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D Mick Weir

26/01/2012[i][b]Mick's Media Mix[/b][/i] The Hottest 100 Edition Yes today is the day that Triple J reveals it's Hottest 100 http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/ [b][i]On this Day[/i][/b] Mostly from Wikipedia [b]Holidays and observances[/b] Republic Day - India http://goo.gl/C6cCS Liberation Day - Uganda http://goo.gl/FbhOr Duarte Day - Dominican Republic http://goo.gl/5mgIU [b]Births[/b] 1878 – Dave Nourse, South African cricketer (d. 1948) 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (d. 1964) 1885 – Michael Considine, Australian politician (d. 1959) 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (d. 1987) 1918 – Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (d. 1989) 1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer http://goo.gl/TU3ua [b]Deaths[/b] 1948 – John Lomax, Musicologist and folklorist (b. 1867) http://goo.gl/SujDp 1961 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (b. 1900) 1962 – Lucky Luciano, American mobster (b. 1897) [b]Events[/b] 1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne. 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney 1808 – Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia. http://goo.gl/ELLCj 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state. 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. 1966 – The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach 1971 - Aboriginal Tent Embssy set on the lawns of Parliament House 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons. 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. [b][i]To the Blogs[/i][/b] [b]Happy fortieth Tent Embassy[/b] Toni Hassan @OnLineOpinion [i]The Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra - the iconic and, to some, offensive site that kicked off a national conversation about the indigenous rights - turns forty this week. Governments starting from Billy McMahon's on have never quite managed to shut it down or belittle it as a symbol of resistance. That, says activist Gary Foley, is a spectacular event in itself.[/i] http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=13170&page=0 [b]Invasion Day/Australia Day: Unity/Disunity[/b] Kim @LP [i]I think everyone of a certain age can remember a certain mantra from John Howard. Symbols, he intoned, are not important. “Symbolic Reconciliation” is not important, he couldn’t say Sorry. The Republic was just a symbol, of interest to “elites”. Not broken, don’t fix it. Yet, symbols he liked were somehow exempt. Howard usurped the role of the Head of State, wanting to preside over things like the Olympics, attending military funerals, laying wreaths, and always, always, wrapping himself in the Flag. Which is just a symbol.[/i] http://larvatusprodeo.net/2012/01/25/invasion-dayaustralia-day-unitydisunity/ [b]Australia Day, and the pond is standing in it ...[/b] Dorothy Parker @LoonPond [i]t wouldn't be an Australia Day without someone in the commentariat being offensive about something. Come on down Paul Sheehan and jump from the matter of magistrate Pat O'Shane to a wider commentary about being aboriginal and black in Australia, and running out the oldest meme about how being black is a sure way to cash in the paw:[/i] http://loonpond.blogspot.com/2012/01/above-putting-money-into-answer-on.html [b]‘Aliens in their own land’[/b] John Pasant @enPassant [i]Forty years ago, at 1am on the morning of 27 January 1972, four young Aboriginal men – Billy Craigie, Tony Coorie, Michael Anderson and Bertie Williams – pitched a beach umbrella on the lawns outside old parliament house in Canberra and proclaimed the site the office of the Aboriginal Embassy, ...[/i] http://enpassant.com.au/?p=12119 [b]Inflation is a Dead Duck[/b] @TheKouk [i]The CPI recorded zero change in the December quarter locking in a marked deceleration in inflation through the course of 2011. In the last six months, headline inflation has run at an annualized pace of 1.3%, with some of the deceleration due to a reversal of the price spikes for goods and services impacted by the floods and cyclones early in 2011.[/i] http://stephenkoukoulas.blogspot.com/2012/01/inflation-is-dead-duck.html [b]RBA free to move. It may not, but it is now free to move[/b] Peter Martin [i]A dramatic drop in inflation means there’s now nothing to stop the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates when it meets for the first time this year Tuesday week.. Australia’s official rate of inflation fell to 3.1 per cent for the year to December and to zero for the December quarter itself.[/i] http://www.petermartin.com.au/2012/01/rba-free-to-move-it-may-not-but-it-is.html [b]Drum Piece and Inflation[/b] Grog @Grog's Gamut [i]My latest Drum piece... It has no graphs but lots of depressing cynicism. Incidentally in it I quote that the $1.5 billion figure the Government is claiming as the cost of switching to $1 bet limits comes from the Productivity Commission Report. I should have made more clear that it is cited in the report but is the PC quoting a submission by the Gaming Technologies Association, so I would regard is with about 1.5 billion tonnes of salt. My points, the PC even knew about that large figure and still recommended moving to $1 bet limits. The Australia Institute, meanwhile puts the figure at a rather more friendly $350 million.[/i] http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2012/01/drum-piece-and-inflation.html [b]Protectionism: a matter of national pride[/b] Vincent O'Donnell @TheConversation [i]In Australia’s political history, elements of both Coalition and Labor governments have used arguments of cultural identity and national pride to justify policies of economic protectionism. The practice continues today. Take, for instance, this utterance: “The pragmatic zealot view would mean that there was no arts industry, no public transport, no environmental programs because none of those things pay for themselves.”[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/protectionism-a-matter-of-national-pride-4983 [b]Not the National Press Club – Scuttlebut Alley[/b] Pip @CafeWhispers [i]Yesterday ABC24 televised the National Press Club speech given by Mr. Anthony Albanese, then took it off the air to show a State of the Union speech by President Obama.[/i] http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/not-the-national-press-club-scuttlebut-alley/ [b]Like it or not, we’re more diverse than ever this Australia Day[/b] Bob Birrell @The Conversation [i]One of the sharpest divides in attitudes to Australia Day celebrations is between those who think of Australia as a nation of migrants and those who regard Australians as a unique people and culture.[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/like-it-or-not-were-more-diverse-than-ever-this-australia-day-5040 [b]Caught in a racial trap[/b] @PipingShrike [i]How do you change racial provisions in the Constitution when the entire infrastructure of land rights is based on it? That’s the real problem that those who are now looking to redraft the Constitution are grappling with behind the smokescreen of drawing up a Preamble.[/i] http://www.pipingshrike.com/2012/01/caught-in-a-racial-trap.html [b]Australian car industry needs lower emissions, not handouts[/b] Ann Mortimore @TheConversation [i]The Australian Government has been bailing out automotive manufacturers since 1985. Both that year’s Button Plan and the 2008 Bracks Report recommended restructure and additional funding. But unless the Australian industry accepts the reality of today’s automotive market, bailouts will make little difference and we’ll continue to see closures and job losses.[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/australian-car-industry-needs-lower-emissions-not-handouts-4976 [b]More than an excuse for a long weekend – how we came to love Australia Day[/b] Mark McKenna @TheConversation [i]Some 224 years ago on January 26, the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove. Just 1500 people disembarked with nearly 800 of them convicts. The date saw the beginning of the British penal colony, then known as New South Wales. But while there’s been something to commemorate for 224 years, the celebration of “Australia Day” itself is far, far more recent; more recent than most Australians would suspect.[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/more-than-an-excuse-for-a-long-weekend-how-we-came-to-love-australia-day-5028 [b]Margaret Court, Translated.[/b] @MikeStutcbery [i]Margaret Court, the former No 1 Women’s Tennis Player and pastor of the Victory Life Centre in Perth, today published an Op Ed in the Herald Sun that has stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy due to some of the ideas it espouses regarding same-sex attraction and marriage. Arguments have raged over what she means by some of her stranger pronouncements. In order to give everyone the best possible chance to fully understand what she means, I’ve chucked on the cowdung-filtering spectacles and had a go at translating her piece.[/i] http://mike-stuchbery.com/2012/01/25/margaret-court-translated/ [i][b]From the Newspapers ... What the Front Pages are saying... [/i][/b] Today the Front Pages come to you from [i]Front Pages Today[/i] [b]The Australian[/b] http://goo.gl/3bnTO A cricketer celebrates & Bligh to Uncover Truth [b]The Sydney Morning Herald[/b] http://goo.gl/1kOHj A speech therapist & Spy Blowout [b]The Daily Telegraph[/b] http://goo.gl/JXc7d G'day Kate [b]The Age[/b] http://goo.gl/j6tKW A speech therapist & Yr 12 figures rift [b]The Herald Sun[/b] http://goo.gl/0wNCf The Spirit of Our Nation [b]The Courier Mail[/b] http://goo.gl/7NTLf It's on - Battle March [b]The Adelaide Advetiser[/b] http://goo.gl/ApkdY Toast of the Nation [b]The NT Times[/b] http://goo.gl/7f7VB No Crocs - Barbies [i][b]... the stories[/i][/b] [b]Bligh vows to uncover dam truth[/b] Michael Mckenna & Rosanne Barrett @TheAus [i]As Ms Bligh set a March 24 date for the state election to accommodate the delayed report of the commission of inquiry into last summer’s floods disaster, she promised Queenslanders would know the truth about revelations by The Australian this week that the wrong strategy was used to manage Wivenhoe on the weekend before the floods.[/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/elections/anna-bligh-vows-to-uncover-dam-truth-after-backlash-over-election-delay/story-fnbsqt8f-1226253902294 [b]Transport Minister Anthony Albanese savages Greens and Abbott[/b] Mathew Franklin @TheAus [i]In a bare-knuckle opening to political hostilities for 2012, Mr Albanese also strongly defended Labor's record of achievement and predicted Australians would tire of Tony Abbott's "relentless negativity" in coming months.[/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/transport-minister-anthony-albanese-savages-greens-and-abbott/story-e6frg6xf-1226253885812 [b]An Oscar for Albanese?[/b] Tim Lester @SMH [i]A senior minister in the Gillard government accused of ripping off lines from an old Hollywood movie, has conceded the quote in his National Press Club address today was a "stuff up".[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/national/an-oscar-for-albanese-20120125-1qhfr.html#ixzz1kVswjgs7 [b]Rudd aims worthy of support, says Evans[/b] Daniel Flitton @SMH [i]THE former foreign minister Gareth Evans will make a spirited defence of Kevin Rudd's global ambitions for Australia, accusing Mr Rudd's ''most senior government colleagues'' of failing to support his agenda. Professor Evans, Labor's longest-serving foreign minister, will use an Australia Day speech in Melbourne today to warn domestic politics has too often overshadowed attempts to reshape Australia's policy on tricky questions such as the Israel-Palestinian dispute.[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/national/rudd-aims-worthy-of-support-says-evans-20120125-1qhnk.html#ixzz1kVs6gM5J [b]Serco's 'secret' manual on use of force[/b] Meagan Dillon @NT Times [i]LAWYERS are fighting for the public release of a "confidential" document that outlines how Serco security officers are trained to handle asylum-seekers in a Darwin detention centre.[/i] http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/01/26/285341_ntnews.html [b]Kevin Rudd to take high profile in Queensland election campaign[/b] Anna Caldwell @The Courier-Mail [i]ANNA Bligh will tap into the popularity of Kevin Rudd as she battles to win the hearts and minds of Queensland. Labor insiders expect PM Julia Gillard will take a back seat to Mr Rudd on the hustings because his popularity far outstrips the PM's in the Sunshine State.[/i] http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rudd-to-take-high-profile-in-campaign/story-fnbt5t29-1226253894042 [b][i]... and from the Opinion Pages[/i][/b] [b]A new shade of true blue[/b] Martin McKenzie-Murray @SMAge [i]AUSTRALIA is a relatively coherent and sophisticated society. But your acceptance or refusal of how harmonious it is, is probably determined in some way by your thoughts on race, and the cultural war so vigorously prosecuted by John Howard.[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-new-shade-of-true-blue-20120125-1qhn1.html#ixzz1kVtbgTHK [b]Cobbers through thick and thin, is that the real mateship?[/b] Nick Dyrenfurth @SMAge [i]MATESHIP. The term conjures up vastly different meanings in the minds of Australians. Many would associate mateship with the heroic deeds of the Anzacs at Gallipoli.[/i] Less nobly, one thinks of the boozy barbecues that accompany today's national revelry. http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/cobbers-through-thick-and-thin-is-that-the-real-mateship-20120125-1qhn2.html#ixzz1kVwasGwh [b]Indigenous development in the eye of the beholder[/b] Elizabeth Farrely @SMAge [i]So much of Aboriginal culture consists in the ephemeral, the abstract, the excruciatingly subtle. This is its biggest disadvantage in grappling with modern materialism, or perhaps ours in grappling with it. What seems to us a rock groove or bit of coloured clay can be, by analogy, Rembrandt.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/indigenous-development-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-20120125-1qhl4.html#ixzz1kVx1q6Bg

Patricia WA

26/01/2012Ad Astra, re reading the Sermon On The Mount reminds one of why Christians, trying to live up to every one of those teachings, and insisting that others do too, have for centuries caused untold personal misery, civil wars and international strife. So much wisdom there and the seeds of so much zealotry too.

