Get the inside track on the media and government

KHTAGH

17/08/2012I'll be first to say , I like the new look, & the well deserved acknowledgement to Lyn's links.

DMW

17/08/2012Damn the sword has disappeared, but a good consolation prize that we have visual hint of an important document.

debbiep

17/08/2012Hear hear Ad. Lyn's Library in the sky. The 'Hub for the Fifth estate' has kept me well & truly informed along with the posts and comments here for nearly as many years. Sadly, with the growing of online twittering and twattering and limited time I dont comment much but I sure do read a lot, thanks to you guys. Lyn's dedication ( & freindliness)is truly amasing . I would also like to thank her, and all. Three cheers !

Gravel

17/08/2012Ad Astra, Web Monkey, and our very own Lyn I am impressed, well done, But, and there is always a but, that building is still not big enough to house all the gold medals that Lyn and yourselves have earned. :-)

jaycee

17/08/2012I like the new look and would congratulate all involved. I see this site as a safe harbour, and anchor to start the days' information and Lyn's Links are the food for thought that kick it off! To all the other old-time regulars I also ;"Dips me lid".

Ad astra

17/08/2012Folks Thank you for your comments. I'm glad you like the new look. I'll be out for the evening; back later.

LadyInRed

17/08/2012Lyn A bif ditto on all the comments thus far. Until I discovered TPS I was never so well informed and it is all thanks to you. You are one heck of a selfless bird. And thanks to all the contributors who also provide links and comments. And I love it when we respect the diversity opinion. The tide is turning, it must be I think Cassidy is like litmus paper.

LadyInRed

17/08/2012oooh the typo's sorry I am having a Friday evening glass of wine. Cheers everyone.

Linda

17/08/2012Great new look! I would also like to add my thanks for the contributions - they provide a ray of hope when things look bleak. Hopefully, the tide is now turning - surely Abbott can't last for too much longer!!

nasking

17/08/2012 Good stuff Ad. Luv the new look! Nobody deserves an award more than Lyn...one of the most hard working and consistent contributors in the blogosphere. Cheers to Lyn!!! And Ad. And the other hard working contributors on TPS. N'

42 long

17/08/2012Looks warmer. I am convinced that only through cross referring to link up people who are interseted in getting the truth, will we overcome the scheme to mould our thoughts and control what we think and our attitudes, so that there will be put in place a government that we wil regret more than ever envisaged. The attack on collective representation, proper education for all. opportunity for all. medicine for the masses etc etc to be replaced by a great new horror resembling the Tea/. republicam Party creation in America, which I hope for the Americans firstly, and the rest of the world also NEVER comes to pass. The great divide between rich and poor far from being addressed will be more extreme. The only end for this is social instability with crime increasing and more money spent on incarceration, and rightist governments getting elected with promises of going hard on crime and building more gaols. SOUND FAMILIAR?? Austerity and cutting jobs does nothing long term but to drive the society into recession. When you sack the teachers public servants fire fighters and just about anybody who doesn't vote extreme right , the whole exercise becomes extremely cynical. Consider carefully what has happened in Qld. kennett incidently advised Abbott to copy this theme nationally. I don't know that tony would need much encouragement to do that anyhow. Newman is a proven LIAR. 9As is BoF in Nsw. They turned their backs on all the promises they made to get elected. Newman romped it in but O'Farrel needed the Shooter's ( thanks to the GREENS) Tony doesn't condemn THAT alliance. Shooters/ LIBS or whatever they are. The" Hills are Alive with the Sond of SHOOTERS" (Not music). Does the shooter's tail wag the LNP DOG? The LNP want to cut the nexus betwen the UNIONS who are reduced to about 19% of the workforce anyhow, and the funding they support the ALP with. Newman gets in with the biggest margin and want's to elimate what is left of the opposition. These 'FASCISTS" and if they are not they are giving a very good imitation, want a "One part state " into the future. Newman increases mining royalties but not a word from the LNP. That act further erodes the federal govet's ability to impose the more equitibel world leading mining super profits tax. Everything they do is trying to destroy the ALP's "balanced" budjet so they can promote the furph that they can manage the economy bettter than the "world's Best treasureer who has delivered for the first time, AAA ratings for the economy. Abbott's benign dictatorship would not be so beneign. Nothing about this radical IS..

