Get the inside track on the media and government

BSA Bob

5/05/2011Not bad at all. You can't escape the feeling it's all one big club that's decided on its goal & ostracises anyone who steps out of line. Mark Riley was had up like the Confederate soldier who shot Stonewall Jackson over his entirely accidental scoop with Tones. But I think Sam will never be in a position to require this treatment.

TalkTurkey

6/05/2011Swordsfolks Did anyone see Professor Tariq Ramadan being interviewed poorly and impolitely but also weakly and ineffectually by Tony Jones on Lateline tonight? He was saying exactly wtte of what I said only two hours ago, viz., "There are many who question even the existence of such a thing as al Qaeda. I don't know if it exists, and I suggest that nobody else reading this does either. We've been told it does by Bush and Cheney and Blair and Murdoch, well that makes it true eh. So whether ObL is a mastermind of international terrorism, I think is about as certain as Saddam's WMD's." I am astonished always at the preparedness of Westerners to accept statements by Western governments, especially Amerika. (Bet that spelling draws some cybernautic attention!) Why are people so credulous? Very very few Western people think that anyone else but Muslims could possibly have done the Twin Tower Trick, when you say it might have been some other more sinister* mob, people say, "Oh but *they*'ve published a list of the names of the people who flew the planes", as if THAT couldn't be stooged! Like fundamentalist religiomanes proving the existence of their Omnipotent Omniscient Benevolent Being by quoting scripture. Circular argument, no evidence at all. Some say there were probably no people on those aircraft at all. No need, they say, radio control can easily do it all given modern military intelligence. (which is not always an oxymoronic term.) I have always thought that other interests had much more to gain than Muslims, and much less to lose, by the events in New York a decade ago. And so do many Muslims, for whom I do not push any sort of barrow, it's just my reading of the likely reality of those events. Prof. Ramadan is a perfect example, and he firmly pressed his pov through boorish gauche idiot Jones' repeated attempts to interrupt on the spurious premise that they were running out of time. Which was shown to be false by the fact that they then went on for several more minutes, but Jones didn't want Ramadan to get a clear run, it doesn't suit AmerikaMan Murdoch at all! But Ramadan said it very well, putting the lies back at Jones in a way I wish some Labor Ministers would do. If you have a chink in your mind to consider a different scenario about who might have carried out '9/11', go and check out some of the Muslim sites about it. * 'Sinister' means 'left'. It's not fair on us mollydookers, especially when the mob I'm thinking of are very bloody 'dexterous' indeed.

lyn

6/05/2011 [b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Don’t Be Dumbed, Neil Cook , The Bannerman[/i] The Australian, and other syndicated Murdoch rags, or for that matter Fairfax or ABC reports which follow the lead, has anything been stated which adds to the substance of the outrageous headlines. http://www.waddayano.org/blog/2011/05/dont_be_dumbed.php#more [i]Bin Laden computers a 'gold mine' for US, ABC[/i] Experts say the trove of material hauled away after bin Laden was killed in a US raid on Sunday - [b]about five computers, 10 hard drives and 100 storage devices - represents a dramatic intelligence breakthrough for the United States [/b]http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/05/3208212.htm [i]GILLARD – QUEEN MEETING UPDATE: Tess Lawrence writes to ABC about gagging, Independent Australia[/i] being reported, as it was, on yesterday’s ABC Insiders programme. Consequently, you wouldn’t be the ones breaking it in the mass media but merely investigating whether the story had any veracity http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/republic/tess-lawrence-writes-to-abc-about-gillard-queen-story-gagging/ [i]Everything Old is New Again, Alex White[/i] Over at The Political Sword, the pseudonymous HillbillySkeleton invokes (without credit) George Lakoff’s “Don’t Think of an Elephant” in seeking to explain the “nervousness” of the ALP and the “effectiveness” of the Liberals. Lakoff’s http://alexwhite.org/2011/05/everything-old-is-new-again/ [i]Too Much Information, Andrew Charlton, The Monthly[/i] a Labor intellectual. He is one of the precious minds capable of generating the kind of substantial ideas that can inspire a party and renew its policy agenda. http://www.themonthly.com.au/andrew-charlton-lindsay-tanner-s-sideshow-too-much-information-andrew-charlton-3272 [i]So... why the return to austerity politics?, Mark Bahnisch, Unleashed[/i] Economic management is one of the few cards this government has left in the pack, so much rides on the degree to which Swan is seen either to plunge headlong into austerity economics http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/1526384.html [i]Ballieu doubles Victoria's debt to make housing even less affordable, Jeremy Sear, An Onymous Lefty[/i] What I didn’t expect was to hear condemnation of this sort of policy from Andrew bloody Bolt, who describes it as “Taking your money to make the young lose theirs”: http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/ [i]Fairfax outsources suburbs, Dave Gaukroger, Pure Poison[/i] It would seem that Fairfax is betting on the former. Is this the first step in Fairfax journos becoming glorified bloggers? http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/05/05/firfax-utsources-suburbs/#more-10034 [i]Angry hacks demand Fairfax look elsewhere for savings, Andrew Cook, Crikey[/i] Ask any sections editor or reporter at The Age about the standard of Pagemasters’ work and you will get a response bordering on incredulity. They’ve killed the product. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/05/05/angry-staff-demand-fairfax-look-elsewhere-for-savings/ [i]Guess who’s coming to dinner?, Crikey[/i] Gail Kelly: Fran, that headline is just straight out wrong. Really fundamentally wrong and quite annoying, actually, to see a headline like that. Our position, with regard to carbon, has been consistent http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/05/05/crikey-says-guess-whos-coming-to-dinner/ [i]Pulling the levers, David Horton, Watermelon Man[/i] We used to have a system of voting that everyone understood – “number every square on your ballot papers”. No misunderstanding possible there. But there’s always someone who wants to spoil it for others http://davidhortonsblog.com/2011/05/05/pulling-the-levers/#comment-2128 [i]Strawberry Fields, David Horton, Watermelon Blog[/i] We live in a world in which the media are no longer responsible for informing people but for disinforming them.Disempowering them too. http://davidhortonsblog.com/ [i]Telstra/Bigpond … and update to a previous story …, Eyeball, The Eyeball opinion[/i] the hours spent on phones – the written complaints – the many elevated complaint resolution conversations,and even the TELSTRA CEO correspondence because the other avenues could not fix the problem http://bleyzie.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/telstrabigpond-and-update-to-a-previous-story/ [i]The politics of a carbon price , Gary Sauer-Yhompson, Public opinion[/i] renewable energy as being way too expensive and merely a niche player---is endlessly repeated in the media and exaggerated by The Australian into a crisis for Labor, who are unfit to govern. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/05/the-politics-of-8.php#more [i]Bolt Report to interview Mark Latham, David Knox, TV Tonight[/i] Guests on the first show are Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott as well as Mark Latham and Michael Kroger [b]that’s two Libs and one (ex?) Labor, in case you were counting.[/b]http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/05/bolt-report-to-interview-mark-latham.html [b]INTERESTING[/b] [i]Why the man who tweeted Osama bin Laden raid is a citizen journalist, Steve Myers, Poynter[/i] we at Poynter have taken to calling the Fifth Estate: people who aren’t trained as journalists, but undertake journalistic endeavors. Some are bloggers, some run independent, hyperlocal news sites, some simply find themselves in the middle of a newsworthy event and start acting like journalists. http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/making-sense-of-news/131135/why-the-man-who-tweeted-bin-laden-raid-is-a-citizen-journalist/#comments 7.30pm Report last night, interviewee, Mike Quigley: [i]Personal attacks distract us from building NBN ,Mike Quigley, The Australian:[/i] It is regrettable that some media outlets have sought to misconstrue these events. While the leader in the The Weekend Australian said it did not suggest any impropriety on our part, it nevertheless counselled its readers to "be afraid, be very afraid" that I did not advise the government before my appointment of the likely settlement by Alcatel, a settlement relating to events in which Jean-Pascal or I were never involved. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/personal-attacks-distract-us-from-building-nbn/story-e6frgd0x-1226050059151 NBN chief quizzed over ex-company's bribe probe you're not going to meet your budget. You're not gonna meet the budget that you set down at the moment unless you find someone. You couldn't find - out of 14 companies you couldn't find someone to do it for you. What makes you believe that you can now? http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3209105.htm

lyn

6/05/2011Hi Acerbic Conehead You are marvellous Conehead, brilliant piece of hilarity to start our day, thankyou so much, a bunch of roses for you. Wonderful example of Tones: [quote]Erm...good question, Samantha, and for those of you who didn’t hear the question properly, Sam asked how big would the black holes be in voters’ wallets when the Gillard government succeeds in bringing in all it’s debacle-causing great new big taxes...blah...blah... [/quote]

Ad astra reply

6/05/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

TalkTurkey

6/05/2011Lyn said in Links, "Fairfax outsources suburbs, Dave Gaukroger, Pure Poison" But Dave Gaukroger didn't say that, the headline read Firfax utsources suburbs and a few lines down he said Subeditors aren’t just glorified spell-checkers . . . Heh heh. Thanks as always Lyn. Funny about satire, AC, it seems only one side of politics has any idea of, like, irony, or any kind of humour beyond Funniest Home Videos. Thank Dog it's our side.

Jason

6/05/2011Hi All, This goes with the last thread, and is a speech delivered by Doug Cameron. " In a ''Politics in the Pub'' speech to be delivered in Sydney tonight, the Left faction senator will also call for reform of the party's rules and structures, accuse the Right faction of stymieing reform and take a shot at the embrace of ''neo-Liberal'' polices such as unilateral free trade by the Trade Minister, Craig Emerson. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/doug-camerons-speech-on-the-future-of-the-australian-labor-party-20110505-1e9sg.html?rand=1304608741425

Gravel

6/05/2011AC Another great piece of satire, and maybe a bit of wishful thinking in there, well on my part at least that any reporter would actually ask those questions. What would the poll results be if that was the case eh? We know the answer to that and why our wishes won't be fulfilled.

lyn

6/05/2011Hi Talk Turkey Re: [quote]Firfax utsources suburbs[/quote] Well you see, what happened to me was: I prepared my links all nicely in a row. Quite a few of the topic headings can't be copied and pasted, therefore I type them up. When I posted the links this morning, I thought oh! no I've got some serious typo's there, so I changed the heading, then pressed enter. So you see Talk Turkey, it is you and me that are the glorified sub-editors, you for attention to detail and me for changing the spelling. Aren't we excellent.

TalkTurkey

6/05/2011Lyn said "I prepared my links all nicely in a row." I have a mental image of you beavering away in the pre-dawn, like a chef preparing little goodies for everyone else to enjoy, but every one with different ingredients, spices, flavours, there's like sushi and sausage rolls and sweet little Greek things, all neatly rolled up and laid out, only it's information and thoughts instead of tucker. Food for thought. There are many chefs but only one Tweety. We really are, we really are all in awe of your efforts Lyn. You are the best source of the best opinion in this land. And every politician and every journalist who doesn't check your Links is just plain dumb.

Ad astra reply

6/05/2011Hi Lyn, TT You would both make better subeditors that those that inhabit the MSM. And you would not do what they do every day – create headlines that catch attention but don’t match the article, that sensationalize but carry the wrong message, that trivialize and insult our intelligence, and that are plain untruthful but meet the editor’s agenda.

Ad astra reply

6/05/2011AC A nice take on the dismay that Sam, as a straight-shooting journalist, would induce in Tones if he were ever confronted with such hard questions, instead of the usual Dorothy Dixers. It will be interesting tonight to witness the interaction about [i]Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy[/i] between the author Lindsay Tanner and George Megalogenis at The Wheeler Centre in the Victoria State Library. I look forward to an elaboration of the theme of his book and a debate on how this lamentable state of affairs began. Many in the media are trying to lay it on the politicians and their endless ‘spin’, while Tanner sees the politicians’ responses as contingent on the rules set by the media to meet its agenda – entertainment, sensationalism, triviality and gotcha, and in the case of News Limited, bringing down the Gillard Government.

2353

6/05/2011TT - while I don't necessarily agree with the "Conservative Plot" theory there are certainly two sides to the story and the "other" side hasn't got much of a run in the Western Press over the past 10 years. Apparently Number 1 on the David Letterman "Top 10 things Obama asked in the Security Room" the other night was "So this is filmed on the same Sound stage as the Moon Landing - right?"

2353

6/05/2011AA - bought a copy of "Sideshow" last night and plan to read it on a long plane trip across the Pacific next Monday. I'll post my "review" at some stage but internet access might be a bit patchy for the next three weeks or so - so don't hold your breath waiting for it! There might also be some other distractions on the plane - my family and a few movies I want to but have never seen that are currently showing on the plane - according to V(irgin) Australia's website.

Ad astra reply

6/05/20112353 I look forward to reading your review of "Sideshow" -I got my copy today. Have a great flight and holiday.

