HOURS 5 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 1 HOUR 24 MINUTES AGO Worth a look. Cheers:):):):):):):):)

Gravel

11/11/2011Lyn Thanks for all your wonderful links, plenty of reading for the weekend.

Miglo

11/11/2011Just dropping by to wish Patricia a happy birthday. :)

nasking

11/11/2011James Murdoch, slick performance. You'd have thought his family's fortune was riding on it. Goin' by Rupert's performance a coupla mths back...and both of James' performances...their supposed disgust w/ people who mistreat children/youth...willingness to fingerpoint...and their inability to recall certain events... I'd say they've missed the beat when it comes to staff... when lookin' for highly principled characters they couldn't do better than John Howard, Philip Ruddock & Peter Reith: [b]John Howard Children Overboard...remember this?[/b] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3WJ10xGkas&feature=related CRIKEY, you'd almost think they worked for Murdoch. Who woulda thunk it. N'

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011PatriciaWA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!! :):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D:):D

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011psyclaw, Did you also hear James Murdoch say, when questioned about the now set in concrete meeting(ie one he can't deny), between him and Crone, that, wttw,"It was only a few words as we passed each other in the corridor." Hmm. A 'meeting' about signing off on a payoff which was the largest in News International's history, and it was OK'ed by J.Murdoch after a few quick words with the company's Legal Counsel as they passed, like ships in the night, each other in the corridors of News power? Yeah right! Believe that and I think James has got a contract for sale of London Bridge that you just need to sign away your life savings for. ;-) Now, as far as I can ascertain it, now that J.Murdoch has stated in front of the UK MPs that the Myler/Crone evidence was a tissue of lies, that then opens up the possibility that the Media Committee might feel like recalling them to get their response to James Murdoch's claims? Which is when it should start to get really interesting.

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011What is it about Birthdays in early November that gives you the ability to wax poetical? And what about being able to say that you had a Birthday on 11/11/11? I'm jealous!

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011I see the apologists for Tony Abbott, like Melissa Clarke on ABC24, were out in force this morning, making it up for Tony as they went along. All of a sudden, Abbott's Weathervaning on the IMF, was not a 'Back Flip', or worse, 'A lie', but had become the much more benign, "Tony Abbott has now 'Modified his position' on giving funds to the IMF". Fair dinkum, do these journalists think we're a bunch of lobotomised morons, or something, that we can't see past their spin on Abbott's behalf? Then again, maybe I am, because at 11.11.11/11/11, I was hanging clothes on the line. :D

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011Migs, Good to see you. :) How's your health going?

Ad astra reply

11/11/2011Hi Lyn Thanks again for your great set of links and all the additional information you provide during the day. Isn’t it pleasant to not see Tiny Abbott’s face on TV every night! And isn’t it reassuring that some in the MSM are finally waking up to his vacuous opportunism – do anything, say anything to catch a vote. With his ‘Queen of No’ pushing him, we can expect that he will become even more feral, as Laurie Oakes describes him. I hope his self-immolation continues as a slow burn – he deserves that after all he has done to burn our PM. As the sun is shining at last I need to spend most of the day on the mower to cut the grass that is growing far too fast! Back later.

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011Just got this info from Grog's Twitter feed: The #Insiders panel this Sunday Nov 13 is Kerry-Anne Walsh, George Megalogenis and Brian Toohey. Sorry, Jason. ;-)