Sir Ian Crisp

26/01/2012While on the subject of great and stirring speeches it’s worth noting two names that will not appear on the list of great and stirring speeches are the bird of paradox and the Maltese Pigeon. The bird of paradox borrowed heavily from Obama when she delivered her speech before the ALP National Conference (the ALP – the party of ideas). Very recently the Maltese Pigeon plagiarised a Hollywood script when he went after Tony Umm-Err-Ahh. I’d say that the Maltese Pigeon had never felt so Boeotian than at that moment. It looks as if the “pay peanuts and you get monkeys” theory has been underlined once more. How will our ‘leaders’ spend Australia Day? Tony Umm-Err-Ahh will take to the water and I wouldn’t mind betting that some of his colleagues hope that a few stray sharks find their way to Sydney harbour. Don’t expect the bird of paradox to take to the water in order to raise funds for charity. The last time she took to the water she was followed by the MY Steve Irwin in an attempt to protect her from the Japanese whaling fleet. I note that the word ‘Noalition’ has been used by the Maltese Pigeon when talking about the rabble known as the opposition. Surely a dullard like Albanese couldn’t think of a word like that so I did a Google©®™ and sure enough there it was. The Maltese Pigeon has borrowed from his cater-cousins over at socialtext.net in Canada. The word ‘Noalition’ appeared on December 4, 2008. [quote] Coalition or Noalition We vote for people to represent us in Parliament - that's the flavour of democracy we use. Coalition or noalition, Harper does not have the support from those representatives he needs to run the government. This is how Government in Canada works. contributed by Guest User on Dec 4, 2008 12:43am [/quote]

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012At approximately 12:27 today an interesting development occurred. Some might say it was momentous. It is hush, hush at the moment, no tweets, no fanfare but sneak over and have a look http://goo.gl/kGgda but shhh don't say I sent you :P Someone will understand the reference reCaptcha: [i]subscribed erednpr[/]

TalkTurkey

26/01/2012Ad astra The Sermon on the Mount is turgid contradictory nonsense which can be spun in any possible direction! What meaning there might be in those words is lost in the BS. Patricia WA said, . . . Christians, trying to live up to every one of those teachings, . . . But they mostly don't try do they, it's utter hypocrisy, a Christian specialty. Jews and Moslems might try to be as hypocritical but they're not in the race against people who claim to use the alleged speech by an alleged miracle-doer born of an alleged miracle union . . . Christians turn the other cheek, oh sure. Turn the boats back more like. Oh what's the use! Hypocrites are in a shockproof cocoon, "The devil quotes scripture for his own." Imagine [i]no[/i] religion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytz_sLKr39A Thank you always Youtube, You are a wondrous treasury.

2353

26/01/2012As the "Sermon on the Mount" is supposed to be the creed by which Christians live - how do overtly "Christian" people like Abbott and "Christian" organisations like Hillsong explain their actions? As far as a speech goes, it's pretty good in that it establishes a theme early and expands on it throughout the speech giving examples as it goes along. There is an ideal (perhaps unattainable) at the end of the speech which has in this case been massively abused by lots of people in the two thousand years or so since the speech was made. Off topic - FS if you're reading this I would love to comment on your blog but don't want to use Google/Wordpress etc accounts to do so - do you have an option like Grog does (who uses the same software) for readers to be able to type in a name/email address?

Ad astra reply

26/01/2012DMW Thank you for reposting the links from the last piece, and for alerting us to HillbillySkeleton’s new blog [i]Looking 4 the Truth in the Political Wilderness[/i]: http://hillbillyskeleton-punkchicken.blogspot.com/2012/01/iron-ladys-iron-grip-on-tony-abbotts.html Patricia WA When individuals seek to follow the precepts set down in the Sermon on the Mount, who could object to such worthy aims? It is when organized religion insists everyone follow them, and imposes penalties for non-compliance that the problems arise. TT This is where you and I have very different views. It’s not trying to live a good life that causes problems. It is organized religion trying to impose these precepts under threat that causes the problems. 2353 As a speech, it has many characteristics of a fine one. Even those who don’t buy the content can still admire its structure and mode of delivery.

BSA Bob

26/01/2012Sir Ian at 12.45 Whilst on a biblical theme we should perhaps reflect that there is nothing new under the sun. I thought of "Noalition" all by my little self & so, I suspect, did many others. The line in Albanese's speech is (in addition to being true) a fairly simple idea, no big deal if it's the same as one in a film, borrowed or not. Their ABC's behaviour in first pulling the speech & then whipping part of it out again to criticise is the clue to what's happening with this, just more wall to wall bias.

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012... breaking news [b]PM dragged away after being trapped by protesters[/b] Dylan Welch @SMH [i]The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, had to be extracted from a restaurant near Parliament House as angry protesters banged on the glass. Supporters of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra picketed the Lobby restaurant over comments by Mr Abbott this morning that the tent embassy should close.[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/national/pm---dragged-away-after-being-trapped-by--protesters-20120126-1qj1c.html#ixzz1kXIzkmuH HatTip: SHMBO&LTVC

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012Report from The Aus http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/gillard-abbott-escorted-under-guard-amid-aboriginal-tent-embassy-protest/story-fnbzokem-1226254397282 HT: @jonkudelka ... and pics from AAP http://www.aapone.com.au/search.aspx?search=JULIA+GILLARD+AUSTRALIA+DAY+PROTEST%26(IMPORTDATE%3E20120125) HT: @latikambourke via @pollytics

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012... and from the Canberra Times http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/protesters-mob-pm/2433902.aspx?storypage=0

Patricia WA

26/01/2012 Great choice of topic by FS for her new site. Inspired me to update some old verses! Reprinted here for you TT but the post is well worth a visit and a comment. Thanks for the link, DMW. http://hillbillyskeleton-punkchicken.blogspot.com/2012/01/iron-ladys-iron-grip-on-tony-abbotts.html If Tony Abbott could have had his way On this very important national day He’d have had top honors set apart For a special lady, Gina Rinehart. The Big Australian, he’d choose that name! That’s no snide comment on her outsize frame. This woman’s fortune is so gigantic It makes men mad and sycophantic. The Right in Oz have great respect for size Of companies and wealth, which leftist eyes Would find ugly, distasteful and obscene, Particularly that of the Iron Ore Queen. That’s why our Leader of the Opposition, Has made it his job as a politician, To do all he can to preserve Gina’s wealth Even at the cost of the nation’s health. Mining taxes levied on her and friends Must go. Their prosperity far transcends Pensions for malingerers and shirkers Who once retired are no longer workers! Not like the Big Australian and her mates, Clive and Twiggy, real miners! They're not magnates! Why should they toil all day, near break their backs, Then pay both Mining and a Carbon Tax! That’s why Abbott wants us to join with him To fight for Gina in his battle grim. He thinks this woman’s cause deserves our votes. It’s even weightier than turning back the boats!

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012andrew meares @mearesy Missing: one Prime Ministerial shoe. Right foot, navy blue. Last seen on the steps of The Lobby. Retweeted by Peter Martin jon kudelka @jonkudelka How not to win public sympathy for your cause. Victoria Collins @HillbillySkill Has anyone thought to ask Ken Wyatt LNP MP what he thinks about Abbott's Tent Embassy comments? Peter Brent @mumbletwits Why is that policeman wrestling the PM? Possum Comitatus @Pollytics This is just disgusting (linking to AAP Pics) Andrew Elder @awelder @BrentonEccles Now try Gillard's: Abbott makes a dopey comment and she cops it Clinton McRobert @FunHoleNo_5 @bravotrav @bow_and_arrow It's on #Abbott's hands. It just would not have happened if he could have just shut up. Re: Comment- Tent Embassy Retweeted by Lyn Linking Karalee Evans @karalee_ Can't remember seeing an Aus PM behind a riot shield before? RT @SBSNews: Dramatic image of PM Gillard http://bit.ly/xdgDS2 Retweeted by Lyn Linking judy Moran @bravotrav Julia Gillard should make a frank and fearless speech or address denouncing Abbott's comments today and cooling down the mood. #AusPol Retweeted by Lyn Linking Victoria Collins @HillbillySkill And Ray Hadley was in camouflage dressed as a hippy. RT @benpobjie: I saw Alan Jones on the grassy knoll Andrew Callaghan @wombat1974 Australia Day 2012, ladies and gents. Our Prime Minister being shielded by her bodyguards after Tony Abbott's comments bit.ly/xnBaRW Retweeted by Lyn Linking Possum Comitatus @Pollytics Ugh

TalkTurkey

26/01/2012Ad astra said [i]TT This is where you and I have very different views.[/i] >>>I have a different view of that! I think we are very nearly identical, you note I did include a 'mostly', I don't tar them all with the same brush. But when I hear Happy Clapper cheer-leaders tell people that (e.g.) they used to be down and out, then they found Jesus, now they've got great health, beautiful wives, rich friends, good job and all that, implication "you can have it too just give your life to Jesus", jesus that makes me sick, because if you're seriously ill, you've had terrible luck like your family killed in an accident, well see if you'd only [i]believed[/i] . . ! So it's the unfortunate person's fault. It's as despicable as quack doctors fleecing dying people of their savings selling snake oil remedies for cancer. I bet we're on the same page about that! Then Ad said It’s not trying to live a good life that causes problems. >>>That reads 2 ways but I agree with both. a) that's not the reason for the problems b) not-trying is what causes the problems "Good life" and Christianity don't equate though. Good Samaritanism does. But then neither Jesus nor the Good Samaritan were Christians! And Ad said It is organized religion trying to impose these precepts under threat that causes the problems. >>>Certainly, but plus duplicitous avaricious cynical [i]sinful[/i] individuals. But it can only reach the full flower of hypocrisy with a 'religion' which pretends to espouse goodwill to all, sharing wealth, turning the other cheek and so on. I do actually have a pigeon pair of old friends who are good (Australian) Baptists. They are christian in the genuine sense. The fact of them helps keep me hoping I might meet a few others before I shuffle off!

