Prefabricated predictions

Tony Abbott is feeling a great need to get away from it all, so he has gone over to Europe to compete in the autumnal leg of the Tour de France cycle-race.

He has brought along the young Queensland LNP MP, Wyatt Roy, a fluent French speaker, for translating purposes.



So, the race has started, but, unfortunately, Tones can’t speed away with everyone else, as he has to stay at the same speed as Wyatt.

Tones (angrily): FFS, Wyatt!! Will you hurry the f***up...everybody else will be in friggin’ Paris by now, getting pissed on cheap French plonk and looking up the skirts of the dancing girls at the Moulin Rouge...

Wyatt: Keep your hair on, Tones – what little you’ve got left on your tonsure, that is...heh...heh...And you know I can’t go very fast...

Tones: And I can see why, mate – I can’t believe you’ve still got your training wheels on...I thought I told you they were to come off straight after the practice race...

[Tones and Wyatt continue to bicker and aren’t getting very far at all in the race. In fact, they are losing so much time, it is starting to get dark.

However, in the distance, they see the headlights of a car approaching. As it draws near, Tones recognises it as one belonging to the Australian Ambassador to France. And who is comfortably ensconced in the back seat, but Julia Gillard and Tim Mathieson! With a shit-eating grin that could only belong to someone who has been invited over to Europe to advise them on how to turn a basket-case into a show-case, Jooles nonchalantly rolls down the window.]

Jooles: G’day Tones...you two look like you’ve fallen a bit by the wayside...and a trifle overheated with all your exertions...poor petals...heh...heh...

Tones: Nah, Jooles...we’re not hot at all...actually, it was a lot warmer in Jesus’ day, don’t you know!

[Jooles, from experience, knows there is no point in challenging Tones on his idiosyncratic and antediluvian grasp of climate science and history, so she just ignores his blathering. She nods towards Wyatt.]

Jooles: Erm...Tones, I think it’s well past Wyatt’s bed-time, so my advice is to cycle up the road a couple of clicks and, on the left, is an old, dilapidated house that you could sleep in for the night – you being the tough all-action guy who revels in that sort of blokey stuff n’all...Oh, and by the way, I noticed a few seagulls that have obviously migrated from Nauru, building a nest in the chimney, so look out if you try to light a fire...

[Jooles’ car speeds off, but Tones can’t help noticing that they are having a great belly-laugh at something.

Anyway, Tones and Wyatt reach the old house just before it gets really dark. They notice that someone has written in chalk on the front wall: “The great seer, Nostradamus, once slept here”. Wyatt translates it for Tones.]

Tones: Wow, Wyatt!!! Now, isn’t that a coincidence!!! Ever since I started making my famous predictions, everybody has been calling me "The New Nostradamus"...

Wyatt (muttering): Huh...during that time you were negotiating unsuccessfully with the Indos, I heard they were calling you Nostra-can’t-sell-his damn-arse...heh...heh...

Tones: Erm...what was that, mate...didn’t quite hear?

Wyatt: Nah, don’t worry about it, Tones...But, now that you mention Nostradamus, it’s the title of one of my favourite tracks by Judas Priest...

[Wyatt cranks up his iPod and gives Tones one of his ear-phones. They both listen to the classic heavy metal track.]



Tones: Nah, mate...not my style...I prefer the Beach Boys...

Wyatt: Never heard of them, Tones...must have been before my time...Oh, and out of interest, are they anything like Pyney’s favourite band, The Back Alley Bitch Boys...hee...hee...

[That one goes straight over Tones’ tonsure, so he starts to head up the pot-holed driveway, to the old abandoned house. It’s starting to rain, so he quickly removes a few wooden slats that had been nailed over a window and shoves Wyatt through the opening, ordering him to open the door for him from the inside.

Once in, Tones pulls out his torch, shining it around what obviously used to be a grand living room, but is now covered in grime and spider-webs.]

Tones: Crikey, Wyatt...this place looks so bad, it must have had Gillard’s Carbon Tax through it like a dose of salts...haw...haw...Now, Wyatt, as Gillard said, there’s a blockage in the chimney...so, before we can light a fire, you’ll have to scramble up and unblock it...

Wyatt: But...but...but...Tones, why me?

Tones: Cos you’re smaller than me...And anyway, if I went up, my ears would get wedged, and I wouldn’t be able to get down again...

[So, after much cajoling, Tones lends Wyatt his torch and pushes him up the chimney. After a few moments of quiet, Tones hollers up.]

Tones: Wyatt!! What’s happening? Have you found any of the guano crap that’s blocking the joint up?

Wyatt: Erm...not yet, Tones...cos I’ve been a bit distracted by something else I’ve found...

Tones: What is it, Wyatt – Gillard’s long-lost handbag...haw...haw...

Wyatt: Actually, Tones...I’ve found, in a crevice, two chaff bags...a small one and a ginormous one...The small one has three little pieces of paper, each with a little four-line verse written on it...Just give me a mo and I’ll quickly translate one from the French for you...

“Earth-shaking fire from the centre of the Earth.
Will cause the towers around the New City to shake,
Two great rocks for a long time will make war,
And then Arethusa will colour a new river red”

[Tones, now that he is the doyen of predictors of the Neo-Nostradamus School, recognises it immediately.]

Tones: OMG, Wyatt!!! What you’ve got in your hot little hands there is one of Nostradamus’ quatrains – the four-line verses in which he wrote his famous predictions of calamities that would befall unfortunates in the future!!! In fact, the one you quoted is Quatrain 87, where he foretold the attack on the Twin Towers in New York!!

Wyatt: Jeeze, that’s fascinating Tones...So, as I was saying, in the small chaff bag there are two more pieces of paper...shall I translate them for you?

Tones: Go for your life, mate...maybe there’ll be a few predictions about me kicking old fat-arse out of The Lodge and me moving in...hee...hee...

Wyatt: Righto, Tones...here’s another:

“ In the 13th year of century 21
The witch from Wales will be done like a dinner
And he who is garbed in budgie-feathered trunks, bright as the Sun
Will be carried aloft as the glorious winner”

Tones: Wyatt!! Fantastic!!! I can’t quote you chapter and verse on that one, but it’s obvious old Nosters is predicting my inevitable victory...what else is there in the chaff bag?

Wyatt: Okay, Tones...here’s the other one:

“After the abbott’s lean years of living sober
He shall feast on strong spirits and get blotto
Then his pecuniary worries will be over
When he wins ye olde Midweek Lotto”

Tones (ecstatically): Wyatt!! You beaudy!!! Again, I can’t recall off-hand the reference for that one, but my old mate Nostradamus has predicted I’m going to be rich and won’t have to worry about my great big fat mortgage any more!! Yippee!! Now...read me a few from the large chaff bag, Wyatt – I’ll have lots to pass on to Shanners so he can do his usual spin-job at The Oz...heh...heh...

[As commanded, Wyatt takes out one of the hundreds of pieces of paper from the large chaff bag and reads it over quietly to himself.]

Wyatt: Erm...Tones...I don’t think you want to hear this prediction...Jeeze, old Nosters must have had a bad hangover when he wrote this one...

[Wyatt pulls out verse after verse, but they are all of a similar theme. Meanwhile, Tones is getting agitated and orders Wyatt to read one so that he can make up his own mind as to whether they are useful or not.]

Wyatt: Righto, Tones...but don’t say I didn’t warn you:

“In the dark era when the black rocks are levied
They say the place Whyalla will disappear off the map
But, to the words of he-who-says-no pay no heed
As, per usual, what he’s spouting is pure unadulterated crap”

Tones: Erm...thanks for nothing, Wyatt...I think we’ll give that one to Barnaby to use as toilet paper after he’s gone through all the Productivity Commission Reports...

Wyatt: Oh, here’s another one, Tones...however, it’s just as crappy as the others:

“The meat of the sea will be in grave danger
But not due to the loathsome levy
Rather by the contagious death-kiss of the budgied stranger
Upon his conscience the blame will lie heavy.”



Tones: Erm...Wyatt...aren’t there any positive ones at all in the big chaff bag?

[There is a long pause, as Wyatt thumbs through as many of the quatrains as he can.]

Wyatt: Nope...actually, those two I read were probably the best ones...you should see the ones that allude to what Malcolm Turnbull is going to do to you when he gets the leadership back – they make your blood pledge inflicted by a blunt hatchet look like a paper-cut...heh...heh...

Tones: Righto, Wyatt...you can come down now...and just leave those bags of crap where they are – I never liked scripted remarks anyway...hee...hee...

[By this stage, the Sun is coming up, so Tones orders Wyatt to mount up and off they go, attempting to narrow the gap between themselves and the stragglers at the back of the Tour de France.

Meanwhile, Jooles and Tim are up early and enjoying a nice breakfast at their hotel. In fluent French, Tim has ordered the local speciality of freshly-baked croissants, and Jooles some cereal.]

Tim: Well, darl...what sort of a day do you “predict” we will have...hee...hee...

Jooles: Yeah...I wonder how Tones is getting on with the “predictions” we concocted and deposited in the chimney...Maybe he’ll hand them over to WikiLeaks for publication...heh...heh...

Tim: By the way, darl...you not having croissants?

Jooles: Nah...it’s Weet-Bix for me – in spite of Tones’ scare campaign, I “predict” good sales for them and a rosy future under my government...Bon appétit, Timbo...



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Catching up

11/11/2011Thanks for the well thought out article.

Lyn

11/11/2011Hi Acerbic Conehead You are wonderful, thankyou for giving your time to us on TPS, your words are an absolute delight. [i]Prefabricted Predictions[/i], I wish Tony Abbott would just Shut Up. looking promising, I heard someone say" Tony Abbott has softened his tone" Cheers:):):):):):)

Ad astra reply

11/11/2011AC Thank you for another most enjoyable piece of satire. It seems as if Tiny Abbott's predictions are proving elusive. He's no Nostradamus but will go on thinking he is, particularly if his sycophants keep telling him he is. He needs a big dose of reality, and from the recent murmurings in the MSM he may soon get just that, even from past admirers.

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011Oh well a new article up before I was able to save this comment: Excuse me AC if I interrupt and before I read your latest. psyclaw @ 2:41 PM [i](on the previous post)[/i] can't disagree with anything you wrote. Even some journos are saying similar. Witness this opinion piece by Lenore Taylor @ the National Times [b]At long last, Julia Gillard is marching to the beat of her own drum[/b] http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/at-long-last-julia-gillard-is-marching-to-the-beat-of-her-own-drum-20111110-1n9jp.html [i]... it was the Prime Minister again on the offensive and on safe ground, advocating the fairness of her industrial legislation and her own commitment to equal pay for women and the values she claims for the Labor Party. In fact she's been on the offensive for most of the time since the Qantas dispute, with the trip to the G20, the government gaining ground in the debate over the mining tax, the passage of carbon pricing bills, the opinion polls inching up and and both interest rates and unemployment heading down.[/i] One of the points of the Brent piece and, comments by myself and others way back when, is that, it seems, every presser, every interview the PM and various ministers talk about the leader of the opposition and refer to him by name. There seems to be an almost 'lovey dovey' obsession with the person that is the leader of the opposition. Using a bit of selective sampling (only because I read the article shortly after posting my comment @ 12:33) I offer a report that has quotes from Mr Swan. Before we go to it I fully acknowledge that a) it is from a News Ltd website and b) it is about the leader of the oppositions gyrations, second thoughts and turnarounds re loans to the IMF so some mention of loto by name may just be acceptable. [b]Tony Abbott changing position after 'a week and a trip to London' says Wayne Swan[/b] Macolm Farr @ news.com.au http://www.news.com.au/business/abbott-changing-position-after-a-week-and-a-trip-to-london-says-swan/story-e6frfm1i-1226192676009#ixzz1dO6qNibS In a short article there are nine sentences directly quoting Mr Swan where he mentions by name Abbott five times, Hockey three times as well as Howard and Costello twice each. For crying out freaking loud, is it any wonder sometimes we could mistake the PM and various ministers for Liberal Party PR flaks. They get Abbotts name out on the airwaves and into print more often the combined forces of the entire fleet of opposition press secretaries is capable of. Memo PM and all Labor members: [i]Give Mr Abbott what he deserves ignore him, don't talk about him, stop overestimating him[/i]

2353

11/11/2011DMW - Ignore it and it goes away? It can't be that simple!

2353

11/11/2011Ignore the loto that is - not DMW.

D Mick Weir

11/11/20112353, no it ain't that simple. However, think about buying say, a new car, you go to the Holden showroom and the salesman starts bagging Fords emphasising what he says are the 'bad things' about Fords. Most people would start to think 'Why is he bagging Fords and not telling me about Holdens good points, maybe there is something good about Fords I might just go have a look.' By constantly mentioning the oppostion leader people could think maybe there is something 'positive' about the opposition that the government is afraid of, maybe Abbott has the potential to be PM lets have a look and see. Mind you any self respecting and discerning person would shudder when they took a close look but that is another story as most don't have the time or inclination at this point in the electoral cycle but because 'everyone' is talking about him it becomes easy to believe he has substance. Granted there are still some in the media whoe are still enamoured of the guy but the government does itself no favours by being apparently obsessed with him and giving him lots of free publicity.

D Mick Weir

11/11/2011Hmm, it has just occured to me that is near as dammit two years since the current leader of the opposition was installed. Bloomin heck his 'honeymoon peroid' only now seems to be (very slowly) ending and the PM's seemed to last barely two weeks. You'd think though a government with its' act together would have the measure of the opposition leader by now but I don't see many signs of it. Guess I will have to get out my Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass and have a closer look.

psyclaw

12/11/2011DMW I don't need a magnifying glass or hearing aids to glean the positive signs that the government does have Abbott the fool's measure Some signs are the polls, the much more positive media performance by JG and Ministers, the absence of the fool Abbott from interviews, the growing incidence of statement stuff ups by opposition shadows (eg Hockey, Hunt), and a surprising increase in anti Abbott ie pro JG articles by News (like in your last link). Of course when asked any policy question, government speakers will take opportunity to reference that Abbott is a policy vacuum .... this is applicable in every policy area by every Minister.. It is their obligation to compare Labor's somethings with Abbott's nothings. But if you watch carefully, minimal time is devoted to this. In an interview by Laws this week, Greg Combet made only a one sentence reference to Abbott when Laws criticised the ETS policy. The remaining 10 minutes were comprised of GC calmly and briefly and firmly refuting Laws's "anti-" assertions, and talking positively about the ETS, what it is, and why it's needed. I'm trying to be calm and not promote any false confidence, but my gut has been strongly suggesting for a few weeks that we are witnessing the start of Abbott's demise right now. And I think the long Christmas break when politics quietens a bit will deprive him of oxygen for his second wind. The other factor to JG's benefit is that the faceless men of the Colonition are surely sitting and watching this unfold. They'll have much food and time for thought over the long break.

Gravel

12/11/2011Acerbic Conehead Again my Saturday has started with a huge belly laugh, thank you. Patricia Happy birthday for yesterday. Hope you had a nice relaxing time and were spoilt to the heavens. Nas Thanks for the info on what is happening in England, and all your other international stuff. I hope we get some reporting of the 'do' in Hawaii, but I guess we won't as it might show Julia in another good light. D Mick Weir Out of left field, but you wouldn't have been bred in Moe, Vic, would you? It has just occurred to me I have a cousin of the same name, except he uses his D name.

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011Morning All, psyclaw @ 12:18AM I have the good fortune of not hearing Mr Laws pontificate so didn't hear that Combet interview. Yes there are signs of a turnaround and a growing confidence in the PM and, for mine, confirmation will come when the mention of anything to do with the opposition is not: [i]Mr Abbott is (this or that) ... and Mr Abbott says (blah, blah, blah) ... of course Mr Abbott can do what he likes ...[/i] but becomes [i]the opposition opposes for the sake of opposing ... the opposition leaders' policy vacum is similar to the vacum between his ears ...[/i] and when asked about Mr Abbott the response becomes something like [i]Tony who?[/i] A couple of interesting bits have come in overnight that do indicate change in a strange way: [i]"On the face of this comparative performance, Australia has serious bragging rights, ... Compared to most developed countries, our economic circumstances are enviable."[/i] You might think that Wayne Swan or the PM uttered those words but no, they fell from the mouth of the leader of the oppostion speaking in London. (source below) There is an arrow to put in the quiver to shoot later not at [b]Mr Abbott[/b] but at [i]the opposition leader[/i]. Your comment about the oppositions backroom operatives rethinking gains more currency with this snippet: [i]"I think we need to reconsider where we are over Christmas," a prominent Liberal MP said yesterday. "What we've been doing might not continue to work as well as it has. We need some recalibration."[/i] The bit from [i]the loto's[/i] speech and the above quote can be found here: [b]Gillard gaining stature with Obama's visit[/b] Laurie Oakes @ the Herald Sun http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/gillard-gaining-stature-with-obamas-visit/story-fn56baaq-1226193141843 Strange days indeed.

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011Hi Gravel, Although I have visited Moe, even worked around those parts a little I don't hail from there although there are some family connections to the Gippsland area. My paternal grandfather was a minister of the cloth around those parts a long time ago, but to the best of my knowledge I have no relatives of the same family name in the area. Gravel, now you have me wondering about what my grandfather or possibly my father may have gotten up to that I don't know about.

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011Tony's there in Europe, eh, Along with Wyatt Roy. It's just 'lesser of two weevils', but The better man's the boy! But there's Wyatt up the chimney, The house is full of smoke - May Wyatt scorch his bottom! And Tone, I hope you choke! :) Thanks Acerbic Conehead ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't believe that Wilkie will vote against the MRRT, does anybody? I have more faith in his intelligence and his integrity than to think that, for personal reasons such as the [i]dubious [/i]electoral gain he might hope to receive for stymying the Government on this critical legislation, he would sacrifice his reputation for intelligence and integrity forevermore, when he is in a position to help the nation forevermore instead. I do think he has a right to huff and puff but it [i]can't[/i] be more than bluff, the best sort really, he's done it very well and it's his best shot at getting his demands too, and basically I'll have what he's having as far as his stand on gambling is concerned. Good on Wilkie, I think he is quite courageous, and conscientious to a fault, indeed that might be his biggest fault. He really seems to be a loner, I don't blame him neither, he has his reasons. His threats are a bit blackmaily but in his defence I'd agree there's a common evil to be fought against gambling addiction and he is using every lever at his disposal, and of course he has a huge one - but it's like an atomic bomb, he dare not use it. The fact that he has it means he can threaten to, but he mustn't and he knows it. [i]It could mean civil war to do that[/i]. It could bring the Government down, well the unions wouldn't wear it and neither they should, because this land is our land to the extent that it doesn't just belong to those who sell it, Piggy Twiggy and Rindlard would and that Hippopotaman from Queensland, (Palmer isn't it? . . . Yeah probly :)), they all already reckon there's two too many to be sharing the lode, each wants it all to itself. They are very ugly these pigpeople, and if they are successful in pulling a war on the People, well we'll talk about that later but we should think about it now. But Wilkie mustn't do that to this country. he knows, he must know that the government is doing beyond well, (Crikey is it only me who reckons it's doing FANTASTICALLY?), but in any case it's doing its best, no he can't do it. Good try, but. BTW he has said he wouldn't vote [i]against[/i] the Government (I think I remember, is that right?) But he has I think reserved the right to abstain, and that would cause a crisis but not necessarily brong down the Government, is that right too? Harry'd have to step down from the Chair, Slipper'd have to slip in, Oh it'd be horrible but, oh wotthehell Archie, not gonna happen. In Dog I trust. Happy weekend Swordsfolks. I hope everyone feels as sanguine as I do about the state of political play. We have had a great fortnight since QANTAS - er is that [i]Qantastic?[/i] Thank you Joyce Two.