nasking

11/11/2011I noticed Tony Abbott on his UK "run from failure" trip met w/ Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne... understandable considerin' how popular they both are...likes attract likes...as we've noticed here w/ the mining magnates. [b]During the 2010 general election campaign, Osborne was considered to have been sidelined due to his perceived unpopularity and the perception as a 'weak link' by both the Liberal Democrat and Labour strategists[/b] George is just yer regular down-to-earth guy: [b]At Oxford he edited the university's Isis magazine, and was a member of the Bullingdon Club. The Bullingdon Club is a socially exclusive student dining club at Oxford University. The club has no permanent rooms and is notorious for its members' wealth and destructive binges. Membership is by invitation only, and prohibitively expensive for most, given the need to pay for the uniform, dinners and damages[/b] George knows how to party...he hangs & gets sh*t faced just like yer average worker: [b]In October 2008, Osborne's school and university friend the financier Nathaniel Rothschild stated that George Osborne had tried to solicit a £50,000 donation from the Russian aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, which would have been a violation of the law against political donations by foreign citizens. Rothschild wrote: "[I]t turns out that your obsession with Mr. Mandelson is trivial in light of Mr. Osborne's actions. I also think it ill behoves all political parties to try and make capital at the expense of another in such circumstances. Perhaps in future it would be better if all involved accepted the age old adage that private parties are just that." Rothschild had hosted Deripaska, Osborne and Lord Mandelson at a party in his villa in Corfu. [/b] George knows how tuff it is to payoff a mortgage & make a buck livin' paycheck by paycheck: [b]In 2009, he received criticism for the way he had handled his expenses, after he was found to have "flipped" his second home, changing which property he designated as his second home in order to pay less capital gains tax. The Lib Dems estimated he owed £55,000 to the public purse as a result of this.[/b] Apparently George is a fan of Dexter & p/t chef who enjoys cutting, slicing & dicing whilst entertaining friends of Iran & Iraq: [b]He is hawkish on foreign policy with links to Washington neo-conservatives and ideologically committed to cutting the state. A pragmatic Eurosceptic". There is evidence of this commitment to cutting the state in his party's manifesto, with Osborne and the Conservatives seeking to cut the deficit "faster and deeper" than any other main party as well as committing to various tax cuts such as inheritance tax and national insurance.[/b] George is a friend of chosen families: [b]On 4 October 2010, in a speech at the Conservative conference in Birmingham, Osborne announced a cap on the overall amount of benefits a family can receive from the state, estimated to be around £500 a week from 2013. It has been estimated this could result in 50,000 unemployed families losing an average of £93 a week. [/b] Like a number of prominent Australian Liberals George is an avid email & letter writer...and a friend of the public broadcaster: [b]In June it was reported that Osborne's staff had been complaining privately to the BBC about an alleged negative bias in the latter's coverage of the economy, and Osborne aired the accusation publicly in a BBC interview.[/b] George, like many an investment banker, Tea-Party supported Republican & Australian Liberal has ideas that stimulate the nation: [b]Second-quarter GDP-figures were, with just 0.2% growth, "horribly unimpressive"... Commenting on the low, 0.2% growth of GDP, Osborne, as on previous occasions, stated that, although the economy was carrying some "heavy weights", abandoning his austerity programme "would only risk British jobs and growth." An FT editorial again gave qualified praise for Osborne's performance. Within days, however, bad news emerged for the manufacturing sector, which had been "the economy's stellar performer since the UK emerged from recession". Optimism among manufacturers fell for the first time in two years (shortly thereafter it emerged that manufacturing had contracted in July, the first such decline in more than two years, as British manufacturers fired a broadside at ministers' efforts to "rebalance" the economy); Osborne's plan to offer a national insurance holiday to small companies to boost jobs growth in the UK's regions had had only a "minuscule" take-up since it was launched a year ago; the CBI lowered its growth forecast for 2011 again, but emphasised that the economy was still expected to grow; the IMF, pointing to weak growth prospects, cast doubt on Osborne's ability to meet his 2015–6 goal for eliminating the deficit; the head of the OBR stated his belief that the UK would fail to meet its 2011 growth target of 1.7%; leading builders merchants complained that the construction sector's recovery was being held back by Osborne's austerity measures; the IMF estimated that British households would lose £1,500 a year for the next five years as a consequence of the austerity drive...[/b] George should not be mistaken for bein' part of the mafia: [b]In 2009 when David Cameron was asked whether or not he would be willing to sack a close colleague such as Osborne, he stated, "With George, the answer is yes. He stayed in my shadow cabinet not because he is a friend, not because we are godfathers to each other's children but because he is the right person to do the job. I know and he knows that if that was not the case he would not be there."[/b] (all above quotes from Wikipedia) George Osborne obviously has plenty of useful advice to give Tony Abbott. Perhaps they could chat about Hard Times. N'

nasking

11/11/2011What do George Osborne, Rick Perry, Herman Cain & Mr. Forbes have in common?: [b]Osborne has expressed an interest in the ideas of "tax simplification" (including the idea of flat tax). He set up a "Tax Reform Commission" in October 2005 to investigate ideas for how to create a "flatter, simpler" tax system. The system then proposed would reduce the income tax rate to a flat 22%, and increase personal allowance from £4,435 to £10,000-£15,500.[/b] These guys are just lookin' after the regular folk...ya know that RIGHT? N'

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011Good Afternoon Swordsters, 11:11:11:11:11:11.111111111111111111111111111.. Oops, blinked and missed it :$ Oh well there might be another chance next year @ 12:12:12:12:12:12.1212121212....

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Jason Poor Jason But Jason can you still put up the full Sunday Program for us please just like you always do. We need a title for you something like TV Presenter, someboody can probably think of something. Thankyou for your diligence Jason, it's just great to get the program every weekend. Cheers:):):):):):):):):)

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011@GrogsGamut Greg Jericho Smart piece by @mumbletwits: "Stop Overestimating Abbott" bit.ly/sJGRPI Interesting article worth a read even though it is @ TheOz. http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/mumble/index.php/theaustralian/comments/stop_overestimating_tony_abbott/ [b]Spoiler Alert[/b] Brent ends with: [i]As you read this some Labor person is telling another “never underestimate Tony Abbott”. But the truth is the opposite: they should stop overestimating him. And they should shut up about him.[/i] I'm sure I have read some similar thoughts somewhere ... hmm ... maybe it was here that some commenters said something like: [b]Stop talking about him, refer to him not by name but by title, but, only if you really have to[/b] Wonder if the message will get thru to the PM and ministers?