Acerbic Conehead 2

6/05/2011BSA Bob, Yes, there’s a lot of group-think going on. Cowardly and spineless. Thanks, TT Numerous people have described my stuff as “satire”. I don’t know, as I’m too busy writing to analyse what I’m writing. I know jj thinks its “crap”, but I’m still waiting for him/her to show me how its done. Gravel, Great to hear from you again. Yes, wouldn’t it be nice to hear more questions like that. But I suppose there’ll be a blue moon before that happens. AA, Yes, I think if Tones consistently received more searching questions, he would take on that bizarre nodding demeanour as a matter of course. Have a great time at George Megalogenis’ interview with Lindsay Tanner. Hopefully you can give us some feedback when you’re ready. 2353, Enjoy your family holiday across the Pacific. When you return, it would be great to hear your thoughts on Lindsay’s book also. Lyn, I’m glad you got engrossed in the tale of Sideshow Sam. Also, thanks again for those great links. I notice from the TV Tonight blog, the very interesting and balanced (sarcasm alert) guests Andrew Bolt will have on his first show. And incidentally, Sideshow Sam will sing the theme song. It’s based on the Mary Black ballad, “The Circus”. [apologies in advance, as there is a lack of synch at times between the vision and sound] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4UwbDg5EWw :- ) Standards collapsin’ around us, but what do we care Nikki the low-brow scribbler, obsessed with Jooles’ hair :- ) Fran on RN Breakfast, Michelle at the crease Forever being steadfast, spruikin’ Tones’ press release :- ) Oh my fellow journos, don’t give Gillard a say Oh my fellow journos, jus’ send her on her way :- ) We're all dollied up for the circus, ain’t the Sideshow grand We're laughing, jumping and kissing, givin’ Tones a hand :- ) We’ve got lots of guiles to spin you, top tricks to turn your head No more Andrew on Insiders, but he’s got his own gig instead :- ) Oh my fellow journos, don’t give Gillard a say Oh my fellow journos, jus’ send her on her way :- ) It's all cut and thrust at the circus, the Sideshow’s the key We’ll manipulate the agenda, make Tones the bees-knees :- ) Oh my fellow journos, we’ll soon be makin’ hay We’ll soon be makin’ hay, we’ll soon be makin’ hay

lyn

6/05/2011Hi Acerbic Conehead Thankyou for that lovely little piece of entertainment, you are a wonder. It looks like you better be careful what you think, because the computer can find out: Australian invention turns your thoughts into words ,Claire Connelly , News Com A GROUP of students from the University of Canberra have developed a system that can read people's thoughts and translate them into words on a computer screen. The "Brain Speller" headset tunes into signals being sent from the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp. http://www.news.com.au/technology/university-students-develop-mind-reading-headset-that-writes-down-users-thoughts/story-e6frfro0-1226050500583#ixzz1LYtuQPSK Cheers :):):)

Acerbic Conehead 2

6/05/2011Lyn, Tones has got one attached to his bike helmet already. So far, its readings are: [quote]crap...shit...shit...shit...crap...crap...shit..........[/quote]

2353

6/05/2011^^^^^ I thought it was more like a badly programmed Darlek negativate negativate negativate (repeating)

lyn

6/05/2011Hi Ad Thankyou for your kind comment to Talk Turkey and I. You are lucky to be going to Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy between the author Lindsay Tanner and George Megalogenis at The Wheeler Centre in the Victoria State Library. We will all be waiting to see what you say Ad Looks like Abbott is running out of stunts, so he has agreed to do the swim he promised at a fund raiser 12 months ago. Refugee locks in date with Tony Abbott , Herald Sun [quote] For a while, Mr Abbott apparently refused to take GetUp's calls.[/quote] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/refugee-locks-in-date-with-tony-abbott/story-e6frf7jx-1226051367886 [quote]But now, 323 days later, the opposition leader is set to meet Mr Wakil at Sydney's northern beaches tomorrow morning (AEST[/quote]). Much needed new program, 30 minutes: The Mother of all Sundays - Premieres Australian Conservative [i]The 30-minute program should provide a [b]much needed[/b], but far too brief, centre-right counterpoint to other current affairs shows on the public and commercial television networks.[/i]http://australianconservative.com/

NormanK

6/05/2011Centre-right?? CENTRE-Right?? I'm glad the author of that little gem isn't directing a marching band or half of them would be on the footpath. Centre-right? That explains why my doors don't fit on to my new cupboards - the centres are out. I wish someone would email me when they're going to shift the centre mark. 2353 Have a safe and happy journey. AC Thanks for a good laugh - more than ever necessary at the moment. What a dreary old world politics is at the moment.

Ad astra reply

6/05/2011Hi Lyn, AC Well it was an informative session tonight when George Megalogenis interviewed Lindsay Tanner, who in my view is one of the most articulate speakers in this country. It’s a pity he has left politics. He enlarged on some aspects of his book. Among the many interesting things he mentioned was his conviction that ‘the world has speeded up’. This is important for us all to understand as it means that everything now happens faster in politics and that communication with the public takes place in a frenzy of activity. He repeated his view that the behavior of politicians is governed by the demands of the media which they need to use to gain the exposure they must have. In turn the media is governed mainly by commercial demands to turn a profit, and the public’s insistence on simple brief messages as most are now not interested in thinking deeply about political issues, as they have many competing interests and demands. Being at the beginning of the political food chain, politicians therefore have not only to gain exposure, but also have to condense their messages to sound bites and easily understood words. He said that all the carry-on in QT was for no other purpose than to get a spot on the 6 o’clock TV news. He declined to get into discussion of what happened at the end of the Rudd era and why. The whole interview was recorded and will soon appear on The Wheeler Centre website. You would enjoy viewing the lively discussion. I will post the link when it’s available. At the end he prefaced his autograph of my copy of his book with: “To Ad astra from The Political Sword”. I said that on [i]TPS[/i] we had been complaining about the media for years but wondered how many were listening. He replied: “You may be surprised.” So Folks, we must press on. Lindsay Tanner felt changes were beginning with some parts of the media attempting serious political discussion, and his book mentions the blogosphere as having influence. His book sold out on the first day of release and had to be reprinted. I had to go to five bookstores today to get a copy. Ironically, he attributed some of the surge in sales to Samantha Maiden’s inept commentary on it, which provoked your ‘Sideshow Sam’ piece AC. The few pages I have read are well written; I’m looking forward to reading it in full.

Feral Skeleton

6/05/2011They're kidding, aren't they? I mean, they just don't know when to stop, do they? They won't be happy until all 'current affairs shows on the public and commercial television networks' have a 'centre right counterpoint', will they? As if 9/10ths of 99% of all reporting on politics isn't already tainted by the 'centre-bleedin'right' perspective, for goodness sake. And no, I won't be wasting my Mother's Day morning watching Andrew Bleedin' Bolt's Lunar Right 'counterpoint', because it will be all over the media anyway as it is rebroadcast by all the sycophants for the rest of the day. I'm sure Mark Latham is working up the requisite amount of bile to spew forth, even now.

TalkTurkey

6/05/2011Patricia WA said "I am amazed that more has not been made of the rhyming of Obama with Osama." I just heard how Osama was clad at the time, and I just couln't pass up the horrible rhyme: The Yanks are so pleased with Obama's Finding that place of Osama's! They're all so damn thrilled That when he was killed He was unarmed and in his pyjamas!

BSA Bob

6/05/2011Two things have long bugged me about the whole Boat People issue, whatever your opinions of the specific rights & wrongs of these people's claims & the manner of their arrival. The first is that Howard's "Pacific Solution" was an incredible stroke of luck for him, assisted by the usual media suspects. Howard Government ministers have admitted that Nauru asked for some help at just the right time, enabling them to solve their disposal problem with a chequebook & look good doing it. The fact that all these people who were never to set foot on Australian soil eventually ended up here was never hammered by the media. Abbott's & Morrison's injection of "compassion" into this is disgusting as it's obvious that the policy appeals at bottom to the "Piss off & take your troubles somewhwere else, anywhere else" attitude. Second, the upsurge of arrivals has been an incredible & I think unexpected stroke of luck for the Liberals in Opposition. 'Twill be recalled that Turnbull's strategy at the time was to oppose most things, including aspects of the Stimulus- the $900 payments for instance- on the principle that even though they were popular at the time the Australian character would eventually reassert itself in a reluctance to pay the borrowed money back. All repayments are by definition too much. However the Liberals didn't turn up to vote against Rudd's new asylum seeker legislation, cutting & running in fact in order to avoid a messy crossing of the floor by some of their number. If the prospect of an upsurge of arrivals was obvious, I think Turnbull would've opposed & taken the immediate hit. The cards have simply fallen their way & in the Perpetual Present they get away with it. I think Labor should be emphasising that our steadfast Liberal guardians were too bloody embarrassed to turn up for the vote & have rung a few pollie's offices to suggest it, they don't seem interested.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011I deleted jj's comment because it was abusive towards the other contributors to this blog and contributed less than zero to the conversation we are having. If, in future, jj wishes to comment on this blog and not just be a blog Troll and poison the well here with his unqualified abuse of all and sundry that do not subscribe to the Albrechtsen dictum, 'We are all Conservatives now', then he will be allowed back.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Oh yeah, and if he dares try to bleat that it is censorship, then I have two words for him, 'News Ltd'.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Hear! Hear! Ross Gittins: http://www.smh.com.au/business/blackhole-blues-sound-nasty-in-state-of-injustice-20110506-1ebsv.html And the same goes for the Victorian Liberal State government, who doubled the State 'Debt & Deficit'(to use the Liberal plaint the nation over), without a peep from their federal counterpart, Joe 'Blowhard' Hockey, or Tony 'Great Big New Squark' Abbott. Just keep this in mind, o gentle reader, when you take with a large grain of salt, the Budget-In-Reply formulaic mouthings of Mr Abbott, Mr Hockey and Andrew 'The Financial Bloodhound(Not)' Robb. They talk loud, say nothing, and do the exact opposite once they have hoodwinked the electorate into voting for them.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Yes! Go you good thing, Wayne Swan! He's going after the wealth-generating, so-called Christian charities and other redoubts of Liberal-supporting(mostly), 'Not-for-Profits': http://www.smh.com.au/national/charities-face-profits-being-taxed-in-budget-20110506-1ec2u.html ReCaptcha Bingo: absolutely! :)

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011A good news story about Asylum Seekers in a mainland detention Centre: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/wa-town-puts-hand-up-for-asylum-seekers-20110506-1ebr9.html I wish the federal government was shouting this from the rooftops. Instead, I confidently predict, we will have Abbott the Political Shyster on top of the Bolt House roof, assuming the Weathervane position, squawking about 'Stopping the Boats'. Of course, Bolt will facilitate the circle jerk with Abbott, Kroger & Latham, that is his new show, 'The Bolt Report'. You know, what constantly amazes me is the sort of Stockholm Syndrome that abused ex-Labor politicians seem to contract after they leave politics for the ALP. Take Latham, for example, he is hounded from politics by the first flexing of Murdoch muscle as a result of their conscious decision to abandon impartiality and go into bat for the Conservatives who were being threatened by Latham's popularity with the electorate, and thus go for Latham's jugular. He leaves politics a shattered and diminished figure...and so what happens? He can't wait to go and become a turncoat and an abuser of the Labor Party himself. They always say that the abused end up becoming the next generation of abuser. Rupert 'The Groomsman' Murdoch, has realised that implicitly.

janice

7/05/2011FS, [quote]I deleted jj's comment because it was abusive towards the other contributors to this blog and contributed less than zero to the conversation we are having. If, in future, jj wishes to comment on this blog and not just be a blog Troll and poison the well here with his unqualified abuse of all and sundry that do not subscribe to the Albrechtsen dictum, 'We are all Conservatives now', then he will be allowed back.[/quote] Not before time IMHO :) jj had a good run trolling on this site.

lyn

7/05/2011[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]The Forgotten Poeple , Mr Denmore, The Failed Estate[/i] aside from correcting copy and saving a newspaper from embarrassment, the best subs can also make the copy shine or least make it readable. http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/2011/05/forgotten-poeple.html [i]Oh Well. There goes one Conspiracy. Or has it?,Ash, Ash's Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] The conspiracy pot that had been bubbling since the first hint of misinformation began to go on overdrive. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/oh-well-there-goes-one-conspiracy-or-has-it/ [i]Time to respect the Citizen, Andrew Catsaras[/i] then the appropriate headlines should read, "Gillard says nothing" or "Abbott talks drivel". http://andrewcatsaras.blogspot.com/ [i]Morgan: 53.5-46.5 to Coalition phone poll, 52-48 face-to-face, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] Roy Morgan has performed its occasional trick of confusing the hell out of people who don’t follow its activities closely, by releasing two sets of opinion poll results at the same time http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/05/06/morgan-53-5-46-5-to-coalition-phone-poll-52-48-face-to-face/ [i]Posetti accuses The Oz of bullying tactics, Andrew Cook, Crikey[/i] newspaper’s editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell had stood over his charge to ensure a more skeptical line on climate change. However, a writ is yet to be , http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/05/06/posetti-accuses-the-oz-of-bullying-tactics/ [i]What a ridiculous beat up by the Murdoch media, Clarencegirl, North Coast Voices[/i] a crude effort to drive readers to this article and create a perception in the minds of advertisers that they are getting value for their dollar. Is it any wonder that mainstream media’s reputation is in tatters? http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/ [i]Swiss Banks Freeze DICTATOR’s Funds . Eyeball, EyeBall Opinion[/i] to keep them in power by buying the military personnel and hardware to suppress civil unrest … these funds are the tip of an iceberg after decades of OIL revenues http://bleyzie.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/swiss-banks-freeze-dictators-funds/ [i]Fair and balanced’ on the Andrew Bolt Report, Barry Everingham, Independent Australia[/i] Fair and balanced — just like Murdoch’s Fox “News” channel. http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/media-2/fair-and-balanced-on-the-andrew-bolt-report/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fair-and-balanced-on-the-andrew-bolt-report [i]The Bole Repore thread, Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] it’ll be Mothers’ Day, and we’ve got much better things to do than watch Mr Bolt, Mr Abbott and Mr Kroger give each other tongue baths between ad breaks http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/05/06/the-bole-repore-thread/#more-10039 [i]Emptiness at The Age … praise for our Paul … Bolt’s weird spray …Crikey[/i] Andrew Bolt might want to be a bit more careful about where he links to from his much-read blog. Yesterday, in a predictable spray at Barack Obama http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/05/06/media-briefs-emptiness-at-the-age-praise-for-our-paul-bolts-weird-spray/ [i]Missing Link Friday - Fat, feminism, fair pay and philosophy, Don Arthur, Club Troppo[/i] Policy and philosophy: Many philosophers overestimate the importance of abstract principles, arguesFernando Teson: http://clubtroppo.com.au/ [i]News against the World, Derek Barry, Woolly Days[/i] Mitchell may appear to act unhinged, but his behaviour is cold and calculating. For him revenge is a dish best served cold – and continuously. http://nebuchadnezzarwoollyd.blogspot.com/ [i]SAVE US FROM DAVIS: Victorian Health Minister looking sick over lying about who paid his legal bills, Andrew Landeryou, Vex News[/i] Maybe they aim to offend as few as possible by not doing a lot. But that’s very risky when you’ve been elected pledging to “fix the problems” – many of them intractable problems incapable of quick fixes. http://www.vexnews.com/news/13276/save-us-from-davis-victorian-health-minister-looking-sick-over-lying-about-who-paid-his-legal-bills/ [i]How to end the media free-for-all and regulate content, wherever it appears, Catherine Lumby, The Conversation[/i] Governments around the world now face extraordinary challenges in media content governance. And it’s for this reason that we welcome the announcement of the Federal Government’s Convergence Review http://theconversation.edu.au/articles/how-to-end-the-media-free-for-all-and-regulate-content-wherever-it-appears-1421 [i]Going up: peak oil wolf is scratching at the door, Viado Vivodo, The Conversation[/i] “Peak oil” is the point at which half of the world’s original endowment of oil has been extracted. This is the point at which we can extract oil at the maximum rate. After that time the rate of extraction will decline. http://theconversation.edu.au/articles/going-up-peak-oil-wolf-is-scratching-at-the-door-1466 [i]Government converges on growing cultural reality, Ben Eltham, Crikey[/i] The Convergence Review will, according to the government, “examine the policy and regulatory frameworks that apply to the converged media and communications landscape in Australia”. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/05/06/my-cup-of-tea-government-converges-on-growing-cultural-reality/ [i]NSW Opposition pursues Flowers over pension, ABC[/i] The Opposition has questioned the legality of Mr Flowers' election as the MP for Rockdale while he was receiving a disability pension. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/06/3209857.htm [i]Bin Laden, Twitter and gaudy media baubles, Malcolm Farnsworth, The Drum[/i] the cacophony of social media chatter is often just as meaningless and diversionary as the more glittering babble offered up by the mainstream media. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/1814646.html