Sir Ian Crisp

26/01/2012[quote] Sir Ian at 12.45 Whilst on a biblical theme we should perhaps reflect that there is nothing new under the sun. I thought of "Noalition" all by my little self & so, I suspect, did many others. BSA Bob [/quote] Good for you Bob. Is their any proof that the Maltese Pigeon was able to think of the word "noalition" all by his little self or did he borrow it from some blog site? The Maltese Pigeon with a brain...I don't think so.

Patricia WA

26/01/2012DMW - refresh! Refresh before saving! Indeed!

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012Was the Leader of the Opposition verballed? Did He say the Tent Embassy should close? Was it implied or did the media write it up that way? You choose From the Transcript of Mr Abbott's door stop this morning: QUESTION: [i]Mr Abbott, today is also the 40th anniversary of the Tent Embassy in Canberra. Is the Tent Embassy still relevant or should it move?[/i] TONY ABBOTT: [/i]Look, I can understand why the Tent Embassy was established all those years ago. I think a lot has changed for the better since then. We had the historic apology just a few years ago, one of the genuine achievements of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. We had the proposal which is currently for national consideration to recognise indigenous people in the Constitution. I think the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held by every Australian and yes, I think a lot has changed since then and I think it probably is time to move on from that.[/i] http://www.tonyabbott.com.au/LatestNews/InterviewTranscripts/tabid/85/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/8541/Doorstop-Interview-Sydney.aspx [b]Time for tent embassy to fold: Abbott[/b] The Age & AAP [i]Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says it is time to move the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra, 40 years after four indigenous activists camped at the site opposite Old Parliament House in Canberra.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/national/time-for-tent-embassy-to-fold-abbott-20120126-1qj59.html#ixzz1kXoM4QXq [b]Time to move tent embassy - Abbott[/b] SkyNews [i]Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott says it's time for the tent embassy in Canberra to be moved, 40 years after it was established by four aboriginal protesters.[/i] http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=711656&vId= hughriminton @hughriminton Tony Abbott's team is spinning hard, saying telling the tent embassy to move on does not equate to calling for it to shut down. #youjudge

TalkTurkey

26/01/2012Abbortt makes inflammatory bigoted comments about Aboriginal tent embassy. Gillard gets attacked as a result. Aborigines get the opprobrium. ABC gives Abbortt a free kick at Albanese for using a term from West Wing.

2353

26/01/2012So why when Abbott makes another dopey comment is the story all about Gillard? Even worse is that Fairfax Media hasn't allowed comments on the stories it is running.

NormanK

26/01/2012"Swings and roundabouts". The expression was invented with the amazing foresight of how it would apply to Tony Abbott. [b]Tony Abbott's swing on same-sex marriage[/b] by Christian Kerr [quote]LIBERAL leader Tony Abbott told senior colleagues last year he would allow MPs a free vote on same-sex marriage legislation -- but then changed his mind. The Australian has learnt that in the aftermath of the Labor Party conference decision to back a conscience vote on same-sex marriage, Mr Abbott supported a similar position in the Coalition. Sources said he later changed his position, telling Coalition MPs they were voted in on a platform of opposing same-sex marriage, and accused the Prime Minister of breaking her own commitments on the matter.[/quote] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tony-abbotts-swing-on-same-sex-marriage/story-fn59niix-1226250767160

Michael

26/01/2012http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-26/gillard-27fine27-after-riot-rescue/3795354 Julia Gillard's first thought preparing to leave when she and Shouldabeen were bailed up in the Canberra restaurant was that he be securely taken out with her. I just find it impossible to believe that his reaction would have been the same. Will we ever find out? I hope we don't have to, that neither are put in the same situation again. As to claims by one of the activists that the PM ran "like a coward", it would be interesting to see how he would handle being essentially in a glass cage with 200 people slapping the glass panels and screaming at him.

NormanK

26/01/2012Michael I was greatly encouraged by the presence of this on the side-bar of that ABC story: [quote]What about Mr Abbott? Where have you got him? We'd better help him through too, hadn't we?[/quote] That conversation also featured on the Nine News article about the incident. Sometimes it is just this sort of casual act of decency that will influence a disengaged voter who may now look upon the PM in a different light and grant her the benefit of the doubt on other issues.

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012John Bergin @theburgerman The First Nations Parliament has invited the PM to accept the return of her shoe tomorrow at the tent embassy in a gesture of good faith. Retweeted by Possum Comitatus

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012[b]The Tent Embassy Debacle from A Protester’s POV[/b] Wil Wallace @redStache HT: Sarah Joseph @profsarahj [i]The Tent Embassy managed to get a lot of press today (26/1) after a large protest was held that resulted in Australian Federal Police and protective services dragging Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to their ComCars and massively over-reacting to the presence of protesters at the site. But what really happened? Speaking to Sam Castro, currently at the Tent Embassy, I was able to get a run down of the day’s events.[/i] http://wgwau.com/blog/2012/01/26/the-tent-embassy-debacle-from-a-protesters-pov/

D Mick Weir

26/01/2012Interesting observing interactions of people re today's event @CPOACT = Chief Police Officer ACT Roman @CPOACT PM required to be moved under police protection after picketing protestors became agitated at Lobby restaurant near Parliament House this pm Luke @hudsol @CPOACT @latikambourke Agitated!! Imagine if they were "upset" "angry" or hell, even "violent" thank God they were just agitated.. Roman @CPOACT @hudsol @latikambourke I wouldn't call it peaceful protest but in relative terms it wasn't violent. Look o/seas for egs of violent protest. Luke @hudsol @CPOACT @latikambourke If it wasn't violent, going by the footage some Fed Coppers will end up in court answering assault chargers Roman @CPOACT @hudsol @latikambourke perspective is subjective of course. My 'violent' may differ to urs. In any event, force used looked appropriate 2 me Retweeted by Latika Bourke

NormanK

26/01/2012I just hope that somewhere out there exists a version of events as seen from the point of view of a member of the PM's security detail. I know for a fact that whenever someone shouting abuse starts slapping on the glass walls of the room that I'm in, the first thought that crosses my mind is: "I think I'll just go and have a chat with those people. They seem like a nice bunch." If you look like a bunch of ratbags and some of you start acting like ratbags, what other response do you expect to get from the security people assigned to protect a head of state? A glass of champagne perhaps?

TalkTurkey

27/01/2012From the Avaaz Team: Dear friends, A new global treaty could allow corporations to police everything that we do on the Internet. Last week 3 million of us successfully pushed back the US censorship bills -- if we act now, we can get the EU Parliament to bury this new threat to all of us: Last week, 3 million of us beat back America's attack on our Internet! -- but there is an even bigger threat out there, and our global movement for freedom online is perfectly poised to kill it for good. ACTA -- a global treaty -- could allow corporations to censor the Internet. Negotiated in secret by a small number of rich countries and corporate powers, it would set up a shadowy new anti-counterfeiting body to allow private interests to police everything that we do online and impose massive penalties -- even prison sentences -- against people they say have harmed their business. Europe is deciding right now whether to sign ACTA -- and without them, this global attack on Internet freedom will collapse. We know they have opposed ACTA before, but some members of Parliament are wavering -- let's give them the push they need to reject the treaty. Sign the petition -- we'll do a spectacular delivery in Brussels when we reach 500,000 signatures: http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_the_internet/?vl More at that link.

2353

27/01/2012The reality is TT is that while Avaaz may have added some volume to the chorus, they didn't stop anything last week. The Wikipedia blackout, Google's "redaction" and millions of US citizens contacting their Congressman has resulted in one of the SOPA "Sponsors" withdrawing their sponsorship, the proposed legislation being put in a review process during February (a similar process I believe to Australia's Committee process) and Obama stating publicly he wasn't in favour of the legislation. The reasons I won't "sign" any Avaaz or similar on-line petition is first they are next to useless (as if an US or EU politician is really going to give a stuff what a single or a number of Australian citizens thinks) and second they send out junk emails like the one you've posted above continually. They are not the solution, they are part of the problem, how do they handle privacy of my email address, how do they decided what "worthy" cause is worth supporting and how do they fund their campaigns?

TalkTurkey

27/01/20122353 Not meaning to proselytize Avaaz, don't know much about them, the ACTA thing and its ilk are worries though especially in the long term. I assume that readers will exercise their own discretion.

Gravel

27/01/2012Well done Mr Abbott, you have achieved what Pauline Hanson and John Howard weren't quite able to do. You have now been given permission by the MSM to do and say anything you want and if it backfires all the blame will be put on Julia Gillard, the protesters, the............. Disgusting.

Michael

27/01/2012Bad Abbott In all the fallout over the Aboriginal embassy fracas yesterday, this quote from Clive responding to a story about the event at ABC News online: "As far as Tony Abbott goes, don't assume ignorance when it can be explained by malice." Now that sums up "Bad Abbott"!

NormanK

27/01/2012With regard to Abbott's comments yesterday, which supposedly set off the fireworks, I am inclined to go down the path that DMW quietly pointed to yesterday. Journalists reporting straight news should feel a weight of responsibility to only ever maintain the tone of what the source said. Abbott said "move on". He did not say that the tents should be torn down. While it might very well be true that Abbott was employing a dog whistle to those who have now subsequently turned out in force on the comments' sections of news stories, speculation about what he 'really meant' should be confined to the opinion section. Such is the tangled mess that the Australian media finds itself in, journalists are afraid to dismantle remarks such as "Whyalla will be wiped off the map", preferring instead to resort to 'he said, she said', relying on statements from the government to refute the obvious duplicity of such a remark. And yet they have no hesitation in turning 'move on' into 'tear down' or my favourite example from last year where the PM referred to the mutual responsibility that exists between welfare recipients and the government. The use of the word 'idle' in that speech triggered headlines like "Gillard declares war on dole bludgers". This enduring quest for sensational headlines by ramping up the emotional tone of what was said and the lack of courage in questioning the veracity of some outlandish claims made by politicians does not serve us well at all.

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27/01/2012Folks I'm getting on the road soon for Melbourne. Back this evening.

debbiep

27/01/2012 Boo Hoo miss todays M&M's.[i] Much more so , yet, after another debacle by Abbott. [/i] Out of Interest. Locally Ms Gash is Quitting the Liberal Party. It is being questioned in our local paper 'What has the Liberal Party ever done for her'? Despite her years of service, Mrs Gash was often overlooked for cabinet posts during the Howard years, and demoted in opposition under Tony Abbott. And in recent months, she has faced considerable white-anting in some of the local branches of the party. Then questioning the Faceless men of The Liberal Party. Not to mention another case of Duel Roles, as Ms Gash is standing for Mayor.

D Mick Weir

27/01/2012Hi debbiep & Swordsters one & all' other lives have distracted me from my real life here and well the nose will be onto the wheel here shortly and I'll be back with an evening wrap for you all soon.