nasking

11/11/2011George is workin' for YOU...and he cares deeply about Europe's welfare: [b]George Osborne attacks Tobin tax [/b] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYye0zZ3fH4

nasking

11/11/2011I'm not a religious man, I guess some might say I'm an agnostic... but when I read a religious leader's opinion piece and it makes alot of bloody sense I give credit where credit is due: [quote]After two years in office, President Obama has finally begun to clearly say and do that. His jobs bill, including a national infrastructure bank, is the right course now. And while it should have come much sooner and be much bigger, it is an important step in the right direction. I believe that there is a basic human dignity inherent in work. In fact, the Bible even makes special provisions to provide jobs for those who otherwise wouldn't have one. But, when it comes to the messy legislative process, no one can claim God's special favor on a particular bill. It is, however, appropriate to discuss what kind of moral principles legislation should try to promote. In St. Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians, he writes, "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat." Paul goes on to warn about those who are idle and the negative effect they can have on a community. It was essential that every person work for their own well-being and for the health of the entire community. [b]Hard work was praised by early Christians, but so was ensuring that every person was provided for. Acts 2 says "All the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need."[/b] These passages could be pitted against one another. One side argues for strict capitalist principles in which the lazy starve. The other models a communal society that shares and redistributes private property. But understood properly, they actually work together. [b]Those who can work should work. Those who need work should be helped to find it. Those who can't work should be provided for. [/b] [b]I would argue that the first government work program was seen in ancient Israel. It was instituted by what are called "gleaning" laws. The laws required farmers not to harvest the edges of their field, and if any wheat or grain fell to the earth in the process of harvesting, it was to be left there. This allowed those who were poor or without farm land of their own to come and collect food. These laws respected private property, but still required a portion to be set aside in a way that would allow other people to provide for themselves.[/b] What would it look like if we applied such principles today? [b]I like Obama's American Jobs Act. It is a plan that could prevent up to 280,000 teacher lay-offs and modernize 35,000 schools. It would expand high-speed Internet access to build and broaden our technological infrastructure as well as invest in our current infrastructure that is crumbling. It also would give tax incentives to businesses for hiring veterans and the long-term unemployed, provide job opportunities for low-income youth and adults, and extend unemployment insurance for those who still can't find work. These are all good ideas. Obama's jobs bill would help those who want to work get to work, and investing in our children's future and basic infrastructure would pay back dividends for years to come.[/b] That's exactly the right direction at a time of economic crisis. Estimates for job creation vary substantially, but some independent economists estimate the bill would create between 1.3 and 1.8 million jobs. [b]Others at least say it would increase economic growth and forestall further recession at a still dangerous time.[/b] The scriptures also speak to the importance of people benefitting from their own work. Three-quarters of those living under the poverty line in our country already have jobs. They just aren't jobs that allow them to meet all of their own and their family's needs. [b]People are working and yet are still going hungry. This is why nutrition assistance programs are so important, as are work supplements such as the earned income tax credit.[/b] While God cannot be said to support a particular piece of legislation, it is imperative that we ask how our moral values influence policy decisions and priorities. [b]The country's major religious traditions have significant areas of disagreement, but one area that unites them all is concern about inequality. A survey released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that majorities in every major religious category -- as well as the religiously unaffiliated -- all believe that the country would be better off if the distribution of wealth was more equal.[/b] Putting Americans back to work is essential to reducing poverty and addressing inequality, and it's a top concern among people of faith in our country. [b]The president has put forward a plan. The Republicans have offered no alternative except for their standard mantra about cutting taxes and regulations, which independent analysts say will not create jobs in the near term. It is simply not enough to just repeat ideology at a critical time like this. Obstructionism may work politically, but it won't put Americans back to work. Concrete action must be taken, and we need to call for our political leaders to find common-ground solutions to create jobs.[/b] No plan is perfect, but inaction is no longer acceptable. Work and dignity are Christian values for the common good, and it is time for both political parties to support them. Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: A Guide for Economic and Moral Recovery, and CEO of Sojourners. [/quote] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/time-to-rebuild-our-found_b_1086874.html Yet the Republican party's answer is to send in the clowns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olal23PecUc oops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUA2rDVrmNg and: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cl2uAFP0uc N'

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011Now this is a Prime Minister speaking to the soul of a nation [b]LEST WE FORGET: PM's tribute to last WW1 Digger[/b] http://www.news.com.au/national/lest-we-forget-pms-tribute-to-last-ww1-digger/story-e6frfkw0-1226192415021 Well done

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011... and now for something a bit different [b]Turn off the microphones and let politicians be as bitchy as the rest of us[/b] Mark Rolfe @ The Conversation http://theconversation.edu.au/turn-off-the-microphones-and-let-politicians-be-as-bitchy-as-the-rest-of-us-4213 [i]In Australia, we’re used to hearing our prime minister referred to as “Juliar” by the politically fevered. Accusations of “liar!” regularly pepper our parliaments in a way forbidden in the “mother of parliaments” in London, ...[/i] Interesting read and a fond reminder of the Killen/Daly 'grudge matches' of yesteryear.