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Hillbilly Is Ad Astra away?? [quote]I deleted jj's comment because it was abusive towards the other contributors to this blog and contributed less than zero to the conversation we are having. [/quote]

janice

7/05/2011FS, Also about time these 'commercial' charities were taxed. Go get 'em Swannie, I say. The media and their coalition party are clogging the airwaves about the AS issue. It surprised me that Uhlman ended his analysis ? last evening by saying "there must be more to it than just an offshore processing centre". I guess he noticed that the PM and Chris Bowen have been looking a bit like the cat that swallowed the cream! As you point out though, nothing is made of the fact that there is a good news story of a community accepting and working with and for those detained in the WA Detention Centre.

janice

7/05/2011A short respite from politics: I'm suffering from "empty nest" syndrome at the moment. My peewee has ditched me as being surplus to her requirements. She finally took the plunge and went off with others of her age to become a proper peewee. She, and they, remain in their territory which includes my hill and garden but I do miss her constant demands for attention. I now have an orphan calf I've been nursing back to health and in a few weeks she too will be off to re-join her small herd.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011Hi Lyn No, I’m not away. FS has access to the [i]TPS[/i] website and thereby has the capacity to delete unsuitable comments. The one she deleted was a typical jj comment, berating as it did the possible reopening of the PNG detention centre, accompanied by his usual pejorative comments about the PM and her Government and those who support it. We will wait to see if jj is capable of demonstrating respect for fellow bloggers and contributing meaningfully to a sensible debate before he is allowed to return.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011lyn, No, but as I have co-moderator duties, and as Ad Astra has made repeated warnings to jj about his conduct here and what he would do if jj didn't engage appropriately, all of which have been ignored, I just thought I'd do what Ad is too polite and tolerant to do. He can always reverse my decision and allow jj's comments, if he so desires. It's just that I spent all of yesterday fuming over the fact that, no matter who puts up a post on this blog, Ad Astra, Acerbic Conehead or myself, all jj is capable of in response is the 'slag and bag'. Acerbic Conehead's work is too good to be sullied by jj's guttersnipe commentary, so I got up this morning and decide to practice what Krugman preached and stopped being civil to the troll and allowing them to run amok here. We have tried over and over and over to level the playing field with jj, to no avail. Although, and in further eveidence for my case, that just brings cries of, 'censorship' or 'bias' from jj. I'm as willing as the next person, and I have done so repeatedly, to criticise the failings of the Labor Party, but what jj does is not what you would call, 'even-handed criticism' of the Labor Party, and only token criticism of the Liberal Party, after having been pushed and pushed and pushed to come up with one in order to balance out the score. And then it's always used to lay the criticism of the Labor Party on with an even bigger trowel. As is the modus operandi of all blog trolls. They don't accept criticism of their side willingly, they hand it out to their side grudgingly, and they use the forcing of their hand as merely another opportunity handed to them by the supporters of the Centre Left of politics to put on their hob-nail boots and lay into us afresh. It's Standard Operating Procedure for trolls, and frankly, as I said in my last blog, it's more than overdue for the Centre Left of politics to muscle-up and play the Conservatives at their own game. They can bleat all they want about 'censorship', but it's exactly what they practice every day on their blogs and routinely do to us without a second thought. In fact, they think they are oh so clever as they play us for mugs. You don't let you child scribble on the walls, and I am not going to let 'jj' get away with scribbling on OUR blog. As I said, though, Ad Astra can reverse my decision should he so desire. He's the blog captain, I'm just his trusty sidekick. :)

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011janice, You sound like a 'Bleeding Heart'. Good for you. Spread the love around. Lord knows we need a bit more of the milk of human kindness. The Conservatives sure seem to want to sour it, that's for sure. :)

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011This is a fascinating article about how Conservative trolls ply their trade: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-05/osama-bin-laden-killing-launches-birthers-new-deather-conspiracy-theory-/?om_rid=NsfgUl&om_mid=_BNwpmqB8a18wvj#

Patricia WA

7/05/2011Spreading love around is what Janice does, FS, as I have learned to my great benefit after contact with her through TPS. We all need that, as does our Talk Turkey who is clearly very angry about Abbottobad. I'm very conflicted about that and probably will be for ever. So when I tried to respond to his very clever black humor with another limerick I could only write some 'bad' poetry to try to express for him how I feel. For me there’s only sadness In all this Abbottobadness, The hysteria and the madness Of this grisly melodrama When the terrorist Osama Finally faced his karma; When I watched Barack, our former hero, Lay a wreath and saw our dreams for him go For burial amongst other ashes at Ground Zero.

Gravel

7/05/2011FS Well done with your moderation, it saved me from having to scroll past his avatar. Lyn I have linked to a couple of your links and will read them hopefully as the day goes by. AC Your way with words amazes me, I get a laugh every time you contribute to the blog.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011Thenewjj This time I have deleted your comment, and will continue to do so until you control your ill will towards those who blog here and show respect for fellow bloggers, something you have not yet been willing to do.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Gravel You are a little pet. We hope you are feeling on top of the world soon. I am so sorry you have been so sick

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011jj, I will leave your latest spray until Ad Astra takes a look at the sitaution. Up until that time I will continue to answer your outrageous assertions. 1) As I correctly predicted, you call 'censorship' what News Ltd. 'public blogs' routinely do as a matter of course every day. I see that, yet again, you criticise one side without directing your venom at the equal but opposite raection from the side of politics you support slavishly with your venom directed relentlessly at us here. 2) What you call 'censorship', I call 'moderatiion', and Tony Abbott calls 'Guided Democracy'. 3) 'Your Opinion' does = a 'slag and bag' exercise, even though 'your opinion', which equates with said 'slag and bag' seems reasonable to you. 4)[quote]For goodness sakes, you bag out me and any other non Labor leaning contributors with false and abusive claims;[/quote] No. Produce the verifiable evidence that my rebuttal to your outlandish claims about the Labor Party, people who comment here on this blog, or the Gillard government, has been 'false and abusive'. I'm waiting. 5) [quote]you misrepresent and bag out any other conservative minded journalist, or any journo who at all criticizes the Labor party;[/quote] No. We attempt to disabuse people about the disinformatiion they are peddling, as we see it, when we see it abroad in the media. Last time I looked, we still had the right in our democracy to do this without fear or favour to the Conservatives. Is it our fault that those journos who spread the most manure in the public space are Conservative-leaning shills? 6) [quote]and yet when i come on here to defend these people, or criticise the Labor Party and you guys you censor me![/quote] No. You come here relentlessly to 'slag and bag' the Labor Party, the people on this blog that don't agree with your worldview, the Gillard government, Julia Gillard, and now, which is what has most irritated me, Acerbic Conehead, who harmlessly and humorously takes the piss out of your beloved, but oh so po-faced Conservatives. 7)[quote]Should Chries Uhlman be censored for saying this,? "Reopening the Manus Island detention centre - or a similar one anywhere else in Papua New Guinea - would be an admission of massive policy failure by the Gillard Government. The very fact that it is a live option shows a Government verging on the desperate." [/quote] Yes he should actually, in a perfect world, because that article was the most vitriolic slander of a political party and government that I have read in a very long time. He shouuld have been ashamed to have written it and should have paused for thought before he hit the send button. He doesn't have any evidence upon which to base his conclusions and the whole article is based upon the premise that the mooted Regional Processing Centre for Asylum Seekers who arrive by boat, that may be located on Manus Island, will be nothing more than John Howard's re-heated, failed, barbarous 'Pacific Solution'. Nothing could be further from the truth, as I see it. From what I understand, this place will be a more humane solution to the so-called 'problem'(as whipped up into a rabid lather in the public's mind by the Conservative politicians and their Shock Jock mates), of irregular maritime arrivals to Australia who seek asylum in our country. Might I also note, jj, that you have practiced the tried and true conservatroll trick of picking a commenter that has a loose association in the public's mind with the Left of politics(when it suits Conservatives to allude to such a thing about the commentator but which is not true in all circumstances, and less and less so as time goes by with this particular journalist), Chris Uhlmann, and then thrown his words back at us in a feeble attempt to prove your premise that Labor is 'weak and pathetic'. Uhlmann saying so does not make it true. So, jj, if you want to live in a fascist dictatorship where everyone loves Conservatives and no one can say anything critical about them, go live in Menzies House. I am not 'censoring' you, you still have a right to say the things that you say. However, until Murdoch and the Conservative actors that he supports have total control over our so-called 'Free Speech' we still have the 'right' on OUR blog, to ask you to stop the ritual 'slag and bag' of everything and everyone Left of Centre, and the Gillard government, where such abuse is unwarranted, in our humble opinion. Such a pity you never planned your case well-enough ahead so that you included 'the field evidence' as the militaristically-minded Conservatives like to blather on about, in contradistinction to 'evidence that would satisfy a court of law', which you also never provide in order to bolster your case against the Gillard government, the Labor Party, or those of us who have not yet been bullied into submission by the likes of verbal intimidators like you.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Sorry about my typos. I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore! :)

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Hillbilly You have definately made the right decision. JJ's comment had been up for 36 hours. I have to say it was most annoying. JJ has been commenting here since 30th July last year, anybody would agree, we have suffered enough tripe, and we have all been very patient. I have put up numerous links on how to deal with trolls, actually Talk Turkey gave you some good advice. "While you kept feeding the insults kept coming". [quote]What is a troll?[/quote] The [quote]traditional definition of a troll refers to a member of a community or usenet group who makes posts [b]deliberately designed to attract responses of outrage or indignation. [/b]It is the troll's intent to "hook" unsuspecting members into responding, (hence the term "trolling"), thus providing him/her self with the satisfaction of knowing they have impact on others.[/quote] JJ meets all of the above. So you see you have made a fair, just, and reasonable decision and our Leader, the CEO of this blog agrees. So on that note, Hillbilly we will all go back and enjoy our marvelous blog with our wonderful writers, commenters and readers. Cheers :):):):):)

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Hillbilly Now, now, there you go again, don't get mad. Hear me please, don't answer JJ's nasty comments you are just upsetting yourself for nothing. Write us a story we love your writing. Cheers :):):):)

TalkTurkey

7/05/2011PatriciaWA We are talking here about The Rule Of Law versus Wild West Gun and Rope Rule. I can't see a conflict at all. Neither can John Pilger nor Geoffrey Robertson, nor I daresay a whopping majority of the Muslim world, and a great many fair-minded people of this political hemisphere too. Osama is "a terrorist" - what does that mean? What do you KNOW that he has ever done? Proven in a court of law for the world to see? He was summarily executed, assassinated, cold-bloodedly deliberately with full fore-intention murdered, silenced so he could never speak his truth or his lies or both for rigorous fair lawful examination, as even the worst Nazis were accorded, and you are conflicted? Do you think, on sober reflection, that this slaying will in balance aid the cause of world peace and goodwill? Or will it rather fuel the cause of world war and hatred?

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011lyn, I'm fine. Actually, I'm just as displeased with the Lunar Left of politics as the Lunar Right. And that's what my next blog is going to be about! :)

thenewjj

7/05/2011To all, I put this to you, if i were a troll why would i even bother to engage in the sorts of debates you have on this site? Wouldnt i just say what i wanted to say and never respond to any of the comments posted by other bloggers? You setup this blog as a means to be able to communicate how you think the centre-left of politics thinks on all issues political. This is a public blog, is it not, therefore the only reason for deleting the comment of one of your contributors should be due to violent or abusive language, or defamatory comment. This however means that it should apply to both those that agree with your point of view and say such things, and those who do not. Why is it that you didnt delete FS's post AA? To any objective observer, what FS said was just as 'abusive' if not more abusive than what i said earlier. But oh of course! You agree with what FS said, so that is ok. By deleting my comments you have shown that this blog is nothing more than an ALP megaphone. You cannot take criticism about yourselves, nor can you take criticism about the party you so obviously support. On this blog if i post something that you dont agree with, you have the chance to respond without being threatened with censorship; so why shouldnt the same rules apply to someone who disagrees with what you have to say? oh and FS, when you offer me evidence that Murdoch rings up the editor each morning to tell him what to tell the journos to write that day, and then provide me evidence that the editor then directs the journos to write that day, than i will accept this conspiracy theory. You may want to believe that these journos are being directed to write in a critical way about the government, but the truth is, the government offers so much fodder for the press to criticise, the journos do not have to take orders from anyone, they can easily write it off their own bat.

Valerie Woodruffe

7/05/2011On a serious note this sounds just what we need for the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I hope this device one day will be able to help people like me with OCD, and is made available free of charge through Medicare

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Fantastic interview by Lyndall Curtis of Professor Whiteford who specialises in Disability and Welare to Work issues: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/05/06/3210172.htm

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011jj, 'Absolute crap'. [quote]oh and FS, when you offer me evidence that Murdoch rings up the editor each morning to tell him what to tell the journos to write that day, and then provide me evidence that the editor then directs the journos to write that day, than i will accept this conspiracy theory. You may want to believe that these journos are being directed to write in a critical way about the government, but the truth is, the government offers so much fodder for the press to criticise, the journos do not have to take orders from anyone, they can easily write it off their own bat.[/quote] As anyone with the slightest bit of knowledge of how these things work, goes, Murdoch has his editors over to a 'Camp Conservative' once a year wherein the 'party line' for the year is transmitted by Murdoch. The editors then follow the party line until such time as they are informed otherwise by Murdoch. It becomes second nature to them and it does not need to be constantly re-iterated in 'phone-calls from Murdoch'. They are willing participants in the scam. [quote] I put this to you, if i were a troll why would i even bother to engage in the sorts of debates you have on this site? Wouldnt i just say what i wanted to say and never respond to any of the comments posted by other bloggers?[/quote] No. Conservative trolls also like to engage in a Gish Gallop. It provides a constant distraction and rolling debate which distracts from the purpose of the blog, which is to discuss OUR talking points. [quote]This is a public blog, is it not, therefore the only reason for deleting the comment of one of your contributors should be due to violent or abusive language, or defamatory comment.[/quote] Again, I put it to you, what do you have to say about News Ltd. 'public blogs' that screen the submiited comments to reflect their in-house perspective? Also, as I have previously stated, it was mine and Ad Astra's considered opinion, based upon a wealth of 'field evidence' that satisfied us, not you, as you would never agree, that your commentary was indeed, abusive and bordering on the defamatory. [quote]You cannot take criticism about yourselves, nor can you take criticism about the party you so obviously support.[/quote] Come in Spinner! You have just outed yourself, jj, as interested only in criticism, and not discussion and debate of the issues. I rest my case.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011FS You are entitled to be mad as hell. His last comment shows that thenewjj is just the same nasty oldjj as he always was.  I thought I may have deleted his latest tirade before too many saw it, but clearly you did, and understandably it annoyed you, as it did me.  You have rebutted his assertions with your usual searing logic.   I guess I'd have to sit by my computer continuously to catch his unpleasant comments to delete them before they caused offense.   This last comment suggests that thenewjj is incapable of changing his behaviour, or unwilling to do so.  I have shown tolerance and courtesy towards him, as have many others who blog here, but that has seldom moderated his language.  We may have to accept that he is a recalcitrant and will likely never consistently change his behaviour to a level acceptable to those who comment here.  He is a flagrant gatecrasher into our conversation and we are tired of him.  Unless he can write comments that are courteous to others, unless he can reason his arguments with verifiable facts, he is not welcome and his comments will be deleted when they appear until he tires of coming here.  I wonder why he keeps coming back when there are conservative websites that would find his comments acceptable, or he could go to the ranting websites of Bolt and Akerman where he would find plenty of kindred souls. BTW, although I'm right in the centre of Melbourne today, I'm having trouble connecting to the Internet via my Bigpond modem, and am sending this message via the iPad and 3G.  I'll be in and out today, so if I miss any of his unacceptable utterances, please delete them.  Let's not give this persistent troll the satisfaction of even acknowledging his presence.. PS - I see that thenewjj has commented again while I was composing this reply.  Since he has managed to moderate his language somewhat, and has tried to argue his case, although I disagree with him, I will leave it for others to read.  For my part, I intend to ignore him.