D Mick Weir

27/01/2012[b][i]Mick's Media Mix[/i][/b] A quick snapshot from today's papers. [b][i]What the Front Pages are saying... [/i][/b] Today the Front Pages come to you from [i]Front Pages Today[/i] [b]The Australian[/b] http://goo.gl/3bnTO Military Mutiny in PNG & Elders say Mob doesn't speak for us [b]The Sydney Morning Herald[/b] http://goo.gl/1kOHj Aus Day turns ugly & Worries about cheapo bottlo [b]The Daily Telegraph[/b] http://goo.gl/JXc7d PRIME THREAT [b]The Age[/b] http://goo.gl/j6tKW Aus Day Shame & PNG 'Coup' [b]The Herald Sun[/b] http://goo.gl/0wNCf Sorry Day & Rodney Hogg's bad tweets [b]The Courier Mail[/b] http://goo.gl/7NTLf Day of Shame [b]The Adelaide Advetiser[/b] http://goo.gl/ApkdY Human Shield & Wombats seek refuge [b]The NT Times[/b] http://goo.gl/7f7VB No Crocs -Flying Rocks wreak havoc & NT activists 'encouraged' fracas [i]From the News Pages[/i] [b]Australia Day shame[/b] Jessica Wright Dan Harrison and Dylan Welch @TheAge [i]A conversation between Ms Gillard and her security detail was caught by Nine Network cameras, with the Prime Minister's bodyguards concerned the glass walls would collapse under the weight of protesters' banging.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/national/australia-day-shame-20120126-1qjt1.html#ixzz1kde8ucoX [b]Reports the Prime Minister's office encouraged protesters to target Tony Abbott over tent embassy[/b] Ben Packham @The Aus [i]THE Prime Minister is yet to respond today to a report that one of her staffers rang an Aboriginal tent embassy protester yesterday to say Tony Abbott wanted the camp torn down. An announcement by protester Barbara Shaw that Mr Abbott wanted the tent embassy removed sparked a near riot, forcing Ms Gillard and the Opposition leader to flee a Canberra restaurant.[/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/reports-the-prime-ministers-office-encouraged-protesters-to-target-tony-abbott-over-tent-embassy/story-fn59niix-1226255195987 [b]Aboriginal Tent Embassy protesters say: 'We did nothing wrong'[/b] Patrick Lion @The Daily Telegraph [i]PROTESTERS at the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra have fronted an emotional press conference to defend their actions during yesterday's protest. Embassy founder Michael Anderson, Selina Davey-Newry of the north-east Kimberly, Wiradjuri Nation spokesperson Paul Coe and former political candidate Barbara Shaw stood in front of a smoking fire with about 3000 fellow protesters around a sovereignty sign at the embassy.[/i] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/aboriginal-tent-embassy-protesters-say-we-did-nothing-wrong/story-e6freuy9-1226255312590 [i]On the Opinion Pages ...[/i] [b]Did the real Julia come out in the Australia Day fracas?[/b] Tim Lester @SMAge/National Times [i]Julia Gillard needs a pivotal moment. Perhaps somewhere in the ugliness caught in those extraordinary pictures of yesterday's melee outside a Canberra restaurant, she might get it.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/did-the-real-julia-come-out-in-the-australia-day-fracas-20120127-1qkty.html#ixzz1kdalOy32 [b]Call to inaction: be a productive patriot by ringing in sick[/b] Jessica Irvine @SMAge/National Times [i]The tradition of ''chucking a sickie'' is well ingrained in the Australian psyche, most memorably encapsulated in Bob Hawke's 1983 edict: ''I tell you what, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum.''[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/call-to-inaction-be-a-productive-patriot-by-ringing-in-sick-20120126-1qjom.html#ixzz1kdbSkybM [b]Gillard's credibility slips away[/b] Michelle Grattan @SMAge/National Times [i]When she plays host to caucus members at a Lodge barbecue on Sunday week, Julia Gillard will be all too aware that these men and women enjoying her hospitality could within months become her executioners - depending mainly on what happens to Labor in the polls.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/gillards-credibility-slips-away-20120126-1qjnz.html#ixzz1kdcAvoxt [b]It's sad, Labor began with so much promise[/b] Simon Benson @The Daily Telegraph [i]INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Anthony Albanese this week made the bewildering claim that the government had never made a "conscious decision" to break a promise. The Infrastructure Minister then denied the government had ever actually broken any promises.[/i] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/its-sad-labor-began-with-so-much-promise/story-e6frezz0-1226254660606 Back with a roundup from the blogs in a little while

D Mick Weir

27/01/2012[b][i]Mick's Media Mix[/i][/b] The Friday Evening Blog Roundup or The You thought Australia Day was Yesterday but as it is an extra long weekend it just keeps on keeping on edition [b]australia day shame...[/b] Gus's View @yourdemocracy [i]Abbott is using long and windy way to "respect" Aboriginal people while at the same time taking the tent posts...[/i] http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/16961 [b]The Frame Game[/b] Mr Denmore @FailedEstate [i]Life as a TV news cameraman in Canberra is not one normally filled with adrenalin. Most of their days are spent trudging from doorstop to doorstop. Once in a blue-moon, there's a leadership spill and they get to walk backwards down a corridor as the new leadership team promenade for the press. But riots? In their dreams only.[/i] http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/2012/01/frame-game.html [b]Another Duplicitous Hypocritical Statement by Tony Abbott[/b] Hillbilly Skeleton @Looking 4 Truth in the Wilderness [i]Today, Australia Day, Tony Abbott was at the Sydney Opera House and made a big splash announcement that the Coalition would be donating $10 Million over the next 5 years(and where is that large sum of money coming from I might ask? Especially considering the Coalition coffers were supposed to be almost empty), to the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia.[/i] http://hillbillyskeleton-punkchicken.blogspot.com/2012/01/another-duplicitous-hypocritical.html [b]“We’d better help him through too”[/b] James Higgins @ThePoliticsProject [i]For many, yesterday’s protests by Aboriginal activists and the ensuing fracas in which the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader were rushed away, marred an otherwise pleasant (if a little overcast) Australia Day. I’m not so sure. Certainly, the protest was utterly appalling, and violence or threats should never be directed against anyone, let alone our national leaders.[/i] http://thepoliticsproject.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/wed-better-help-him-through-too/ [b]The Mob Violence That Wasn't[/b] Ben Eltham @NewMatilda [i]Somehow, with the strange alchemy that the media seems to summon, the dominant angle of reporting about yesterday’s Australia Day kerfuffle involving the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition has been to condemn it as a violent protest. "Indigenous leaders condemn ‘disgraceful’ protesters" is how the ABC has been describing it and much of the Fairfax press has carried similar stories.[/i] http://newmatilda.com/2012/01/27/mob-violence-wasnt [b]Confirmation Gillard and Abbott were never threatened by Indigenous activists[/b] Jack Waterford @CanberraTimes [i]In the wake of the alleged “attack” by Aboriginal Tent Embassy protestors on the Prime Minister and Opposition leader in Canberra yesterday, the mainstream media have launched into full-on hyperbole mode, with convicted racist Andrew Bolt seizing the opportunity to call for an end to Indigenous reconciliation.[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/security-questions-raised/2434447.aspx?storypage=0 [b]ANDREW BOLT, TRANSLATED.[/b] Mike Stutchbery @HisBlog [i]Since my translations of the fevered pronouncements of various pundits, zealots and chancers have been so popular lately, I thought I’d be remiss if I didn’t have a crack at Andrew Bolt’s blast regarding the Australia Day scuffle in Canberra yesterday. Once again I’ve strapped on the goggles, slipped into my HAZMAT suit and waded into the stewy dung soup that is the pages of the Herald Sun.[/i] http://mike-stuchbery.com/2012/01/27/andrew-bolt-translated/ [b]A picture is worth a thousand words…[/b] Bill @Billablog [i]Most of them wrong.[/i] http://the-billablog.blogspot.com/2012/01/picture-is-worth-thousand-words.html [b]reconciliation .....[/b] John Richardson @yourdemocracy [i]Neither Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott were in any direct danger from Aboriginal protesters yesterday, but those concerned for their security must be appalled that they were allowed to be put in the situation they were in.[/i] http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/16954 [b]It’s time to reassess Australia Day … and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy[/b] Robin Tennant-Wood @TheConversation [i]Australia Day: cricket, beaches, prawns on the barbie, beer and a good dose of sunburn; a bit of jingoistic flag-waving, citizenship ceremonies and the conferring of awards to our most outstanding citizens and unsung heroes. It all sounds harmless enough. A good family day out and warm fuzzy feelings of patriotism. A darker history, however, is always lurking at the edges of this anniversary and it is a foolish politician who tries to diminish or discard that history....[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/its-time-to-reassess-australia-day-and-the-aboriginal-tent-embassy-5052 [b]The Real Tent Embassy Story[/b] Alexandra Lamb @NewMatilda [i]I dropped by the tent embassy after work to see what it was like. I fully intended to go to an Australia Day barbecue piss-up that had already been raging for eight hours but I was quickly transported by the wonderful events at the tents. The lawn in front of Old Parliament House had been transformed by an assortment of tents, marquees and people. A large marquee was serving delicious food and chai.[/i] http://newmatilda.com/2012/01/27/real-tent-embassy-story [b]tony's australia day...[/b] Gus Leonisky @yourdemocracy [i]It's about time that the Liberal (conservative) Party ditched Tony Abbott as its leader... He makes Pauline Hanson look like a moderate lass from the left.[/i] http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/16959 [b]It is right to be angry; it is right to protest – land rights now![/b] John Passant @enPassant [i]So the Bobbsey twins of racism, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, got a little back today of what the thugs who protect them and their ilk dish out to Aboriginal people every day. Lunching at the appropriately named Porkbarrel Café for an awards ceremony, Gillard and Abbott became the target of a large crowd of demonstrators from the nearby Tent Embassy 40th year commemoration.[/i] http://enpassant.com.au/?p=12131 [b]OK, OK [i]It is time to change the subject[/i][/b] [b]Why Off Shore Processing is unworkable[/b] Ash @Ash's Machiavellian Bloggery [i]PNG is in a grip of an attempted mutiny. How this plays out is totally in the hands of the people of PNG. However, what it also highlights is the impractical aspect of offshore processing. Nauru itself has recently gone through a political change as it did in the mid 2000′s when support for Australia’s detention centre plummeted. Now apparently its all good again and they want it back. Nothing at all with the fact that it will double their nation’s income.[/i] http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/why-off-shore-processing-is-unworkable/ [b]Will the Libs preference Wilkie?[/b] Peter Brent @mumbleblog [i]You hear some odd things about our lower house preferential voting system. I’ve heard it suggested, for example, that Labor’s failure in 2010 to win a majority of seats, despite winning 50.1 per cent of the two party preferred vote, was due to its low primary vote of 38.0. This is not true in any actual, literal sense. A nationwide 2pp of 50.1 is 50.1 whether it’s off a primary vote of 38 or 48. It works just as well.[/i] http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/mumble/index.php/theaustralian/comments/denison#97067 [b]nothin' beats queensland .....[/b] John Richardson @yourdemocracy A picture is worth a thousand words - JR shows a pic via a Crikey reader http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/16964 [b]Why the Queensland election matters[/b] Andrew Elder @PoliticallyHomeless [i]The Queensland election is to be held on 24 March, and it should be of no interest to anyone who doesn't live there. It matters because it is a better indication of the 2013 Federal election than any other election to be held in this country before then ...[/i] http://andrewelder.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-queensland-election-matters.html [b]On the utility and futility of satire, and the urgent need for Stewart and Colbert to travel down under ...[/b] dorothy parker @ loon pond [i]The pond is all in favour of a satirical magazine in the antipodes of the Private Eye kind, as proposed by Richard Ackland in A Private Eye helps the search for truth, though as Private Eye rather pre-emptively pointed out in its 5oth anniversary celebration cover, satire is completely and utterly useless ...[/i] http://loonpond.blogspot.com/2012/01/on-utility-and-futility-of-satire-and.html [b]February - Bash-A-Bank Month[/b] @TheKouk [i]Whatever the RBA does with the official cash rate after its 7 February Board meeting, February is shaping up to be "Bash-A-Bank" month. The scenarios are simple. If the RBA for some bizarre reason decides not to cut the cash rate, most of the banks will hike their variable mortgage interest rates by something like 10 to 15 basis points around the middle of the month.[/i] http://stephenkoukoulas.blogspot.com/2012/01/february-bash-bank-month.html [b]Inflation target tyranny[/b] ProfessorQ @hisblog [i]Our own Reserve Bank, buoyed by the successful management of the crisis here, is even clearer in the view that the current policy regime needs no real change. They are supported by the government, which has repeatedly rejected calls for an inquiry into the financial system, to examine whether our escape from the impact of the Global Financial Crisis was in fact the result of good management, or whether luck played an important role. Given the near-collapse of financial systems with broadly similar regulatory frameworks, such an inquiry might uncover vulnerabilities that need to be addressed before the next crisis.[/i] http://johnquiggin.com/2012/01/27/inflation-target-tyranny/ [b]Minister for Small Business? More like the Minister for Nothing[/b] Evan Jones @TheConversation [i]What do small business ministers do? Typically, nothing. The ministry appears now as a token sop to small business. It doesn’t help that such ministers also have other responsibilities. Senator Arbib is also Assistant Treasurer, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Minister for Sport. Small business will struggle for attention with this schedule.[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/minister-for-small-business-more-like-the-minister-for-nothing-5042 [i]... from The Society & Culture Desk[/i] [b]Orchids sheds light on the secrecy surrounding intersex[/b] Sheila Jeffreys @TheConversation [i]The documentary, Orchids: my intersex adventure, aims to reduce the secrecy and shame in which intersex people have been forced to spend their lives. It relates the story of filmmaker, Phoebe Hart, who, along with her sister, Bonnie, has a genetic condition now referred to as AIS, or Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which is a form of intersexuality. Previously, those with this condition were referred to as hermaphrodites.[/i] http://theconversation.edu.au/orchids-sheds-light-on-the-secrecy-surrounding-intersex-5030 [b]Clairvoyance in the commentary box: a vignette from the psychopathology of modern life[/b] Nicholas Gruen @Troppo [i]I remember being at a wedding reception talking to someone who was 70 odd. I asked them whether in their day it was normal for the bride and groom to put the tip of the knife in the cake and then beam at the cameras for two or three minutes – celebrities on their special day.[/i] http://clubtroppo.com.au/2012/01/27/clairvoyance-in-the-commentary-box-a-vignette-from-the-psychopathology-of-modern-life/