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011oh well that's it from for now ... (sigh) the traps and other lives are calling back as soon as I can be until then enjoy the sword fight and ... ... take some time to smell the roses (yes NK we finally have some to smell here)

Patricia WA

11/11/2011Moved to tears, as I always am on Poppy Day. But somehow this one is different. It's been a horrible year, full of anxiety and rage, yet here I am on a day of national mourning feeling hope. Good to see that a brave fighter has survived this recent almost civil war and will keep working to help build the kind of country those long dead diggers would have been proud of.

Patricia WA

11/11/2011Dear Mick Weir, Sorry! I was referring to your link, of course, to the Prime Minister's address. Thank you.

psyclaw

11/11/2011DMW 12.33pm The passing of legislation, and the PM's performances at CHOGM and G20 have helped turn the polls around, I think. But in my observation something else has happened from about the "stop writing crap" suggestion at the NPC. For some weeks now I've seen calm and assertive interview behaviour by the PM and pretty well all ministers. They stand their ground and say to the likes of Uhllman, Jones, Cassidy, Ali Moore et al "the premises of your question are incorrect" and similar firm retorts. They have begun talking with authority and are using their firm talk in QT in media interviews, polished up a bit of course. And in the end the fool Abbott who assiduously refuses interviews .... the 30 second grab suits those with no substance to present much better ..... will have to start fronting up soon, because people are being turned off to his daily 15 second pantomimes. In the end, any election campaign demands a submission to cross examination as the cost of TV publicity. This is another example of self wedge by Abbott the fool. He's "doing himself slowly"!

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Patricia Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. Best wishes to you Patricia. Can never work out if you are 3 hours behind QLD in daylight saving or 3 hours in front of us. Have a lovely day from all at TPS Cheers :):):):):):)

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Ad & Everybody Barry O’Farrell says electricity bills must be itemised with the Carbon Tax, Ash gives us a breakdown:- [i]07/03/2011 Do Watt John?, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] Say the energy company is at 25% green power. That means if I was to use this company for my power, of the 6500kW I use on average, 25% is CO2 tax free. That lowers the cost from $205 to around $150 annually. Use more power, spend more money. Note the first link re the light bulb. If one was to change that bulb from a 100w bulb to a 75w http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/do-watt-john/ [i]O'Farrell calls for energy retailers to itemise cost of carbon tax on bills , The Australian[/i] NSW premier Barry O'Farrell will turn up the heat on the federal government by asking power retailers to itemise costs of the carbon tax and the state's solar bonus scheme on their bills. Coalition premier Mr O'Farrell has long opposed the federal Labor government's carbon tax, which Mr O'Farrell claims will add up to $498 per year to household bills and between $927 and $4,191 for businesses. Mr O'Farrell said energy companies would be required to either list the cost of the carbon tax separately on each bill, or put a general estimate of the cost of the carbon tax on householders on each bill. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/ofarrell-calls-for-energy-retailers-to-itemise-cost-of-carbon-tax-on-bills/story-e6frg6nf-1226192208992 NSW electricity bills to show impact of Gillard's carbon tax, says ...‎ The Daily Telegraph NSW power bills to display carbon tax cost‎ Herald Sun Cheer:):):):):):):):)

nasking

11/11/2011James Murdoch was a pretty cool corporate suit last nite, apart from the odd stutterin' moment... however, I did notice a crash in the cool, somewhat robotic demeanour when questioned by Tom Watson about Rebekah Brooks: [quote][b]Surveillance and smears[/b] However MPs were undeterred by his contrition, and Watson landed a significant blow when, under parliamentary privilege, he revealed he was told by a former News International employee there was a "diktat" at the newspaper group "to dig up as much information you can about the members of the select committee". [b]The source told him that former chief executive Rebekah Brooks "took an absolute pathological dislike" to the MP and "tried to smear" Watson "as being mad". She had gone to Tony Blair to try and get Watson taken off the select committee alleging he was "mad". Murdoch appeared unfazed saying he had "no knowledge" of any of that, or any interest Brooks had taken in Watson.[/b] Later, Tory MP Louise Mensch raised further allegations about surveillance the company had allegedly ordered in the past on every member of the committee.[/quote] Brooks could be the Achilles heel for News International. It's not surprisin' the Murdochs acted like her bodyguards. And she was paid well for her BS & silence on some matters. Wanna show James is full of crap?...go thru Rebekah I reckon. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/10/james-murdoch-phone-hacking-answers N'