NormanK

7/05/2011Ad astra If I may offer my two cents worth, a bit of moderation is to be applauded. I'm the first person who would argue vehemently in defence of those of differing views to be given a decent hearing, in fact the site needs it to maintain a freshness, but gainsaying everything which is posted here is not debate. There are plenty of blogs out there where such contrariness is welcomed and even encouraged, that particular niche is adequately catered to by them. TPS is not a democracy. You should do as you see fit and do so in all good conscience. The site will be in no way diminished by the loss of one disruptive troll.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011FS When I refer to thenewjj's 'last comment' at the beginning of my reply, I am referring to the one before his 11.15 am comment, that is the one I deleted.

thenewjj

7/05/2011FS, Once again, can you give me evidence that the editor determines what it is the journos write. Can you cite an ex News Limited journo who has come out and said that Murdoch tells the editor, who tells the journos what to write? Greg Sheridan when he was last on Qanda rebutted this point made by John Pilger, saying that it was just absurd. I think i recall Jeniffer Hewitt saying the exact same thing on Qanda when asked about News Limited's bias. AA, has just given me a lecture about arguing with facts, so isnt it fair that you have evidence to back up your claims? It is good to see that you can read your own interpretations into the meaning of a troll. I, unlike a troll, read what you have to write, and engage in the topics discussed. I do not come on here to annoy you, i come on here because i think it is important for the other side of the argument to be heard. I do go to conservative blogs and comment. If you disagree with the way they moderate than why follow their lead? Why not be open and democratic? Two wrong dont make a right.

janice

7/05/2011Thank you FS and Patricia WA for the lovely compliments - I wish I really deserved them :) I really enjoy my interaction with birds and animals because a) they never whinge and b) they don't kick you in the teeth when you've helped them, though some will leave without a thank you! There is nothing except satisfaction and reward when one succeeds in releasing a bird or animal back to the wild or, in case of the little calf, back to the herd. I've received, and observed, many a kick in the teeth from the human species so my preference and passion lies in the animal kingdom. The treatment my late husband received giving his time and effort to the people of this community has caused me to withdraw from community affairs of any kind. My husband's last project was to get a new hospital because the old one was in the firing line to be condemned. He got a Steering Committee together amid all the negative cries of "it can't be done". He had help from two of those committee members and a lot of undermining from the others. Having had a lifetime of knowledge of the Public Service, he knew how to bypass the blocked pipes and, after some 4 or 5 years of hard slogging, the new hospital was built at a cost of $5m. He took all the flak from the naysayers and dodged the undermining that went on and continued even after the hospital was built and opened. My husband had been battling cancer for the three years prior to the hospital's opening and, 12 months afterwards had the need for constant hospital care. I found it incredible that some of the hospital staff and a good percentage of the community were pissed off that he should be receiving such care. I was asked to bring him home and care for him, even though each and everyone knew damned well that we lived too far out of town to access the help generally provided, such as community nurse visits etc, and it was impossible for me to cope on my own. Instead, I held my anger and with the help of the doctor, we had my husband "assessed". He stayed in hospital but it pained me to note that a couple of members of the staff went out of their way to make his time as miserable as possible. To make things worse, he rarely got a visitor to brighten up his days and so I used to load him into his mobility scooter and take him to the golf club to see those members he'd served so well over the years. Not one of them ever took the hint and visited him in hospital though. Only two of the hospital steering committee ever made a hospital visit either. Finally, a year or so after he died, there was a proposal put forward for the re-naming of the hospital. The two steering committee members plus an old friend of ours proposed that the hospital be called "The Joe Blow Memorial Hospital". The proposal was squashed in no uncertain terms but eventually they compromised and agreed to name the Palliative Care Ward after him. The above story is merely an outline to explain why I'm not overly impressed with the human species and why I am not surprised (although it disgusts me) at the treatment meted out to our Prime Minister. It also explains, perhaps, why I don't feel I deserve the compliments received from FS and Patricia, being one who harbours a lot of bitterness.

2353

7/05/2011FS & AA - delete away until everyones posts (including mine) lives up to the standard required for the polite discussion usually enjoyed by those that follow this blog. Everyone else - in effect we are playing in AA's sandpit - if I or anyone else makes a comment that isn't up to the standard of the owner or delegate, the delete button is a handy tool. If AA as the owner wants to turn the blog into a discussion of how the moon landing was a conspiracy, that's his right (however I wouldn't be visiting!). Those that don't like the content of this or other blogs need to realise they can set their own up quite quickly and easily and then [b]they[/b] own the sandpit and can do as they wish. Then they can properly understand the time and effort required to maintain a site on the 'net. I have no sympathy for those that have posts deleted. [b]It's not your sandpit so play by the rules or get out.[/b]

Patricia WA

7/05/2011Agreed 2353 and Norman K. Sometimes I visit this site for a lift, an emotional shot in the arm, depressed as one sometimes gets from all the bad news being dumped on our side. When I get here and find jj also visiting and wasting space and people's time I leave. It's a bit like dropping in to visit a dear friend only to find one's least favorite acquaintance already there and dominating the conversation, refusing to take the hint to go, but with the host too polite to turf him out. Obviously I return later when he removes himself, but I wonder how many potential new friends AA loses by jj's obtrusive and unpleasant presence here.

janice

7/05/2011I also agree with 2353, Norman K and Patricia WA re jj.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Patricia Well said, we all get mad over the media , the false reporting, the nastiness, as I said before Poor Julia, how does she even do her job. I am first to say they put me in the dumps. But, I worry as well about new commenters, we had one just recently who expressed her annoyance of us answering JJ.

Jason

7/05/2011I too add my support, but also apologise to those of whom I offend by arguing or responding to jj's posts. I did see yesterdays post, and even for me it was just wrong on so many levels, so I ignored it and thought the best resonse was none!

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Jason I took particular notice yesterday all day and into the night that nobody responded to JJ. It is hard to not say anything, I know. I have been guilty of wasting my fingers on JJ, especially when she, like Hillbilly said: belittles, Ad Astra, Conehead, Hillbilly, you and me too, on plenty of occassions Good on you Jason! you are to be admired.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Janice I meant to answer you before but went out for a couple of hours then had to cook lunch. [quote]treatment meted out to our Prime Minister[/quote] I guess Julia is coping OK, but the upsetting part is, there is such a large army of haters out there. Your sadness over the little birds makes me sad too. [quote]Spreading love around is what Janice does[/quote] Janice you have a lovely heart. How is Paddy, is he keeping you company? I hope so. I am sorry for you, to hear about your husband and those awful people at the hospital, you are a better person than them 100 times over.

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7/05/2011What a sad, sad story you relate about your late husband.  Why was it that petty jealousies and nastiness entered into what ought to have been a cooperative effort?  There are few enterprises that could compete with building a new hospital for community spiritedness, yet even there the nasty side of human nature manifested itself.  It is incomprehensible to think that this continued after the hospital was built and your husband had need of it, unless of course the inherent selfishness of humans is taken as a fact of life.  To my mind, self-centeredness is the cause of most of the unfairness we see, the inequities that abound, and the unwillingness of the haves to consider the have-nots.  It's the 'I'm alright Jack' syndrome. I can see why your animals are so important to you - they give unconditional love and loyalty.  What a pity we humans find it so easy to be uncharitable, so fickle with our affections. Thank you for coming here so regularly with your generous comments.

tredlgt

7/05/2011 The way jj plays the game is the way the opposition plays the game. It's been talked about in this and other blogs "frame". Say what you need to say to distract the thread ,lie and distort if needed ,there will be no msm comeback in all probability they will enhance the frame. It wastes the time and energy and patience of people who would prefer to see society improve with the assistance of government as opposed to their preferred method which is to only help if they can make a profit. The only remedy is to ignore them ,they are not open to discussion because only they are correct, every one else needs to be educated . TPS can just keep the discussion going to give people who are truly curious an opportunity to see as many views as possible . That said you are stuck with giving even dickheads a voice . As AA advised me in the past when I was distracted by these trogs memorise the avatars and pass by ,it works, they disappear.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011Folks Please forgive me for the tardiness of my responses. I'm having awful trouble connecting to the Internet today via my Bigpond modem. It keeps dropping in and out. I wonder if Telstra is doing some maintenance work and can't cope with the load. This is what happens with wireless, the greater to load on the available servers, the harder it is to connect, and the more dropouts there are. Bring on the NBN!

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Ad Not sure if anyone wants to know this news, but I will post anyway just in case someone has any further comments: Abbott surf lesson 'a political dialogue' SMH [quote]"He's an Australian, and he's entitled to all the rights and all the courtesies that Australians are entitled to." [b]Mr Wakil did not hesitate to express his dismay over the current stoush between the government and the coalition over asylum seeker policy.[/b] "The [b]Howard government blew over a billion dollars [/b]to lock up just 1500 people in Nauru," Mr Wakil told journalists after the surf lesson. [b]"Tony unfortunately has the same idea to do exactly the same thing, which is cruel and which is expensive."[/b] [b]Mr Abbott interjected, saying "and Julia does too[/b]".[/quote]

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Hmm, I wonder if Mr Abbott is wiping the egg off his face after his injudicious 'Julia does too' comment now that the PM has just announced a deal with Malaysia(not New Guinea :) ), to open a Regional Asylum Seeker Processing Centre in that country. If I may be so bold, the little minx, our foxy PM, has taken Andrew Bolt's suggestion on board and implemented it wrt Asylum Seekers! Well, almost. That is, he said that the government should return any Asylum Seekers that land here by boat to the country they came from, and then take twice as many genuine refugees from a Refugee Camp in the same country to come to Australia. Well, Julia has been smarter than Mr Bolt, and she has an agreement whereby the Asylum Seekers get processed by Malaysia, 800/year I think it is, and then she has agreed to take 4000 off Malaysia's hands from their Refugee Camps. No, Julia doesn't do it too, Mr Abbott. She does it better, and she does it humanely. You go get 'em, girl! :)

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011NormanK, 2353, Patricia WA, Janice, Lyn, Jason, tredlgt, FS Thank you all for your advice and supportive words about how to handle unwelcome comments on TPS, which is a private blogsite, not a public one as thenewjj asserts, but open for public comment.  We have the right therefore to decide which comments fit the standards we set, and delete those that don't. Like us all, thenewjj is entitled to his opinion, and to express it.  But, as the ads tell us, 'conditions apply'.  We insist on courtesy to other bloggers, and when we don't receive it, thenewjj ought not to be surprised if someone gives him as good as he gives.  If he just followed the 'be courteous to others' rule, he might find he gets a better reception. But there is something more that irritates me about his comments, namely that, to my recall, he has never said anything positive about Julia Gillard or what her Government is trying to do.  No matter how badly a person is regarded, there must be something positive that can be said about them. Of course he would counter by saying that we say nothing complimentary about Tony Abbott, and to a large extent we see little about him to applaud as he goes down the destructive path he has chosen as his track to The Lodge.  But we would not be so uncharitable as to say that he has no redeeming features at all. It is thenewjj's unremitting criticism of PM Gillard and her Government that grates.  There is nothing, but nothing that she has done or proposes to do that meets with his approval.  He paints her as incompetent, out of her depth, illegitimate as PM; he criticizes her voice, her physical attributes, her dress, her behaviour; he derides her policies and plans; he insists that everything she has done was a failure, and everything she plans will be also; and he calls her a backstabber and a liar to boot.  And he expresses surprise when those of us who believe she is doing a good but not perfect job disagree strongly with his view.  He is amazed that we find his continual negativity toward Labor and the PM irritating and offensive.  It seems as if he has no insight about what others might feel, and therefore feels entitled to dismiss them out of hand. He also seems to delight shoving up our noses opinions that are at variance with our own.  He loves quoting opinions that support his case as he did when he quoted Chris Uhlmann's opinion this morning about the proposal for a processing centre in PNG.  But he did not counterbalance that with the supportive comments of PNG officials or even those of the Nauruan government.  It's only the negatives that he cherry picks to suit his case.  He's not the only one in the world that does that, but he seems never to realize that is what he does all the time. Of course if his comments were furnished with referenced and verifiable facts, and well argued, he would get a more favourable response, but that is not his style. So until that happens, free of personal innuendo and abuse, I will continue to ignore him and delete unacceptable comments.

thenewjj

7/05/2011AA, It wouldnt matter how i argue the case for Gillard being a poor PM, you would still call it rubbish. You say that i selectively quote to suite my argument; well might i say, so do you. is there anything wrong with that? if you are putting forward an argument you obviously dont use quotes that contradict what you are saying; or do you AA? I look at Lyn's links everyday and see a list of articles and opinion pieces that are almost always Labor leaning... so dont lecture me on being balanced in my sources. Just as you have not said one positive thing about Abbott ( i am talking more than calling him a clever politician) i dont see any real positives to Julia Gillard, therefore i dont try and pretend that i do. As for what i said about the Governments new asylum seeker proposal, i think it was pretty fair. Read Uhlman's article. Most of the short piece is made up of full paragraphs from various speeches Gillard has given on the issues of Asylum seekers and Immigration policy. What he shows is that she is once again going back on what she said not only last year, but the years previous. You cant tell me that saying that off shore processing is a costly, ineffective and morally wrong way to go about processing asylum seekers, and then turn around and say that you are going to open up such a detention centre, is not hypocritical ?! This is what i am getting at AA, if Julia had strong convictions than she wouldnt be doing such obvious policy u-turns and backflips.

thenewjj

7/05/2011FS, Children in detention, Christmas Island overflowing, inmates rioting at Curtin, Villawood amongst other detention centres... yes, Julia is far more humane than having only a handful of people in detention as Howard did after he implemented his policies.