Lyn

12/11/2011Good Morning Ad & Everybody So this is why Abbott is in the UK, Howard was doing a speech See the report saying The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott [b]is also[/b] attending the meeting, as though [b]"What a coincidence"[/b] [i]Breaking News News Com [/i] John Howard cancels Oxford Union speech FORMER prime minister [b]John Howard has withdrawn [/b]from a speaking engagement at one of the world's most prestigious debating societies. [b]Mr Howard, 72, was due to address the Oxford Union [/b]at Oxford University on Monday evening, but pulled out this week Mr Howard has been in London for a meeting of the International Democratic Union, of which he is chair. [b]Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is also attending the meeting, which is being hosted by Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron[/b]. Mr Howard declined to expand on why he had to return to Australia from the UK sooner than expected. http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/john-howard-cancels-oxford-union-speech/story-e6frfku0-1226193120813#ixzz1dQpRE100 @ThefinnigansTheFinnigans天地有道人无道 [Howard cancels Oxford Union speech & returns to OZ] - #LIbSpill is on. Especially after Abbott got confused between 10 and 11 #auspol Cheers:):):):):):):)

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011Good Morning Swordsters and Funsters! Firstly, thank you to AcerbicC. for a belly laugh, and tinnitus from that Judas Priest song. ;-) All I can hope is that post-2013, Tony and Wyatt get the chance to take that trip to France, and maybe get lost along the way while they're at it. I don't think the parliament will miss either of their contributions one iota. Now, as to the 'Do we, or don't we, continue to mention the name of the LOTO?' debate, well, I actually fall on the other side of the fence because I believe that it is not whether you mention him by name, but how you contextualise the mention of the man. If you can paint him in a poor light which has it's basis in reality, then that serves him up to the electorate for continual consideration on the merits, or lack thereof, of the continually-shifting sands of his positions. That needs to be constantly highlighted, and you can't count on the media to do that job honestly. Well, ~70% of it anyway. :) Also, he's not going to go away, he no doubt has publicity opportunities mapped out from here to breakfast time, and on to the next election. I mean, what else has he got to do, he shrinks from valid policy development like a vampire shrinks from the light? Therefore, as the government have been doing, the job of casually dismissing his antics and vacuousness should not be shied away from. It seems to have worked pretty well so far. Of course, it should not be a central focus. However, if it stops altogether, then the media and the Opposition will just gang up together and start the old 'Running Scared' mantra. As if, but, you know, give 'em an inch.

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011OK, that's it, I hate Julia for eva! She has gotten as close to President Obama as I wanted to, and I can't because he's only going to bleedin' Darwin and Canberra. :( ;-)

Ad astra reply

12/11/2011Hi Lyn, FS, DMW, TT, 2353, psyclaw, Gravel Thank you all for your overnight comments and links. The pro-Gillard, anti-Abbott trend continues. This may just be straws in the wind, but aren’t they nice. I hear this morning Andrew Robb, no doubt stung by being left out of the discussion about retaining the superannuation provisions of the minerals tax, asserting that the retention of super increases will be retained in Coalition policy ONLY if savings can be made, and he added that that applied to all Coalition promises. I suspect he and Joe Hockey are having great difficulties in finding savings. Even Tiny Abbott’s reversal on the IMF issue is attracting MSM attention, whereas previously it ‘forgave’ him his economics indiscretions. Are we seeing a slow burn of Abbott from an MSM previously unwilling to castigate him? Are they realizing they have backed the wrong horse? He was at good odds of winning a sprint, but he’s in a long race, a Melbourne Cup, where only the stayers win. PM Gillard is a classic stayer; LOTO Abbott is not. And wasn’t that a lovely photo of Julia Gillard and Barack Obama heading Laurie Oakes article? http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/gillard-gaining-stature-with-obamas-visit/story-fn56baaq-1226193141843

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011Talk Turkey, As far as I understand it, a flea called 'Tony Crook' has gotten in the ear of Andrew Wilkie about the so-called 'Minor Miners' and Andrew thus wants to raise the cap at which the MRRT cuts in. Poor Millionaires! They so want to be able to grow up and become Billionaires, and this naughty government is hobbling them. :( Anyway, I'm sure that a suitable compromise will be worked out because that's what the PM is best at. She got the Greenies and the Loggers in Tasmania to kiss and make up after all.

nasking

12/11/2011Good stuff AC. Apart from some highly influential connections & backers, Abbott like Howard has stamina. And like Howard he's a boring git. Both enjoy wearing down their opponents. They're like those boring insurance ads that keep poppin' up. They become a constant. Eventually people give-in. However, as this is a time of transition...and Abbott comes across like the antithesis of change due to his Dr. No approach & links to the [i]old guard Liberals [/i] & old-time religion...it is more than likely he will be dumped in the next few mths to make way for someone more revolutionary & appealing. But he'll attempt to come back. The comeback kid...like some aged boxer. Abbott doesn't like to lose. His sense of well-being rides on believing he will overcome...that the masses will oneday applaud his wisdom & glorious being...realise they need to be saved from the dreaded neo-commies & femolesbian barbarians...will recognise the light that shines on him... he's invested a great deal of himself into this game...and is convinced he will be the ultimate winner...it's his destiny. Tho, the wry humour & self-deprecation now & then exposes a chink in the loony armour where sanity & rational thinking sneak in. The problem for Abbott is he doesn't have the patience of Howard...and consequently will use extreme & devious maneuvers to undermine both the PM & the leader who takes his place (no kidding)... possibly & once again, destabilising a finely balanced economy...creating uncertainty in his own party...and dragging Australia into yet another unnecessary culture war at a time when the focus needs to be gettin' on w/ the job of helpin' to future improve this country as part of an increasingly interconnected global system. Abbott is a [i]distraction & doubt creator [/i]of the worst kind...addicted to seeking attention regardless of the cost to the country...promoting fear & paralysis & knee-jerk reactions (think Coalition's inconsistent & black hole policies & costings as an example)... rather than encouraging rational, sensible caution. And a weathervane searching for popular approval...wanting to be liked...yet driven by a sense of dislike - fleeing to the UK an excuse to avoid scrutiny of his own party & public & an attempt to avoid criticism, as he has come to expect...the long bike rides & trips out to bush can serve a similar function. Not healthy...in fact, potentially dangerous when unleashed upon a nation if that individual is provided the opportunity to govern (catering to the worst excesses of the anti-carbon price revolters a case in point). Yes, Abbott can be charming in that oddball rogue fashon...but it's mostly calculated...used to create allies, make inroads, contacts...an opportunity to sell a point...often a negative one...critical of opponents...unrelentingly... and so in the PM role the underlying bitterness, resentment, vitriol & sense of divine right would bubble to the surface...leading to problematic less than democratic decisions... add sleep deprivation based on the perception that enemies lurk in every corner (a characteristic paranoia of the Machiavellian, strategy/tactics devising overtime type character who is not comfortable in their own shoes)...and the fact a rigorous exercise regime cannot be kept up consistently to burn off anxiety & doubts due to the 24hr & unpredictable demands of the job. Abbott has had plenty of opportunities to morally develop & reflect over the years...yet there exists a stubborn pattern of behaviour based on unresolved issues & contradictions in his personality that have yet to be resolved...and/or at least be tamed...perhaps mutated/transformed into somethin' less negative. This country/nation cannot afford to spend valuable time & effort coping w/ & dealing w/ the consequences of Tony Abbott's ongoin' catharsis. I recommend an alternative career & a therapist. And quality time w/ his supportive family. And lengthy trips to soak up other cultures, including alternative beliefs & varied theological practices. I see the potential to be an accomplished writer & philosopher. N'

nasking

12/11/2011[quote]The Greek people are some of the greatest tax evaders in Europe. They may be rioting in the streets, but that's because Papandreou was attempting to make his people pay their way and contribute to the largesse that they had come to expect as their birthright. [/quote] Feral, I agree that Greece has a revenue gathering, accumulation problem...but the riots were/are caused by many more factors than people coming out on the streets because they are unhappy about increased taxes. See: [b]2010–2011 Greek protests[/b] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Greek_protests and: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Democracy_Now! They have plenty to be pissed about. Furthermore, havin' lived & worked in Greece for a few mths I question the wisdom of changing the country's more laid back & agrarian aspect in some areas as it contributes to the restoration & relaxation of many workers across Europe...and elsewhere. Knee-jerk modernisation can lead to social isolation, increased stress, increased family breakdown & further waste...undermining natural, cultural charms & relying more on gambling, prostitution, corporate low pay resorts & over-the-top advertised sports in order to attract tourists, clientele which will become corrosive & unsustainable in the long run. The Greeks certainly could use more useful technology...and exponential growth in the empowerment of women...but it essential they do not lose aspects of their natural & cultural heritage that attracts tourists & makes the place unique in a mad dash to fix yet fully exposed socio-economic problems. I can imagine the Olympics also had some deletarious effects on the country & economy...that are still bein' investigated. And the odd positive. Considering its history, Greece has great potential...provided that history is preserved & maintained by artisans, archivists, architects & other experts...rather than con artists out for a buck...or bein' devestated by shonky developers. N'

Bring Back Maxine

12/11/2011AC Your best yet! With all the backflips and inconsistencies lately of Abbott being reported by the MSM, I can feel "in my waters" another AC masterpiece coming, maybe on the lines of Cheech & Chong. ;) [quote][i]THE Opposition's most serious problem is that its own inconsistencies are becoming increasingly apparent as some of the pressure comes off Labor. There was an example overnight when Abbott delivered a major speech in London comparing Australia's economic situation with that of Britain, the US and major European nations, emphasising our low level of government debt - 8 per cent of GDP compared with 73 per cent in Britain and the US and 100 per cent in Italy. "On the face of this comparative performance, Australia has serious bragging rights," Abbott said. "Compared to most developed countries, our economic circumstances are enviable." This from an Opposition Leader who has been proclaiming economic gloom and doom himself, whose shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, described our debt level at Budget time as "a mountain to climb" and whose Nationals mate, Barnaby Joyce, claims our gross debt is "tearing through the roof" and warns: "We are getting to a point where we can't repay i[/quote]t."[/i] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/gillard-gaining-stature-with-obamas-visit/story-fn56baaq-1226193141843

Bring Back Maxine

12/11/2011AC Following from the above, I can't get out of my mind, Tony Abbott's political career going "Up in Smoke" as he and Barnaby Joyce wonder around the country trying to score a decent of policies.....

Patricia WA

12/11/2011Hello everyone and thanks for to you all for the lovely greetings here and by email. I did indeed have a lovely day, AC. My grandson, Jacob, who is twelve, gave me a goldfish in a lovely round bowl for which I warmly thanked him but I must say it immediately had me conflicted! You know, worried about its welfare alone in that bowl, as well as its utility. (Futility comes to mind there!) But having placed the bowl on the right hand corner of my desk with sun beams striking through water and glass, reflecting trees and sky from my wall of windows I am astounded by its beauty and color along with the enhanced and varying shapes of Ferdinand my fish as he floats around his rock home flaunting gills and graceful tail. Does anyone know about ensuring the comfort and safety of fish in goldfish bowls? Sheba is eyeing him. I've chased her off the desk a few times while writing these few lines here for TT in reply to his birthday poem. [b]Let's Talk Turkey![/b] Monsieur Dindon! It's you who's spot on When making fun With appropriate pun Or witty [i]bons mots[/i] On the L.O.T.O. I’ve seen a lot worse Satirical verse Than yours and mine. Who says it always has to rhyme?

nasking

12/11/2011[quote]Not to mention the other GOP Presidential hopefuls, who are truly off the Reservation, such as Ron Paul, Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry. And it filters all the way down through society. Just today I was shown a video about the Insane Clown Posse and their followers, the Juggalos and Juggalettes, by one of my sons. Wow![/quote] Feral, I agree in regard to the "filtering" aspect. Unfortunately, a country that has had its necessary transition to a more sustainable future impeded by ongoin' war demands, battles between competing corporate message providers, excessive & democracy corroding lobbying of the political & judicial spheres, a resurgence of civil war grievances & antagonisms for naked political purposes and partially in response to an irrational fear of invasion based on changes in demographics... means that uncertainty & confusion & frustration creeps in to the various states and gives an understandable perception that "everything is broken"... the need by some power groups in America to prove themselves as the great military power capable of promoting freedom across the world in an attempt to mobilise & unite the public for both profiteering & security reasons unfortunately combined w/ the global perception that America was already an opportunistic, "plastic food for plastic people" intrusive economic empire takin' advantage/expoloitin' its neighbours...a view not undeserved...has not helped. A view held by many internally who revolt, protest, gripe & seed doubt & conspiracy theories on a constant basis...or just fall prey to corporate promoted trash & escapism... the sense of there bein' little integrity on any level of government, corporations & the judicial system leads to mass cynicism feeding into the wild west, libertarian, frontiersman, individualist over the collective myth-structure... complicated by the turning to religion by many of the poor...and exploited by the powerful based on a potentially useful secular education system constantly undermined by competing interests who benefit politically & financially from people being attracted to more narrowly defined & constructed groups. The wide thinking round individual can be far too unpredictable to earn easy bucks from. Unfortunately, the overly-competitive aspect of America, survival of the fittest, rugged & self-sustaining individual, laissez-faire economics-driven...has partially been pushed into over-drive due to a lack of safety nets in some states...or the volatile existence of such due to constant changes or sense of impending change due to an obsession w/ voting on [i]propositions[/i]. The resulting insecurity & sense of "insider corruption & influence" combined w/ the negative perceptions of outsiders & the sense of constant drama & upheaval (think Vietnam war, Nixon, assassinations, controversial Gore vs Bush election, Iraq War etc.) has led to an addiction by media corporations, politicians & other corporate & public figures to promote themselves as an ONGOING SAGA/SHOW in order to garner attention, reap the benefits, and SELL themselves as a nation. Tho, some might refer to "the chicken & the egg" bit here. Unfortunately, many of us have become addicted to this GREATEST GROTESQUE SHOW ON EARTH...and are awaitin' the conclusion of the series...expecting an implosion...or explosion. The downfall of the once great & mighty empire...in all its glory & kookiness. However, I believe that America will get sane again...and ratchet down the DRAMA. As other countries come more into FOCUS for the global public...and we recognise the uniqueness of each... and recognise that America cannot afford to play the main defensive & offensive roles for many of us any longer...if it is to get its own house in order. It's time for the rest of us to do more heavy lifting...even if that means shifting to more diplomacy & trade and less reliance on expensive, oft unnecessary military equipment. It's time the world grew up. That goes for Iran too. America has many millions of well-educated, courageous & capable people...and its history in the areas of education & training, sciences & technology (including computers & internet), environmental preservation, film & television, music, art, transportation, architecture, food production & seed preservation, manufacturing & bi-partisan politics indicates that its potential to be a positive contributor to global growth & development far & away exceeds the negatives... provided it remains more consistent, less dramatic, less hyped, more unified in purpose, provides a fairer-go for all of its contributers, recalls the healing rather than the divisions & past antagonisms... and provides respect for all...whilst recognising that freedom of speech should not mean freedom to create chaos for the express purpose of profiteering for THE FEW at the expense of THE MANY... and recognising that in a world that is billions of years old w/ a history of ever-changing borders & demographics & fluid cultures...that the Constitution etc. drawn up by a group of men [i]way back when [/i]can be a guide to democracy & laws like many other texts & lifestyles... but should not be considered the BE ALL & END ALL. America is part of an ever-evolvin' human race...that needs to respect the fact that other species are & should be permitted to do same. N'

nasking

12/11/2011Good morning Lyn...always nice to read yer pleasant greetings...and go thru yer links. Morning Feral & Ad & TT...and others. Patricia, I'm glad you had quality time on yer b'day. If I seem a bit stiff & distant & less humorous of late it's due to havin' a great deal on my mind right now. I do get extremely annoyed when I see world heritage areas put at risk, observe voracious greed...havin' lived in Nth. America for a decade I have a pretty good idea of what these sods can get away w/ usin' the "resources will run short" & "its in the public good" excuses/blackmail. And S' has more tests comin' up on Tuesday...will take a few days for the results. I'd say "fingers crossed" but for it bein' a load of nonsense. Perhaps "claws crossed" will help. :) [quote]Thanks for the info on what is happening in England, and all your other international stuff. I hope we get some reporting of the 'do' in Hawaii, but I guess we won't as it might show Julia in another good light.[/quote] Gravel, yer welcome. Thanx for yer useful contributions & support. You might find this worthwhile...it's a fairly positive assessment of the government & PM Gillard's achievements the past week: [b]A week that might make a difference[/b] BY CHRIS JOHNSON, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT 12 Nov, 2011 04:00 AM The Canberra Times.com [quote]The fact he was overseas at the time, however - and on his way to meet with political mates - allowed the Government to portray Abbott as a leader fleeing the country to avoid the embarrassment of defeat. On the flip side, Gillard has used her foreign sojourns of late to her advantage. Could it be that the Prime Minister has grown to love the international relations component of her job description? As a new PM last year, Gillard confessed while attending the Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels that she would rather spend her time watching kids learning to read in Australia. Since then she has attended numerous multilateral meetings, held countless bilaterals, addressed the United States Congress and had her share of policy wins and bungles in the foreign affairs arena. Whether Gillard is enjoying it more or not is a moot point, but she certainly appears at ease mixing it up with world leaders of differing political persuasions and flying the flag for Australia. What we have seen from the Prime Minister over the past few weeks is that she is able to juggle the demands of domestic politics while also serving Australia's interests on the global stage.[/quote] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/a-week-that-might-make-a-difference/2355820.aspx?storypage=0 I'm off for some food...and gardening...and later looking into Iran's predicament...in many ways self-made. N'

Ad astra reply

12/11/2011Nasking Thank you for your careful psychological analysis of Tony Abbott. You attribute to him the gift of stamina, which is “The ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort”. He has certainly shown himself to have the former, but I question his mental stamina. Look at his political performance: short slogans, short bursts of activity, short appearances in a variety of locations: factories, mines, shops; riding horses or dune buggies, cutting meat or kissing fish. Even in QT he operates in short bursts full of invective. Politically, the man is a sprinter. When the going gets tough in pressers, he quits. As a boxer he was in for the quick knockout. I do not see him as a stayer politically, capable of the long, tiring race on any political issue. Contrast that with Julia Gillard who has shown herself to be a stayer, able to see the course through until she reaches the finishing line. She doesn’t always win, but she finishes. My assessment of his character is that he will be shown to be unable to sustain a long political battle. He has opposed everything but has won nothing. He has gone up in the polls on the back snappy slogans, stirring fear, uncertainty and doubt, and at times anger, aided by his MSM mates and shock jocks. But to maintain that angst for the next two years is a big ask. Meanwhile Julia Gillard gallops on steadily and determinedly towards the winning post. If the political contest was a sprint, if it lasted only a year, Abbott would have likely won. But it looks like a much longer race than that, and despite his physical stamina, I doubt if Abbott has the mental stamina to convincingly argue his case on the many political issues that beset Julia Gillard day after day. He is all over the place; his inconsistency is now an unattractive attribute discussed increasingly in the MSM, and is more and more irritating his colleagues and supporters. With the criticism that is now coming his way, with his backers urging him to change course and get the outside running with half decent policies, he is finding the going tough. He prefers the rails where can take the shortest track and where the running is easiest. I believe he will be unable to take the outside running in the long race – it is too long a track for him, too exhausting, too far to the finishing post.