nasking

11/11/2011The Tea Party is filled w/ frauds: [quote][b]Senator Rand Paul fails to block EPA pollution rule[/b] WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul failed Thursday to block a new federal rule aimed at reducing air pollution downwind from power plants in Kentucky, Indiana and 25 other states. [b]The Kentucky Republican, whose state is a major coal-producer, had argued that the federal Environmental Protection Agency was issuing “radical, extremist regulations” that kill jobs. “I think we can have a clean environment and jobs,” Paul said in a Senate floor debate.[/b] “But not if we let this administration continue to pass job-killing regulations.” But the Senate voted 56-41 against taking up his resolution of disapproval, which would have blocked the rule. [b]“This is just the tip of the iceberg of the Republican Party’s desire to repeal important health and safety regulations,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.[/b] The utilities are “crying bitter tears” over their responsibility to clean up their emissions and “want to continue to dump poison in states next door,” she said. [b]Paul’s effort against the EPA was complicated by opposition from some senators in his own party who represent states that get down-wind pollution from power plants. Republican Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire; Scott Brown of Massachusetts; Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine; Mark Kirk of Illinois; and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee all voted against Paul’s resolution. “Nine million people a year come to see the Great Smoky Mountains, not the Great Smoggy Mountains,” said Alexander, who called Paul’s resolution “a political message.”[/b][/quote] http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111110/NEWS01/311100037/1001/Senator-Rand-Paul-fails-block-EPA-pollution-rule?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cs Ron Paul might eventually choke on his crocodile tears shed the environment & workers. N'

nasking

11/11/2011[quote]Ron Paul might eventually choke on his crocodile tears shed the environment & workers. [/quote] Make that RAND PAUL. The other is just a kooky libertarian hopin' to cut 5 departments...includin' education. They grow their kooks in abundance over there. N'

Ad astra reply

11/11/2011Patricia WA Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday.