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011Hi Ad having been AWOL for the last few days i have just caught up with the 'jj imbroglio'. My suggestion is that you publish a [b]Comments Policy[/b] that you can point to and apply when needed. I am sure that jj and some others would ignore it when it suited them but they would have no comeback when inappropriate comments are 'excised'.

janice

7/05/2011FS, Just watched Abbott doing a presser re our PM's A/seeker announcement. Incredibly he simply went on and on with what he and Morrison have been sprouting ad nauseam forever. One of these days the God he worships (if, indeed there is a God) will lose patience and strike him dumb.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Ad Doesn't this announcement make a fool out of Abbott and the media with all their harping about Howards Pacific Solution, Julia Gillard doing what Howard did etc. etc. [i]Gillard cuts Malaysian asylum seeker deal[/i] SBS Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Saturday that an agreement with Malaysian Prime Minister, Hon. Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak means hundreds of boat peope will be sent to Malaysia. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1533651/New-asylum-seeker-deal-with-Malaysia

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011So the whole Asylum Seeker issue has taken another twist - here's hoping that it can now move toward some sensibility. I was a little confused after reading the report at ABC online so I went the the PM's Press Office for some further info. A couple of things stuck out for me: In the Press Release: [b]Joint Statement with the Prime Minister of Malaysia[/b] http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/joint-statement-prime-minister-malaysia [i]The implementation of this one off [b]pilot project will be important to undermine the business model of transnational criminal syndicates,[/b] particularly in people smuggling and human trafficking in this region. Australia and Malaysia are [b]working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees[/b] (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to operationalise the arrangement.[/i] Appropriate that they work with UHNCR on the 'pilot' which suggests that there is more to come on this. Then in another Press Release: [b]The Regional Cooperation Framework[/b] http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/regional-coperation-framework [i]That is why we worked closely with our neighbours to deliver an agreement for a Regional Cooperation Framework through the recent Bali Process Ministerial Conference. As part of this framework, the Gillard Government is also engaged in [b]ongoing talks with Papua New Guinea about the establishment of an assessment centre.[/b][/i] I am wondering if any of those who yelled 'back flip' and/or 'policy in tatters' will adjust those statements in any way or whether we will see attacks such as [i]'this is not going to work as Labor (and Gillard in particular) are incapable ... just look at the mess they have created with ...[/i] take your pick: school halls/pink bats/cash splash/the economy/interest rates blah, blah, blah. I can't help but point out in the first release a classic example of how NOT to communicate a simple message: '...(IOM) to [i]operationalise[/i] the arrangement.' - [i]Wot-tha?[/i] What the heck does '[i]operationalise[/i]' mean to the average Joe or Jill - sounds like Public Service doublespeak to me. :)

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011This just in from Twitter(says it better in <140 characters than I do in reams): [quote]same as most religions - the LNP faithful reject all proof[/quote]

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Ad Sunday Politics, ummm Niki Savva, good news, George is on the panel. Your guide to this Sunday morning's political and business interviews Full program listing available at: http://sundaymorningtv.posterous.com/ 8:30am Sky News 601 - Australian Agenda On Sky News Australian Agenda this week Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Eric Abetz. Helen Daley hosts the program and is joined by the The Australian's Sally Neighbour, Michael Stuchbury and Paul Maley, and James Brown military associate at the Lowy Institute. 8:38am Ch7 - Weekend Sunrise - The Riley Diary Political editor Mark Riley looks at the comings and goings in federal politics. Meet The Press has moved to a 10.30am time slot - see below 8:40am Ch9 - Today on Sunday - The Laurie Oakes Interview Laurie Oakes is back this week for his annual pre-budget interview with Treasurer Wayne Swan. 9:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 - Insiders On Insiders, Barrie Cassidy interviews Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey ahead of the Federal Budget On the panel: The Australian’s George Megalogenis, the Financial Review’s Brian Toohey and political writer Niki Savva. And Mike Bowers talks pictures with cartoonist for The Australian Bill Leak. 10:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 @ 5.30pm - Inside Business This week on Inside Business a wrap up of the bank reporting season, and feature interview with ANZ CEO, Mike Smith. Plus, a look at the dire situation Fairfax Media finds itself in. And a report on Australia’s biggest olive producer which now is thriving after nearly being brought undone by the collapse of Timbercorp and the MIS sector 10.00am Ch10 - The Bolt Report - PREMIERE The Bolt Report is hosted by Australia's most read newspaper columnist News Ltd's Andrew Bolt. Andrew Bolt will focus on strong political and social comment in form of opinion commentary, panel discussion and interviews. Guests on this week's program are Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott as well as former Federal Labor leader Mark Latham and Liberal Party power-broker Michael Kroger. 10.30am Ch10 - Meet the Press NEW TIME SLOT Paul Bongiorno is joined on the Panel by The Australian's Lauren Wilson and ABC News Radio's Marius Benson. Together they interview Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown and and one of Australia's leading economists, Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics.

NormanK

7/05/2011The asylum seeker announcement has cheered me up no end. Not a political solution but a pragmatic (partial) solution to what is after all a regional problem. DMW, I read it as you do i.e. more to come involving other countries in the region. Very disappointing and infuriating to hear Channel 10 use 'illegal' at least four times in their report. 'Illegal' immigrant, 'illegal' arrival, 'illegal' boat people. Perhaps a recent refugee needs to sue them for defamation, after all someone in the Ten newsroom must know that to use that term with regard to refugees is not only incorrect but also inflammatory. It's quite remarkable that the government and the public service have managed to keep this under wraps right up until its announcement. Questions will be asked of the Coalition spies - how come you didn't know bin Laden was living in your midst - oh sorry - how come you didn't know this deal was in the works? How long will it take the Canberra Press Galley to catch up with the new paradigm? Gillard and her government are no longer playing by the old rules. Decision and delivery. Go for it Ms Gillard.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011jj, Children Overboard; Woomera Detention Centre; detainees sewing their lips together; Detainees on a Guano atoll called Nauru for year after year; one detainee on Manus Is. that the Howard government was prepared to leave there indefinitely because he was a stateless Palestinian; SievX; Baktyari family, detainee self-harm epidemic in detention centres; "We will decide who comes to this country and the manner in which they come"; more Asylum Seekers coming by plane than boat but as they are Chinese and the Coalition don't want to offend China they never made anything of it.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011jj, If you want me to look up how many contradictory speeches and statements Tony Abbott has made over the years, I'm sorry, but I don't have that much time to waste.

lyn

7/05/2011 Hi Ad Do you think Mr Uhlmann will apologise to Julia any time soon. Detained on Manus Island: Labor's competence and honesty, Chris Uhlmann Reopening the Manus Island detention centre - or a similar one anywhere else in Papua New Guinea - would be an admission of massive policy failure by the Gillard Government. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/06/3209558.htm?WT.mc_id=newsmail

birmingham weekend

7/05/2011I thought oh! no I've got some serious typo's there, so I changed the heading, then pressed enter.Good on you Jason! you are to be admired.

David Horton

7/05/2011Not of course that Chris leans a little towards the Right ideologically. And not of course that he would ever allow himself to editorialise on that basis. I say not, of course.

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011So I ventured where many fear to tread and found this on the site of the [i]Federal Member for Warringah[/i] - Mr Abbott. Doorstop Interview, Sydney - Posted on Saturday, 7 May 2011 Subjects: [b]Border protection[/b]. http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/News/tabid/94/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/8056/Doorstop-Interview-Sydney.aspx [i]Today we’ve seen a [b]panicked[/b] announcement from a Government which is [b]proving yet again[/b] that it’s both [b]untrustworthy and incompetent[/b]. ... She said this was going to be the year of decision and delivery. In fact it’s become the year of [b]backflips[/b] and broken promises.[/i] Q: This could have some deterrent toward people smugglers though, could it not? TONY ABBOTT: [i]This is a Government which has essentially admitted that its policies have utterly failed, and when your policies have failed you’ve got to adopt policies that worked. We know the policies that worked and they were Nauru, Manus, temporary protection visas and a willingness to turn boats around where that could be done safely. I call on the Prime Minister to swallow her pride, stop being stubborn, and to pick up the phone to the President of Nauru and get that centre reopened as quickly as possible.[/i] Q: Ms Gillard’s flagged that this could be the first step to a regional deal. Do you agree? TONY ABBOTT: [i]Well, as I said, the essential preconditions she said for sending illegal boat people anywhere was that the country to which they were sent had to be a signatory to the UN Convention. Now, the whole point of not picking up the phone to the President of Nauru is that Nauru is not currently a signatory to the UN Convention. Now she tells us she’s sending people to Malaysia and Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Convention. It just shows that this is a Prime Minister completely lacking in consistency and conviction.[/i] Yep, [i]untrustworthy, incompetent, panicked, backflipper[/i] ... Oh well, the more things change, the more they stay the same

Patricia WA

7/05/2011Agreed, DMW, so depressing. Even more so is the response of people at Larvatus Prodeo where many have become an intelligentsia-type resistance to Julia Gillard's every move. Knee jerk response just now much the same as Abbott's from a green/left of left perspective! First time I've bothered to notice 'Captcha' - 'hated u article' - Oh, yuk! Rejected me! I have to try again. First time ever! How about 'actsma poor-qual' - here goes. What is it trying to tell me?

thenewjj

7/05/2011Gillard has done another backflip on the asylum seeker issue. One of the main issues she said she had with opening up a detention centre on Nauru was that they were not signatories to the convention on refugees, well guess what, Malaysia, like Nauru is not a signatory! This is hypocrisy writ large. As for the policy its self, it is also silly in many respects. Gillard says that it is going to help put people smugglers out of business, and yet all this policy does is provide a temporary fix. Once the 800th asylum seeker has arrived, people smugglers will know that the same rules that apply now will apply to them... they will not have to worry about Malaysia. Along with it possibly not working, it is also inhumane. So far we have heard from the Greens, Robert Manne (refugee lawyer) and Scott Morrison who have all said that if it is the governments objective to have a humane policy, than this is just another contradiction. Malaysian detention centres hold men, women and children; beatings and canings are a common occurrence; wrongful deportation is often; and criminal charges are often laid of asylum seekers wrongfully. So how can the government argue that this is both going to work, be humane, and is in line with previous comments? I am sure the Labor spinners would be working overtime tonight.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011"The Opposition says this is a panic move." Well, they would say that wouldn't they?

2353

7/05/2011Lets get a few things straight. Asylum seekers are human beings - they are not cattle that can be herded around to suit the convenience of Politicians. Asylum seekers to a large extent are who they say they are - to keep them in a detention facility longer than necessary to ensure they will not introduce disease into Australiainhumane. Asylum seekers should not be used as political point scoring weapons - something the LNP has been doing for years. Asylum seekers who arrive by leaky boat are not "illegal" anything according to the UN. The LNP introduced legislation to try and "fiddle" with the borders of the country to play silly semantics which was a despicable act - that the ALP hasn't recinded the legislation is equally despicable. The majority of illegal immigrants to Australia arrive in a Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 - not a leaky boat - as they either don't have the correct Visa or overstay their Visa. The Western Europeans cope with millions of asylum seekers annually - the flow to Australia is bugger all in comparison. The sooner the issue is de-politicised the better so we can treat fellow humans as they should be treated. P.S. I've just realised our resident troll under the bridge couldn't care about these humans either - remember the recent Climate Change thread when I asked why s/he is prepared to pay top dollar to insure their possessions but couldn't give a rats about the lifestyle of future generations. Couldn't care about future generations of humans either - see a trend here?

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011NormanK, Possibly even defamatory I would hazard a guess.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011Folks In several comments today thenewjj has confirmed with his own words what we have been saying about him all day and long before. It is hopeless engaging him in any dialogue from which any agreement might be hoped for. That's why I ignore him.

TalkTurkey

7/05/2011jj knows I never address it directly, so could someone please pass on to it this singularly unsympathetic little parodious ode? (tune: My little Nut Tree) A little Troll named jj Could not say nothin' nice Only carping criticism And inane advice It slagged off our Prime Minister And FS and Aa And generally obnoxious was That little jj. One day that Feral Skeleton Said she had had enough: She pulled posts jj posted Which sorta called its bluff. It'll have to learn some manners, Or else just go away, Whimpering 'bout censorship - Poor little jj!

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011NK & DMW, Not to mention the brilliant dismantling of the tax-evading 'Not-For-Profit' sector. Gloria Jeans is going to have to pay Income Tax at last, as will Sanitarium. All those Evangelical Christian Liberals are going to have their wallets lightened, as I'm sure they have an interest in the business ventures aligned with the Evangelical Christian Churches they support and attend. Yay! Louise Markus and Scott Morrison look out!

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Ad Good on you, ignore is the best only solution.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Ad Norman K said [quote]How long will it take the Canberra Press Galley to catch up with the new paradigm? Gillard and her government are no longer playing by the old rules. [b]Decision and delivery[/b]. Go for it Ms Gillard.[/quote] Ad isn't this what Lindsay Tanner was saying, press conference announcements the best way to go. Haven't the media been doing exactly what Lindsay Tanner said in his book, running with a policy that is not a policy. Cheers :):):)

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011I note that Mr Abbott and therefore jj by the satement: [i]"... Malaysia, like Nauru is not a signatory!"[/i] (to the UN Convention) are ignoring this part of the PM's statement: [i]'... Australia and Malaysia are working closely with the [b]United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees[/b] (UNHCR) and the [b]International Organization for Migration[/b] (IOM)'[/i] We await the detail but, surely if UNHCR is involved they would be ensuring compliance with the convention. Then again, I am but an idealistic old lefty that is easily conned so, therefore, I must be wrong, as jj and Mr Abbott would be only to happy to tell me.

D Mick Weir

7/05/20112353 @ 06:46 PM [i]Asylum seekers are human beings[/i] the rest should be redundant but unfortunately it isn't. I suspect that as we moved from being 'a community' to become 'an economy' we have lost touch with basic humanity,

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011So, the ABC24 News at 7PM, when 'reporting' the PM's announcement about the Malaysia Asylum Seeker deal, gave air time to: Tony Abbott, Sarah Hanson-Young for what seemed like forever, Refugee lawyer, David Manne(always against what the government does unless they decide to throw our borders open to every Asylum Seeker who could get on a boat to Australia), and then, to top it all off, the newsreader 'interviewed'(if that's what you call letting him mouth-off with the Coalition's talking points and rant abuse about the government), Scott Morrison! Julia Gillard was barely given the time of day.