Ad astra reply

12/11/2011Patricia WA It’s good to read about your very happy birthday. To use an old saying: many happy returns Bring Back Maxine Don’t you marvel at Tiny Abbott’s inconsistency – he bags the economy and the Government managing it, every day when he’s here, but claims ‘bragging rights’ about how good it is when he’s overseas. Of course he would be seen as a fool by leaders in the UK if he spoke of doom and gloom when commenting on our economy, which they regard as an ideal to which they aspire. Nasking What an asset you are to this site with your comments on matters in other countries. Thank you.

Patricia WA

12/11/2011AC, I loved your spoof. I did think you were going to have Tony's offsider called Wyatt Earp, which is how I always think of our youngest MP. That name cries out for elision, or a rhyme. The little twerp! 'N - I read that Laurie Oakes article in the early hours, before going to bed, too tired to comment then. The thing that annoys me about all this turning of the tide, or is it shifting sands, in the media is that they cannot see that Julia Gillard has not [i]suddenly[/i] 'hit her stride' and learned how to become Prime Ministerly. She's been like that almost from Day 1 of the Hung Parliament. That's why the Independents supported her and not the other one. As well, the idea that she was given a gift by Alan Joyce and so able to work with her strengths and start to develop an 'overarching narrative' is a load of bollocks! I thought that phrase from Keating was a sign of his particular Achilles heel - hubris and an unwillingness to concede the great talent of a woman whose tenure might easily exceed his own in length and achievement. It's been clear all along from her legislative agenda and achievements that Julia Gillard's narrative and her primary concerns are traditional Labor ones; education and the opportunities for employment which come with a strong economy. Equity and social cohesion concerns are clearly expressed in the way her taxation reforms are framed within the mining and clean energy legislation. Has she suddenly invented a whole new narrative, seemingly overnight while busy with the Queen, CHOGM and the G20? Laurie Oakes' talks about the need for [i]recalibration[/i] by the LOTO, now that the PM has suddenly found her feet, hit her stride, whatever. For me it all smacks of recalibration of their own narrative by Oakes and others in the media. How else can they explain their [i]volte face[/i]to themselves and their readers? It's so sudden in most of them it smacks to me of direction from above.

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011Ad Astra, I think your analysis of Tony Abbott being one for the short sprint, as opposed to the long 2-Miler Horse Race, is apt. However, what I find interesting is that, in the way that he likes to portray himself as the Everyman, he keeps maintaining his will to complete marathon efforts, so as to show that he is also capable of the concentration and fitness required for a concerted focus. Of course, the allegory is with politics. Though what is interesting to note is that he appears to be straying into the realm of a Kevin Rudd, if political comparisons must be made. That is, if his effort last weekend at Port Macquarie are any guide, where he competed in the Marathom again, but struggled to complete it as 'manfully' as he would have wished, due to the fact he had been sick for 3 weeks, so he said. Thus, like Kevin Rudd, he is the sort of male who keeps pushing his body and mind to the limits(well, the mind, for what it is worth, as can be seen from his quick turnaround after the 2007 defeat to write 'Battlelines', for what that was worth). As many were wont to comment about Kevin Rudd at the time, he survived on only ~4 hours sleep a night, as he wanted to be all things to each and every citizen in Australia, and when he was on the world stage, he wanted to dominate that as well. You get the impression that Tony Abbott has the same sort of drive, he wants to be everybody's best mate. Which is an apt metaphor because, as has been commented elsewhere, he simply doesn't seem to have what it takes to organise his Coalition around a policy goal. The fine detail appears to bore him. Unlike Kevin, who revels in the minutiae of each and every portfolio area in government. Tony Abbott is more your 'Big Picture' kind of guy, good with the thematics. However, what we have all come to realise post Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, is that you need to be both good with the thematics and the fine detail, but not let yourself get bogged down in either. Like our Prime Minister, who has shown both of those men how it should be done. :D

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011Nasking, I second that emotion from Ad Astra about your contributions here. Your writing has a verve and a swagger and a breadth of experience and knowledge that all comes together in an entertaining whole which allows the site to flow along and pick up detritus from the other areas of the political river that we swim in. It would be a much more stagnant pons without you. Not to forget to mention all the wide variety of other contributors, such as PatriciaWA, Talk Turkey, NormanK, D Mick Weir, Bring Back Maxine, Jason, janice, jane,lyn,gravel, psyclaw, jaeger, Casablanca, 2353, and the garrulous, Acerbic Conehead. And, yes, even the likes of jj, Sir Ian Crisp and Tom of Melbourne, contributors who serve the purpose of sharpening stones. :) If we don't win the Wonkley then it must be rigged! (Actually, Ash Ghebranious is giving us a run for our money, just quietly. He's a one man blogging machine!)

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Nasking I am too late now for Good Morning, but a hearty Good Afternoon to you. It is always lovely to see & read your posts, you know we all enjoy your work, thankyou Nasking. Wonder if Abbott is going to return to Australia to destroy the peace, now that his idol Howard has jumped ship. Woops no, just found out, Abbott couldn't leave without telling everyone how bad the Australian Government is: Sickening don't read please ThefinnigansTheFinnigans天地有道人无道 Tony Abbott speech at the International Democrat Union Leaders Meeting, London made Rick Perry looks coherent http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/LatestNews/Speeches/tabid/88/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/8447/Remarks-at-the-International-Democrat-Union-Leaders-Meeting-London.aspx #auspol [quote]One of the things that we will focus on should we form a government is reducing the extraordinary waste that we now see in Australian national government outlays. I just want to mention three programmes before I sit down. [b]The current government had a programme for putting roof batts into peoples' houses[/b], allegedly to reduce emissions as part of a climate change initiative. The programme was supposed to cost $2 billion. It was suspended after the spending of $1 billion because these roof batts were catching fire in peoples' roofs because they had been so incompetently installed [/quote] Just to give you one final example of waste on the part of the current government, the Australian national parliament sold two billiard tables for $5,000 - an unremarkable event you would think. The current Labor Government then spent $102,500 investigating whether these tables had been sold for the correct price. [i]So delegates, [b]an extraordinarily wasteful government [/b]and our mission should we be elected is to bring once more fiscal responsibility to the affairs of the Commonwealth. That is the best thing that we believe we can do to strengthen freedom and democracy in our country[/i]. Cheers:):):):):):):)

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011lyn, Remind me how much Malcolm Turnbull paid his best mate for information on Cloud Seeding to break the drought, which was broken soon after by the El Nino naturally turning to a La Nina and causing the biggest floods around the nation for ages? Also, how much will Tony Abbott waste doing his inane repealing of law? Even if what he says is correct about the Billiard Tables, then it will still be nothing in comparison to these efforts on the Coalition's behalf. Not to mention the $350 Billion John Howard splashed against the wall from Mining Boom #1.

Catey

12/11/2011That speech is almost as hilarious as AC's Prefabricated Predictions. I sometimes wonder how AC keeps it coming - not so with Tony. He just opens his mouth and out it sp--s. On other points - I agree with DMW that Labor can now stop mentioning Tony Abbott's name in every interview. I understand why they began to criticise him at every opportunity, after all the media let him get away unquestioned for the longest honeymoon period ever. Labor now needs to let the media take over with the analysis and start to sell their own message. I buy the Weekend Australian every Saturday and feel positively deprived of the usual anti Labor vitriol today. Even PvO is taking a critical look at Abbott, the article accompanied by the usual unflattering cartoon, but this time featuring a naked Abbott rather than some hideous representation of the PM.

Acerbic Conehead 2

12/11/2011Catching up, And thank you for your kind sentiments. I hope you are having a nice weekend. Lyn, It’s great to hear from you again. And thanks for all the links you provided during the week. Here on [i]The Political Sword[/i], we are by far the best informed bloggers in the fifth estate! AA, Thank you again for your support and for the terrific leadership you provide. You set the tone for this wonderful blog, making it the cream of the crop. Gravel, Your positive attitude is an inspiration to us all. Have a great weekend and keep laughing! TT, [quote]And Tone, I hope you choke![/quote] Indeed, he is a choker. What sort of example is he giving to his troops by cutting and running over to Europe, when they needed him the most? [quote]...that Hippopotaman from Queensland...[/quote] ROTFL. [i]Qantastic[/i], indeed! FS, I thought you’d like that [i]Judas Priest[/i] song. I think I remember you saying you liked heavy metal music. And yes, it’s a pity Tones didn’t head up the chimney himself and get lodged. By the sounds of things, not too many of his mates would be sending out a search party. nasking, Thank you again for the excellent commentary you provide, especially on international issues. They show that we are inter-connected and what happens overseas, good or bad, can influence us here in Australia. Bring Back Maxine, Thank you for your very kind words. And yes, Tony Abbott’s hypocrisy is breath-taking – he has been dumping on Australia for ages, and then says our situation is “enviable”! Looks like the weathervane is in full spin. As you mentioned, hopefully his Prime Ministerial possibilities will “go up in smoke”, when someone lights a fire in Noster’s old fireplace. PatriciaWA, Belated birthday wishes!!! I hope you had a great day. I wouldn’t worry about the goldfish yet. However, if you see Sheba getting her/his snorkel on, extreme evasive action will be required. And hopefully you will be able to share with us one of your poems, on the theme of [i]Wyatt Earp, the little twerp[/i], lol. Catey, Yes, that Abbott speech was a shocker, wasn’t it. I had a read via the link Lyn provided. Not only was it in poor taste, but it was also so short. He must have no sooner got up to speak, when he had to park his brains again on the chair. If I had been in the audience, I would have demanded my money back. Have a great weekend everyone, and keep posting your predictions.

jj

12/11/2011I am sorry to spoil the party folks, but one weeks good news and a poll that puts Labor in a disastrous rather than a catastrophic position is no cause for celebration. It will probably last a little longer as the Canberra journos pat each other on the back for switching the momentum around (i love the way commentators such as Chris Uhlman sway with the journalistic breeze), but things will get back to normal (well actually the current polling figures are about normal for the year) or close to normal. I think one of the biggest issues on the horizon for the Government will be the issue of the Carbon Tax. If there is a world recession, or at least a European and American one, which then has an impact on us here through interest rates and exports, it will make the imposition of a carbon tax look very silly. Remember the GFC was part of the reasoning Behind Gillard urging Rudd, and Rudd, dumping the CPRS. The current carbon price in the Euro zone has been fluctuating between $10 and $13 Euros. In Australia we are proposing a FIXED price of $23 a tonne for two years meaning that if, as most economists predict, this economic turmoil lasts for at least two years, Australia's carbon price will be double that of the only other major carbon market, dramatically increasing our scheme's cost. Another thing to watch is public opinion post Durbin (Kyoto II negotiations). Nothing of any substance will come out of the discussions and thus there will be greater focus put on the ridiculous nature of our scheme. Anyway the PM, i suppose, deserves a little bot of a reprieve from the whole doom and gloom talk. I hope she hangs around, because she is by far the best bet for the Coalition sailing to a comfortable election win within the next two years.

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011jj, Taking one for the troops are we? :D

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Catey and Feral Hilarious for sure, good on you for having the stamina to read it. Where did the Billiard Tables story come from.. Funny I have never seen anything online about Billiard tables and certainly not read anything about the Government spending $102,500 investigating whether these tables had been sold for the correct price. Wonder has anyone else read about the billiard tables, or is Abbott doing head bobbing delusion again. Yes Catey PVO's piece of opinion was a wet lettuce leaf bash at Abbott: [i]Party discontent simmers over Abbott's populism , Peter van Onselen, The Australian [/i] Abbott is overcompensating as leader by developing little by way of policy and choosing populism at every turn. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/party-discontent-simmers-over-abbotts-populism/story-fn53lw5p-1226193068907 [u]Good on you Feral, yes I remember the rain dancing fantasy.[/u] [quote]Remind me how much Malcolm Turnbull paid his best mate for information on Cloud Seeding to break the drought, which was broken soon after by the El Nino naturally turning to a La Nina and causing the biggest floods around the nation for ages[/quote [quote]Turnbull pumps $10m into rainmaking gamble, ABC November 20, 2007[/quote] [i]But in the second week of the campaign, Mr Turnbull found the time to announce that the Government, already in caretaker mode, would bankroll to the tune of $10 million the investigation of an untried Russian technology that aims to trigger rainfall from the atmosphere, even when there are no clouds.[/i] list of generous donors including Frank Lowy, Ros Packer, John Simons, and Matt Handbury, chairman and part-owner of the so-called Australian Rain Corporation, beneficiary of the Minister's funding. Businessman Geoffrey Cousins says he has never seen the weight of spending in any one seat that Mr Turnbull is putting out in Wentworth. "It must be well over $1 million just in this one seat, and in Australia, that's an extraordinary amount of money. I mean, it's starting to get like the American elections," he said. Mr Handbury is the wealthy nephew of Rupert Murdoch and chairman and proprietor of Murdoch Books, which is the headquarters for Australian Rain Corporation. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-11-20/turnbull-pumps-10m-into-rainmaking-gamble/731004 [i]Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull again battle in Parliament , The Telegraph, [b]June 23, 2009 [/b][/i] [b]Mr Turnbull pumped $10 billion into an experimental cloud seeding technology company, rejecting the advice of his department, Agriculture Minister Tony Burke told parliament this afternoon[/b]. The company - Australian Rain Corporation - is owned by Matt and Clare Handbury, said to be friends of Mr Turnbull, who bought out their European partners in 2008. [b]The funding announcement was made on the same day the 2007 federal election was called.[/b] Mr[b] Handbury was also a neighbour of Mr Turnbull and a member of the Wentworth Forum, the MP's electorate fundraising committee[/b], Mr Burke said. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/kevin-rudd-malcolm-turnbull-again-battle-in-parliament/story-e6freuzr-1225740947357 SchtangSchtang http://bit.ly/[b]rB7GnEPeter van Onselen, Laurie Oakes and Paul Kelly all predicting the demise of Abbott's leadership [/b]#auspol Cheers:):):):):):):):)

Ad astra reply

12/11/2011jj You’re not spoiling our party. We’re happy. You’re happy. Everyone’s happy. Isn’t that nice.

Ad astra reply

12/11/2011Folks Now that we've repaired a flat mower tyre, mowing beckons. The sun is shining; it's warm; there's no threat of rain; the grass keep growing. Back later.

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011So Abbortt is still overseas! I reckon his goose ought to be just about perfectly cooked by Christmas. But first he's going to get turned over and basted in hot fat by the Media when he gets back. ([i]Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!)[/i] Can you believe this bloke, he spends years bagging every aspect of the Government's performance, gets over to Mummyland and starts exercising Australia's "bragging rights" for having an economy that is the envy of the world. Doncha just love it! http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=doncha%20just%20love%20it%20chick%20a%20boom&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDPStw1SzcQc&ei=3tG9TrSKC-zRmAWr6OitBA&usg=AFQjCNHUTFSfpXay3R6mBIOoVxdu4mYLpA I can't wait to see the next poll figures. Abbortt reminds me of Jack, the arrogant bully among the few dozen boys marooned on a desert island in Golding's Lord of the Flies. Under Jack's mini-megalomanic orders, the boys quickly become savages, first glorying in blood-lust after killing a pig, then killing Piggy the obese but wise-beyond-his-years asthmatic boy, and at last pursuing Ralph, the most sensible of all, intending to kill him too, when at the critical moment a British naval rating turns up and saves his life*. The officer's sudden appearance brings into sharp focus the silliness of the boys, their puerility (tautology, yes), compared to the superior, unempathetic adult, as Jack, from his position as virtual dictator, is suddenly confronted with his own ridiculousness. Well Abbortt is like that, suddenly having to face senior Conservatives he cannot well despise, and in trying to impress them, the best he can do is to hope that they think that he is in some way to be credited with the undeniable, enviable state of our economy. He has made himself look like the foolish little simpleton nasty bully boy which indeed at heart he really seems to be. Have you seen his "speech"? that Lyn rates disgusting, and advises Don't read? (She's right, but that will only make you curiouser, right? It did me . . . and it really is disgusting!) Abbortt is about gone imo. Who's next, that is the question. I'm looking forward to it! :) *The whole story, but this scene in particular, is based on the saga of the Batavia survivors, shipwrecked in 1629 and marooned for four amazing months on the Houtmans Abrolhos, a tiny desolate archipelago off the coast of Geraldton. The last stage of the drama, from which this lesser scene was conceived, was more astounding than any fiction could ever be. But the lesser scene, with silly kids, is more apposite for Abbortt. [i]Don't forget the link to the YouTube song. You'll just love it![/i] http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=doncha%20just%20love%20it%20chick%20a%20boom&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDPStw1SzcQc&ei=3tG9TrSKC-zRmAWr6OitBA&usg=AFQjCNHUTFSfpXay3R6mBIOoVxdu4mYLpA

Gravel

12/11/2011D Mick Weir 'Uncle Jack' worked for the SEC, I don't know where he came from but lived there since I was born in the early 50's. He had three sons, can't remember the year he died. Hope your grandpappy wasn't a naughty boy though. :-) Why do I suddenly feel that our 'little' voices seem to have grown bigger, or should that be louder. We seem to be reading and hearing what we have been saying for however long. Will these other voices continue to ring out, or is it a delusion. Patricia I fully agree with your comments. We have seen our Prime Minister behaving like she has since she was elected. Our puzzlement is that no one else seemed to think so, and are now looking in wonder at what has been before their eyes for over 12 months. Geez and I thought I was a slow learner! Nas, thank you for that link, I'm off to read it now. Please keep us informed how things go next week, I for one will be keeping my 'claws' crossed for you both. Ad Astra Haven't you been saying since forever that Liealot wouldn't last the distance with his tactics. It will be interesting when Parliament sits again. Feral Skeleton You sure are a powerhouse with all you comments too. I also dislike the reference to abbott, but then sometimes it seems to be appropriate. I think that the way the media uses the sound grabs to make it sound like Julia is carping, is a tactic they have been using for ages. To suddenly not hear Julia saying his name would be different, maybe it needs to gradually be wound down and just say the opposition. What I'm trying to say is tar the whole opposition with all of abbott's faults as well.