D Mick Weir

27/01/2012Some follow up notes: SBS is reporting: [b]Gillard's shoe returned after protest[/b] Shalailah Medhora http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1621963/Gillard's-shoe-returned-after-protest ... and The normally reticent and media shy Leader of the Opposition has set new wheels in motion: Latika Bourke @latikambourke [i]Opposition is seeking an Australian Federal Police inquiry into whom else in the PM's office knew about leaking the Oppn Leader's schedule.[/i] Latika Bourke @latikambourke [i]Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pyne says it's a 'very grave matter' as it led to property damage and risked PM and TA's safety.[/i] I am sure the nose of our intrepid [i]Bad Abbotts[/i] Swordster, Michael is now twitching and will follow up on this for us.

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27/01/2012Folks I'm now in Melbourne. I'll catch up with Mick's Media Mix tomorrow. DMW I sent you an email.

debbiep

27/01/2012 LOL DMW - you have excelled :)

D Mick Weir

27/01/2012I was tending toward a view that there was an over interpration of what Mr Abbott said at his doorstop early yesterday and that the media overstated the [i]I think it probably is time to move on from that[/i] comment to mean disband the tent embassy. There is no doubt that Mr Abbott and his advisers are very good, nay expert, at framing things in such a way that that various audiences hear what they want to hear in what he says so I can accept easily that Mr Abbott's comments on the current status of the First Australians may have been a very clever dogwhistle. I am not a great fan of conspiracy theories and when having to choose between conspiracy and stuff up I reckon, in Australian politics, if you choose stuff up, there is about a 99.94% chance you will be right. A distinction has to be drawn between conspiracy and collusion and there is enough eveidence around that various journos collude with politicians on both sides to get the desired message out into the wider world rather than conspire to achieve a certain end. Even so I am smelling a great big rat at the moment. Given reports that the Opposition are calling for AFP inquiries into who, in the PM's office, knew of Mr Abbott's movements on Australia Day and who 'misinformed' people at the Tent Embassy 40th year commemoration that Abbott had called for the dismantling of the Tent Embassy I am almost able to believe a conspiracy theory of my own making. However, I will punt for stuff up. I have deep suspicions that people in some way 'related' to Mr Abbott's office were involved in 'misinforming' the people at the Tent Embassy in the hopes of creating scenes that he could play off to his advantage in the evening news reports. Herein lies the 'stuff up'. The reactions of the the protective detail to the events weren't forseen and instead of Mr Abbott getting some 'great press' things panned out very differently. The machine within the Oppostion Leader's Office are now spinning furiously trying to rescue a situation gone bad.

D Mick Weir

28/01/2012thanks debbiep, I have been wondering if lower number of comments is in someway related to the depth and breadth of links lately :P just kidding

debbiep

28/01/2012 Haha DMW well I know that I am just about to go to bed . thanks for that. Certainly it keeps me quiet, but informed. Oh look the suns up.

Michael

28/01/2012Bad Abbott... Silly Tony Hodges. OK, one of the PM's media advisors decided to stir the pot, and the pot mightily boiled over. But the implication that nobody knew where the Leader of the Opposition or the Prime Minister is/was going to be, throughout Australia Day, is unlikely. Itineraries, at the very least, are routinely provided to the media, or we'd never have seen Shouldabeen in a fluouro vest. And on a far from routine day like Australia Day, it's hard to credit that nobody unhappy with Tiny's earlier media-attended/broadcast event in which he spoke of 'moving on' in the handling of Aboriginal affairs in this country, where very little has 'moved on' in the lives of many Aboriginals in this country, would not have been in a position to confront him. Abbott ran off at the mouth, mealily as always. Tony Hodges ran off at the mouth, and paid the price for a little bit of 'insider trading' that got way out of whatever control he thought would be brought to using his information. The latter was a screw up. Shouldabeen's comments, a wind-up.

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28/01/2012MIchael A very apt comment which sums up the situation nicely.

D Mick Weir

28/01/2012Morning Swordsfolk, I am wrestling with an imponderable. A question that needs to be asked, and answered. [i]When should one fall on their sword?[/i] Take one for the team as it were? Last night this intrepid link hound, one that proports to have a 'nose' for the the news took of the link hound hat to make a comment. Last night, well almost this morning, @ 11:59 PM, I took off the hound and expressed a view, nay created a conspiracy theory, around who said what to who regarding the Tent Tumult. ... and then I spotted this: [b][i]UPDATE 6.30pm: A SENIOR media adviser within the Prime Minister's staff has been forced to resign after tipping off protesters about Tony Abbott's whereabouts yesterday.[/b] Tony Hodges, who has been on Julia Gillard’s staff since July 2009, admitted making a phone call alerting a person to the Opposition Leader's location.[/i] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/mob-sinks-slipper-into-nations-day/story-fn7x8me2-1226254728520 So much for being 'on top of the news', keeping Swordsters up to date. I hangs me head in shame and I am off to search under the stairs for the ancient and solid steel sword that is hidden somewhere in there and contemplate my future as a Link Hound. What does [i]mea culpa[/i] actually mean?

Jaeger

28/01/2012The report says that Hodges only spoke to someone who spoke to the Tent Embassy folks, possibly without his knowledge. Regardless, it was a stupid thing to do - and he has paid the price. I would have thought there was ample material pouring out of Abbott's mouth to keep several media advisors busy. It still doesn't pass the sniff test, though; how did 2GB (redneck central) find out? Is there another Grech out there?

Jaeger

28/01/2012P.S. [i]Mea culpa[/i] = My fault/mistake/bad.