nasking

11/11/2011So, who is RAND PAUL ya might ask?: Randal Howard "Rand" Paul (born January 7, 1963) is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian. He is the son of Republican Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas and had never previously held political office. Paul first received national attention in 2008 when making political speeches on behalf of his father. Rand Paul is the first United States Senator in history to serve alongside a parent in the U.S. House of Representatives. Paul attended Baylor University from fall 1981 to summer 1984. Paul was enrolled in the honors program at Baylor, and had scored approximately in the 90th percentile on the Medical College Admission Test. During Paul's time at Baylor, he was involved in the swim team and Young Conservatives of Texas and was a member of a secret organization known as the NoZe Brotherhood. Paul left Baylor early when he was accepted into the Duke University School of Medicine... Political activism As [b]founder and chairman of the anti-tax organization Kentucky Taxpayers United (KTU)[/b] since 1994, Paul regularly presents "taxpayers' friend" awards to state legislators. KTU, which regards itself as nonpartisan, but is criticized for being ideological and conservative... On December 16, 2007, the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Paul spoke at Faneuil Hall in favor of small government principles, calling for what CNN termed a "modern day revolution." He continued campaigning across the country for his father in 2008, traveling as far as Montana. Paul has [b]co-authored a book entitled The Tea Party Goes to Washington with Jack Hunter[/b], released on February 22, 2011. It defends the Tea Party movement. BP oil spill comments On May 21, 2010, Paul generated some controversy by characterizing statements made by Obama administration officials regarding the BP oil spill cleanup as sounding "un-American". Paul said: [b]“ What I don't like from the president's administration is this sort of, 'I'll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.' I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business.[/b] I've heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill. And I think it's part of this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen." Amid a flurry of controversy, Paul became [b]the first American politician to cancel an appearance on Meet the Press in their 64-year history.[/b] Additionally, RNC Chairman [b]Michael Steele, publicly denounced him, saying that Paul's opposition to the Civil Rights Act is a "misplaced" philosophy for the 21st Century.[/b] [b]Paul has secured endorsements [/b]from several public figures and political organizations. They include the Downsize DC Foundation, Concerned Women for America, [b]Gun Owners of America, Steve Forbes[/b], FreedomWorks, Club for Growth, [b]James Dobson, Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint[/b], Cathy Bailey, Jim Bunning, Erick Erickson, National Federation of Independent Business, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, National Right to Life, US Chamber of Commerce, National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Mike Huckabee, and Tony Perkins/FRC Action PAC. Tenure Paul was sworn in on January 5, 2011 along with his father, marking the first time in congressional history that a child served in the Senate while the parent simultaneously served in the House of Representatives. [b]He was assigned to serve on the Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education[/b], Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business committees. [b]Paul also formed the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Jim DeMint and Mike Lee as its inaugural members.[/b] Paul’s first legislative proposal was to cut $500 billion from federal spending in one year. [b]This proposal includes cutting the Department of Education by 83 percent [/b]and the Department of Homeland Security by 43 percent, [b]as well as folding the Department of Energy into the Department of Defense and eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seven independent agencies would be eliminated and food stamps would be cut by 30 percent. Under Paul’s proposal, defense spending would be reduced by 6.5 percent and international aid would be eliminated.[/b] [b]Paul voiced opposition to U.S. intervention in the Libyan civil war[/b] and has criticized President Obama for not gaining congressional consent for Operation Odyssey Dawn. [b]During the debt ceiling crisis, Paul stated that he would only support raising the debt ceiling if a balanced budget amendment was enacted.[/b] Paul was a supporter of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, which was tabled by the Democrats. [b]On August 3, Paul voted against a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.[/b] [b]Later that month, Paul blocked legislation that would strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines because he felt the bill was not strong enough.[/b] [b]In October, Paul blocked a bill that would provide $36 million in benefits for elderly and disabled refugees[/b], saying that he was concerned that it could be used to aid domestic terrorists. This was in response to two alleged terrorists, who came to the United States through a refugee program and were receiving welfare benefits, were arrested in 2011 in Paul’s hometown of Bowling Green. Paul is opposed to abortion and supports a Human Life Amendment and a Life at Conception Act. [b]He also opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest[/b], but supports use of the morning-after pill. Education [b]Paul supports returning control of education to local communities and parents and thus eliminating the federal Department of Education[/b], but he says that some functions of the Department of Education, such as disbursing student loans and Pell Grants, should be transferred to other departments instead of being eliminated. [b]Paul opposes federal regulation of homeschooling.[/b] Health care [b]Paul opposes federal government involvement in health care[/b]. He would repeal the HMO Act of 1973 that "drives a wedge between the patient and [one's] doctor". He believes that government has driven up the cost of health care and causes the quality and coverage to decrease. Paul would support a free market approach to health care, including tax deductions for medical expenses. He opposes federal regulations discouraging businesses from providing coverage. [b]Paul's father is a physician and U.S. Representative of Texas's 14th congressional district. [/b] Medical career [b]Paul has held a state-issued medical license since moving to Bowling Green in 1993. He received his first job from Dr. John Downing of Downing McPeak Vision Centers[/b], which brought him to Bowling Green after completing his residency. Paul worked for Downing for about five years before parting ways. [b]Afterwards, he went to work at the Gilbert Graves Clinic, a private medical group in Bowling Green, for 10 years before creating his own practice in a converted one-story house across the street from Downing's office. After his election to the U.S. Senate, Paul merged his practice with Downing's medical practice.[/b] Illegal immigration [b]Paul has proposed adding security to the border by installing an electronic fence [/b]and helicopter stations to respond to breaches. [b]He opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.[/b] Paul has said that courts should review the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," to conclude whether or not it should apply to the children of illegal immigrants. If court challenges fail, [b]Paul would support a constitutional amendment that would deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.[/b] Foreign policy and national defense Paul holds that the primary Constitutional function of the federal government is national defense, and that the greatest national security threat is the lack of border security. He supports eliminating issuance of visas to people from “about ten rogue nations.” He supports trying terrorists caught on the battlefield in military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Paul believes that when the United States goes to war, Congress must declare war as mandated by the United States Constitution. During his 2010 Senate campaign Paul questioned the idea that U.S. Middle East policy is "killing more terrorists than it creates." [b]He supported the war in Afghanistan and opposed rapid withdrawal from Iraq.[/b] Paul would [b]oppose all gun control legislation[/b], a position he says is supported by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. (wikipedia) He tries to confuse...but I think we get the idea. N'

nasking

11/11/2011Yes, happy b'day Patricia. Keep the poems coming. N'

nasking

11/11/2011[quote]Moved to tears, as I always am on Poppy Day. [/quote] Can relate Patricia. Gets me thinkin' of my grandfather Len Murray...he was mustard gassed durin' WW1 amongst other things... a most supportive man...enjoyed playin' Scrabble w/ him as a lad...his hands shook badly at times...but never his courage. He passed in his 60s here in Australia...having followed my Mum & I to Adelaide w/ my Gran 'cause he didn't trust my stepdad. Len fell in love w/ this country...oft went to the park to sit & have a beer & play cards w/ other war veterans. My grandad died the night before he was to return to the UK. My Gran was forced to leave on her own. I visted her regularly in the UK, any chance I got. The Tory councils were always good to her...as my Grandad had been a mayor. I hope they look after all of their elderly people...w/out discrimination. N'