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011This one's for you, jj. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard(I bet it chafes when you have to read that), has just cut Tony Abbott off at the knees, again. It has just been announced that a 'Trans Pacific Trade Partnership' has been agreed to which will see a Free Trade Zone established among the countries of APEC. What is so extraordinary is that APEC, via a concerted effort by our federal government, has got Japan to agree to lower it's notoriously high Tariff Walls for the first time ever. Which is going to provide added impetus to the Australia Japan Free Trade Deal. Yes, that's right, the one Abbott thought he wouuld cunningly stake a claim on while he thought the federal government would be concentrating on the Australia China Free Trade Deal. Which he then thought he would be able to use to sow the seeds of Sinophobia in the electorate. Julia is silent and she is deadly. And, jj, if you think that Barry O'Farrell and Andrew 'Corrupt' Stoner's trick of putting the 'Carbon Tax' on people's Electricity Bills is going to 'Slow Bake' the Gillard government, then you obviously haven't thought through, at the very least, the misleading representation that that move may be, and the legal and ACCC ramifications it may have for the O'Farrell/ 'Corrupt' government. Btw, how's Bananaby's profile going in the Tamworth/Armidale area? Still going to storm to victory in 2013?

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011"Mr Turnbull pumped $10 billion into an experimental cloud seeding technology company . . . " Erm, no, just the bare $10 million actually. Yeah, ad astra, we're all having a ball eh! Nice of jj to think of us just in case we were feeling a little insecure, but maybe s/he/it should offer condolences to the Losers instead eh?

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Ad Astra I agree, I am having a great party reading all the lynch mobs pieces of opinion, the list is growing bigger everyday. Down goes Abbott , We won't need a telescope. geeksrulzThink Geek Institute Defiant Malcolm Turnbull making his move and taking on Tony Abbott over gaming policy http://is.gd/Ullu2a #libspill #auspol gordongrahamGordon Graham according to The Australian Andrew Robb was ropeable at the Coalition's policy reversal on the super increase #auspol 6 NovFavoriteRetweetReply jot_auJo Tracy Joe Hockey is financially illiterate. Did he miss math at school? Bet even his wife cringes when she hears him sqeak #auspol Andy_DownundaAndrew Watson #auspol Barnaby Joyce is a dead set nutter and an abject waste of #Senate time and space. Who on Earth would vote for the turkey? Cheers:):):):):):)

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011I forgot catey, our newest TPS Sista! :$

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Talk Turkey Thankyou for the link to youtube , "CHICK-A-BOOM (DON'T YA JES' LOVE IT)" What a great song, playing on my task bar and goes really with my one person party and the cyber bloggers. [quote]Don't forget the link to the YouTube song. You'll just love it! www.google.com.au/url[/quote] Cheers:):):):):):)

jj

12/11/2011Showing your immaturity FS. 1. There is no corruption within the NSW Government- and to think that you supported the last mob which had been proven to be totally riddled with corruption. 2. The APEC free trade deal is fantastic. This was set in train by the Rudd administration and all real credit should go to minister Emerson for his hard work in this area. 3. The issues with the carbon tax are a little more complicated that Barry putting it on all NSW voters electricity bills. How about you actually read what i wrote instead of either guessing or going off on another tangent. Pick up the AFR today and read what many of their trusted economic and political commentators have to say about the prospects of our carbon tax doing good whilst the world crumbles.

Patricia WA

12/11/2011Talk Turkey says, [i]Abbortt is about gone imo. Who's next, that is the question. I'm looking forward to it![/i] Leadership! Leadership! Where are the whips? Backbencher Liberals are licking their lips! Tony’s exploded. He can’t be reloaded. Let’s not replace him with Andrew or Mal. It’s gotta be Julie, the loyalty gal! She’s done a wonderful job Just shutting her gob Backing Brendan and Tony And Mal, the show pony. But what about Joe? Too sloppy. He’s not the go. He’s sometimes unruly. Let’s go for Julie, Snake-eyed and slim, She's more photogenic than him. A woman is better to clean up our mess. The man we’ll choose later is anyone’s guess.

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011Lyn, I too am loving watching the MSM piranhas getting stuck into Abbortt, but the other thing is, do you see the hatred from Abbortters for Turdball? The split when Abbortt goes is going to make the demographics of the Coalons look like a map of New Zealand! There are those who adore him and the rest abhor him, NO-ONE can I see bridging the chasm between the Extremes and the Not-so-extremes, and no hope of formulating policy to suit both. I find it so-o-o-o exhilarating to contemplate the now-certain spill and its aftermath, Dog, I'm'a need a year's supply of popcorn for starters, oh and some peanuts to throw to jj too. :) It is just a fortnight today since Allan Joyce did a Jubilation T. Cornpone for the Government. Thank you Allan, you were worth your raise, yes indeed. More! From Kit Whitfieeld's blog: "The song is about Jubilation T. Cornpone, who, for the benefit of people who, like me, were prevented by their nationality from having heard of the comic strip L'il Abner, origin of the musical, is a Civil War general hailing from a small town called Dogpatch: he was rubbish, but the Dogpatch citizens celebrate him anyway because he's their only notable citizen. Which has considerable style, in its way. Go Stubby Kaye! The song: When we fought the Yankees and annihilation was near, Who was there to lead the charge that took us safe to the rear? Why it was Jubilation T. Cornpone; Old "Toot your own horn - pone." Jubilation T. Cornpone, a man who knew no fear! [b]When we almost had 'em but the issue still was in doubt, Who suggested the retreat that turned it into a rout?[/b] Why it was Jubilation T. Cornpone; Old "Tattered and torn - pone." Jubilation T. Cornpone, he kept us hidin' out! With our ammunition gone and faced with utter defeat, Who was it that burned the crops and left us nothing to eat? Why it was Jubilation T. Cornpone; Old "September Morn - pone." Jubilation T. Cornpone, the pants blown off his seat!" There's a lot more words but the youTube recordings are all execrable and undistinguishable from what I have found. The lyrics are pretty ordinary too but few lines are very germane. Oh and Lyn quoted Andrew Watson: [i]"Who on Earth would vote for the turkey?"[/i] I didn't even know I was a candidate! :)

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011jj, 1. You are joking,aren't you? So why did Barry O'Farrell want to keep secret the ICAC Report on Andrew Stoner's Solar Feed-In Tariff deal? 2. And Craig Emerson is not a part of the Gillard Labor Government? Anyway, who put him there? 3. One part of the world economy may be 'crumbling'(not that I buy the argument), but there are larger numbers of States and nations getting on with the job of dealing with the pressing issue of Climate Change. Been to Bangkok lately? Or, the North of Italy? Climate Change is real, it is happening now, and Julia Gillard and The Greens have had the guts to stand up to the vested interests who would wish to see politicians keep fiddling while the world burns(been to Texas lately?), so that they may keep accumulating their ill-gotten gains without having to pay a price for their negligent actions. As Midnight Oil said, 'The time has come, To say, 'Fair's fair', The time has come, To pay their share. How can we sleep, While our beds are burning?' If that wasn't a song about Climate Change, it should have been. I mean, frankly, it's people who live on the land who should be most concerned about Climate Change. Yet they appear to be the ones with their heads most deeply embedded in the sand.

Patricia WA

12/11/2011TT, can I use this rhyme, or have you got something in the pipeline?[i]There are those who adore him and the rest abhor him,[/i] I meant to compliment you on your response to AC's post early this morning, particularly that [i]lesser of two weevils[/i] line! But it was all deliciously succinct! PS Did you see my reply to your birthday greeting a bit later on?

Lyn

12/11/2011 Hi Talk Turkey It was a secret nomination, no need to know. [quote]I find it so-o-o-o exhilarating to contemplate the now-certain spill and its aftermath, Dog, I'm'a need a year's supply of popcorn for starters, oh and some peanuts to throw to jj too. [/quote] Yum, I love popcorn, but the exhilaration mixed with Jubilation would be the nicest drink for me. [quote]do you see the hatred from Abbortters for Turdball? [/quote] I can smell it and it smells as nice as popcorn. Abbott is dying by his own sword, being rescinded and repealed. No-one can tell me the media can't do it because we saw what they did to Kevin Rudd, nailed him to the crucifix. Put him on a honeymoon and knock him down splat. Cheers:):):):):):):):)

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011... and now for something completely different Malcolm Turnbull has an online survey on Problem Gambling: http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/uncategorized/survey-on-problem-gambling/ I have done it and was very impressed with the amount of info within the survey and the links to various reports. A good use of the inerwebby thingy to gauge community opinion should be more of it.

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011Patricia WA said "TT, can I use this rhyme, There are those who adore him and the rest abhor him, > I would think so. Do you mean [i]may[/i] you? ;-) > Of course. or have you got something in the pipeline? > No. I went not long ago. I meant to compliment you on your response to AC's post early this morning, particularly that lesser of two weevils line! > It is so-o-o-o not original! But it was all deliciously succinct! > You eat [i]weevils?[/i] PS Did you see my reply to your birthday greeting a bit later on? Yes I did. [i]Mais qu'est-que c'est, ce dindon-ci, je ne le connais pas? [/i] [i]Est-ce qu'il est un 'Gobbler'?[/i]

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi DM Weir I did the survey too, but was very surprised at the amount and type of information required. @MayneReportStephen Mayne Tony Abbott, James Packer and Clubs NSW will be seething about this pokies intervention by Turnbull using Tim Costello: http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/tim-costello-welcomes-problem-gambling-survey/ Cheers:):):):):):)

psyclaw

12/11/2011Catey I don't buy any News papers but I am quite interested in your report that today's Weekend Oz lacks the usual vitriol. The Daily Telegraph (from News, in Sydney)has been more rampant than the Oz in its anti-JG vitriol. I never buy it. But I perused the gratus copy of today's edition in a coffee shop this morning and was quite amazed: 1) No anti government article [b]at all[/b] in the rag. This would be the first such occasion since 2007. 2) The Lauries Oakes one pager (probly the same as in the Herald-Sun) [b]praised JG[/b] and called on Abbott the fool to shape up or he'll be shipped out. 3) There were 7 published letters to the editor. Only 3 related to the federal government. [b]Now get this! All 3 were pro the JG government.[/b] This must be the first issue since the 2007 election that this has happened and that no anti government letters were published. I am totally sure there would have been many available to be published but none were. So what's happening? Has Rupert changed his instructions? Is it the influence already of Kim Williams? It would after all only take a phone call to the News rags' editors to accomplish this. Has News changed horses, and if so is it because they have at long last seen that Abbott the fool is a loser as an alternate PM? JJ The polls haven't merely moved from catastrophic to disastrous. They have moved fro 59-41 two months ago in a consistent manner to the current 53-47. Ain't you familiar with the processes of momentum! The tide has turned and there is no doubt that the faceless men of the Colonition and Peta Credlin will have noticed. As this continues, there grows a very big question mark over the futures of Credlin and hubby Loughnane. And JJ, your premature speculation that the Colonition will cruise to victory in 2013 is utter nonsense. When JG's poll numbers equal Abbott's shortly after Christmas, I and many other TPS readers will look forward to your public consumption of humble pie.

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011Hi jj, long time no type so it is nice to be able type to you again. Using the results of current opinion polling to prognosticate on the next election result is a folly and a waste of time. To bore everyone with a bit of technical stuff it is generally accepted that to get a 'reasonable' profile of public opinion you need to sample one percent of of the target population. Given that there are over 14 million people on the electoral rolls in Australia (see http://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Enrolment_stats/gazetted/2011/10.htm ) that means for an opinion poll to have a reasonable chance of being somewhere in the ballpark it would need responses from about 14,000 people (of course weighted for age gender and electorate). Given that most polls are about one tenth of that there is already an inbuilt error in the sampling. Add in that there is always a margin of error and that there is an inherent confidence interval depending on the size of the poll and it is all very inexact. All that may give you a clue as to why the more discerning poll analysts such as the Possum pay more attention to aggregating poll results and monthly rolling averages than the 'raw' numbers from one particular fortnightly poll. Even then it is still only a semi informed best guess. It all adds up to reading the tea-leaves may have a better chance of giving the correct answer this far out. As far it goes I won't be paying particular attention to the polling numbers until about Monday 5th August 2013 (about four or five days after the election is announced) and even the I will wait until about 9:00 pm on Saturday 7th September when the count of the only opinion poll that counts will be well underway.

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011Never been much of a fan of conspiracy theories but I am buying into this one even if only because the bizarrness of it appeals to my warped sense of humour. [b]Has comrade Alan Joyce helped rescue the ALP?[/b] David Penberthy @ The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/has-comrade-alan-joyce-helped-rescue-the-alp/?from=puff&pos=1&referrer=article [i]Here’s an elaborate conspiracy theory. In a dark corner of a scungy pub in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, socialist double agent Alan Joyce is downing schooners of Tooheys New with Transport Minister and Left faction operative Anthony Albanese as they toast their collective success in making Labor relevant again.[/i] It got a bit hard to delve into the red vs blue comments on the article but I enjoyed the warped angle of the article and the grains of truth in it. [i]Hat Tip @Colvinius[/i]

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011It certainly does seem as though the supporters of the Liberal Party would split into two camps if Malcolm Turnbull were to take back the reins from Tony Abbott. You only have to read through the comments below the article in The Daily Telegraph about Turnbull's altered stance and repudiation of Tony Abbott, to see this clearly. I must say, it is interesting to see my own mother making a comment there, rusted on Liberal that she is, and she is having none of the prospect of a return of Turnbull. But then she always was big on one being self-sufficient and not receiving any help from the State, even if you suffer from something as debilitating as a Gambling Addiction. Sink or swim, and don't expect any of my money to help you sort out your problem. Thus, with people like that as Abbott backers in the community, who see even Malcolm Turnbull as soft, then I can only imagine that the split that would result might see us end up with a Conservative Party, that contained elements of the Nationals and the Lunar Right of the Liberal Party, like the LNP, and a more moderately 'wet' Centre Right Party, that may well wish to retain the name 'Liberal Party'. Who would have thought that tackling Australia's addiction to gambling would be what would finally pit the Libertarian and the Liberal wings of the Coalition against each other?

jj

12/11/2011TT, It isnt about the number of countries or regions that have taken up the idea of an ETS (of which there are few outside the euro area), but rather the size of the countries involved. Currently there are no major economies outside the Eurozone that are planning or have implemented a scheme that is anywhere near as dramatic as ours, that is if they have even adopted one at all. Without a global market based system the cost to Australia in reducing its emissions will dramatically increase from what has been predicted under the treasury's modelling. Go and have a read of the Treasury's analysis of the proposed carbon price, and read some of the commentary on the assumptions made e.g. USA having a carbon price by 2020 etc All i was saying in regards to APEC, and for that matter all things trade, was that these proposals and achievements were in no way thought up by Gillard herself, as the US/Australia fair trade agreement along with many other bilateral arrangements were directly negotiated and though up by Howard. As for polling, a 53/47 two party preferred result at an election would see a landslide win for the Coalition, in the magnitude of something greater than was seen when Keating was smashed. But as i have said, there are plenty of issues on the horizon yet to bite this government. Hey TT, i agree Gillard has had a good fortnight, but she is going to have to keep it up for a little longer than that to erase the memories of all Australians of the various bungles and failings of her past.

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011jj, Read this about Barry O'Farrell's deceptive conduct re putting the 'Carbon Tax' on Electricity Bills, and get back to me about whether he is or isn't behaving in a venal fashion: http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/o-farrell-s-misleading-electricity-price-claims/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011Given this: @AntonyGreenABC Antony Green Updated timetable for future Australian elections at bit.ly/uIDO4N #auspol 1 hour ago via web I am hedging my bets on bets on the election being held on 7th September 2013 and may take some savers on October 19th and 26th. http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2011/11/future-election-dates.html

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011H'mmm I hardly ever get a direct missive from a [i]sous-le-pont[/i], and dam, when I do, it seems to be directed to someone else! Could someone please request jj to find out its correct addressee?