D Mick Weir

28/01/2012[b][i]Mick's Media Mix[/i][/b] The Blood on the Carpet Edition [i][b]From the Newspapers ... What the Front Pages are saying... [/i][/b] Today the Front Pages come to you from [i]Front Pages Today[/i] A note on the front pages. The links will take you to front of the most recent front page so that if you click on the links I provided on Thursday today (i.e. Saturday) you will get Saturday's Front Page. The exception that proves the rule today is the Weekend Aus. The bonus is at the bottom of the page are thumbnails to previous day's front pages. By the way if you click on the thumbnail pic of the front page (on the left) you will get a bigger more easily seen version. [b]The Weekend Australian[/b] http://goo.gl/8kaR7 PM"s adviser quits & Hard work of 70's heroes destroyed [b]The Sydney Morning Herald[/b] http://goo.gl/1kOHj PM accused of cover up [b]The Daily Telegraph[/b] http://goo.gl/JXc7d PM's Man Resigns [b]The Age[/b] http://goo.gl/j6tKW PM's Man Gone & Heroes Honoured [b]The Herald Sun[/b] http://goo.gl/0wNCf Friendly Fire adviser quits [b]The Courier Mail[/b] http://goo.gl/7NTLf How your school rates [b]The Adelaide Advetiser[/b] http://goo.gl/ApkdY Inside Job & Watch the Fast Lane [b]The NT Times[/b] http://goo.gl/7f7VB Sorry Mum - House burns down while parents away [b][i]... and the stories[/i][/b] [b]PM's adviser quits over riot role[/b] DENNIS SHANAHAN AND MATTHEW FRANKLIN @TheAus [i]THE spark for the riot near the Aboriginal tent embassy came from the Prime Minister's own office.[/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/julia-gillard-adviser-tony-hodges-quits-over-riot-role/story-fn59niix-1226255811329 [b]Scare viewed around world[/b] NIC CHRISTENSEN @TheAus [i]As of last night, Google News was showing more than 2000 articles globally under the search "Gillard security scare". Also online was the potent television footage that shows the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader being hauled out of a Canberra restaurant and chased by a throng of angry protesters.[/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/scare-viewed-around-world/story-fn59niix-1226255763288 [b]If the shoe fits[/b] Jack The Insider @TheAus [i]To many, the Australia Day argy-bargy in Canberra is a sign that violent protests where public figures are set upon by unruly mobs will become the order of the day. In reality, that event and the mob who brought it on are relics of a discordant past.[/i] http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/jacktheinsider/index.php/theaustralian/comments/if_the_shoe_fits/ [b]'What did he say?': Abbott wants answers over staffer's resignation[/b] [i]Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to give precise details about the circumstances of the resignation of one of her staff. The prime minister's office said a media adviser resigned on Friday after telling someone that Mr Abbott was inside a Canberra restaurant near the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/national/what-did-he-say-abbott-wants-answers-over-staffers-resignation-20120128-1qmr7.html [b]PM's man quits over riot role[/b] Matt Johnston, Jessica Craven @HeraldSun [i]JULIA Gillard's office has been rocked by the resignation of a media adviser who helped spark an Aboriginal tent embassy riot.[/i] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/pm-staffer-forced-to-quit-over-leak/story-fn7x8me2-1226255738200 [b]Flag burning inflames race protest in Canberra[/b] Matt Johnston @Herald Sun [i]ACTIVISTS including children burned an Australian flag and vowed to keep protesting against political leaders during another display of anger in Canberra yesterday. A 15-year-old Aboriginal girl, alongside activist Wayne Coco-Wharton, proudly helped light the flag outside Parliament House.[/i] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/flag-burning-inflames-race-protest/story-fn7x8me2-1226255748414 [b]Israel sets its sites on its own National Broadband Network[/b] @TheAus via AssocPress [i]ISRAEL'S state-owned electric company hopes roll out its own high-speed national broadband network. ... "All the developing countries that have a vision for 10 years ahead, or 20 years ahead, understand that the name of the game will be communications, broadband communications, very fast communications," said Tzvi Harpak, the electric company's senior vice president for logistics. The technology is known as "fiber to the home," or FTTH. ...[/i] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/israel-sets-its-sites-on-its-own-national-broadband-network/story-e6frgakx-1226254885060?sv=694291b7ec5f7d934c63fa700a94f983 [b][i]... and from the Opinion Pages[/i][/b] [b]Prime Minister Gillard gets treated like a rag doll[/b] Laurie Oakes @Herald Sun [i]LET'S not make any excuses for the morons associated with the Aboriginal tent embassy who sparked Thursday's ugly events in the national capital. Sure, a member of the Prime Minister's media staff acted foolishly by indirectly passing on information about Tony Abbott's movements, but that in no way justifies what followed.[/i] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/prime-minister-treated-like-a-rag-doll/story-fn56baaq-1226255778540 [b]A peek at the best and worst of Gillard[/b] Katherine Murphy @SMAge/National Times [i]WHEN I first arrived in the parliamentary press gallery as a cub reporter in 1996, my then bureau chief gave me a tip. Until you get your bearings in this place, he advised, gesturing absently at Parliament's labyrinthine corridors, follow Jessop. The advice was practical ...[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/a-peek-at-the-best-and-worst-of-gillard-20120127-1qlqw.html#ixzz1kiDNVkp6 ... and we will be back with stuff from the blogs and other news a bit later

D Mick Weir

28/01/2012Hi Jaeger [i]It still doesn't pass the sniff test, though; how did 2GB (redneck central) find out?[/i] Yep, my nose is still twitching on this. The more I see of the stuff coming out of [i]Look Over There Central[/i] i.e. The Liberal Party Media Machine, the more it makes me wonder. If and when the truth comes out and possibly some involvement by people associated with the opposition is found it will all be old and uninteresting & the dung that is flung will still stick to the PM. The tragedy in all this is that, a lot of it is based on appealing to misogyny and women are sneaking conniving bitches. UGH

PatriciaL

28/01/2012Hi all, Lots of confected outrage by the Coalition. If Tony Abbott's comments were misinterpreted by so many of the news outlets as detailed in 'Cut and Paste' in The Australian today, clearly his words were very ill chosen. I believe it was a Dorothy Dixer of a question, a dog whistle and his words were actually very carefully chosen. IMHO it is to completely derail the proposed changes to the constitution as I think he is unwilling to engage in any discussion or debate. He has really desabilised the aboriginal situation where we now have open disagreement by many in the aboriginal community. IMHO it is so that he can claim, another failure of the Gillard Government when the proposed referendum is not successful and doesn't give a toss about who he defames, damages on this way to The Lodge. Tony Abbott was very successful in spoiling the goodwill of Australia Day. PatriciaL

D Mick Weir

28/01/2012[b][i]Mick's Media Mix[/i][/b] The Sorry, We are all slightly late out to lunch edition [b][i]... more from the opinion pages[/i][/b] [b]The spear of confrontation pays nation another visit[/b] Debra Jopson @National Times [i]IN 1790, Bennelong, the Sydney-born Aboriginal friend to the colonisers, was present when Governor Arthur Phillip was speared at Manly Cove, demonstrating how much relations between the two peoples had soured. It has been a while since Australia has been confronted with its own angry Aboriginal face, ...[/i] http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/the-spear-of-confrontation-pays-nation-another-visit-20120127-1qm0g.html [b]Flying the flag for an Australia free of racism[/b] Stephanie Smart @Canberra Times [i]... in the lead-up to Australia Day, I turn on the news and see the Government and Opposition are still arguing over asylum seekers. The next day talks have broken down between the two parties. I open various news websites and see they're all reporting that people who fly Australian flags on their cars have been found to be more racist than those who don't.[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/flying-the-flag-for-an-australia-free-of-racism/2435807.aspx?storypage=0 [b]This week’s lesson: politics is no fairy tale[/b] Anthony Sharwood @ThePunch [i]Once upon a time, in a mythical kingdom called Canberra which most people don’t really believe exists, a lady called Cindergillard lost her shoe. The lady didn’t lose her shoe at a big fancy schmancy ball, but what can you do? Ball, restaurant, same effect.[/i] http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/this-weeks-lesson-politics-is-no-fairy-tale/?from=scroller&pos=3&referrer=home&link=text [b]Speedo politics scuttles any solution[/b] Mike Carlton @National Times [i]Just when you think he can get no lower, down he goes again. Tony Abbott's boast that he would turn back the refugee boats is rank populism, a despicable play for the talkback rednecks. It is a policy – and he must know this – that would risk the lives not only of asylum seekers but of young navy sailors.[/i] http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/speedo-politics-scuttles-any-solution-20120127-1qlsb.html [b]On average, Aussies don't measure up[/b] Jessica Irvine @NationalTimes [i]So just who is this ''average Australian'' anyway? Well, he's just your average bloke really; two kids, a mortgage, one dog, one cat. Really? Australia Day has evolved into the one day of the year when the 22.8 million people who call Australia home feel compelled to find some common ground, some common characteristics that define us as a nation. We're all the same, really, we tell ourselves. Except, no, we're not.[/i] http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/on-average-aussies-dont-measure-up-20120127-1qlhx.html [i]Editors Comment:[/i] IMHO Jess Irvine is shaping up to be more than just an economics commentator. Jess has a great way of simplifying things and writes good stuff - always worth a read - DMW [b]Numbers show why clubs are addicted[/b] Crispin Hull @CanberraTimes [i]The numbers tell the story. I know numbers are a big turn-off, but bear with me because the story is important, and precisely because numbers are a turn-off, the clubs have been able to dismiss problem gambling as a minor matter not affecting many people.[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/numbers-show-why-clubs-are-addicted/2435795.aspx [b]Port Road cafe offers free food for children as parents play pokies[/b] Miles Kemp @Adelaide Advetiser via News.com [i]CHILDREN are being offered free food as an enticement for their parents to play pokies, in what is being labelled as a gambling loophole.[/i] http://www.news.com.au/money/port-road-cafe-offers-free-food-for-children-as-parents-play-pokies/story-e6frfmci-1226254899342#ixzz1kiekMewu [b]My dear old Albo, allow me to present my references[/b] Jim Schembri @NationalTimes [i]AN OPEN letter to Anthony Albanese, federal Transport Minister and Hollywood fan: ...[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/numbers-show-why-clubs-are-addicted/2435795.aspx?storypage=0 [b]Party trolls shall not pass, or be named[/b] Noel Towell @CanberraTimes [i]Here at The Canberra Times, we're no strangers to the internet trolling scene. We see the occasional instance of several ''concerned Canberrans'', commenting on our website, usually about political yarns, who all just happen to share the same IP address. Then we get the occasional flurry of angry, oh so angry, comments from ''readers'' that, coincidentally, all come from a cluster of computers, probably situated in the same office. Could it be political? Surely not.[/i] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/party-trolls-shall-not-pass-or-be-named/2435808.aspx?storypage=0 [b]Editorial[/b] @TheHobartMercury [i]PRIME Minister Julia Gillard coped remarkably well amid the cacophony on Australia Day when protesters in Canberra threw security into a spin. Ms Gillard's concern for the welfare of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, caught candidly on television microphones, was praiseworthy and showed the PM has a clear head in a crisis. ...[/i] http://www.themercury.com.au/opinion/index.html [b][i]... and at long last to the blogs[/i][/b] [b]Shameful Australia Day shouldn’t be obscured by spin[/b] The Consience Vote [i]Remember when Australia Day was all about having a barbecue, going to the beach or just generally bludging at home? Remember when the pressing issue of the day was whether you’d bought enough ice, or had your radio tuned to Triple J? Oh sure, there was always muttering from boring people who said the day had ‘lost its meaning’.[/i] http://consciencevote.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/shameful-australia-day-shouldnt-be-obscured-by-spin/ [b]While Menzies House unveils a petition, the pond unveils plans for an Über weekend ...[/b] Dorothy Parker @LoonPond [i]The valiant battlers against their own obscurity have launched a staunch campaign of defiance, demanding people sign a petition to close down the illegal, racist and divisive Tent Embassy. And they've bravely and boldly issued a press release to back up their agitprop action. And never mind that Tony Abbott doesn't agree with them, or want to go there ...[/i] http://loonpond.blogspot.com/2012/01/while-menzies-house-unveils-petition.html [b]What a farce looks like[/b] The Piping Shrike [i]How annoying. This blog took quite a while going through the debate around the Constitution to set out the position of indigenous people in relation to the state. It needn’t have bothered. All we needed was a Canberra farce and we have all we need to know. Personally, this blog blames the meeja.[/i] http://www.pipingshrike.com/2012/01/what-a-farce-looks-like.html [b]Silly Advisers, Silly Media – This is Canberra, Today.[/b] Preston Towers @The Preston Institute [i]It now turns out that it was one of Gillard’s own media advisers leaked the information to a person connected to the Tent Embassy that Abbott was going to be in the notorious restaurant. It does raise significant questions as to why the adviser thought that was an advisable thing to do – to not consider that a group angry with Abbott over his comments might not want to visit the restaurant not far from said embassy. An egregious error.[/i] http://prestoninstitute.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/sillyadviserssillymedia/ [b]Terry McCrann's Glowing Endorsement of the Gillard Government[/b] @TheKouk [i]In an interesting twist on the monetary policy debate, News Limited's Terry McCrann is heaping praise on the economic policy management of the Gillard Government saying that “he is happy with the mix” with tight fiscal policy and easier monetary policy.[/i] http://stephenkoukoulas.blogspot.com/2012/01/terry-mccranns-glowing-endorsement-of.html [b]All hail mighty Aussie dollar, as it's here to stay[/b] Ross Gittins [i]This year we'll see more painful evidence of Australian businesses accepting the new reality: our dollar is likely to stay uncomfortably high for years, even decades.[/i] http://www.rossgittins.com/2012/01/this-year-well-see-more-painful.html [b]An Animated History of Human Communication: 1965 Educational Film about the Telephone[/b] Maria Popova @Brain Pickings [i]Barely a decade into the age of the social web, it’s already difficult to remember — or imagine — how the world operated before it. As difficult, perhaps, as it was for kids in the 1960s to imagine a world before the telephone.[/i] http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/01/27/an-animated-history-of-human-communication-1965-educational-film-on-the-telephone/