nasking

11/11/2011Ouch!...this doesn't sound good: [quote][b]Lazy Ouzo-Swilling, Olive-Pit Spitting Greeks Or, How Goldman Sacked Greece [/b] by Greg Palast for In These Times Sunday, November 6, 2011 Here's what we're told: Greece's economy blew apart because a bunch of olive-spitting, ouzo-guzzling, lazy-ass Greeks refuse to put in a full day's work, retire while they're still teenagers, pocket pensions fit for a pasha; and they've gone on a social-services spending spree using borrowed money. Now that the bill has come due and the Greeks have to pay with higher taxes and cuts in their big fat welfare state, they run riot, screaming in the streets, busting windows and burning banks. I don't buy it. I don't buy it because of the document in my hand marked, "RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION." I'll cut to the indictment: Greece is a crime scene. The people are victims of a fraud, a scam, a hustle and a flim-flam. And--cover the children's ears when I say this--a bank named Goldman Sachs is holding the smoking gun. ******** This is an adaptation of an excerpt from Vultures' Picnic, Greg Palast's new book... ******** In 2002, Goldman Sachs secretly bought up €2.3 billion in Greek government debt, converted it all into yen and dollars, then immediately sold it back to Greece. Goldman took a huge loss on the trade. Is Goldman that stupid? Goldman is stupid—like a fox. The deal was a con, with Goldman making up a phony-baloney exchange rate for the transaction. Why? Goldman had cut a secret deal with the Greek government in power then. Their game: to conceal a massive budget deficit. Goldman's fake loss was the Greek government's fake gain. Goldman would get repayment of its "loss" from the government at loan-shark rates. The point is, through this crazy and costly legerdemain, Greece's right-wing free-market government was able to pretend its deficits never exceeded 3 percent of GDP. Cool. Fraudulent but cool. But flim-flam isn't cheap these days: On top of murderous interest payments, Goldman charged the Greeks over a quarter billion dollars in fees. When the new Socialist government of George Papandreou came into office, they opened up the books and Goldman's bats flew out. Investors' went berserk, demanding monster interest rates to lend more money to roll over this debt. Greece's panicked bondholders rushed to buy insurance against the nation going bankrupt. The price of the bond-bust insurance, called a credit default swap (or CDS), also shot through the roof. Who made a big pile selling the CDS insurance? Goldman. And those rotting bags of CDS's sold by Goldman and others? Didn't they know they were handing their customers gold-painted turds? That's Goldman's specialty. In 2007, at the same time banks were selling suspect CDS's and CDOs (packaged sub-prime mortgage securities), Goldman held a "net short" position against these securities. That is, Goldman was betting their financial "products" would end up in the toilet. Goldman picked up another half a billion dollars on their "net short" scam. But, instead of cuffing Goldman's CEO Lloyd Blankfein and parading him in a cage through the streets of Athens, we have the victims of the frauds, the Greek people, blamed. Blamed and soaked for the cost of it. The "spread" on Greek bonds (the term used for the risk premium paid on Greece's corrupted debt) has now risen to — get ready for this--$14,000 per family per year. [/quote] --------------------------------------- There's also this: [b]Greece Paid Goldman $300 Million To Help It Hide Its Ballooning Debts[/b] [quote]Henry Blodget, Business Insider The news that Goldman and other banks got paid hundreds of millions of dollars to help Greece hide its huge debts from the EU overseers has now gone mainstream. Louise Story, Landon Thomas, and Nelson Schwartz at the NYT: In 2001, just after Greece was admitted to Europe’s monetary union, Goldman helped the government quietly borrow billions, people familiar with the transaction said. That deal, hidden from public view because it was treated as a currency trade rather than a loan, helped Athens to meet Europe’s deficit rules while continuing to spend beyond its means... Instruments developed by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a wide range of other banks enabled politicians to mask additional borrowing in Greece, Italy and possibly elsewhere. In dozens of deals across the Continent, banks provided cash upfront in return for government payments in the future, with those liabilities then left off the books. Greece, for example, traded away the rights to airport fees and lottery proceeds in years to come. [Greece paid Goldman] about $300 million in fees for arranging the 2001 transaction, according to several bankers familiar with the deal. In other words, Greece was just like many American homeowners, who hit their home-equity ATMs every year to remodel their kitchens and buy SUVs they couldn't afford. And Goldman, et al, were just like WaMu and Countrywide. It was all perfectly legal, of course.[/quote] http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-greece-paid-goldman-300-million-to-help-it-hide-its-ballooning-debts-2010-2 Hmmm...enuff to make ya wanna smash a few plates in the fireplace...or drink heaps of Ouzo. N'

nasking

11/11/2011[quote]enuff to make ya wanna smash a few plates in the fireplace...or drink heaps of Ouzo.[/quote] Meant to add: But I doubt Greeks can afford to now. Theft can do that to ya. N'