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Talk Turkey Risking sounding ignorant, could you please tell me what sous-le-pont means, chirp chirp. Cheers :):):):):):):):):):)

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011jj, Our approach to taking action wrt Climate Change isn't even the minimum necessary to produce the desired result down the track, if we stay at only these levels of CO2 reduction, which is the Coalition line(and their approach is even worse than that because it won't work to bring down CO2 by 5% on 2000 levels like they claim). We need to do so much more than this paltry start, and the mooted 80% reduction on 2000 CO2 levels by 2050, is more like it. So that's why I have no truck with this baloney Coalition argument about the massive scale of the new Climate Change policy. It's all relative to how you frame what action is needed. Thus, if, as the Coalition are attempting to do, you are just pretending to take action via a policy that is all show and no go, then, by comparison, the federal government policy is quite audacious. As far as comparing it to other countries, well I see you have avoided mentioning the more ambitious policy of the UK Conservative government of David Cameron, who wants to implement measures of a 50% CO2 reduction by 2020. And before you can throw in the furphy that, well, the UK does not have to rely on Coal-Fired Power the way we do, so let me just say that that argument is a red herring and irrelevant because reduction in CO2 levels in the atmosphere is the quantum that we are interested in and comparing, not how each country can/cannot get there, due to their Energy Production mix. Also, all countries are moving towards new sources of Energy, and especially reliable sources of Baseload Power from Renewable technologies such as Geothermal. Man's ingenuity knows no bounds, and you realise this when you watch some of the shows on TV that I do about how man has solved Engineering dilemmas in the past. But what you're trying to suggest is that such a thing will not be possible and we will have to keep relying on dirty old Coal, with possibly some Uranium/Plutonium Nuclear as a 'Clean Green' alternative thrown in. Which is just silly. As far as countries implementing an ETS, there are those who already have one, there is the 18th-largest economy in the World, California, which is developing one, there is the 2nd-largest economy in the World, China, which is monitoring our plan and implementing it's own system in 5 Provinces before it goes country-wide, and there is South Korea, who seems to be shaping up as the next cab off the rank with an ETS and Climate Change action. Still, I imagine that you would rather follow America like a faithful puppy, once they have announced a nationwide scheme, but, disingenuously, you know that's not going to happen any time soon due to the Republican-dominated House being unwilling to pass a scheme for the whole country to adopt. Captured as most of the Republican Representatives are by the Fossil Fuel Industry and major Industrialists. The fact that you misrepresent the situation around the world without making reference to the fact that the countries that are not doing anything are run by Conservatives captive to the Fossil Fuel Industry, or complicit with them in the Denialist charade, just exposes the paucity of your argument. You also make a lot of heroic assumptions about whether the rest of the world will have initiated action wrt Global Warming by 2020, thus concluding therefore that Treasury's assumptions are, ipso facto, wrong. Nice try, jj. However, no one can say for certain either way, so you are just as much as anyone here you accuse of 'making things up', just making it up as you go along yourself. Also, not that I care about your faint praise of the PM's 'good fortnight', especially as she has been having them for a while now, and as she continues to surprise all of us with her achievments, which the Coalition are obviously unable to see coming from Left field, such as the Equal Pay for women who work in the lowest-paid jobs in the workforce. I'd like to see Tony Abbott do better, at something a bit more substantial than slogans and stunts. However, we all know that that just isn't in his DNA, don't we, jj? Not know, and not in the next two years.

nasking

12/11/2011Thankyou all for your supportive & motivating comments. It has been a pleasure to contribute to this most enlightening site...and I intend to continue to do so - provided the blog continues to exist for a significant number of years beyond the present - until I feel essential changes for the better have occurred across the globe...and the transition to a sustainable economy...environmentally sound...socially responsible...has such momentum it is significantly less likely to be disrupted by the machinations of any superpower(s), alliance, &/or corporate heavyweights...including a certain media outlet. I noticed tonite a predictable yet ominous threat from Hezbollah Secretary, General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah... carefully crafted comments that certainly will not win many hearts & minds in America, Israel, Australia, the UK, Europe, Norway nor any other country that has experienced the impact of Islamic-based terrorism of any kind... even tho Lebanon did tragically fall victim to the excesses of Israeli defence force responses to perceived & real threats to its security...this does not excuse such, less than veiled threats, by a leader who seems more prepared to launch a war on behalf of an Iranian ally rather than protect the interests of his country... nor is it useful that he distort the situation on the ground related to the powerful Arab Spring movement for naked political purposes...possibly undermining the blossoming of real freedom for fellow Arabs... nor should the terror being inflicted upon Syrian citizens by its own government be justified in a round about way... and considering the support Lebanon received from many a government & peoples of various countries during those tragic days in 2006 & the attempts by them to protect Lebanese people & to right wrongs...you'd think Nasrallah would take a far more diplomatic approach and attempt to broker a deal between the nations who are eyeing one another in such a hostile fashion... there comes a time when men of vast experience & wisdom need to put away their guns & threats and find common ground...for the common good: [quote][b]The Lebanese leader said that the Zionist regime and the US want to weaken the 'Axis of Resistance' by putting Tehran and Damascus on the defensive.[/b] [b]“They [US] must understand that war on Iran and Syria will not remain [restricted] in these two countries but will spread to other countries in the region. We are not issuing any threats but this is the reality,” he added on Friday.[/b] Noting that Iran is not afraid of the US naval fleet, Nasrallah said that threats and naval fleets cannot weaken the determination of the Iranian people. Addressing a crowd on 'Martyr's Day' event which is held on 11/11 every year, Nasrallah said that the United States has failed in Iraq and has been forced to withdraw its troops from the country. [b]As a result, he said, “it wants to punish the states that opposed its occupation of the region. The US wants to punish Iran and Syria and intends to keep them under pressure.”[/b] [b]Turning to recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa, the Hezbollah secretary-general said that the regime changes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have not been in the interest of the US and the Zionist regime and this is another reason why they want to punish Syria and Iran. [/b] “The era of weakness [and submission] to the US or Israel is over. We have entered the era of victories,” he emphasized. [b]On November 11, 1982, Lebanese resistance fighter Ahmad Qasseer attacked an Israeli military headquarters in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, killing scores of Zionist soldiers and intelligence officers.[/[/b]quote] http://english.iribnews.ir/newsbody.aspx?ID=16171 Let's get sane people. That includes Israel, Iran, the Gulf States, Russia, China, America & Lebanon...and Hamas in Gaza. For yer children's sake. There is so much healing of this planet to be done...time is running out. N'

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011TT I have sympathy that jj is easily befuddled and probably has problems working out who is Arfa and who is Marfa

Ad astra reply

12/11/2011Folks I’ve had a long day mowing, and more tomorrow, weather permitting. I’ve had a glance at your many contributions, and will read them carefully tomorrow afternoon when the grass is cut. Goodnight

Patricia WA

12/11/2011psyclaw, read this and you might wonder why, if he has, Rupert might have changed his instructions. It makes one's blood run cold. I found the article credible, frightening and fascinating. Maybe explains why Rupert has taken over News Ltd. management. He wants to personally conduct his campaign for the right to win at any cost. First step get rid of the loser, Abbott. Next install a potential winner, Turnbull? And then set about divide and conquer with the Gillard government? http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/11/best-frenemies-politicians-press

psyclaw

12/11/2011FS 10.01pm re your Para 3. I understand Californy to be 8th, not 18th biggest economy. Cheers

Jaeger

12/11/2011Lyn, sous-le-pont = "under the bridge"; perhaps a troll?

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Jaeger You little beauty, thankyou so much. Perhaps a troll sounds in context thanks again. Cheers:):):)::):):):)

D Mick Weir

12/11/2011Nasking @ 10:08 PM [i]... and I intend to continue to do so ... until I feel essential changes for the better have occurred across the globe ...[/i] In one way, sad to say, but looks like you will be commenting for a long time to come. In another way that is a good thing :)

Feral Skeleton

12/11/2011psyclaw, Thank you. I didn't want to overreach. :)

jj

12/11/2011TT, I dont think i will rely on the ALP website for my information, i much prefer the ABC etc but you can stick to their partisan garbage (the ALP website that is) if you wish, it is obvious that you do by the comments that you make here. You may not believe that relativity in the carbon debate is important but by doing so i think you are forgetting about the global nature of the problem, and the economic implications of addressing market failure in this area. It does not matter much at all how ambitious Australia's cuts are if the rest of the world does not cut its emissions by he same amount, when it comes to the issue of carbon reduction. Therefore your argument for Australia to do more regardless is ridiculous economically, socially and medically (you being quite mad obviously). To argue that the factor endowments, the carbon intensity and the energy mix makeup of a country does not matter when it comes to pricing carbon is another ridiculous assertion that i dont think Combet would even make. The more carbon intensive an economy the more it costs to alter... it really is that simple. Therefore the targets set by an economy have to reflect this. It is due to the fact that our economy is extremely carbon intensive that we really need access to a global carbon market to be able to buy the required permits from overseas to balance up the carbon equation. What i am saying is that with the USA, Canada, Japan, India, China (dont be ridiculous about their efforts, their yearly carbon emissions increases are more than our total yearly output; and they may produce most of the worlds wind turbines and solar panels but they only use around 1.5% of their own products), Russia, Brazil and various other major developed or emerging economies either ruling out totally, or deferring indefinitely a carbon price, the prospects of Australia going ahead is futile, no matter what the Eurozone does. These economies do not want to give up their competitive advantage like we do. I love the partisan tripe you come up with about Abbott needing to come up with fully funded, flawless and positive policy proposals when not so long ago Rudd, Crean, Latham and Beazely were in the same position as Abbott (if not far far worse) and doing the exact same thing. I mean you cant have it both ways and attack Hewson for being stupid in bringing out fightback as everyone seems to have been in hindsight, and then criticize Abbott for being extremely successful at his job! You wouldnt like whoever the Coalition put forward as a leader, so dont hide behind the 'slogans and negativity' mantra. I can remember Rudd putting all sorts of proposals forward in 07 uncosted: Education revolution, the NBN (was only supposed to be $4.5 billion, now it is $36 billion) etc etc. You seem to have an extremely shallow and short memory. Good evening my little Labor munchkins.

Jason

12/11/2011November 12, 2011 Sunday morning TV - November 13 #auspol Your guide to this Sunday morning's political and business interviewsEditDeleteTagsAutopost 8:30am Sky News 601 - Australian Agenda On Sky News Australian Agenda host Peter Van Onselen and The Australian's Paul Kelly interview ... awaiting advice of program line up. 8:38am Ch7 - Weekend Sunrise - The Riley Diary This week on the Riley Diary; the carbon tax we had to have ... even if we were never supposed to have it...a brave new world? or the end of the world as we know it? 8:40am Ch9 - Today on Sunday - The Laurie Oakes Interview The weekly Laurie Oakes interview is in hibernation until further notice. 9:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 - Insiders On Insiders this Sunday, Barrie Cassidy interviews the Environment Minister, Tony Burke. On the panel: The Australian’s George Megalogenis, the Financial Review’s Brian Toohey and political commentator Kerry-Anne Walsh. And Mike Bowers talks pictures with artist and musician Reg Mombassa. 10:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 repeated @ 5.30pm - Inside Business This week on Inside Business a feature interview with AGL CEO Michael Fraser They also talk to Centro CEO, Robert Tsenin, ahead of the crucial shareholder vote. Plus they have a look at the travails of News Corporation As well there’s the regular update of the latest news from the markets and Alan Kohler’s incisive commentary. 10.00am Ch10 everywhere but Canberra - The Bolt Report - NO ENCORE THIS WEEK DUE TO NETWORK COVERAGE OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN GOLF This week on The Bolt Report Climate Commissioner Will Steffen talks to Andrew. On the panel, former Labor MP John Della Bosca and columnist Janet Albrechtsen. Also, Defender of free speech British Professor Frank Furedi. 10.30am Ch10 everywhere but Canberra - Meet the Press - NO ENCORE THIS WEEK DUE TO NETWORK COVERAGE OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN GOLF Paul Bongiorno is joined by panelists; Fran Kelly of ABC Radio National Breakfast and Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald. Together they interview Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Ed DeSeve, special adviser to President Barack Obama, and the president's former economic stimulus guru.

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Jason Delighful, delectable. How's our reliable, dependable Jason tonight, good I hope. You are wonderful, very much appreciated thankyou so much. Cheers:):):):):):):):):):):)

TalkTurkey

12/11/2011Obelix reminds me that it was jj who once before misdirected a post to me. I wonder if s/he is an obsessive Turkophile?

Lyn

12/11/2011Hi Jason OLh well, my delightful word doesn't need a T in it anyway. Cheers:):):):)

Jason

13/11/2011Hi Lyn, Thank You for your kind words! the "tv" man has been posting at about now for the second week in a row, and unless you know of another site that might have them up earlier? go for it! I understand he may have a "life" but some of us need to know before midnight who will be on the "tv" before we decide to watch.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011Does anybody know just WT# jj is on about with these phony 'TT' posts s/he/it's posting? I think there must be something a bit , erm, [i]*funny*, [/i]about jj, waddya reckon-oh? Or is s/he/it just extraordinarily ordinarily [i]stoopid?[/i] Anyway this is dedicated to jj, hope everyone loves it: http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=under%20the%20bridges%20of%20paris%20eartha%20kitt&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ3UCDGoLAYQ&ei=nG--TpHzI4mziQfi2byJBQ&usg=AFQjCNHeHM7uP1JgATPhUvTvdg5jSj54xw

psyclaw

13/11/2011Patricia Thanks for the Guardian link ..... it was very worthwhile. The essence appears to be that News tries to bring down governments not on the basis of policy arguments [i]but by creating an image for the gullible readers that the government is inherently divided and is therefore unstable and ineffective.[/i] Abbott the fool has this as one of his main mantra subjects (here comes KR; Ferguson doesn't support ETS; Bowen wants Nauru; Shorten is waiting to pounce; will they have to have a compromise leader (Stephen Smith); Rudd will make his move by Xmas; senior Labor sources say blah blah blah; etc). According to this article, utterances of this nature have more power and influence than just criticising every policy of the government i.e. the punters are more conned by allegations of internal bickering in the government than by criticism of "bad policies" per se. Certainly Menzies knew this and expeditiously put any rival on a slow boat OS to a diplomatic post. He therefore was able to present himself for years as unchallenged and unchallengeable. So too with Howard such that in the end, at the time of the APEC conference in Sydney in 2007, his key ministers met, said that he should go, but kept this view in the form of confidential words rather than action ie by [b]not[/b] telling him to go, and thereby make public the divisions. The harmony sham didn't work on that occasion though, because in the end policy problems (WorkJoyces) cost him. Obviously Costelloe's failure to challenge perpetuated for a long time the (correct?) impression that Howard was at all times in charge. His two watch dogs / attack dogs in the cabinet may have had a lot to do with this ie Reef and Rabbott.

Lyn

13/11/2011Hi my friend Jason Re your comment 12:11 AM The only blog that I know of is Mark Croxford, the link below is his site . As you say [quote]I understand he may have a "life"[/quote] [i]Mark Croxford also runs "The Mark Croxford Daily" Published by Mark Croxford – 67 news spotters today[/i] http://paper.li/MarkCroxford Profile: no longer working for the man, global traveler, father of 4! consultant lobbyist, strategic adviser, PR consultant, speaker, poker afficianado sundaymorningtv's posterous November 12, 2011 Sunday morning TV - November 13 #auspol Your guide to this Sunday morning's political and business interviews http://sundaymorningtv.posterous.com/ Cheers:):):):)::):):)

Jaeger

13/11/2011In case anyone was wondering, my earlier reply to Lyn had the "wrong" picture on it because I mistyped my email address. Oops.

2353

13/11/2011JJ claimed yesterday there is no corruption in the NSW LNP Government. As s/he who seems claim inside knowledge when it comes to the LNP is the one that brought the subject up - meaning that no one else knew of any until that point - it means there has to be some corruption story just simmering under the surface and people are paddling madly to avoid it coming out. it sounds like Russ Hinze's famous comment on Brisbane's Fortitute Valley saying there were no brothels in Brisbane. Now everyone else in Brisbane (including me as someone who had just stopped being a high school student) knew he was talking crap. JJ has a history on this blog of taking a grain of truth (say the polling numbers are bad for the ALP) and creating a narrative around it. He is the one that mentioned corruption and NSW Government in the same sentence. In my view he has to prove there is no corruption in the NSW Government as he obviously knows there is some, where it is and whos hiding it.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011"Abbortt 'the walking vuvuzela'" (K) albo! :) Abbortt crashes and burns today! Goose looking nearly done. Spot fires everywhere in the Coalons Can't wait for next polls and Parliament. The media is scuttling like panicked hermit crabs having to find new whelk-shell homes to cover their sorry arses now the old ones don't fit. They're never going to admit they have been stupidly wrong, but as a flock they have been I-mean-it [i]astoundingly[/i] uninsightful and spiteful and pusillanimous and snide but worst of all [i]timid[/i]. Exceptions noted. It has all been so irrational. What else was ever going to happen, the Government was never going to roll over and hold an election, it's just stupid! With the help of the committed-albeit-conditional IndepenAnts, and given *J*U*L*I*A*s flair for negotiation (and a non-hostile Senate), the Government was always going to get its legislation through, what can people have been thinking of else? Journalists most germanely, shockjocks quite insanely, (you can use that pair if you like Patricia! :) ) But what else was to happen, why nothing! If you have the numbers you pass the legislation and take the measures you need. We will have an MRRT too, because the country needs it, the IndependAnts know and understand that, and [i]it doesn't matter [/i]what the Three Big Pigs, - Piggy Twiggy Forrest, Gina Rindlard and Clive Palmgrease* - think about things, the Government [i]will[/i] pass its measures, and that's all there is to it. But who would have thought how many snares would be set in the PM's path, now that has been an amazement. Never mind, it's sort of scotched now. *J*U*L*I*A* really made the first killer thrust, "Don't write crap!" And now the blimp has no more puff, and there's till two full years, if that seems best, to hold that election. The good things Labor has done will be set in concrete and paying off socially and electorally by then, and the hermit crabs won't be circlejerking quite so brazenly, they'll be a bit more responsible and keeping their sorry arses safe if they have a new shell at all. Because they are as a flock looking very sheepish now. Yes I know I suffer from Myxomymetaphorosis but probably not as much as You Dear Reader. Sorry. *Pity the Big Bad Wolf didn't get 'em while they were little . . .

Michael

13/11/2011More evidence that the wind has mightily shifted. Barry Cassidy did NOT cover himself with balanced questioning/comments 'glory' on Insiders this morning, but the people who edit that slightly ridiculous montage of news events from the previous week certainly staked their position on one point of shifting political fortunes. As the song played over the images, the singer sang the word "incapable" over footage of Shouldabeen trying on a worksite fluoro jacket. Very far from an accidental juxtaposition, I suggest. Someone is a little mischievous in the ABC editing department. Last week, or perhaps the one before, the montage sequence repeatedly returned to the "Queen of Now" (she can't start a sentence without saying "Now"), Latika Bourke, preening herself for the camera. Complete with a dash of hairspray and much wardrobe adjusting. She must have supremely irritated someone on the video-news editing desk, as she was clearly being shown to us as someone who considers herself far more important than whoever might be the subject of her story. But then, she is a member of the Canberra Press Galumphery.

psyclaw

13/11/2011Michael I thought today's Insiders was the most balanced episode I have seen. Although Cassidy asked a few leading follow up questions, virtually all his initial questions were fair enough. George Meg, KA Walsh and B Toohey were quite harmonious in their views that Abbott is under great pressure and can only save himself by behaving positively. All agreed that the ETS will have little currency as a political issue in 2013 and two of them also think that the "she lied" story will have gone dead cold by then. I got the clear message from all 3 journos and even Cassidy himself that a new momentum is happening towards the government. Peta Credlin would have spewed about the show, and that's a great pleasure to me.