D Mick Weir

28/01/2012... and a big oops, this one fell off the page and deserves a place on your regular reading list [b]Spongebob Politics[/b] Tom Cummings @in other words... [i]Spongebob is a contrary character. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes stupid, always obsessive and driven ... The closest analogy to Spongebob in Australian politics is Tony Abbott. Similarly obsessive and committed to his job ...[/i] http://tom-cummings.blogspot.com/2012/01/spongebob-politics.html

2353

28/01/2012Now someone else is claiming "credit" for tipping off the protestors on Thursday. I'm with you DMW - there is a political game afoot here. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/labor-figure-kim-sattler-named-as-gobetween-in-protest-20120128-1qmre.html On the same topic I was having a discussion with some people earlier today who, I would hazard a guess, have never voted for a progressive party in their lives. Every one of them was impressed that in the middle of what was undoubtably a stressful situation - Gillard asked about protection for Abbott. Now of the ALP could build on that image they might win a battle or two . . . nah forget it - it won't happen. Also look at one of DMW's links above "A peek at the best and worst of Gillard Katherine Murphy @SMAge/National Times " which ventures a similar opinion on the ALP's strategy

Sir Ian Crisp

28/01/2012We were supposed to believe that only the Right exhorted people to violence. How wrong is that notion today after the shenanigans of the other day. It turns out that the bird of paradox had at least one subaltern with a perfervid imagination employed in her spin department. He used Kim Sattler to whip up a mob of ‘activists’ into an ugly mob of racists. Where is the once mighty ALP? What happened to the party of ideas....the progressive party. What a sham.

TalkTurkey

28/01/2012Bob Carr said on his blog today: [i]"Here’s the truth of it. Demonstrations hurt the demonstrators. On the electronic media they sound extreme, bitter, angry."[/i] I think well of William Bowe but I take issue with, if not offence at this somewhat amorphous comment, which presumably relates to Bob Carr's comment: William Bowe Posted Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 7:13 pm | Permalink [i]"Bob Carr – a better blogger than Premier, I can’t help thinking – voices many of my own thoughts regarding the Tom Hodges affair."[/i] I'm a lot with ruawake Posted Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 7:40 pm | Permalink [i]Demonstrating about the Vietnam war did not hurt me. It put pressure on McMahon, who fearing the mood of the people started withdrawing troops.[/i] And staunch my say who is one of my favourite bloggers on PB 1406 my say Posted Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 7:43 pm | Permalink [i]did not hurt me either ru. politicians don’t like p,protesters the. to be seen[/i] For such as pontificating past Premiers and absolutely above-it-all academics to take the line that protest is always/nearly always counterproductive is OK I guess, but perhaps Bob never bothered to help to stop Australia's involvement in the Vietnam debacle? . . . and I'd be pretty surprised if Bilbo did! . . . And it's close to offensive to try telling us who did that what we have done is counter-productive to our causes, some who have lain in front of heritage-destroying bulldozers or tried physically to keep mounted police from charging their horses into non-violent crowds, or those unfortunates in detention centres protesting non-violently and for compelling reasons against their treatment at the hands of that private mob who ought to be behind bars themselves from what restricted stuff I've ever seen, yeah, to try telling all of us who have ever tried with all our might short of and I do emphasize physical violence on our side's part. I have NEVER seen ANYONE attack police at such protests. I have personally seen the reverse more than once, and I have seen it not a few times on TV, Australia Day being the latest. Protest saved the Franklin being dammed. Protest may stop the fracking craze which is a terribly threatening process: that gas is methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases, so what, Bob, what Bilbo, say nowt, maybe write a letter to your local Member? I could write a lot more on Protest, what do you-all think? on ya my say, you tell em luv.

Catey

28/01/2012Your Royal Crispness You sound more and more like the self righteous whining Pyne every time you drop in. I'm sure Kim Sattler appreciates your representation of her as a woman who can be used by a junior media staffer to "whip up a mob of activists into an ugly mob of racists". Indeed, if she did do this she did it on her ownsome. Give her some credit.

Catey

28/01/2012I logged in to make a late comment on the Sermon on the Mount, but Mr Sicness annoyed me and I just had to comment - just can't stand men who think women can't think for themselves. Anyway, to me the Sermon on the Mount lays out and encourages the principles by which mankind needs to live to make the world a better place. I think the messages are beautiful and still meaningful today, which has got to be the measure of a good speech. Ad astra offered the opinion that this was a political speech and there is so much there to ponder re separation of church and state. For example, Christianity seems to be dying out, skip over not many years and how will our children learn the basic values previously drawn from Christianity? It will probably be from secular ethics subjects taught in government funded schools - so the government will become responsible for the moral fabric of our society. Thanks for the series of speeches Ad I have enjoyed mulling over them all. Thanks DMW for your links - they are great and enjoy your pithy comments.

TalkTurkey

28/01/2012Catey You said [i]to me the Sermon on the Mount lays out and encourages the principles by which mankind needs to live to make the world a better place. I think the messages are beautiful and still meaningful today[/i] Well you sound goodwilled, that is all that matters really, but, well, I think as I said earlier that it amounts to a mount of turgid contradictory nonsense, non-sequiturs and platitudes. Just look at the first part, I won't bother with the rest. 1: And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [i]So . . . My predisposition to depression is great news![/i] 4: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. [i]Yep, family all wiped out in a fire, what joy in store![/i] 5: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. [i]Uh-huh. Maybe. More likely not. Meantime they got nothing, don't see any logic at all to the claim neither. [/i] 6: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. [i]Does this have any meaning at all?[/i] 7: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. [i]Excuse me, that's just BS.[/i] 8: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. [i]Gag.[/i] 9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. [i]The Children of God, Moses David's mob, were reviled and as for the rest of us who believe in Dog it has no meaning.[/i] 10: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [i]It's all [u]gobbledegook[/u]![/i] It has all the coherence of Nostradaumus and the rationality of the Old Testament. I take just one precept from Jesus' teachings, that embodied in the story of the Good Samaritan, whose meaning is crystal, whose embrace is universal, and whose relevance is perennial. Beyond that, the miracles, the incomprehensible utterances such as the Sermon on the Mount, ought to be called for what they are. [b]Twaddle[/b].

Catey

29/01/2012TT Appreciate your comments. I am aware that a lot of people think as you do, which is why I say that Christianity is dying out as a mainstream religion in this country. I could go through each line and give you my interpretation, but I won't because I know you disagree. Sometimes I shove my political opinion down people's throats, but I tend not to do that with religion.

Gravel

29/01/2012D Mick Weir Okay, okay, I know you don't want me to move, all those bloody links that I have to wade through. :-) Honestly, thanks heaps you have come up with some great stuff. Can you tell me how you managed to comment on Hillbilly Skeleton's piece please. Forgive me for not replying and can I say thanks in advance. I will be off line for about the next week, or sooner if I can borrow Samantha from Bewitched.

Sir Ian Crisp

29/01/2012[quote] Your Royal Crispness You sound more and more like the self righteous whining Pyne every time you drop in. I'm sure Kim Sattler appreciates your representation of her as a woman who can be used by a junior media staffer to "whip up a mob of activists into an ugly mob of racists". Indeed, if she did do this she did it on her ownsome. Give her some credit. Catty [/quote] C’mon Catty, you and I both know it’s cucumber time in Australia at the moment and as such it’s hard to get a headline. Two ALP operatives both with a Daphnean personality so dominant that it would prevent them from giving Mr Um-Err-Ahh a rough time; I don’t believe that. Whose turn was it within ALP circles to have use of the brain for a week? Not Sattler or Hodges of that we can be sure.

Ad astra

29/01/2012Folks The story of the Aboriginal protest last Thursday becomes more convoluted by the day as every side of politics seeks to make whatever political capital it can from the event. As no one seems to have the full story, the antagonists simply make up their own version or construct their own adversarial questions. As usual, truth and the facts are irrelevant. We may never know all the machinations behind this sad event. So I won’t even try to offer an opinion. Instead, I offer you this song. It was mentioned on the ABC’s [i]Summer all over[/i] this morning and sung for us. The lyrics are by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and Dobe Newton. It was written in 1987. The music is by Bruce Woodley. The words are poignant. Here it is for your reflection. [i]I came from the dream-time, from the dusty red soil plains
 I am the ancient heart, the keeper of the flame.
 I stood upon the rocky shore, I watched the tall ships come.
 For forty thousand years I've been the first Australian. We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice:
 I am, you are, we are Australian I came upon the prison ship, bowed down by iron chains.
 I cleared the land, endured the lash and waited for the rains.
 I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife on a dry and barren run
 A convict then a free man, I became Australian. We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice: I am, you are, we are Australian I'm the daughter of a digger who sought the mother lode
 The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road
 I'm a child of the depression, I saw the good times come
 I'm a bushy, I'm a battler, I am Australian We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice:
 I am, you are, we are Australian I'm a teller of stories, I'm a singer of songs
 I am Albert Namatjira, I paint the ghostly gums
 I am Clancy on his horse, I'm Ned Kelly on the run
 I'm the one who waltzed Matilda, I am Australian We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice:
 I am, you are, we are Australian There are no words of comfort that can hope to ease the pain
 Of losing homes and loved ones the memories will remain
 Within the silent tears you’ll find the strength to carry on
 You’re not alone, we are with you. We are Australian! We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice:
 I am, you are, we are Australian There are so many heroes whose stories must be told
 They fought the raging fires of hell and saved so many souls
 From the ashes of despair our towns will rise again!
 We mourn your loss, we will rebuild. We are Australian! We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice:
 I am, you are, we are Australian I'm the hot wind from the desert, I'm the black soil of the plains
 I'm the mountains and the valleys, I'm the drought and flooding rains
 I am the rock, I am the sky, the rivers when they run
 The spirit of this great land, I am Australian We are one, but we are many
 And from all the lands on earth we come
 We share a dream and sing with one voice:
 I am, you are, we are Australian
 I am, you are, we are Australian! We are one ….. We are many ….. We are Australian![/i] If only!