nasking

11/11/2011[b]Goldman Sachs in China: Best Investment Ever?[/b] November 11, 2011, Wall St. Journal [quote]Goldman Sachs is selling down its stake in Chinese banking giant Industrial & Commercial Bank of China — a five-year-old investment that already has reaped a windfall for the Wall Street firm. So far, Goldman has doubled its money from selling shares of ICBC, with more shares left on Goldman’s books. Still, the investment has had some unwelcome ripple effects for Goldman and in China. This year, the ICBC investment has been a major drag on Goldman’s financial results. And investments by Goldman and other foreign companies in Chinese financial institutions have become controversial because of the profits the foreign investors have racked up. As Goldman, Bank of America and other foreign companies pare stakes in China’s banking sector, it also has fanned worries about the health of the Chinese banking sector. Hong Kong-listed shares of ICBC slipped 8.5% Thursday amid news of Goldman’s planned share sale. Here is a look back at Goldman’s history with ICBC: * April 2006: Goldman buys a 4.9% stake in ICBC for $2.58 billion. The share sale was made ahead of ICBC’s $21.9 billion IPO in October of that year. For Goldman, the investment was among the Wall Street firm’s biggest-ever investments made with its own capital.[/quote] GOLDMAN EVERYWHERE... Who else thinks the sh*t is about to hit the fan? Thnx investment bank aristocrats & ratings agencies... we feel the love. China, where the ugly side of communism incrementally transformed into corporate fascism...and the masses of people walked around w/ eyes wide shut...watchin' their ancient homes get creamed for big ugly blocks that someone will sing about oneday as tho they were singin' the blues. Still, at least it's almost a developed nation now. Mobile phones & Goldman Sachs & big ugly buildings & gambling like never before... what more could a country ask for... ask Russia. Plenty more CONS & suffering to come w/ rampant capitalism as opposed to carefully regulated capitalism. KERCHING KERCHING KERCHING The sound of Chinese property developers humping...before the fall. N'

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011Nasking, America is going nuts, from top to bottom. I can only sit back here in Australia and wonder why they are allowing themselves to be hijacked by the insane. Like a nation full of Ted Bundy's, who also had an IQ in the 'Genius' class and who set the mould for 'normal' looking, seemingly 'normal' functioning psychos, that's who these Tea Partiers, such as Rand Paul, remind me of. Not to mention the other GOP Presidential hopefuls, who are truly off the Reservation, such as Ron Paul, Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry. And it filters all the way down through society. Just today I was shown a video about the Insane Clown Posse and their followers, the Juggalos and Juggalettes, by one of my sons. Wow! It just reminds me of nothing so much as the last days of the Roman Empire. The crazier the behaviour, the more welcomed with open arms it was by the citizens , who knew that their days ruling the world were numbered. Like some sort of collective psychosis.

Feral Skeleton

11/11/2011Nasking, A few fun facts: * Malcolm Turnbull headed Goldman Sachs in Australia. * The Greek people are some of the greatest tax evaders in Europe. They may be rioting in the streets, but that's because Papandreou was attempting to make his people pay their way and contribute to the largesse that they had come to expect as their birthright. * I can't understand why Europe doesn't pull an Argentina, and let all the Merchant Banks(and I will never be able to scrub the mental imagery of the Nugan Hand Bank in Australia out of my mind when I think of this particularly odious type of institution), and all the so-called 'debts' owed to them, go hang. It seems to have worked pretty well for Argentina.

TalkTurkey

11/11/2011Remember, Remember Eleventh November! Ned Kelly - Last Post Day - Kerr's Plot! But closer to home We've [i]Patricia de Pome[/i], A [i]past mistress[/i] of the [i]bon mot![/i] No I know it doesn't. :) And I [i]think[/i] the last line is a [i]pun in a sense, [i]n'est-ce pas Madame?[/i][/i]

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Talk Turkey I have been watching out for you to drop in again. Thankyou for your lovely little poem this morning it's beautiful: [i]November 11. 2011 09:43 AM Lyn your Links are Lovely Thank you ever so What we'd do without 'em Dogdam, I dunno! [/i] Abbott out of the country, The Twittersphere is happy, they are sihinf out heaps over the IMF backflip:- amazingkid42Joel @@Mytch07 it's shutup Tony Abbott day every day theMickMorrisMichael Morris Breaking: Tony Abbott auditioning for Cirque de Solei ... performing a continuous backflip sequence vexnewsvexnews Tony Abbott is 'making a meal' of helping Europe http://bit.ly/siU5wd mrumensMarian Rumens @darrenlaver @Clarke_Melissa For Julia Gillard it's 'embarrasing backflip' for Tony Abbott it's 'recalibrating' #mediafail mattiethereaderMattie Abbott the human weathervane does another backflip RT Tony Abbott changing position after 'a week and a trip to London http://www.news.com.au/business/abbott-changing-position-after-a-week-and-a-trip-to-london-says-swan/story-e6frfm1i-1226192676009?sv=6c91a58b1ba1092aa39b477088fed6c8#.TryoqeAFjek.twitter Cheers:):):):):):):)

Ad astra reply

11/11/2011Folks I have posted another piece of clever satire [i]Prefabricated predictions[/i] by Acerbic Conehead. Enjoy. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/11/11/Prefabricated-predictions.aspx
How many umbrellas are there if I have two in my hand but the wind then blows them away?