Granny Anny

13/11/2011I know I am lazy and should do some googling but can someone explain in a couple of sentences how this press gallery thing works? Am I correct in my understanding that only some members of the MSM are members? Who decides? Surely in a democracy with rules about unfair competition, any media organisation should be allowed to cover what happens in our Parliament. Does someone with legal skills know if a challenge would suceed? Is this something that could be referred to the media enquiry?

jj

13/11/20112353, How about you check your facts. I did not bring up the issue of NSW Government corruption (of which there is none), all i was doing was responding to that exact claim made by TT which is ludicrous and baseless. On Insiders, I really do find it amazing how the media can just blow with the wind. It seems that all it takes for the media to switch sides is one better than average poll and a week in which Gillard did not make a huge mistake. I mean, if you look at the year that has almost past it has been an absolute mess and disaster for the ALP, and yet somehow some (mostly in the Fairfax press) seem to want to forgive and forget.

Feral Skeleton

13/11/2011Granny Anny, The Canberra Press Gallery is a rabbit warren of offices located within the hallowed halls of Parliament House, and in most State Parliaments around the country, and the world, for that Matter. I actually just read the other day that the space was put aside for a Press Gallery in the mother of all Australian Parliaments in NSW, when the building was being constructed, so as to allow the interconnect between the MPs and the Public to occur via the Press journalists. That provided the sort of 'Open Government' that the NSW Governor at the time thought was necessary for a healthy democracy. Nowadays, every media company seconds political reporters to the Press Gallery, in order to stay on top of the happenings in parliament and to write for their newspaper, and report on them for their TV and Radio shows. Also, they have ready access to all the politicians when they are in da House. The reason that not everyone who wants to can set up shop and report on parliamentary proceedings, is because the space inside parliament is limited and already taken by the people that are there now. It is also very cramped amongst those that have offices there because, as new technology comes into the picture, like the to camera reports some print political journalists are giving now, so they have to find space for it. Also, you need accreditation to be able to work in Parliament House, thus they can't just let any Tom, Dick or Harriet waltz in as they feel like it. A lot of important people are within it's walls. Hope that explanation helps, and feel free to ask any more questions you may have. :)

Feral Skeleton

13/11/2011jj, Admit it, One Trick Tony is the one who is having the disastrous year. Nothing he has tried has worked. The Gillard government haqve passed over 200 Bills through parliament, many of them implacably opposed by the Abbott Opposition, for no good reason other than they didn't want to see the government get a win if at all possible, as many of the measures were of a kind that a 'normal' Coalition would previously have supported. In fact some of them were previously-held positions of the Coalition. And don't say, 'Well, times have changed, and that's why they don't support it now.' That's rubbish, and you should know it. The only thing that's changed is the leadership of the Coalition. Now, as for the bordering-on-corrupt practices of the O'Farrell/Stoner government. Does the Casino Meat Works owner and the By-Election for the State Seat of Clarence, currently being contested after Steve Cansdell was forced to step down after corruptly signing a Statutory Declaration which contained mistruths, and not declaring it to the parliament, occurred. The blog 'Clarence Girl' has lots of juicy information about the unseemly relationship between the National Party and their biggest donor, the Meat Works Owner. Also, whilst it may not be corrupt, per se, it is at least unseemly that Barry O'Farrell replaced his longstanding spokeswoman on the Environment, Catherine Cusack, with Robyn Parker, who was a Greenhorn, and is so stupid she can't even remember the name of the boss of Orica, who has taken the election of O'Farrell as a Green light to start spilling it's company's wastes into the atmosphere multiple times. Parker was so inept she hadn't even rung the guy up to have a few stern words to him. Finally we have the real Premier of NSW, Nick Greiner, and his many conflicts of interest. As Head of Infrastructure NSW, he has been given the power to override the recommendations of the NSW State Public Service wrt Infrastructure projects, whilst not having been forced to step down from the Boards of many of the companies that will be seeking to carry out the projects for the government. Not only that, but he has just been appointed to the Board of Rothschild Bank in Australia as their lobbyist-in-chief for the very same projects which need to be funded by Merchant Banks, and which will be given Taxpayer's $ to pay off the loans for the funds which they will provide for the infrastructure projects. Not only that, and while it isn't corrupt, it is amoral and unethical, we now hear that after O'Farrell's hand-on-heart promise to retain Ethics Classes in Public Schools, he has now put them on the block to go to the highest bidder in parliament. That is, he will trade them away now for support in the Upper House for Coalition policies. Not to mention the simple fact that he promised to resign if he broke his 'Contract with NSW'. Which he has already, numerous times. Then there's Andrew Stoner's Solar Feed-In Tariff deal, the day before the rates changed, and O'Farrell's fraudulent figures for the cost of the 'Carbon Tax' on Public Transport, and the latest scam of putting the 'cost' of the 'Carbon Tax' on Electricity Bills. I guess it depends on how you define, 'Corrupt'.

psyclaw

13/11/2011JJ Actually JJ Insiders fairness today was not a change of sides. It was only different in that the fool Abbott actually was put under the spotlight. This has not happened anywhere anytime since the "is it written down" I/V with Kerry O'Brien about 2 years back??? The change was a change from lopsided being towards the Colonition, to a balanced approach. If you saw today's show you would have seen Abbott's weather vane /hypocrite nature exposed and actually discussed (rather than a mere mention)vis a vis the IMF "donation" turn around, skipping town when the "most important legislation ever" was to go through Parliament, changing his Superannuation policy 180 degrees, and putting Robb out in the cold when he and a few cronies decided to change tack on Super. a As well they gave time to discussion of the fact that as a policy vacuum, if he can't remedy this he's a goner. George Meg argued that you can see what's happening by observing body langauage ....JG looks positive "and primeministerial" of late, he said, while Abbott looks like a rabbit in the spotlight (about to loose control of some important bodily functions). This is all good for the nation.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011[i]I say, I say, I say A A![/i] - What do you say TT? [i]I say, that Turdball does keep turning up A A![/i] - Well he is a ball TT! [i]No he's a TURD A A![/i] [Hysterical hilarity :)]

Feral Skeleton

13/11/2011psyclaw, Yes,indeed it is a common tactic of the Right to go on the Defensive Offensive as soon as their 'poor petal' starts to wilt under some long-awaited scrutiny. I believe that it is probably some well-worn PR tactic to deflect attention away from the fallibilities of the 'Chosen One' before the realisation starts to dawn outside the confines of political blogs such as this, and other similarly aware and attentive areas of the community, that they are being sold a pup. As a member of the Coalition's Praetorian Guard wrt this, and who knows how many other 'Lefty' blogs, jj unflinchingly steps into the breach when required to perform this function. You can spot the moves a mile off, however, as you only have to take note of the number of 'Upside Downisms' that appear in their comments. That is, everything they accuse the PM & Labor Party, or us, of, their own side is usually found to be guilty of themselves. :)

Ad astra reply

13/11/2011psyclaw I’m in agreement with your assessment of [i]Insiders[/i] this morning. I was irritated by Barrie Cassidy’s leading questions and his repeating of the ‘There will be no carbon tax…’ mantra, but he may have just been fishing for what emerged: that that overworked slogan would likely be down and out by election time. Add to that the just-published CSIRO paper that asserts that the financial impact on households will be even less than the modest Treasury estimates, and the edifice of fear, uncertainty and doubt upon which Tiny Abbott has erected his opposition to the tax begins to fall like the deck of cards it is. Kerri-Ann Walsh, who has not in the past been pro-Labor, got stuck into Abbott to a degree I’ve not seen from her previously, saying he was all over the place. Brian Toohey similarly was unimpressed with Abbott. George Mega was more muted, perhaps reflecting a feeling at [i]The Oz[/i] that as their boy was not doing so well , they should not add to his discomfiture by criticizing him too stridently. Returning to my analogy of yesterday that politically Abbott is a sprinter, not a long distance runner, I got the impression that the panel too felt he had geared his strategy to a quick sprint to an early election, and was unprepared for the long haul, which now seems to be the nature of the race. It was salient that they all felt the slogans and the scare campaign would have less and less impact by a 2013 election, yet this is what Abbott is relying on to get him over the line. Outrage is hard to maintain, especially when the reasons for it – hugely escalating prices for electricity and just about everything else, fail to eventuate. People just might ask what all the fuss was about. Remember how Gough Whitlam’s insistence that the people ‘Maintain the Rage’ after ‘The Dismissal’ fizzled out. If rage can’t be maintained for a few weeks, how can Abbott maintain it for a hundred weeks, especially when most people realize they are better off under the Government carbon scheme?

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011Here is the field for the 2012 LOTO Stakes: M Turnbull K Andrews J Bishop J Hockey P Dutton A Robb C Pyne G Hunt And last but by no means least - Everybody's favourite - Let's hear it for *************** [i]***!SOAPHIE!***[/i] *************** Place your bets folks! Odds? And to make it more interesting name a month/year you think Abbortt will be put to the Sword . . . . . . Hey Swords R US! :) http://www.liberal.org.au/Abbott-Team.aspx

Gravel

13/11/2011Insiders was better today in as much as they did criticize Abbott, but also couldn't let go of all the myths the opposition have promoted. I was disappointed in Mega, he is a better writer than commenter, he seemed frightened to say too much against Abbott. I wonder why. He seems intelligent and not a sheep, but was trying to stick to being 'neutral' but it seemed false to me. I was curious to see how the Riley's Diary was going to play this week and got a laugh from both sides, but they did stick it to Abbott more. I was satisfying to watch.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011Late additions to the field for the 2012 LOTO Stakes S Morrison B Bishop Any more entries? The fascinating thing is that while Turnbull would get the biggest single vote Australia-wide, that's not the way it works and he is also the most hated of all by the real Rightwhingers. Then who's next? They are all a bunch of broken down hacks, hardly a trot in the lot. Glue and Dogfood. Not one of them could gain the confidence of even a [i]third[/i] of their own party, let alone the People. This is going to be a great bind for the Right in Oz and they have worked tirelessly to earn it. How long will Abbortt last now whaddya reckon? Wherever he might be right now . . . is he still in Mummyland? . . . he is a cadaver hanging on a gibbet and swaying in the wind now, poor fellow . . . :'( . . . Meanwhile the Government has never looked so good. And this week [i]Guess Who's coming to dinner[/i]with *J*U*L*I*A* . . . The PRESIDENT of the [u]YEW[/u] [u]ESS[/u] [u]AY![/u] I'm not a USAniac but it sure won't hurt Her standing. They look great together eh. Beware Michele, Look out Tim! (#*ck off Berlusconi!)

Michael

13/11/2011Psyclaw, and others who saw a more balanced 'Insiders' this morning than I did, to the degree that the guests were professional, I thought Barry Cassidy, as you can read below from the show's transcript (if you like), tried to throw a few shopworn grenades into his questioning of Tony Burke. Midway through the interview... BC: On the carbon tax, do you accept that this will continue to hurt the Government, not only because of the nature of the policy, but because the Prime Minister promised it wouldn't happen? - So, for a start, "carbon tax" is the Coalition's phrase which wilfully misrepresents what a set carbon price actually is. And what is the hurt in "the nature of the policy"? Notice also the oblique paraphrased reference to the "lie" in terms of Julia Gillard's 'promise'. TB: Let's look at what happens from now, because the first thing that happens there, Barrie, is we've now narrowed the gap between how profitable it is to invest in clean energy compared to high levels of pollution. Pollution is no longer free. That will affect the investment decisions that companies now make. Tony Abbott's now in a position where he's planning to start telling the Australian people at the next election that he will cut the pension, cut family payments, increase taxes, but don't worry, these big polluting companies will pass on a savings to you. I do not believe that is a credible argument forward. I think Tony Abbott will be able to run an effective fear campaign probably up until 30 June next year. But when people wake up on 1 July and realise that the entire fear campaign he's been running is wrong and his promises are all about giving the public less money, I think he's got some problems down the track. BC: But on the question of what the Prime Minister said before the election, there was not a lot of celebration among government ranks. Was that because you felt that the people who had been deceived did not want to have their noses rubbed in it? - Note "deceived", and "noses rubbed in it". What do we think Cassidy is actually saying here, especially after an extensive and lucid comment from Tony Burke that Cassidy virtually dismisses with his "But" to open his question? TB: Let's make clear, we were given a parliament where no individual party held a majority in the House of Representatives. Now, at the election our preferred pathway was an emissions trading system. When we first put that to the parliament some years ago, we had a fixed-price period there. What we've ended up with to negotiate it through the parliament is a longer fixed-price period than would have been our ideal situation. But you deal with the parliament that you have. This is no different. Let's not forget what happened to John Howard with the GST. When he introduced the GST, it wasn't the same GST that he'd taken to the same GST that he'd taken to the election. He couldn't get that one through the Senate. So he modified it. That's what happens, you have to deal with the parliament that the public elects. In terms of our preferred position of an emissions trading scheme, under the legislation that's passed we get there. BC: But what we're seeing at the moment are new taxes, a carbon tax and then next a tax on the miners. - "But" again, "new taxes", "carbon tax", "tax on the miners". Cassidy is paraphrasing Shouldabeen. All tagged on the end of another Tony Burke lucid explanation of how the government and the nation have reached the stage where we are today. TB: And there is no better description for what people recognise the Australian economy needs than what is contained within that mining Tax Package. People recognise that you've got a number of mining companies there that are doing so much better than the rest of the economy generally, and that's a good thing, but it does mean they can afford to pay more tax and it does mean that you can then use that money to provide tax breaks across the rest of the economy by bringing the company tax rate down. That's exactly when people talk about a two-speed or patchwork economy, it's exactly what that package involves. To argue not only that the companies that are doing so well shouldn't be paying a little bit more tax, but to argue, as Tony Abbott is, against a package where the three biggest mining companies are actually on board and willing to pay it, but he still wants to protect them from it - I mean, I don't think Tony Abbott's argument on this one could be further away from what people understand to be the needs of the Australian economy. I know that he's got into a pattern of saying no to everything, but I really think the number is up on how long that is going to work. BC: Tony Burke, thanks for your time this morning. - So, from what I saw on the show, and from what I have quoted here, I stand by my initial post that BC did NOT cover himself in glory this morning. - However, the guests WERE at the more measured and thinking end of the scale than some recent line-ups have been. (Hello, Niki Savva)

Acerbic Conehead 2

13/11/2011TT, [quote]Any more entries?[/quote] What about Wyatt Roy? Surely youth has to be given a go?

Patricia WA

13/11/2011Gravel, I agree with your disappointment in George M on Insiders and that [quote] he is a better writer than commenter, he seemed frightened to say too much....... [/quote] He always seems to me to be timid rather than[i] balanced[/i] which is how a lot people describe him. In view of how well considered his economic assessments are and his clear understanding of the realities of the Australian political scene he is far too tolerant of the idiocies of the LOTO. Maybe 'circumspect' best describes much of his commentary on Insiders. I was very surprised indeed by how glowingly he described Hartigan today. I'd rather have heard no comment at all than that.

Feral Skeleton

13/11/2011Talk Turkey, Didn't Kevin Andrews think he was leadership material before Abbott got the nod? So maybe he should be at the top of your list. ;-)

Patricia WA

13/11/2011PS on G Meg's comment on Hartigan not being allowed to reach retirement age, presumably 65? What on earth has that do with it? Did I hear him also mention his super? Surely age is no longer an issue re super savings. Don't they travel with one, regardless of age or length of service? I doubt he'd be let go after forty years service, or agree to go so quietly, without a generous handshake from Rupert Murdoch, if only to make sure he keeps his mouth shut. Seemed a somewhat gratuitous comment, unless GM wanted to make a sideways suggestion the change was about real differences with Murdoch about how News Ltd had recently been run in Oz.

Catey

13/11/2011Patricia The changes at News Ltd are fascinating. I guess we can only speculate as to the reasons why and carefully watch for evidence of changes in the agenda. The Guardian article is excellent and I am very uneasy that News Ltd has that much power and influence over our democracy. Having said that it's a disgrace that others in the media ie radio and TV do not ever call them to account - rather, they simply let News Ltd set the agenda and whatever is in the paper today becomes the news of today, regardless of whether it is a beat up or not ie Telegraph's so called Leadership Challenge a week or so ago. Where is the critical analysis of what is printed? This to me is a serious as the crap we are dished up.

psyclaw

13/11/2011TT You must add Wilson Tuckey .....he could do a Campell Newman and he's probly be a better PM than the hacks you listed. They are absolutely bereft of talent and as FS said, Loughnane should reply to that advert which runs constantly in regional press "wanted...suspect horses" (for the Clag and Pal factories) Michael when you see his actual words in print BC is still flogging the Colonition dead horse at least at the vocab level. Nevertheless compared to the last year or more, all in all it was a FAQ episode of Insiders (fair average quality for you non rural Swordsters... a grading of wheat ......long before the techno world stole it for reference to popular queries). AA As you pointed out, one of the interesting things formally articulated on Insiders was the suggestion that Abbott the fool has put all his eggs in the basket of a failed minority government and a very early election ie at the end of 2010 or early 2011. His purpose was to sail into the Lodge on the back of the voters' widespread resentment of JG, which he has been hysterically cultivating since the election. But he has underestimated JG's negotiation skills and courage with which she has held the government together and passed significant legislation. Four or five weeks ago such an election result might have occurred. But at 53-47 and with JG's tail up and Abbott dragging his butt around almost on the ground such a result might not be possible for him from this point of time on. I think that as every week passes there is an expectation developing from a wide range of sources that the election will be fought on policies, not just on an emotional rejection of JG. The further away the election actually occurs, the stronger will be this expectation. And of course policy development and promoting it by rational argument are Abbott's archilles glass jaw, to mix up a couple of metaphors.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011AC I said earlier re your scenario that imo the boy Roy was a better man than the man-thing Abbortt. He might gain nous and eventually end up a Labor man. There is nowhere for intelligent adults to go in the Coalition. Roy doesn't seem particularly obnoxious, he's not fit to be a Liberal. No joke. Now, as for Neganogenius, I wrote a bit about him earlier while he was on Lopsiders, but then deleted it, because it sounded churlish and not very nice. Well dammit, now I will say what I was going to, I see that several people here and elsewhere have essentially said much the same but sotto voce, well I said basso profundo that he is an [i]eel[/i], and invited gentle readers to append their own adjectives, e.g. 'smooth' if I'm being nice. He seems unwilling to say on TV anything which could be misconstrued as being courageous, he offers no points to grip, blandishments and sly wriggles is about all. I said last year, remember, (as if I'm ever going to let anyone forget!) in The Maid from Yarralumla: 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 [b]Annabel, the slyly-sidling Crabb[/b]*. 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 his 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 [b]unkindest cut of all came from that wimp-out by Megalogenis![/b] Thus was Julia besieged: just *Laura (K) 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." I keep coming back to what I said then to see that I wasn't being unduly fair. ;-) But no, I reckon I've been almost unfair enough. But that Neganogenius better stiffen his spine and shed his slime and grow some other bits before I reckon he's one of Ours. As many people appear to think. *One of those Hermit-Crab types of which I spoke this morning, scuttling sidewise now to cover their sorry exposed naked arses now their shells no longer are big enough to cover them. Grattan is amongst the worst. How comes it [i]we[/i] could be so right all along, and they so [i]wrong?[/i] I know a few here have had their doubts - not Fearless Leader Ad astra mind you, and I'm in that jaw-set mob too - but the thing about the MSM is they had no doubts either, but their no-doubt belief was that Abbortt could not possibly lose the next election. None, zilch, zip! "Snigger, nudge nudge, latte, nookie, tap tap, looka what I writ aren't I funny! See what I said about her not wearing earrings because the extra weight would make them drag on the ground . . . " and so on. Well suck it up you pathetic lot of circlejerkers, we know who you are and what you are too gutless to stand for, whatever you say now. I don't retract a word of what I said last year. You have served the nation evilly and you should stay inside your whelk-shells for good unless you get some decency. Read what gets said here and on other good websites, I suggest, as we used to read decent newspapers in days of yore. Here you find honesty and integrity and courage and good sense, how are you lousy lot ever going to measure up? Shed your old skins. Don't write crap. Be responsible and courageous and inquisitive and robust. I don't believe you're up to it, but I want to be proved wrong. At the moment I feel that the blogosphere provides unutterably better commentary than dead trees or TV's do. You have earnt a great deal of contempt from those who wish you had instead earnt our respect. Lift your game, you have an important job to do.