TalkTurkey

29/01/2012Catey, Thank you for your very proper reply. [As for Limpy Crisp he only comes here to be made fun of.] If I might gently point it out, you have put your finger on the problem with the Sermon on the Mount: [i]interpretation[/i]. As I said it's like Nostradamus, spin it any way that seems to suit your purposes. You might imagine the scene in the official court interrogation today: Mr Christ, you are alleged to have told the crowd, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines [i]meek[/i] as, "piously humble and submissive: submitting tamely to injury." Assuming that you have been quoted correctly, how do you justify that statement, given that research indicates that of individuals who have been assessed on a range of socio-economic markers to be "meek" according to that definition, more than 70% are left completely unrewarded on the demise of those to whom they have ministered? And so on. Oddly you might think, I do think of Jesus as being the first in any of the Scriptures to have proselytized Good Samaritanism, which is at the core of all humanity. He would not have been the first to have put such humanity into practice though, nor would the Samaritan. That is why I am happy to call myself humanist, note the lower case h though please. What is more, I would expect that to be an attitude recogniised across all civilizations and all ages, and I would bet that we are at one thee and me as to that. As I write there's a program on ABC 1 with 'committed British Catholic Cherie Blair' on about 'Christianity in the last 100 years'. Here's a priest saying [i]How are we to say who's in who's out of the kingdom of heaven?[/i] Yeah right! But many if not indeed most 'Christians' do see people as Us Holy Lot and Yous Yobbo Heathens. [i]Do as you would be done by.[/i] Seven one-syllable words. So clear and fair. Keep the baby, ditch all the crappy bathwater say I.

TalkTurkey

29/01/2012Blessed are the doers of Youtube: for they make our spirits soar. http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=we%20are%20one%20but%20we%20are%20many%20youtube&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCcQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6U9OTmLrrF0&ei=JJgkT4nINsa4iQfAvYmhBA&usg=AFQjCNEDMOyljcjWADgC5vNlm7v6eKaClQ Thank you too Ad, that was very timely. Patricia WA I omitted my acknowledgement of your pome January 26. 2012 04:11 PM Double-rhymed, hope everybody realises, it's so much harder doing that but I love it. But this is the line about [b]BIG[/b] Gina - [u]And [i]men[/u][/i] - That hangs in the air: This woman’s fortune is so gigantic It makes men mad and sycophantic. 'Tis true! I sighed . . . Still, it can't be applied On the other side Of the gender divide! :) Only joking, I do know what you mean. I am firmly in favour of the impersonal masculine in such applications as, "Each climber must carry his own swag" where that covers ems and efs, and I am in favour of ships and other such expensive beautiful objects of our regard as feminine . . . and whales too obviously . . . as in [i]Th'ar she Blows! [/i] . . . which brings us back to Big Gina . . . :) ! Oops Bad Turkey. [i]Poor Gina![/i] She probably has a hormone imbalance, nothing to do with gluttony.

Michael

29/01/2012Bad Chrissy Pyne Quoted from the SMH, http://www.smh.com.au/national/gobetween-backs-pms-version-in-war-of-words-20120129-1qnoq.html Mr Pyne today said the episode was another example of a government more concerned about itself than the nation's citizens. "There is a stench at the heart of this government, in the prime minister's office where dirty tricks and grubby political deals are elevated," he said. "The concerns of the Australian people about job security and other cost-of-living issues are pushed into the background." This!... this from a central figure in the government that brought us 'children overboard' and the Opposition that fell for Godwin Grech. Boil it all down, go back to basics, all of this started with what came out of Tony Abbott's mouth the morning of Australia Day.

Ad astra

29/01/2012TT, Catey I have enjoyed reading your dialogue. If only Sir Ian could learn from you how to argue your case in a civil manner, free of caustic comment. If only! Folks If you want to remind yourself of [i]We are Australian[/i], here is a YouTube version of it: http://youtu.be/ZOlPCmFG2pc sung by The Seekers. Not all the verses in the words listed in my last post are there. The blurb accompanying the verses reads: “[i]The Australian National Morning Service for the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires included a spirited rendition of I Am Australian. 22 years after first writing the song, Bruce Woodley wrote two extra verses to reflect on the tragic events where so many lives were lost. Woodley attended the Service and led everyone in singing his song. The Service was held at 10am on 22 February 2009 and telecast simultaneously to the Australian public.[/i]"

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29/01/2012Folks I'll be out for a few hours.

Patricia WA

29/01/2012Thanks, TT, rhymesters are blessed when someone unwittingly offers a word like 'sycophantic' in close proximity to another like 'gigantic' and so the verse shapes itself. Catey, take TT on as a sparring partner. He loves the challenge! You'll have fun if you don't take him too much to heart when he gets really vehement about things. Ignore SIC's comments and mis-spelling of your name. He is of ill intent and not worth a thought. Re. your views on the Sermon the On the Mount, Catey, I agree with you about those broad injunctions to love one another, not to kill and to forgive one's enemies etc. But mixing them with such strict commandments not to commit adultery or to put away one's wife has led to untold misery down the centuries and still does.

D Mick Weir

29/01/2012[b][i]Mick's Media Mix[/i][/b] The what the heck did we do before the internet edition Afternoon folks have just spent all day without a connection to the internet - oh the pain of it all - I was tempted to go off to the library so I could bring you todays mix but oh well the closest one open on Sundays was too long a walk So Just a quickie update [i][b]From the Newspapers ... What the Front Pages are saying... [/i][/b] Today the Front Pages come to you from [i]Front Pages Today[/i] http://goo.gl/enTjx [b]The Sunday Age[/b] http://goo.gl/ZksS3 A pic about tennis - will it ever end? Fears for missing refugee kids & School rorts [b]The Sunday Telegraph[/b] http://goo.gl/uizVi Cops ban Tatoos [b]The Sun Herald[/b] http://goo.gl/HL4NX Bond's biggest Loss & Train Wreck [b]The Sunday Mail[/b] http://goo.gl/5tGei Anna shapes for biggest bout and oh dear yes there is pic with Anna in boxing gloves That's all the front pages we have today [b][i]... and the stories[/i][/b] [b]Go-between backs PM's version in war of words[/b] The Age [i]Opposition leader Tony Abbott says the federal police must investigate the tent embassy protest that has forced the resignation of one of the Prime Minister's closest advisors. ... News Limited today reported that Ms Sattler said her conversation with the prime minister's office had made her believe Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wanted the Aboriginal tent embassy closed.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/national/gobetween-backs-pms-version-in-war-of-words-20120129-1qnoq.html#ixzz1kozcoCNu [b]Molly wished a happy birthday by family, stars[/b] [i]Molly Meldrum's family will celebrate the music industry veteran's 66th birthday today by toasting the fact that he is still alive, his brother says.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/molly-wished-a-happy-birthday-by-family-stars-20120129-1qnov.html#ixzz1kp09L61I [b]How Immigration lost 17 boys[/b] Natalie O'Brien @SMAge [i]SEVENTEEN asylum-seeker children suspected of being trafficked from Vietnam have vanished from immigration centres across the country, and authorities admit they have not been searching for them.[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/national/how-immigration-lost-17-boys-20120128-1qn0z.html#ixzz1kp2kJL00 [b][i]... and from the Opinion Pages[/i][/b] [b]Dice loaded in clubs battle[/b] Anne Summers @SMAge/National Times [i]Julia Gillard has been accused of betrayal for her inability to deliver to Andrew Wilkie the promised mandatory precommitment technology on all poker machines, yet her actions are the direct result of her having been betrayed by a man who once was one of her closest advisers.[/i] http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/dice-loaded-in-clubs-battle-20120127-1qlgx.html#ixzz1knYiSLTf [b]Why Prime Minister Julia Gillard will keep on living dangerously[/b] David Penberthy @The Sunday Telegraph [i]Those in the business of applying the defibrillators to Julia Gillard's prime ministership have been quick to talk up her grace and decency during the tent embassy mayhem, while also pointing an accusatory finger at Tony Abbott for inciting the chaos.[/i] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/why-prime-minister-julia-gillard-will-keep-on-living-dangerously/story-e6frezz0-1226256101883 [b]Sisters in strife would do best to keep their distance[/b] Michelle Grattan @National Times [i]JULIA GILLARD and Anna Bligh, those two history-making women who are not close and have had their political differences, now find themselves sisters in strife. The nation's first female PM and the first female premier to win an election are both struggling against the downhill slide of their careers. The fate of one could influence what happens to the other.[/i] http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/sisters-in-strife-would-do-best-to-keep-their-distance-20120128-1qms7.html [b]Working class fan: Abbott's bid for the blue collar[/b] Misha Schubert @National Times [i]AT THIS point in the political cycle, Tony Abbott could be forgiven for thinking he has the blue-collar vote not just sewn up but triple overlocked. His pursuit of the carbon tax, asylum seekers and the nanny state have been potent, and Labor has been in a funk about how to drag it back. Until the past few weeks, that is. [/i] http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/working-class-fan-abbotts-bid-for-the-blue-collar-20120128-1qn2q.html [b][i]... and from the Blogs[/i][/b] [b]Tony Abbott & the Storm in 'The Lobby' Teacup[/b] Hillbilly Skeleton @Looking 4 Truth in the Political Wilderness [i]I have come to the conclusion, not hard I know, that Tony Abbott is functionally incapable of allowing Julia Gillard to have a good day out and about in the public doing her job as Prime Minister. He must find a way to rain on her parade.[/i] http://hillbillyskeleton-punkchicken.blogspot.com/2012/01/tony-abbott-storm-in-lobby-teacup.html [b]Spun out of control[/b] Richard Farmer @TheStump [i]In one sense there was nothing unusual about how Prime Ministerial press secretary Tony Hodges acted on Australia Day. Getting unfavourable publicity for your opponent is as much a part of the spinning game as getting your own boss seen in the best light.[/i] http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2012/01/28/spun-out-of-control/ [b]Menzies House’s campaigns against Aboriginal Australians[/b] @RestlessCapital [i]All political groups make choices about how to allocate their scarce resources, how to communicate in a way that activates their supporters, and where they should best try to channel their energies. Faced with all of the issues of interest to conservatives and libertarians in contemporary Australia, Menzies House have initiated two campaigns in succession that target Aboriginal people.[/i] http://restlesscapital.net/2012/01/menzies-house/ [b]Stop The ‘Close The Tent Embassy Petition’ Petition Campaign[/b] Mike Stuchberry [i][b]Media Release[/b] Online Campaign Launched by Mike Stuchbery to encourage Senator Cory Bernadi to condemn the ‘Close The Tent Embassy’ petition, created by Menzies House, a ‘non-partisan online activist community’ (Barf). [/i] http://mike-stuchbery.com/2012/01/28/stop-the-close-the-tent-embassy-petition-petition-campaign/ [b]The reality of the Gillard-haters[/b] James Higgins @ThePoliticsProject [i]There is a certain breed of amateur, self-styled ‘political observer’ who think themselves so clever as to be able to detect the truth hidden beneath the supposedly-unending spin of politicians. Such people, time rich and with an unhealthily high regard for their own opinions, often have the nasty habit of confusing their own cynicism for wisdom. For them, every story is a cover-up, every explanation a whitewash. Of course, their critical eye is rarely directed at their preferred political party.[/i] http://thepoliticsproject.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/the-reality-of-the-gillard-haters/ [b]Will the Real Kim Sattler Please Stand Up – Just What Did Kim Sattler Say?[/b] Preston Toweres @ThePreston Institute [i]The Wizard of Oz that is our media scrum have continued their colour and light show about the “riot” that never was, now focusing on what unionist Kim Sattler said or didn’t say to organisers of the Tent Embassy. Mind you, it’s a curious debate, considering that what was actually said by Tony Abbott was on TV that morning ...[/i] http://prestoninstitute.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/kimsattlersay/ That's all for now folks