NormanK

7/05/2011DMW I see the Indonesian Foreign Minster using 'operationalise' with regard to a deal for Indonesians to supervise a cease-fire between Thailand and Cambodia at the disputed border temple. Perhaps it's an Asian thing or we are exporting diplomato-speak. Concise Oxford Dictionary has no entry so perhaps we are witnessing history in the making - the birth of a word. I'm going to slip it into conversation as often as I can. I did enjoy this though : [quote]A term intended to describe procedures required to implement narrowly defined company strategies and goals, but usually results in the person using the term coming across as a complete twat.[/quote] http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=operationalise 2353 Very well said.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Amazing, isn't it, how the Coalition & their tame trolls can swing from flint-hearted Nauru-loving Asylum Seeker bashers, to bleedin' heart left-of-lefties who care about the welfare of Asylum Seekers in Malaysian Detention Centres, without pausing for breath? They must be giving 'Weathervane 101' lessons these days.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Look, I'm sorry, this is a little bit risque, but it is funny(from Twitter): [quote]petertaggart Remember kids: The Bolt Report with guest Tony Abbott is on tomorrow. Free glasses in the Herald Sun to watch the mutual masturbation in 3D![/quote]

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011NormanK, thanks for that link to the Urban Dictionary hee, heee and other mucho laughter :) And then the next part of the entry really made me 'kack': [i][b]Moving forward[/b], we need to get our [b]key stakeholders[/b] on the same page and [b]operationalize[/b] these action items into [b]clear deliverables and milestones[/b] before a bottleneck forms.[/i] Oh dear, Moving Forward uggggh - and some trolls reckon we can't see faults with certain people and parties :) Hmm, Captcha Bingo: abetting, ntersha - has me tinking

thenewjj

7/05/2011AA, I ask you to take down FS's comment at 7:34pm. If you say what i have posted as offensive, then this is well beyond any of that. If you are going to be fair AA, than you should delete this as soon as possible. If you do not, you are just showing that one rule applies to your supporters while another applies to your critics.

thenewjj

7/05/2011D Mick Weir, Nauru came under the auspices of the UNHCR, but they were not a signatory to the relevant convention. What is your point? Conditions are far worse for refugees in Malaysia than in any of Australia's detention centres, and unless the Aus government is going to take over the running of them and fun them this fact will remain. You can make as many excuses for this government as you want, but to the average punter this is just another backflip on top of so many others.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Hillbilly Thankyou for this link, love it. Are you going to watch with the glasses, good protection for our eyes, Abbott has made mine sore many times. [quote]Look, I'm sorry, this is a little bit risque, but it is funny(from Twitter): petertaggart Remember kids: The Bolt Report with guest Tony Abbott is on tomorrow. Free glasses in the Herald Sun to watch the mutual masturbation in 3D![/quote]

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011Yup, it's a troll. Loads up on the latest Coalition talking points and comes here to spew them out all over us. 1) Nauru was not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. The Nauru Detention Centre, which was part of 'The Pacific Solution', did NOT come under the auspices of the UNHCR. It came under the auspices of the IOM, the International Office of Migration. 2) 'This is just another backflip on top of so many others' No, it's the first part of an integrated, Regional solution to the Asylum Seeker and People Smuggling issue. jj, don't you ever get embarassed being a simple mouthpiece for the Coalition? I guess you don't because you seem intent on bowling it up to us here ad nauseum. Be careful, though. Tolerance for it is minimal.

macca

7/05/2011Julia Gillards backflipping on the Carbon Tax and now the asylum seekers seems to have the Libs and their supporters in something of a lather. I wonder why? Seems to me that the "backflips" have resulted in very rational and considered courses of action in response to extremely complex issues. It appears that, as Normank states, the rules have been changed. The governance of the country will be strengthened. And yes, to the resident and lurking trolls, I fully understand that the A/S Malaysian initiative will cost more than a boatphone.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011FS Our jj has no sense of humour, and what's more he seems not to have cottoned onto the fact that at 7.34 pm you were quoting a Tweet someone else wrote. D Mick Weir As I said, having a rational argument with thenewjj is pointless. Now he's got Tony Abbot's website talking points, as you have observed. So expect them to be trotted out. BTW Abbott's statement is another classic example of reframing. TT I'm sure thenewjj will feel flattered that you have written a poem in his honour. You are right Lyn. Lindsay Tanner talked of the need politicians feel to make announcements, what he termed 'announcables'. Journalists respond by trying to squeeze something entertaining out of them. 'Backflip' is an old favourite, and if you can illustrate that by quoting back what the politician said previously, even years ago, that is really great gear. Straight reporting and analysis Is boring, and the consumer will not listen or read. So the switch is always flicked to vaudeville.

Jason

7/05/2011jj, Do you have any compassion for your fellow man? Does everything have to be about politics? Should we forsake the man on the land during hard times so Labor can shore up its base? Does the time come when this problem should be above politics? How would you like to be treated? and I don't want party lines. Abbott wants to be the next Prime Minister! so why does he want to be a clone of Howard? if Howard was the answer Howard would still be in office. Time for Abbott to get his own ideas, and lead in his own right and not be captive to the LNP factions.

Acerbic Conehead 2

7/05/2011Lyn, Thanks for the reference to the health warning on the Bolt Report: [quote]petertaggart Remember kids: The Bolt Report with guest Tony Abbott is on tomorrow. Free glasses in the Herald Sun to watch the mutual masturbation in 3D![/quote] Can we ask you to take one for the team and watch Aboltabad tomorrow and give us a running report? We know you can do it Lyn! Meanwhile, tone up the tonsils for this tuneful rendition of Scott McKenzie’s, “San Francisco”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKeXkhxiq6I&feature=related :- ) If you're watchin’ Aboltabad Be sure to wear some ear-muffs on yer head If you're watchin’ Aboltabad You're gonna see some loopy people there :- ) For those who view Aboltabad Summertime will be a no-show there In the studio of Aboltabad Revolting people in fleecy thermal wear :- ) All across the program such a strange explication For global warming They’re a whole generation with a weird explanation Like Lord Monckton, like Lord Monckton :- ) For those who watch Aboltabad Be sure to take things with a pinch of salt If you watch Aboltabad Credulity should be placed on halt :- ) If you watch Aboltabad Reason will be in short supply there

BSA Bob

7/05/2011The Powers That Be are already lined up to sink this latest move by Labor. Once again the polyglot collection of professional naysayers, opportunists & leteveryoneinners are given the status of a cohesive opposition. If it's a matter of simply waiting in Malaysia & you'll get in, it's a matter of simply waiting in Nauru & you'll get in. Most did. Abbott & crew chant "Nauru", the name itself apparently able to deter (but the planes carrying most asylum seekers pass it by on their way to Sydney.) Meanwhile Abbott again in the news being photographed with & defending an immigrant whose arrival he & his mob made so much capital from in their attempt to stop his arrival.

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011Swordsfolk, I seem to recall that Mr Abbott and his echoes have said in the past that Nauru would sign the UN Convention if that is what it would take for them to become a detention centre again. I wonder if any of them took note of this post by that positively left-wing bleeding heart journo (how do I insert a wry tongue in cheek smiley here - :)), Peter Martin, [b]Please. Don't reopen Nauru.[/b] http://www.petermartin.com.au/2010/08/please-dont-reopen-nauru.html [i]In 2003 a friend, SBS journalist Bronwyn Adcock pretended to be a tourist and stopped off in Nauru on her way to Fiji. She slipped under the wire with her video camera, was invited into the camp, and got away with it because the centre's staff had been withdrawn. ... Here's [b]Inside Nauru - Pacific Despair[/b], broadcast on Dateline, February, 2003:[/i] Go read it Please Swordsfolk, as you read the script, remember, that this doco was more than likely made on the same set that was used to fake the US Moon Landing and recently used to fictionalise the assination of Osama.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011Hi Lyn We ought not to hope for an apology from Chris Uhlmann for jumping the gun on the new regional processing arrangements. He has guarded his back with his words. And what's more his growing ego, which needs regular feeding, would not allow an apology or even a retreat. I have argued before that it is a mistake for the ABC to permit, much less encourage, its TV journalists to write opinion pieces on ABC websites. Unless they write only well balanced pieces, they are bound to expose their biases, their preferences and their political leanings. How then can they carry out balanced unbiased political interviews on TV?

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011To all mothers who visit here HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. We love and respect our mothers, present and now past. Let tomorrow be a day of gentleness as befits this day.

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011Folks It's been a long day, ending for us with pre-Mother's Day celebrations. More tomorrow as we return to the South Coast. So i'm having an early night to read more of Lindsay Tanner's book.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Acerbic Conehead Thankyou for so much fun and laughter you provide for us. I have tried to secure a seat in thennel 10 studio. am desperate to watch the show live. Not sure why, but they said I have the wrong on application form. Oh! well now that They are giving me free glasses I can safely watch, you are right I can do a report for my friends, and l will do my report with the right attitude. Cheers:):):):) [i]If you're watchin’ Aboltabad Be sure to wear some ear-muffs on yer head If you're watchin’ Aboltabad You're gonna see some loopy people there [/i]

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011Hi Macca, nicely put. btw the way I owe you an apology. I did not ever mean to suggest you were a 'flat eather' only that [i]I think[/i] a lot of cospiracy theories are similar to believing the earth is flat :)

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Everybody That post is supposed to read: channel 10 said I had the wrong attitude on my application form. Something going wrong can't back space to make changes.

D Mick Weir

7/05/2011A side note I noticed that on Mr Abbotts site most, if not all, transcripts have this: [i]E&OE……………………[/i] poceeding the presser, interview, etc. E&OE is Errors & Omissions Excepted. Sometimes used to cover up that, well, [i]we missed out the bits we didn't like[/i]

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011DMW, Thank you for reminding us of the exceptional dateline documentary. It made me sick to the stomach when I saw it, and, on top of Tampa, Children Overboard, and the Woomera & Baxter Detention Centres with little children behind Razor Wire going into deep catatonia, self-harming and being abused by the men there, well, to say I was ashamed to be Australian is an understatement. Yet here we have little worms like jj, and big slugs like Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, attempting to entice and entrance the population into again accepting the hellhole that is the Nauru Detention Centre, as a place of 'repose', yet again, for our Asylum Seekers. The way Abbott and Morrison go on about it, you'd think it was akin to a Bora Bora Holiday destination for the poor bloody refugees. I also note that the Coalition never say how long they would keep the Asylum Seekers on their beloved Nauru again, whilst their claims for Asylum were being processed. Probably year after year again. Not that it would make any difference in the long run because all they'd get for their trouble is a temporary stop-off in Australia as the Coalition counts down the hours till they can boot them up the quoit back to their home country once it has settled down enough to satisfy the Coalition's desire to get rid of them again. Might I finally add that, from what I saw on the TV tonight, that the Malaysian Detention Centre looked a lot more hospitable than Nauru, even if the news broadcasts tried to paint it in as poor a light as humanly possible, given such short notice today by the PM. They probably had all their film crews on planes to PNG. :)

NormanK

7/05/2011lyn It was very naughty of you to quote Feral Skeleton's post : [quote]petertaggart Remember kids: The Bolt Report with guest Tony Abbott is on tomorrow. Free glasses in the Herald Sun to watch the mutual masturbation in 3D![/quote] One might even consider it as being provocative. AC, you should know better as well. Personally, I took a shine to Jeremy Sear's : [quote]watch Mr Bolt, Mr Abbott and Mr Kroger give each other tongue baths between ad breaks[/quote] Not that I could ever write something as disrespectful as that. Bad Jeremy. Nevertheless, it is difficult not to admire such a skilful juxtaposition of words resulting in a wonderfully multi-sensual mind picture.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011DMW, Really? They cut their transcript cloth to suit the wearer, Mr Abbott? I suppose it makes sense because they hack at the quotes of the government too to make them something they are not.

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011AcerbicC., For some reason I can't get the image of the Mormon's 'Special Underwear' out of my head. :)

Ad astra reply

7/05/2011AC I enjoyed your 'San Francisco' piece. Great song but not-so-great subject. All mothers are excused for not watching Bolta's extravaganza tomorrow - that would spoil the Day. I volunteer to watch it and report back, but as I'll be on the road soon after, it may take a while to get back to you in any detail.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Norman K [quote]One might even consider it as being provocative[/quote] Norman K don't you mean a source told you it could be considered provocative. I'm going to have a great time watching that show for fools, but I can assure it would never make me feel provocative.

lyn

7/05/2011Hi Ad I hope you have a happy day tomorrow too. Thankyou for watching the 10am 10 show for us. I was just kidding you know. I will look forward to your report whatever time it is.

Jason

7/05/2011AA, I'll be with you brother! I told the Talk Turkey that I would watch bolt he gobbled, but I'll still watch and compare notes!

Feral Skeleton

7/05/2011I just can't watch it, 'The Boltard Report', because, well, a girl's gotta have standards. :)

Catching up

7/05/2011The solution that been proposed today is along the line of what I have been pushing for the last twelve months. I suggested that Indonesia as a possible country. The problem with my suggestion is that Indonesia is not a signature to the UN Commission on Refugees. I see this as a way of creating the queue that many claim already exists and the mechanism of returning or moving people on. It allows for an orderly movement of refugees and ensures that getting on a boat puts you back on the end of the queue. There will be issues raised, one Malaysia's past treatment of refugees. I am sure it can be managed by the UN Refugee commission oversees the process. It also allows the refugees already in Malaysia to move onto a permanent home. I hope some similar process can be worked out with Indonesia. This process

Patricia WA

7/05/2011Glad to see that you all know it's Mother's Day and don't need reminding! I wouldn't waste my time watching a program featuring either Bolt or Abbott on any day. Have a happy day all you TPS Mums. You deserve it, all of you. Oh dear, what if jj is a mum? No, he's definitely a 'he' or an 'it.'

Jason

8/05/2011FS, You have to watch!for no other reason than your like the rest of us! We all look at car crashes lol!

macca

8/05/2011D Mick Weir Thank you, though unnecessary. With regards to conspiracy theories........do you want to know the real reason behind.................................?