psyclaw

13/11/2011TT Well, no ambiguity or vacillation from you. Well said! You've got them all sorted out. I think the two LTs are the most courageous and talented..... Tingle and Taylor. Both have many times taken to task the crap spruiked by that fool Abbott. While I won't defend G Meg to the death, it [i]was[/i] him who said that JG is looking prime ministerial, and he did not add any qualifications to the statement. IMO he is not in the same league of slime as the others in your pome! Cheers

Sir Ian Crisp

13/11/2011What on earth is going on in the Australian Liars Party? The bird of paradox was offered up as the quintessential politician but she is proving to be as popular as a pigskin wallet in a synagogue. Instead of enjoying a few palmy days following on from the G20 meeting in Cannes the bird of paradox arrived in Afghanistan where she proved to be as welcome as a boil on the bum. She had to arrange a screening of the AFL country grand final between the Boort ‘devils’ and the Casterton ‘cowboys’ (the devils won 45 to 41) in order to attract a reasonable crowd. My mail is that the troops were threatened with a court-martial should any of them refuse to attend her soporific speech.

2353

13/11/2011JJ said [quote]How about you check your facts. I did not bring up the issue of NSW Government corruption (of which there is none), all i was doing was responding to that exact claim made by TT which is ludicrous and baseless. [/quote] No - you made the claim they are not corrupt - you prove it. I don't live in NSW so it's only my problem if Can't Do Newman (who coincidently is dropping in the polls as well) soes to Queensland what he did to Brisbane, what O'Farrell seems to be doing to NSW and what Ballieu seems to be doing to Victoria. Firstly - where did TT make the claim you refer to and secondly the speed and intensity of your denial seems to suggest you are hiding something. Put up (prove the NSW Govt is not corrupt) or shut up.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011Psyclaw I posted the sizeable (circa 5 A4 pages) pome [i]The Lass From Yarralumla [/i]here on TPS on October 12 last year. I would be honoured if you were to trouble to read it all, I find your own contributions here very valuable.(It's easy to find [i]The Lass[/i] thanks to the wonder of archiving here, Thanks and salutations Web Monkey) It was intended to set the truth of that campaign in concrete, there's something essentially timeless in verse and the saga was and remains an epic in Australian political history. I am beyond grateful to TPS for giving me a forum and therewith [i]motivation[/i] to write the story in verse, because I wanted the event remembered without distortion. I am quite pleased with it, a year on, and though there are those politicians and journalists I left out, I sprayed or stroked enough of them to let them know I was watching them. Lenore Taylor is splendid I agree, honest, her own adviser, and not silly, but she isn't *big* yet like Bolt and the Joneses, or Laura Tingle, who is to Journalism much as *J*U*L*I*A* is to Politics. But if I'm not much mistaken the voices of hate are a bit muted lately, they are running out of screech, they reach High C and [i]eeeeee![/i] they got nowhere to go. Does anyone watch Bumbolt at all? I hardly see him even mentioned nowadays and when I do it's like people talking about Abbortt being overseas, both of them, "How nice he's not in our face right now." We render them irrelevant by ignoring them. There is nothing to be learnt from them, it's not like burning books of worthy ideas, theirs are not worthy of any attention, as Monckton is not worthy of any. We have bypassed the Convoy of Incontinence days. Dog be patted. Anyway Psyclaw see what I said of Nega last year? - The thing is, from him it felt like betrayal, we had the right I think to hope for something better from him, he even let down Laura who was there with him in the interview I'm talking about, by faintly murmuring sweet #*ck-alls when he should have been reinforcing her points. Today he was insipid, saccharine, but not even enough of that. I don't know what they give previously-outspoken Lefties at the ABC. Stepford Wife injections or something. I hate insipidity. I'm pretty critical eh, OK, but these people are paid lots to inform the People, courageously finding important truths and responsibly and accurately reporting them. They shouldn't be the mainstream equivalent of gutter trash. They are [i]failing[/i] us, as Mr Denmore, an ex-[i]real[/i] journalist, points out in the very name of his fine blogsite. It is the very purpose of Ad astra's site to hold journalists and politicians to account, it's the best we in the ordinary community can do, and I intend to use language as effectively, if necessary abrasively, and I care not even if offensively, to those who are deliberate voices of hate.

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011If jj fires any more misdirected missiles at TT I'll spill the beans about the real jj Including the dirty bits and all (You'll be [i]amazed[/i].)

psyclaw

13/11/2011TT I take your point about G Meg ......I guess the saying "real shit happens when good people stay silent" (loosely quoted) is what you are referring to ie he fell silent and didn't speak his heart/mind. I agree, that is shameful. I will check your pome in the archives. Thanks.

Feral Skeleton

13/11/2011PatriciaWA, It was Kerry Anne Walsh who questioned George Megalogenis about why it was that John Hartigan got the Order of the Boot just before he turned 65, and so was rendered ineligible for proper Retirement Benefits. GeorgeM. sidestepped the question. If you want my humble opiniion about Insiders, I just wish that they wouuld have found a way to shut that interminable bore, Brian Toohey up. On and on and on he went , riding his little hobby horses(kindly pointed out by Barrie Cassidy during the Superannuation discussion), on and on and on and on. To no great enlightenment for the great unwashed watching. Except for the little nugget of gossip about Kevin Rudd calling for the head of Chris Mitchell when he went and called on Rupert Murdoch in New York one time when he was there for a UN meeting. Which just points up the political ineptness of Kevin, at the end of the day. That is, he should have been savvy enough to know that the one thing you don't do with Rupert Murdoch is tell him how to run his business. It only would have made Rupert more determined to keep Mitchell on because he knew then that Mitchell was getting under Rudd's skin. And because, as PWA's Guardian article rightly pointed out, the power that newspapers have over politicians is that they are not replaced as regularly as are politicians, therefore they end up holding more power to use to move and shake. So, of course, Rupert was never going to replace Chris Mitchell with someone without that tenure in the job. Funny, isn't it, how media megaphones fulminate about academic tenure, yet that is exactly the weapon they love to have to use themselves in their battles?

jj

13/11/20112353, Please explain how the Labor Party's rule over NSW was a success? They were corrupt, wasteful, incompetent and a complete embarrassment to all that lived within the state, with our politics and politicians becoming known as a 'disease'. One major achievement of the Liberal Government in this state has been its ability to stay out of the headlines, due to its ability to just get on and do what they are supposed to do rather than act like the media puppets Beattie, Reese, Keneally etc etc. The reverse onus of proof does not apply, and it is wholly up to you and your cronies to prove that there is any corruption. TT, 1. Stoner has been cleared of any wrongdoing from ICAC, so dont throw mud around. 2. on your 'corruption' standards ie Cusack being replaced with Parker, it would also have been an act of corruption when Gillard stabbed Rudd. Your argument is too too far to the extreme of absurd. 3. The ex member for Clarence stepped down and was not forced to resign over his stupid and careless mistake. It occurred over 6 years ago and the electorate will have their say. 4. Instead of throwing accusations around about illegal or corrupt behavior going on between a National Party Donor and the party machine how about you just spit out the basis of what you are saying. You do understand that reading a blog that is so obviously biased does not make you an expert on the electoral issues of the region. 5. If the media can find that Greiner was doing deals that could benefit the boards on which he sits than yes this would be corrupt, but there has been no suggestion of such behavior, and so once again this accusation is based on nothing. 6. I find it amazing how your standards work. All of the excuses in the world for the first term Gillard Government after her and it's multitude of embarrassing backdowns and backflips: East Timor solution, Papua New Guinea solution, Malaysia solution, onshore solution; no carbon tax, citizens assembly, cash for clunkers, "there will be no carbon tax", urging Kevin to dump the idea of an ETS, oh whoops there will be a carbon tax; i support a big Australia, no i support a small Australia etc etc. Yet somehow not even a year into the State Liberal Government with no real stuff ups apart from the whole Orica saga (hardly the cause of govt policy and more poor departmental oversight). Your partisanship shows no bounds.

psyclaw

13/11/2011TT Per favore....I've looked in Archives and can't find any comments/articles around 12/10/10. Please help. Under what article is The Lass posted. Any help appreciated. I'm on a long journey tomorrow so I'll search again in about 24 hours. Thaks

Feral Skeleton

13/11/2011Yet again, I think it is important that we consider just exactly what is the import of the Coalition's pledge to make $70 Billion in 'Savings' to the Budget, should the electorate sleepwalk into the 2013 Election and believe the hype that they are spinning and get trapped in the web of deceit they are weaving. If you want to know what it means, you need to look no further than Conservative Republican darling, Rick Perry's Texas(read this and weep for the future of democracy): http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/rick-perry-the-best-little-whore-in-texas-20111026

TalkTurkey

13/11/2011Psyclaw Yeah it's 10.42 AM on 12/10/10. To navigate there go to the Calendar on the lefthand side of the home page, click down through the months to October 2010, then click on the thread of 10/10/10, then scroll down to 12/10/10 and at last to 10.42 AM The article is Grog Please come back we need you. Funny, as we speak I happen to be half-watching [i]The English Patient.[/i] Now, I always thought Grog's Gamut was Greg Jericho, it turns out it's Ralph Fiennes!:)

jane

14/11/2011AC you've done it again. jj @10.32pm, at least we have standards. Heard on Weekend Sunrise this morning that the impact of carbon pricing will be less than what Treasury has predicted and 4x less than the impact of the GST. I wonder if the msm will bother quizzing Liealot or his fellow travellers about it? I have been visiting my m-i-l in the RAH this weekend. She broke her femur last Sunday in the wee hours and is recovering from surgery to pin the break, so have been out of the loop. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/carbon-tax-hit-small-csiro-20111112-1ncvq.html#ixzz1dWEsGyJI

Lyn

14/11/2011 [b]TODAY’S LINKS[/b] [i]Obama will look with some envy, Crispin Hull[/i] The billionaire Koch brothers in the US, for example, have thrown a couple of million dollars in seed money to set up databases of rich people to generate a huge advertising fund an anti-government agenda to dupe people into voting against their economic interests. http://www.crispinhull.com.au/2011/11/12/obama-will-look-with-spme-envy/ [i]Has Julia got her mojo back?, Andrew Stafford, Friction[/i]Gillard's had the best few weeks of her turbulent Prime Ministership. First she managed to secure the carbon tax's passage through the Lower House. When Alan Joyce decided to play hardball with the unions by grounding his Qantas fleet, Julia (via Fair Work Australia) sent them post-haste back to the negotiating table, for once looking surefooted in what was, for her, familiar territory. http://andrew-stafford.blogspot.com/2011/11/has-julia-got-her-mojo-back.html [i]Has Gillard turned the corner? Laurie Oakes seems to be saying so. ,Alan Kerlin, The Beach House[/i] It seems that Oakes is the first major Australian journalist to twig that Tony Abbott's time in the spotlight is fading fast and a big carbon tax win under the belt of Julia Gillard has her starting "at long last, to look more prime ministerial". http://alankerlin.blogspot.com/2011/11/has-gillard-turned-corner-laurie-oakes.html [i]Nielsen: 55-45 to Coalition, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger[/i] GhostWhoVotes tweets the latest monthly Nielsen result has the Coalition lead at 55-45 – an improvement for the government on the 57-43 a month ago, and their best result from Nielsen since March, but shy of their form in other recent polling. More to follow http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/11/13/nielsen-55-45-to-coalition/ [i]who would Howard back?, Miglo, Café Whispers[/i] Let us assume there is a spill, which cannot be ruled out entirely in the distant future, so I ask: “Who would Howard throw his weight behind to lead the party into the next election?” I’m assuming that Howard still has some influence in the party. He is, after all, always sitting beside the phone waiting http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/open-forum-who-would-howard-back/ [i] Who’d Want Howard Back-, Patriciawa, Polliepomes[/i] Rumors abound that he has been recalled to help resolve the current Liberal leadership crisis. At the same time media commentators and bloggers are enjoying the chance to discuss other likely contenders in the Liberal Party Leadership stakes http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/ [i]Timetable for Future Australian Elections, Antony Green[/i] It's time to update the timetable of future election dates. In date order, the timing of the next round of federal, state and territory elections is as follows. http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2011/11/future-election-dates.html [i]O'Farrell's Misleading Electricity Price Claims, Greg Combet[/i] Mr O’Farrell wants NSW electricity retailers to state on electricity bills that the carbon price will add up to $498 a year to household electricity costs. This figure is wrong and is politically-motivated propaganda.The Government has provided $12.8 million to the ACCC to crackdown on businesses that try to gouge their customers by making misleading claims http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/o-farrell-s-misleading-electricity-price-claims/?utm_source= [i]Tony Abbott’s wrecking machine climate change policy, The Hot Books[/i] The federal opposition’s self-appointed role under Tony Abbott as a sovereign risk machine is, at least politically, well understood. not merely content with forecasting a looming apocalypse as a consequence of the carbon pricing package, Abbott has deliberately embraced the tactic of adding to business uncertainty with a cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die promise that he would repeal the package. http://www.ihotbooks.com/tony-abbotts-wrecking-machine-climate-change-policy/ [i]Crunch time for carbon sceptics, John Quiggin[/i] a change in government may see these steps reversed. But, also as in Australia, the intellectual collapse of the right is reflected in political confusion. The disarray in the Republican Presidential field reflects the fact that any candidate who is even minimally serious about the issues is unacceptable to the Republican base. http://johnquiggin.com/2011/11/12/crunch-time-for-carbon-sceptics/ [i]What is your Carbon Price, Find out now[/i] http://www.yourcarbonprice.com.au/ [i]Why not sell the ABC to Murdoch?, Bruce Haigh, On Line Opinion[/i]Australia Network is a good service. It was well run and it is logical that it should run in harness with Radio Australia. It is a vehicle that conveys important information about Australia and the means by which the government can get carefully crafted messages through to political, business and military leaders in the region. Australia’s public broadcaster can be and has been the conveyor of subtleties, not possible with SKY TV. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12870 [i]Nil-nil: 'Mafia boss' Murdoch convinces no one, Paul Barry, The Power Index[/i] As for the Power Index verdict, we reckon that being misled must run in the Murdoch family. Remember James's elder brother Lachlan and his troubles at One.Tel, where he was "profoundly misled" by the phone company's top executives? That cost the Murdochs $400 million. This, of course, will be far more. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-fail/nil-nil-mafia-boss-murdoch-convinces-no-one/20111110696 [i]Ian Burrell: James Murdoch emerges with reputation scarred ,IAN BURRELL, The Independent[/i] But as he sought to dump the blame for the mishandling of the hacking scandal on two of his juniors – the legal manager Tom Crone and the last editor of the News of the World Colin Myler – Murdoch himself looked increasingly negligent. His contempt for Crone shone through in the assertion that the legal boss was only permitted to authorise company http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/ian-burrell-james-murdoch-emerges-with-reputation-scarred-6259953.html [i]Fit to print, david Horton, The Watermelon Blog[/i] Someone noted the other day that one of the commercial TV “current affairs” programs had become a cancerous growth on the media. I reckon the media as a whole has become a cancerous growth on our democracy, and some kind of therapy is needed to reduce its malignancy. Not pleasant, cancer therapy, but it will do them, and us, a lot of good. http://davidhortonsblog.com/2011/11/13/fit-to-print/ [i]Citi prices Turnbull broadband plan at $17b, Josh Taylor, ZDNet[/i] there would be a number of hurdles to overcome to "shut down the NBN", Citigroup said, including:Terminating contracts and facing the associated penalties,Selling the NBN fibre assets that are fragmented across the country, Cancelling planned roll-out locations and facing the potential backlash from residents in those areas, Re-writing Telstra structural separation legislation so that it is no longer tied to the NBN, Dealing with a hostile Senate controlled by the Greens. http://www.zdnet.com.au/citi-prices-turnbull-broadband-plan-at-17b-339325988.htm [i]Mexicans struggle against a rotten elite, John Pilger, Independent Australia[/i] “The net worth of the 10 richest people of Mexico – a country where more than 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty – represents roughly 10 per cent of the gross domestic product.” http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/democracy/mexicans-struggle-against-a-rotten-elite/ [i]Hacking police find 'bombshell' emails: Now detectives may want to question James Murdoch, Stephen Wright, Daily Mail UK[/i] Police investigating phone-hacking at the News of the World have recovered a series of ‘bombshell’ emails which they believe takes the inquiry to ‘a new level’.The emails were among tens of thousands held by the newspaper at a data storage facility in India.Police are believed to want to question News International chief James Murdoch and former Sun and News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060569/Phone-hacking-James-Murdoch-questioned-bombshell-emails-found.html#ixzz1daMJT9d7 [b]Newspapers[/b] [i]At $9 a family, it's not all doom and gloom,Michael Bachelard, The Age[/i] The research, released exclusively to The Sunday Age, shows that, because the ''economic value'' of the $23 a tonne carbon price is ''very small in relation to the economy as a whole'', it will be barely registered by families.The GST produced four times more inflation than the carbon tax would and the recent rise in oil prices had more effect. Even the mining boom, seen by most as an economic positive, was twice as inflationary as the carbon tax, the modelling found. http://www.theage.com.au/environment/energy-smart/at-9-a-family-its-not-all-doom-and-gloom-20111112-1nd3v.html#ixzz1dZZfo5aW [i]Tony Abbott's leadership group puts small business tax write-offs in doubt, Samatha Maiden, the Courier Mail [/i] The tax write-off is also uncapped, allowing business to claim for more than one new asset.That's an increase from the current arrangements which only allow tax write-offs for assets up to only $1000.New figures obtained by The Sunday Mail confirm how the tax write-off would work. For example, a bricklayer purchasing a new cement mixer, brick saw, brick elevator and trailer worth around $13,000 would secure a cashflow benefit of $3770 in the first year the goods were purchased. http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/business-tax-break-in-doubt/story-fn7kjcme-1226193610788 :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Gravel

14/11/2011jane I noticed on Ch7 that they played a good sequence on the CEP not costing anywhere near what has been said or predicted. Then watched ABC, a much more muted and shorter segment but the same information, and now reading Lyn's brilliant links a positive (haven't read it yet but Lyn's smiley faces tell me) it will be a great positive article. About time too, as I've said before I only want the facts, not the propaganda we have all had to put up with for almost the last four years.

Jaeger

14/11/2011Gee, things must be bad for Abbott - both of his cheer squad have arrived to muddy the waters. Thanks for the links again, Lyn; Andrew Stafford's "Friction" blog looks interesting (his book "Pig City" is a good yarn about the Brisbane music scene under Sir Joh.)

Ad astra reply

14/11/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Lyn

14/11/2011Good Morning Ad Hope you had a nice weekend Ad. Mark Shove delights again with his link to Bushfire Bill’s entertaining opinion on the Poll Bludger this morning:- markjs1Mark Shove Peter Hartcher wouldn't cut the mustard as a race-caller.Bushfire Bill explains all in his latest gr8 post: http://bit.ly/rSnSE5 #Abbottfail Bushfire Bill Posted Monday, November 14, 2011 at 7:27 am | Comment Number 141 Peter Hartcher is Julia Gillard’s bitch. It’s often said that political commentators are just frustrated race callers, but they – or at least Hartcher does – lack the basic prerequisite of even an amateur barker from the Dunneedoo Picnic Carnival: the ability to tell who’s gaining and who’s tiring. According to political commentators, especially the bitchy ones like Hartcher, whoever’s behind in the race has no hope. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2011/11/13/nielsen-55-45-to-coalition/comment-page-3/#comment-1086007 Cheers:):):):):):

2353

14/11/2011JJ - I haven't made any claim on the ethics or corruption of previous NSW Governments or any of the other matters you raise as red herrings. Neither have you directed me to where someone else is supposed to make the claim that the NSW Government is corrupt - which I notice you spent the rest of your post trying without success to refute. Until either of those two events occur - money up or shut up. Prove the current NSW Government is not corrupt.

Michael

14/11/2011Malcolm the Thick Messiah MT proves here: http://www.smh.com.au/national/gillard-fights-her-way-out-of-slump-20111113-1ndvh.html yet again, with this quote from the article: 'Malcolm Turnbull concurred with Mr Abbott yesterday that there would be a second, double-dissolution election within months if the Coalition won government but the Labor and Greens-controlled Senate refused to let it rescind the price on carbon. ''[If] the Labor Party were defeated they may choose to roll over but you'd have to assume they wouldn't,'' he said. ''If the Senate voted against it, we'd be back to the polls perhaps within six months or so of an election at a double dissolution to try to get over the Senate deadlock.'' ' that MT is as thick as TA when it comes to understanding how Parliament actually works, what is required to call a double dissolution, and on another level of political ineptitude... Just how mightily pissed off an Australian electorate might be about being called to 2 Federal elections in 6 months, when, if the Coalition was elected in the first one, it would surely be on a 'we'll fix up the mess' basis, only to have to admit they can't. Malcolm spends too much time in front of the 'mirror' of fawning (sectional) public opinion. He would do better to study the constitutional requirements of calling elections, so that he doesn't fall into the 'prime ministerial fiat' theory of government that seems to be Shouldabeen's ignorant grasp of the due process of running this nation. Of course, patricians (self-anointed or otherwise) have always seemed to believe ruling was oh so simply done with the wave of a hand or 'thumbs up or down'. (PS Recaptcha code "con-addyng". How apt for Malc)

TalkTurkey

14/11/2011So WT# is Antonio now? While we breathlessly await his return here is the Coalition's plaintive refrain. The poor Italian maid is actually Sophie Mirabella pining for her lost love: http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=oh%20my%20antonio%20he's%20gone%20away&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDVNzbRbennw&ei=i0XATqfZAozBiQfB2eCgBQ&usg=AFQjCNEgq611_iX7zvevJI3k7Xl7uNLYpA OH! OH! ANTONIO (Words and Music by C.W. Murphy and Dan Lipton) View the Song Sheets Listen to Florrie Ford singing this song.(YouTube Video) In quaint native dress, An Italian maid was deep in distress, As the streets she strayed searching in every part For her false sweetheart and his ice cream cart. Her English was bad, it can't be denied, And so to herself in Italian she cried: CHORUS "Oh! Oh! Antonio, He's gone away. Left me alon-i-o all on my own-i-o. I want to meet him with his new sweetheart. Then up will go Antonio, And his ice cream cart". So sad grew the plight of this fair young lass She'd faint at the sight of an ice cream glass. She'd dream nigh every day that he'd come back to stay. But he'd fade away. Her old hurdy gurdy all day she'd parade, And this she would sing to each tune that it played: CHORUS She sought in dispair for Antonio. And looked everywhere that she thought he'd go. Soon she to pine began, as each face she'd scan, For her ice cream man. She faded away. But they say in the streets, That ghost of a girl in Italian repeats: CHORUS

Patricia WA

14/11/2011Delicious again, TT! Have you seen this? Your day doesn't need brightening, I'm sure, but it might make it even shinier. http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/shorten-sings-her-praises-as-pms-fortunes-brighten-20111113-1ndta.html In many circumstances compliments from potential rivals can be seen as the kiss of death, which I guess is why so few compliments and pledges of loyalty have been coming from colleagues so far. But this is no faint praise and given among other Labor VIPs.

Feral Skeleton

14/11/2011Michael, I saw that laughable interview from ABC24 with Talcy Malcy(I call him that because he reminds me of the Louis XVth era petit bourgeoisie aristocrat that fops about with powdered face back then), as he deigned to inform the interviewer of the fait accompli that would be the, 'Not One! But Two!' election wins that Tony Abbott would achieve within the space of 6 months! Over and above the strictly 'Time and Motion' aspects of the journey that a putative Abbott government would have to take to get to the Double Dissolution election, as I said to my son, simply, "What if the Coalition actually go backwards in the Double Dissolution election, as people make their displeasure felt about being dragged back to the polls twice in a year, in order to achieve Tony Abbott's 'Guided Democracy' outcome?" As there's nothing more 'Guided' about 'Democracy' than being told who to vote for by the person that is wanting your vote. I mean, what about the infamous Australian predilection for balancing the Senate by splitting your vote between the House and the Senate? Have Malcolm and Tony factored that in to their calculations?

Ad astra reply

14/11/2011Hi Lyn Thank you for your links and the additional link to BB’s acerbic analysis of Peter Hartcher’s article on [i]Poll Bludger[/i]. Peter’s journalism continues to slip; as BB points out, he’d make a lousy race caller. Why on earth are we making predictions about the outcome of the next election based on opinion polls on voting preferences two years out from the next scheduled one? I’ll tell you – it’s because polls are big business, despite their irrelevance two years out, and so the likes of Peter Hartcher, Michelle Grattan and Phillip Coorey are all out there this morning touting the results of today’s Nielsen poll, and of course extracting ‘gems’ from it to make the story worth reading for sensation-oriented readers, and then extrapolating two years hence with ridiculous predictions of a ‘landslide’, ‘massacre’, disaster, pick your adjective, ‘should an election be held now’. The stupidity of such extrapolations must be obvious to both pollsters and journalists reporting on the poll, yet that never holds them back. Of course they make for easy journalism; in half an hour or less, anyone of us could write a similar account of the poll results with a couple of dire predictions thrown in for good measure. Let’s analyse the stupidity. First the election is not to be held now; it is not due for two years. So what’s their point? Next, everyone, but everyone knows that the gap between the parties narrows as the election approaches. Although Labour was well ahead before the 2007 election, the gap at the election was not large. Federal elections are generally closer than predicted. Have these journalists amnesia – do they not remember John Howard’s dire poll results around GST time, and have they forgotten his recovery and election success? Frankly, I think the only reason opinion polls on voting intention are conducted now is to give pollsters work, the poll owners kudos, and their journalists convenient copy that places no strain on their investigative ability, no challenge to their imagination. Polling opinion about other issues such as the carbon and minerals taxes might be worthwhile, but I challenge anyone to ‘prove’ the predictive value of intermittent polls so remote from election time. Regarding Nielsen, like other polls pointing to an improving trend for Labor and PM Gillard, I believe Labor supporters, while being encouraged, ought to avoid too much hand clapping. Politics is very volatile and even the most unlikely events can cause big, and often unpredictable swings in approval. What I believe is noteworthy though is the increasing number of journalists who are pointing to Tony Abbott’s vacuousness, his policy paucity and the sterility of his negativity and obstruction, and suggesting that he may have run his race. For journalists who conveniently overlooked his foibles, his disingenuousness, his weathervane behaviour to now be expressing doubts about his suitability as PM is striking. All the more so because they thereby question the suitability of a political party which not only supports this man but applauds his ‘success’, which when you analyse it, is ‘success’ in moving the opinion polls towards the Coalition, opinion polls that in my view are not worth a cracker right now. I’ll soon be posting; [i]Julia Gillard’s Light on the Hill[/i]. You may wish to re-post today’s links on that piece, so that no one misses the gems therein.

Ad astra reply

14/11/2011Folks I have just posted [i]Julia Gillard's Light on the Hill[/i]. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/11/14/Julia-Gillards-Light-on-the-Hill.aspx

jane

14/11/2011Gravel @8.24am, even a few weeks ago, you would have been hard pressed to find those bald facts without a disparaging rider. It's like sniffing the wind and catching the scent of rain when the tanks are down to the last few rungs. I particularly like the fact that the impact of the carbon pricing is also being compared favourably with the impact of the GST. Great ammo to shoot down the cheerleaders! Michael @9.21am, confirming my opinion that Malvolio hasn't learned a bind thing since he was slung out of the LOTO job. It reinforces my opinion, held since the Grech Affair, that his lack of political nous and judgement, combined with his enormous ego, his arrogance and his hubris, makes him completely unfit to be LOTO, let alone PM. And as if I needed further confirmation that he's a political featherweight, he's done me proud by allowing Liealot to bully him into spruiking against the NBN, climate change and carbon pricing and an ETS, principles he has espoused before and during his short tenure as LOTO for inclusion in the shadow ministry. Had he had the wit to retire to the back benches and bide his time, I might give him the benefit of my extreme misgivings about his integrity. But good ol' Malvolio, once again he didn't let me down, by showing the world that he is an opportunistic plonker! And right on cue, if I really needed more convincing of his hubris, opportunism and sleazyness, FS has stepped up to the plate with aplomb. From his slimy undermining of Liealot on the last QandA for the year, to the command performance on ABC24, to paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan he is a perfect model of a modern Liars Party politico. TT, I can see Slagabella now, stalking the streets looking under cardboard boxes, snarling at stray dogs. God help the new GF, if she got her pudgy hands around her throat! Which brings me to the photo AC has chosen for this post. Wyatt Roy looks rather uncomfortable with Antonio standing behind him, don't you think? And who can blame him when they see the lean and hungry look in Antonio's eye as he stares at the back of the unfortunate Roy's neck. I can imagine Antonio and Slagabella feasting on his scrawny carcass in their lair. Ad astra, business must be lean for Mr Hartcher. As you say, it is ludicrous to be making such assertions about a landslide victory for the forces of darkness this far out from the election. In two years, Qld will no doubt have succumbed to the Liars Party bait and have had long enough to regret it as will Victoria and NSW. WA is another matter. Patricia would be in a better position to comment on that. Also the idiocy of polling on the impact of the carbon pricing legislation months before it's implemented smacks of straw clutching, imo particularly when the modelling done by the CSIRO et al shows that its impact will be pretty much negligible, unlike the GST and minerals mining. This will be a particularly satisfactory rod with which to beat the Liars Party and their cheerleaders about the head and throat. No doubt they will try their usual tack of dissing the CSIRO, but coupled with the msm starting to awaken from the nightmare of being in Rupert's malevolent thrall, their dishonest and disingenuous braying quite likely will fail to gain traction. If the msm had done their job instead of dishonestly reporting the government's achievements as wasteful failures and debacles, the polls would have a very different complexion, imo. Had they also not conspired to ignore Liealot's and his fellow travellers lies, dishonesty, duplicty, obfuscations, lack of integrity, policy vacuum and negativity, their would be less uncertainty and negativity in the country and a lot more appreciation of the fortunate position we currently enjoy.

Ad astra reply

14/11/2011Jane Thank you for your detailed remarks, with which I agree. Your comments about Malcolm Turnbull are apt, particularly”[i]And as if I needed further confirmation that he's a political featherweight, he's done me proud by allowing Liealot to bully him into spruiking against the NBN, climate change and carbon pricing and an ETS, principles he has espoused before and during his short tenure as LOTO for inclusion in the shadow ministry.”[/i] That is what I despise most about him. He could have been principled and told Abbott to go jump asked to perjure himself, but instead he gutlessly complied. You may care to post your comments on the succeeding post so that they will not be lost.

jane

14/11/2011Ad astra, I suppose it's the disappointment and disillusionment you feel when a person you thought had so much promise turns out to be a chipped plate from the $2 shop.

jj

15/11/2011Ad Astra, I suppose on that score (about MT) Steven Conroy should begin yelling from the rooftops that he is a climate change skeptic. I suppose Martin Ferguson should yell from the rooftops how he is what you would label 'a climate change denier'. They like MT are bound by the ministerial and front bench code, to abide by the decisions of the cabinet and caucus. I would say that MT has done much more to make his controversial views known on climate change and workplace relations than any of Labor's front bench. Oh, and MT really does object to the stupidity of the NBN. I dont blame him, who would support a policy that was cooked up by Rudd and Conroy on a plane as a way to win some votes?

Ad astra reply

15/11/2011jj Three questions: What proof do you have that Stephen Conroy is a climate change skeptic, and Martin Ferguson a denier? What evidence do you have that the NBN is 'stupid'? What proof do you have that something a complex as the NBN was 'cooked up' by Kevin Rudd and Stephen Conroy on a short flight? They might be smart but....!

jane

15/11/2011Ad astra, I think jj is talking out of that part of his/her anatomy used to expel the end product of the digestive process. Like all cheerleaders, jj still thinks that making a pronouncement, no matter how factually incorrect or outrageous, guarantees acceptance. None of this inconvenient evidence stuff. As usual for jj and fellow cheerleaders, nice try but no cigar. I also don't recall Malvolio speaking ill of the NBN until it was the price for a place in the shadow ministry. Part of his humiliation at the hands of Liealot.

jj

15/11/20111. It is well known amongst the commentators (i have heard Fran Kelly and Michelle Grattan discuss it on ABC Radio National Breakfast) that both Ferguson and Conroy are 'non-believers'. The fact was made clear only in last weeks senate question time when a question was put forward to Conroy which included the claim about his dis-belief of the climate science which he did not rebut at all. 2. I did not say that the NBN was stupid (although that is my belief), but i was just rebutting your point about MT following the Abbott line. I think MT, as a smart and savvy ex-businessman, does genuinely object to the whole NBN proposal, as he has stated on numerous occasions. 3. Dont play dumb AA. The alteration from a $4.5 billion fibre to the node system to a $40 billion fibre to the home system is known to have been conceived on a flight from Sydney to Perth, the only means by which Conroy could get any talking time with Rudd. Conroy and Rudd have both never denied that this was where the idea was conceived, they just state that they cannot reveal 'personal conversations'. I know you think the Labor Party is God's gift to Planet Earth, bit they are not... and neither is the National, Liberal or Greens Party for that matter You know that what i say is right, because you read the exact same papers and watch the exact same political shows as i.

jane

15/11/2011Fran Kelly and Michelle Grattan? Two paragons of truth and virtue, I think not. They think Liealot is a credible alternative PM. I rest my case, M'lud.

jj

15/11/2011A little more credible than AA Jane.

jane

15/11/2011Certainly more credible than one Anthony Abbott, jj. Glad you have finally seen the light.

Ad astra reply

16/11/2011jj If on the one hand you believe Fran Kelly and Michelle Grattan, and on the other you really believe that the NBN scheme of the financial dimensions you describe was ‘conceived’ on a flight from Sydney to Perth, that explains much of the nonsense you write.

jj

16/11/2011Ad Astra, No, but you see, that is what makes the whole concept of the NBN so absurd... the financial considerations were not taken into account when Rudd and Conroy decided to go fibre to the home, they just made the decision.

jane

16/11/2011jj, probably the decision was based on the view that in the long run ftth was the best way to go for efficiency and speed, which despite some troglodytes' blather, is what most people want. And it's better and cheaper to do the job as a one off, than deciding to do add ons later.

Ad astra reply

17/11/2011jj I wonder will you think the NBN to be as 'absurd' as you paint it when it revolutionises health, education, agriculture and business and enables Australia to engage in commerce around the world ahead of other nations that have slow broadband? Are these new fangled things called aeroplanes absurd, or should we have stuck to ground and sea transport. Is the Internet absurd? Are these intrusive things called mobile phones absurd? Are contemporary imaging techniques in medicine absurd? Is unravelling the human genome and contemporary genetic testing absurd? Yet you say 'the whole concept of the NBN is absurd', presumably because there was no CBA. Please explain how that would have made the [b]concept[/b] of the NBN less absurd? Did the Snowy Mountains Scheme have a CBA? Does its absence make that scheme 'absurd'? Why not get with the magnificent, indeed revolutionary technology that the NBN will bring because of this Government's initiative, taken in the absence of any commercial outfit offering to build it? Or at least reserve your judgement until you are enjoying the untold benefits super fast broadband.
How many Rabbits do I have if I have 3 Oranges?