Acerbic Conehead 2

8/05/2011I hate to put a damper on Mother’s Day celebrations, but if you think the typical Young Lib mother is a political dinosaur, what is she going to be like when she’s got older and more conservative? Here’s one singing a Liberal lullaby to her unfortunate offspring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk63DjGx2_0&feature=related :- ) When I get older, losing my teeth, many years from now Will you be pureeing my grub at meal-time, note my bleatings, pardon my whines? If I’ve been watchin’ 'til quarter to three, some right-wing hard core Will you still heed me, will you be pee’d with me, when I'm sixty-four? :- ) You'll be older too And if you would enrol with me, we could vote out Jooles :- ) I could be handy, findin’ the channel, when its time for Bolt We can view the fun by the fireside, Sunday mornings, soak up the snide Tuned into shock-jocks, glued to their spin, who could ask for more? Will you still heed me, will you agree with me, when I'm sixty-four? :- ) Every election we can hand out cards For the Loony Right, if you want to, dear We can rant and rave ‘Bout the boatpeople on the seas, Abdul, Rash and Raj :- ) Send me a telegram, drop me a line, stating point of view Just because by Jonesie I set my alarm Don’t send me off to the funny farm Give me your answer, fill in a form, Tones forever more Will you still heed me, will you believe me when I'm sixty-four?

lyn

8/05/2011[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Maggots and Blowflies, Neil Cook, The Bannerman[/i] says he’s aiming at one target, but tries hard to hit another. He fails in both pursuits, simply exposing himself for what he is. Just another clown media circus. http://www.waddayano.org/blog/2011/05/maggots_and_blowflies.php#more [i]Put up your dukes, David Horton, The Watermelon Blog[/i] In Conservativeland merit isn’t something you want to encourage in a country. You might want to pause briefly again to consider the psychological and political reasons for that. http://davidhortonsblog.com/2011/05/07/put-up-your-dukes/ [i]The Consummate Hypocrite, Miglo, Cafe Whispers[/i] But to Abbott’s way of thinking he once was an illegal boat person even though legally there is no such thing. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/the-consummate-hypocrite/ [i]The state: Australian capitalism's long time companion, Liz Beths, Left Flank[/i] A common view I encounter is that the period prior to the Great Depression was one of a classic liberalism (i.e. a limited state preceding the rise of Keynesianism and ‘big government’, http://left-flank.blogspot.com/2011/05/state-australian-capitalisms-long-time.html#more [i]ALP in retreat, Gary Sauer-Thompson, Public Opinion[/i] Now, reports in the media say that the Gillard government is sounding out the Papua New Guinea government about reviving the Manus detention centre, http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/05/alp-in-retreat.php#more [i]Budget be damned. Why rates are going up regardless, Peter Martin[/i] The Reserve Bank will raise interest rates weeks after the budget regardless of its content. http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/05/budget-be-damned-why-rates-are-going-up.html [i]Beyond the PM'S opportunity goal: getting student to focus, David Walker, Club Troppo[/i] Minister of Education to Prime Minister. It is also personal. She enjoyed her schooldays at a good government school (Unley High, across from my nana’s house on Kitchener Avenue) http://clubtroppo.com.au/ [b]Newspapers[/b] [i]Capital power surge, Danielle Cronin, The Canberra Times[/i] He has confronted all three types, revealing one group threatened to campaign against him if he refused to publicly commit to superannuation changes. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/capital-power-surge/2155865.aspx?storypage=1 [i]Welcome to the new thrift , George Megalogenis, The Australian[/i] You can almost hear Tony Abbott's next slogan: People are saving for themselves because they don't trust Labor to pay off the debt http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/welcome-to-the-new-thrift/story-e6frgd0x-1226051429950 [i]Sideshow? No, main event , Peter Hartcher, National Times [/i] Tanner has ended up doing exactly what he deplores. He has allowed himself to be consumed by the distractions of the media-political complex. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/sideshow-no-main-event-20110506-1ecgb.html

Ad astra reply

8/05/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

macca

8/05/2011I have a theory. I think that someone in the Govt. has been studying Sun Tsu, the art of war. Just a couple of examples; " If your enemy is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him". Well they sure have done that. " Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance". No argument there. " The quality of decision is like the well timed swoop of a falcon. Which enables it to strike and destroy its prey". IMO the Govt., both Gillard and Rudd, have made pretty good decisions. The timing has always let them down. I think they are starting to rectify that. " Being unconquerable lies with yourself, being conquerable lies with your enemy". In simple terms....Tony Abbott. Does anyone else get a sense of Julia Gillard and her cabinet, given the timing of yesterdays announcement, have had gutful of toxic opposition, sycophantic media and have quietly, but thoroughly, lined up a few ducks. I think the budget will be fair and hold some surprises that the opposition will find very hard to knock. I think they are going to be wedged...big time. " All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved" Julia Gillard is controlling this game....and she ain't gonna lose.

lyn

8/05/2011Hi Macca Well said, I agree. Julia is Engaging the Enemy, we have seen it this week, "war tactics". Maneuvering of armed forces, watch out Coalition. Joe Hockey this morning on the Insiders, every question his answer is started with "from my perspective". When asked about the Coalition getting the budget back to surplus before 2013, Hockey has changed from last week from "they will" to "they will try". Cheers [quote]Julia Gillard is controlling this game....and she ain't gonna lose. [/quote]

D Mick Weir

8/05/2011Macca @ 09:08 AM, Like that theory - there may be some truth in it :) Caused me to think that Mr Abbott appears to be a student of Niccolò Machiavelli's [i]The Prince[/i] Sun Tsu [i]vs[/i] Machiavelli - what an interesting game :) Captcha: Flowers byfore - umm for yer Mum

D Mick Weir

8/05/2011Macca @ 06:16 AM Do tell more

lyn

8/05/2011Hi Ad Bolt report not on my TV. Unless Bolt and Abbott are somewhere in video hits background.

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011Two new frames for today: 'A Tax on Polluters Not People.' 'Another Great Big New Lie.'

TalkTurkey

8/05/2011Watching Lopiders Crassidy wasn't too bad I thought. Disputed and queried Snotty Joe repeatedly, didn't nail it down too hard though. Prune-thing unspeakable. Brian Dollop don't help much. But you know that some of the posts herewith are talking bout circlejerks with Bumbolt and Them? Well you know what I think in like terms of Megalogenis? Minilowpenis! If the ABC is going to let Prunething and Them rip like they do, why can't Megalogenis say something with a bit of spine and spice actually saying some little tiny thing that could be interpreted as actually not critical of Labor? He likes to be thought of as a left-sympathizer, well not by me, did you hear him on Asylum Seekers? No good even for a circlejerk! With Ad astra's (and FS's!)indulgence I am re-posting part of my big poem Lass from Yarralumla, in the thread of post of October 10, posted on the 12th. I reckon it turns out to be pretty prescient, and look for what I say about Megalogenis. And about btw Laura Tingle, to whom I send Happy Mother's Day greetings and bouquets. Bloated with his self-importance was conniving Laurie Oakes, And Piers Ackermann, most bigoted of all, And the first one to throw stones, that loathsome, hateful Alan Jones: They’re three key bricks in the Murdochratic Wall. There was Andrew “Anal” Bolt , and that Glenn Milne, the drunken thug, Grabbing sleazily at any sleazy grab, And that ABC lickspittle, Chris Uhlmann, smooth and smug, And Annabel, the slyly-sidling Crabb. There was sour Red Kez O’Brien, seemingly forever trying To skewer Julia with some cunning stab; And Tony “Look-Me” Jones, interrupting her in tones That show he thinks he holds sole Royal Right of Gab. There was Fran "Ms Jelly” Kelly, Michelle Grattan lacking teeth, And Miss Trivia, Virginia Trioli, And that smartarse Barrie Cassidy, with snide asides and acidy, In ABC alliances unholy. So Our Ranga Lass was targeted by jibes and sexist jokes: Her Titian locks were tweaked, her finely-chiselled nose took pokes From those of the moral wee-ness of a teensy flaccid penis – And unkindest cut of all came from that wimp-out by Megalogenis! Thus was Julia besieged: just Laura Tingle stood her friend, And challenged Abbott on her comments page; In chivalry and courage she was loyal to the end: The one fair Australian journo of The Age.

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011I know everyone else isn't as tragic about politics as I am, especially on Mothers Day, however, after Insiders finished, and because I couldn't bring myself to watch a half hour Liberal campaign ad on Channel 10, otherwise known as 'The Bolt Report', and ruin my Mothers Day to boot, I stayed with ABC24 to see how they instantly translated the Sunday morning political shows into news talking points. Firstly, it seems as though the hook to hang the ALP Malaysian Asylum Seeker deal on will be that, like Nauru, Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. That is despite the government making a point of saying that the UNHCR will be intimately involved in the process in Malaysia. Also, Malaysia is no Nauru. Someone on Insiders put it best, I think it was Big george Megalogenis, when he said dealing with Malaysia is dealing with one of the adults in the region, Nauru is not. Secondly, and most importantly to me, and it was kind of like an unexpected Mothers Day present for me, but Simon Cullen, who provided the political wrap-up, spoke about the framing of the message!!! For as long as I have known about Framing, I have never heard it mentioned on TV until today. So, I just hope, therefore, that I may have served to make political journalists more aware of the practice going on under their noses, especially by the Liberal Party, but, more importantly, how it may be reflected in their own work. :) HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011macca, Did you know that the Opposition have been attempting to channel Sun Tsu? Julie Bishop got them onto it and they credit it with a lot of their success against the government recently. However, as Sun Tsu was the Master of Stealth Warfare, wouldn't it therefore be a failure of tactics from the outset to tell the enemy(ie the ALP), what you are attempting to do to them, as in use the 'Art of War' against them? Then again, Julie Bishop never has been the brightest bulb in the packet. :)

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011I will also just add, before I head off into the beautiful Mothers Day sunshine for a couple of hours, that the interview of Joe Hockey on Insiders, from Hockey's point of view, was a shocker. That's where I got the 'Great Big New Lie' line from. He made unfounded assertion after unfounded assertion, and just expected Barrie Cassidy to lap them up unquestioningly(I think that was last year, Joe). To his credit, Barrie Cassidy probed Hockey to try and find the facts behind his bold bumpf, only to find that Hockey's schtick was all style and spin, and no substance. I hope this portends well for the week ahead in parliament, as the government looks like the adults in the room and the Opposition look like the tantrum-throwing toddlers.

Gravel

8/05/2011Macca What great thoughts you have had. I am crossing everything in the hope that you are right.

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011Janice, I loved your story yesterday, it broke my heart to read of the petty politics that infests our whole society. I am glad that, even though it may not be all that you had wished for, at least the Palliative Care Wing of the new hospital will be named after your late husband. It was also interesting to read of your run-ins with the so-called 'caring Professions', as my late husband, who also died from Leukaemia a couple of years ago, experienced those sort of people at our local hospital as well. One Nurse was so brutal that she insisted on ripping off a dressing from my husband's leg which it would have been better to leave on for one more day in order to allow coagulation to better set in. But no, "Protocol said...", and so she ripped it off him and ended up causing a massive haemorrage of blood and a blood transfusion to stop him dying on the spot from massive blood loss. There was no sign of infection of the wound, so the dressing didn't need to be changed, and the Drs said so, but this Nursejust wanted to exert her power over the Drs and the patient. A sick situation, pardon the pun. And then there was the Nurse who came to work with a massive influenza and chest infection, didn't put on a mask as she treated all the Cancer patients and coughed all over them!!! It makes me sick just thinking about it all over again. So, don't feel too bad, as it seems it's not something that's particularly personal, it's just that some Nurses and Doctors seem to really hate their jobs & are only doing it for the money, it seems to me, and take it out on the patients on a regular basis.

D Mick Weir

8/05/2011The [i]Weekend AFR[/i] is my paper of choice and it is a rare weekend that I don't buy it. One complaint I have tho' is there not enough articles by Laura (Tingle that is, not Norder!!) Anyhows, Deirdre Macken has an interesting column this week: [b]Conspirators make a case[/b] [i]... a birth certificate may convince people ... but a death certificate will never be enough to convince many people of Osama bin Laden's death. ... If we do believe, we are likely to believe that the Earth was made in six days, that heaven is full of virgins waiting for the right lads, that aliens come equipped with anal probes and the biggest conspiracy ever is being perpetuated by climate scientists. Well might Obama say "you will never see bin Laden walking on this Earth again" because there are millions who swear they see Elvis walking around all the time ... ... evidently Donald Trump's show, The Apprentice, was interrupted by the President's announcement ... And that proves Osama died years ago but his death was made public only so Obama could undermine Trump's reality show ... [/i] Who could deny?: [i]We live in a whacky world[/i]

Acerbic Conehead 2

8/05/2011Tones and co have been making political hay for a while now with the arrival of asylum-seekers who came on boats (never planes – I wonder why?). STOP THE BOATS, they said. Now that people who arrive on boats will most likely, for their claims to be processed, be removed to Malaysia (or possibly other locations, still to be announced), will the old three-word slogan require amending to a new five-word edition? STOP THE ‘STOP THE BOATS’ After all, it was never about the needs of vulnerable people. It was always about politics – Sideshow style.

NormanK

8/05/2011Poor old Peter Hartcher. He popped into his local bookshop and picked up a Tom Clancy novel, believing he was getting a spy thriller - turned out it was an historical romance. Perhaps he should have read the blurb on the back before purchasing. Hartcher has joined an ever-growing list of journalists who think Lindsay Tanner has written the wrong book. [quote]... he's silent on all the big policies and events of his time on (sic) power. He does not take us inside the Rudd government. He doesn't even discuss it from the outside, except on some of the questions of media interplay with politicians.[/quote] http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/sideshow-no-main-event-20110506-1ecgb.html Having not read Tanner's book I should be careful in what I say but from what I've seen and heard to date, Tanner doesn't seem to be blaming Rudd's fall, Labor's woes or particular current policy stances on the 'sideshow syndrome' but this is what Hartcher is implying in his criticism of the book 'missing the point'. Why can't some of these journalists just take it at face value and accept that Tanner is giving voice to what a good many other people have been saying for years? Is he so blind that he can't see that, for example, taking these comments from Julia Gillard : [quote]I offer only opportunity, I ask only responsibility in return. That everyone who can work should work. And every Australian should pull his or her own weight. It’s not fair for taxpayers to pay for someone who can support themselves.[/quote] (Sydney Institute speech) which she uttered as part of a speech (that I would broadly describe as offering a hand-up instead of a handout) and turning them into [b]"Julia Gillard declares war on dole bludgers!"[/b] blaring from our television sets is simply sensationalising and conforming to an existing narrative? Hartcher makes some valid points regarding polls and the postponement of the CPRS but he deliberately dismisses Tanner's right to focus on whatever topic he chooses. It was a book discussing the interaction between politicians and the media, Peter. It was never going to be a tell-all. Perhaps next time you should read the blurb first before buying or else leave you preconceptions on the shelf before reading.

D Mick Weir

8/05/2011Maybe there is some hope for us in this country [b]Fears and Failure[/b] - By PAUL KRUGMAN - May 5, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/opinion/06krugman.html [i] ... none of these scare stories reflect anything that is actually happening, or is likely to happen. And while the threats are imaginary, fear of these imaginary threats has real consequences: an absence of any action to deal with the [b]real crisis[/b], the suffering now being experienced by [b]millions of jobless[/b] Americans and their families. What does Washington currently fear? Topping the list is fear that [b]budget deficits will cause a fiscal crisis any day now[/b]. ... the politicians most given to apocalyptic rhetoric about the deficit are also utterly opposed to any tax increase; they argue that debt is destroying America, but they’d rather let that happen than accept even a dime of higher taxes. Yet the inconsistency and probable insincerity of their fear-mongering hasn’t stopped it from having a huge effect on policy debate. ... So we’re paying a heavy price for Washington’s [b]obsession with phantom menaces[/b]. By looking for trouble in all the wrong places, our political class is preventing us from dealing with the [b]real crisis[/b]: [b]the millions[/b] of American men and women [b]who can’t find work[/b].[/i] (My emphasis added) While there is a [i]'fear that budget deficits will cause a fiscal crisis any day now'[/i] here, we at least have some hope that the guvmint will be doing something about unemployment. I guess I don't have to point out that certain of our elected representatives are causing fear and loathing about 'debts and deficits' while also screaming 'GBNT'. As always Krugman is a good read.

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8/05/2011Folks For those of you who had something better to do than watch the inaugural [i]Bolt Report[/i], and almost anything would be better use of time than that, here is a brief review. The ambience of the show, and it was archetypical showbiz entertainment just as Lindsay Tanner says political reporting has become, bore a strong resemblance to Fox News in the US, which has become an unashamed propaganda arm of the Republican Party. Every subject Andrew Bolt addressed was designed to paint Julia Gillard and her Government in a bad light, and he had every assistance from Tony Abbott, Michael Kroger and Mark Latham. Even his question to Tony Abbott suggesting that the new deal PM Gillard has made with the Malaysian Government ‘might just work’, was tongue in cheek, and designed to elicit a rebuttal. The technique Bolt used was to give unfettered air play to comments that were tipping a bucket on the Government, but to cut short answers that were even mildly slanted in favour of the Government, as was the case when he interviewed the Afghan refugee who GetUp arranged to surf with Tony Abbott. There was not one favourable comment made about PM Gillard or her ministers or her Government in the entire show. Instead there was trenchant criticism of asylum seeker policy and the carbon tax, and there was even a discussion of Julia Gillard’s leadership in response to Bolt’s oft-repeated assertion that ‘she is finished’, and a debate about who would succeed her, concluding that there was no obvious successor, and that it would be only her resignation as an ‘abject failure’ that would bring about a change of leadership. Bolt knew he could depend on Tony Abbott and Michael Kroger, the most acerbic non-parliamentary commentator on the Gillard Government who regularly vents his spleen on [i]Lateline[/i], and of course on the always bitter Mark Latham, to feed his show with anti-Government venom, for which Bolt himself is an accomplished purveyor. So US Fox News has arrived on Australian TV, and will no doubt replicate its strategies, its techniques and its vitriol, all directed at the progressive side of politics, in this country Labor. The Greens will cop it also; Bolt’s animosity to them parallels the hatred he exhibits towards Labor. On the production side, the whole show was slick, well produced, superficially plausible and for those who detest Labor, convincing. The content was right up to date, obviously developed over just the last day or two. Bolt himself performed well. He was self assured, confident, and presented stylishly. We have a new force in Australian political TV commentary that is overtly pro-Coalition and anti-Labor and anti-Green, which, if one can judge from the first edition, seems intent on being a mouthpiece of the Coalition. How much influence it will have is not determinable yet. It will appeal immensely to Coalition supporters who will lap up every word. What is sobering about this new program is that in the current media environment a counterbalancing program that is supportive of Labor looks not just unlikely, but impossible. The contrast between the [i]Bolt Report[/i] and [i]Meet the Press[/i] that followed, was striking. The lack of balance in the former and the steady balance in the latter, under the guidance of Paul Bongiorno, was there for all to see. BTW, I thought that [i]Insiders[/i] was an improvement this week. Of course it helped having two balanced commentators in George Megalogenis and Brian Toohey, but Barrie Cassidy seemed more prepared to challenge statements that in his view were not in accord with the facts as he did with Joe Hockey, who did poorly, metaphorically claiming that black was white with his usual bluster, a common Coalition technique. Cassidy also challenged Niki Savva over some of her statements. She has worked herself into being a Coalition apologist, who can see almost nothing worthwhile in what the Government is doing. Does she remind you of someone? If [i]Insiders[/i] continues in the vein it showed this morning, there is some hope it can be revived.

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8/05/2011Hi Lyn It is fortunate that you did not have to suffer the [i]Bolt Report[/i]. It would have made your blood boil, which is not good on Mother’s Day.

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8/05/2011macca Like others who have commented, I like the analogy you have drawn from your study of Sun Tsu, on the art of war. It will be fascinating to see how your predictions pan out.

lyn

8/05/2011Hi Ad Thankyou very much for your considered, reliable, opinion on the Bolt Show and the Insiders this morning, as always a joy to read. I thought Barrie Cassidy showed a small improvement in his approach. On a couple of occassions he contradicted Joe Hockey which made me cheer. Niki would be much more at home on the Bolt show. Ad, I really hope against hope that Government MP's do not ,ever accept an invitation to appear on the Bolt Report. There is a huge amount of information on the web from the Coalition supporters, who as expected are wrapped in the show. I won't put up any links to supporting blogs that I have read, they will just make you feel sick. [quote]So US Fox News has arrived on Australian TV[/quote]: Ad there are many on Twitter that share your exact view about Fox News arriving in Australia. Cheers have a nice day Ad

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8/05/2011NormanK I concur with your assessment of Peter Hartcher’s appraisal of Lindsay Tanner’s book. He has given us another dose of Hartcherism. Isn’t it fascinating how so many journalists, in reviewing Tanner’s book, have proved the very point he was making in [i]Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy[/i], that what they are really interested in is sensationalism, intrigue, dirty tricks, backstabbing and sundry machinations within the political machine. Hartcher is only vaguely interested in addressing Tanner’s hypothesis that the media has set the rules to meet its need to provide entertainment, and that the politicians have been forced to play by those rules or die of invisibility. Tanner never laid the blame solely at the feet of the media, acknowledging politicians’ complicity in feeding the entertainment business. It is Hartcher who once again has missed the point. As you say Tanner is entitled to write a book on whatever subject he wishes, but Hartcher was looking for something more entertaining, and comes away not just disappointed, by annoyed that his profession has been pinged. I was surprised that the second part of his article moved onto an unrelated subject, the budget, but on reading on, I could see that it was his way of taking aim at Tanner in his role of Finance Minister, knowing that if the messenger has a few bullet holes in him his credibility might be damaged and his book somewhat discredited – the old ‘shoot the messenger’ stunt. I thought Hartcher was better than that, but some recent articles of his make me wonder. Anyway, I can assure you Tanner’s book is very readable and interesting, perhaps because it reinforces what we have been saying here for years. When I find myself sitting up in bed near midnight reading it, I can only conclude that either I’m an incurable political tragic, or that the book really is a page-turner.

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8/05/2011FS I was sad, and as a member of what I believe is a noble profession, embarrassed to read of the trauma your late husband suffered during his illness. Coupled with janice’s similar account, it makes me wonder what has become of the healing and caring professions. Of course the power struggle between some nurses and some doctors is as old as the hills, but when that tension spills over into patient care that is completely unacceptable. It is perhaps cold comfort for those who have suffered at the hands of uncaring professionals to know that most are not like that. Most of the thousands I have encountered are caring, gentle, competent people out to do the best they can for those who seek their help. I’m sorry you have not witnessed that concerned, caring approach in the treatment of your husband.

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8/05/2011D Mick Weir I will look forward to reading the Krugman article when I get back to the South Coast later today. Thanks for the link.

Gravel

8/05/2011Ad Astra Thank you for going where none of us feared to tread, The Bolt Show. Unfortunately I think there will be plenty of anti-government (Labor) people that will watch it going by your report.

Gravel

8/05/2011ooops that should be anti-Labor government........sorry about that.

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8/05/2011Gravel I'm sure you are right - the anti-Labor people will lap up the [i]Bolt Report[/i].

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8/05/2011Folks I'm getting on the road now back to the South Coast. I'll be back this evening to post a piece on slogans.

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011NormanK, Apropos your point about headlines in the newspapers, it was fun watching Niki Savva squirm this morning on Insiders when Barrie Cassidy brought up the headline controversy in which The Australian declared, blaringly, that Gail Kelly was in a one-person 'People's Revolt' over 'Gillard's Carbon Tax', when, in fact, nothing could have been further from the truth! As Barrie Cassidy pointed out, and as Niki Savva tried to blame on everyone but the Editor who would have OK'ed the Page 1 headline, Chris Mitchell. Savva tried to put lipstick on the pig by saying, well, it's not what's actually in the article, but it's just not good enough as an excuse for reprehensible behaviour by The Australian. And I applaud Barrie for skewering Ms Savva over it.

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011I'm just about to watch the 5PM Channel 10 News to see how much weight they give to the new boy's show and how much time to old faithful, Meet the Press. Channel 10 sure is getting a grubby feel to it very fast. I wonder whether George Negus is still happy to have moved over to there from SBS?

Feral Skeleton

8/05/2011Oh No! They're repeating Bolt's bilge before the News. I thought I'd avoided the pestilence. I feel unclean. :)

lyn

8/05/2011Hi Ad Well the Bolt Report came on at 4.30pm. My Blood didn't boil, but I am amazed, so I will tell you what I saw in my eyes. The backdrop looked like 007, lots of red. Bolt sounded like he was compering, the ABC show the one that comes on explaining to kids how the Government and Parliament works, he had the same childish tone, as though people couldn't understand. Tony Abbott of course was very comfortable among best friends. Bolt asked Abbott:- if the 3 Independents came to you and said "sorry we made a mistake we are coming on your side, what would you say, would you call an election or say thankyou and welcome them". Abbott said "well that hasn't happened'. Bolt asked Abbott if his policy would cut emissions by 0000000000000.05% Abbott said he would leave that to the mathematicians. First question to the panel of two was to Kroger, Julia Gillards Asylum Seeker Policy, "this will stop the boats won't it?" guess the answer. Bolt to Latham, due to last newspoll results Julia Gillard is terminal, people have no respect for Gillard. Kroger said Gillard must Resign, Bolt she is finished but there is no alternatives, Latham there will be a change over at the last minute to Chris Bowen. Short segment on the Afgan refugee, Abbott taught to surf, Bolt to refugee, "you are a marvelous example. Bolt signing off, talking to an audience of kids said: I am Andrew Bolt send me an email .............. visit my blog............... tell us what's what. You know Ad, what a disgraceful show on national TV, really is hard to believe it was actually on TV.

NormanK

8/05/2011FS Thanks for that heads-up. I don't watch Insiders any more. I tried to watch the Hockey interview this afternoon but could only get about halfway through. Of the many personalities which Mr Hockey seems to possess, at the moment 'Regretful Joe' seems to be the dominant one. "I don't want to be the one who has to point this out", his demeanour implies, "but this is a ... [i]insert bag government comment here".[/i] Watching Niki Savva squirm was worth the effort though. http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/ My fingers are just itching to say something about her appearance but of course I'm above such petty superficial criticisms. I might still sleep with the light on tonight, just to be safe.

TalkTurkey

8/05/2011Gee folks, The posts today are all about one subject and I'm not about to oxygenate it any more. I really think that you aid Them by even thinking about it. It's not as though you are learning the nature the enemy - we all already know it. As with jj, which is essentially the same thing, the best antidote is to ignore it. jj would be alright to answer if it could be civil, but that isn't even a faint possibility with those people on that show today. I did not watch any of it, no, and it's not like burning books to keep understanding at bay, I have already spent too much time watching that sort of stuff and I KNOW it's a rotten waste of brain time and likely to cause rage which isn't good for you, nor for Labor if that rage deprives the Government of you as a voter! There is no way we can prevent people watching it, but we don't have to watch it ourselves. The less people watch it the less relevant it becomes, especially when all that will be left will be the Right. Having people of gravitas watch them gives them credibility - can you imagine Paul Keating bothering to watch them ever? Deprive them of the credibility that we sensible and aware bloggers of the NON-bigot-Right (hem-hem) vouchsafe them merely by giving them any time of day! Just say NO! Be rightfully contemptuous of people who tell you they've been watching it - I think it is our responsibility to TURN IT OFF, because of the fact that we help their cause by watching it at all. Make them irrelevant - or are you such voyeuristic media junkies that you just can't help yourselves? Same goes for trolls. If they are unconscionable, ignore them -*coat* them - send them to Coventry! So easy! I been telling you longtime . . . You know it makes sense . . .

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8/05/2011Folks I have just posted [i]Should Labor hitch itself to the slogan waggon?[/i] I hope you find it interesting and that you try your hand at slogan creation. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/05/08/Should-Labor-hitch-itself-to-the-slogan-waggon.aspx

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8/05/2011Hi Lyn I'm glad the [i]Bolt Report[/i] didn't cause your blood to boil over. If it was a once-off event one could dismiss it as inconsequential, but he intends to come back every week to give us another dose of anti-Government venom. We may need an antivenin if we continue watching. It will be informative to compare this show with the Fox News outfit in the US. I'll see if I can find some references. As I've posted a new piece, you can post your links there in the morning We're back at the South Coast after all the Mother's Day celebrations, and it is COLD. So I'm heading for bed with the iPad to catch up with this morning's links, and to continue to read Lindsay Tanner's book.

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8/05/2011FS You have a head start on the piece I've just posted with your neat slogans: 'A Tax on Polluters Not People.' 'Another Great Big New Lie.' I look forward to more of your creativity in response to that post. TT I share many of your sentiments about the journos that you rightly pilloried. But I like George Megalogenis. I suppose I would like him to be more assertive, but at least he displays balance in most of his comments. AC You are right when you say of Tones' boat people utterances: "After all, it was never about the needs of vulnerable people. It was always about politics – Sideshow style."

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8/05/2011D Mick Weir What a good article was Paul Krugman's, but then he always writes well. How relevant are his comments about scaremongering! And he questions whether the scaremongers even believe their own rhetoric. Scaremongering is not about averting a catastrophe, but about gaining a political advantage or slavishly and unthinkingly following an ideological position. How can the voting public be made aware of this?

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8/05/2011TT I've read your comment about the Bolt Report, and agree with most of it. However what fascinates me is the process of his show, not the content. The way the content is used is important. I suspect that the process will follow that used in the US Fox News. If so it will be an overt Coalition propaganda machine which Labor cannot afford to ignore. So I for one will watch for a while until I can ascertain the process. Once that's established for the show they will stick to it so long as it seems to be working.

David Horton

9/05/2011Ad (if I may be so familiar) "The way the content is used is important". Yes indeed. ABC news last night had already used its first clip from the show, Tony Abbott sloganising on the Malaysia business. The show, and B-lt, are on tv, therefore are respectable, therefore the ABC can use clips from the show as it would from any other "respectable source" therefore it becomes more respectable. We can ignore him all we like although I must say the twitter stream and B-lt hashtag from progressive commentators all saying how terrible it was rather missed the point that by doing so they were elevating him further into public debate. As he becomes "respectable" then other shock jocks, to make a tv splash (and you can bet nine and seven are already considering B-lt type shows), will have to be even more appalling, and then we are really into Foxamericaland.