Casablanca

17/08/2012I have been wanting to jump back into the fray and the new look TPS is as good an excuse as any. Since I stopped posting a few months ago I have been doing a bit of lurking so I also wish to add my thanks to Ad Astra and Lyn. Ad Astra you continue to put the politicians and the commentators to the political sword with well researched and calmly argued veracities. Lyn, your prodigious efforts keep us all very well informed and clearly keep you tied to the computer for extended tracts of time. My appreciation and admiration are unbounded. There can be little doubt that several higher profile commentators are beginning to judge political matters on their merit, reversing their former automatic rabid criticism of our PM and their blind acceptance of the antics of the LOTO. Well done TPS and all that sail in her.

Lyn

17/08/2012My letter to Ad Astra, Dear Ad, I am excited and impressed with the TPS’s homepage new look. Ad Astra you have honored and humbled me by your so generously given recognition. It is an honor to be recognized by you, and our contributors for doing something that is a pleasure It's been a great educational experience to be part of TPS . Your words mean a great deal to me. They also serve to make me want to do an even better job. TPS has provided poets, writers & commenters the opportunity to share their skills & opinions. The quality of your work and the honesty with which you write is a delight. I appreciate for your commitment to TPS ,your passion and kindness. You are hereby awarded the medal of “Excellence” Ad Astra you and TPS contributors are fabulous morale boosters Yours faithfully, Lyn

nasking

17/08/2012 [quote]I appreciate for your commitment to TPS ,your passion and kindness. You are hereby awarded the medal of “Excellence” [/quote] Lyn, I'll second that. N'

Libbyx33

17/08/2012I, too, am very grateful for Lyn. Love the new look of TPS, too! Thanks Lyn, & keep up the fabulous work!

jaycee

17/08/2012One question I have to raise and I suspect it hovers around the thoughts of most fifth estaters every now and then...:Given that the MSM. exists through a market based system, ie..money for product and it is obvious this site and quite a few others are a non-profit organisation...what happens when Ad Astra retires or runs out of capital or steam? Do we, can we let the fifth estate falter and be left with the tired old MSM.? Ad Astra, Miglo, Lyn.....what are the plans amongst those "in the know" to give the fifth estate longevity?

Ad astra

17/08/2012Folks Thank you for your complimentary remarks. I’m pleased the new look appeals to you. And welcome back to you Casablanca. What you raise 42 long is fundamental to our society. There is a deep division between those that seek social justice and the free marketers. They not only have different ideologies, they are different types of people. I have been thinking for some time that I ought to write something about this divide. I’m now reading Joseph Stiglitz [i]The price of inequality[/i]. Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, his book is regarded as a classic on the worldwide issue of inequality. It should give me lots of food for thought.

Ad astra

17/08/2012Hi Lyn What a lovely letter you have written to me. The Medal of Excellence is one I share with you. We are a good team. Together we feed our visitors, you with countless links, me with essays. They then give us feedback, contribute to the dialogue, and add new material and opinions. The combination of links, essays, and thoughtful comment is a winner. And it does feel as if we are winning in our quest to have our PM and our Government recognized for the contribution they are making to our nation, against trenchant opposition and adverse media forces. As TT says so often: VENCEREMOS.

Ad astra

17/08/2012jaycee You raise an important question. What happens if we falter? I’ve been in Melbourne all week for a battery of routine annual health checks, and all is well, but sooner or later the time to retire from [i]TPS[/i] will come. I had hoped someone might come along who could in time take over, but so far no one has come forward. I’ll keep looking. I’m sure you realize how much time and effort Lyn puts into [i]TPS[/i]; we must ensure that she has breaks from her work to refresh herself. That’s why we have confined [i]Today’s Links[/i] to weekdays, and why she will be taking a good break at the end of the year. Thank you for your concern. We’re OK so far, but we will take care.

2353

17/08/2012Oooh I like the rebranding, congrats to Web Monkey, AA & especially Lyn for a job that must be at times heartbreakingly difficult. Jaycee raises a good point. The last thing we need is people like AA and Migs who (as far as I know) fund and control sites like this to give up for some reason. More power to you AA, and I hope you have the fortitude to keep going for a long time into the future.

TalkTurkey

17/08/2012Congratulations Lyn. Magic Bird You Are. Congratulations Ad astra for creating a blogsite where Lyn could make a safe nest, from which her Tweets can reach Wide-Brown-Land round in an instant. And equally importantly, [i]back![/i] Lyn and Ad together have made this site very important. Let the quality of our commentaries be worthy of them, and compulsory reading for the lagging "Failed" 5th Estate, and for decent sincere politicians. More than a hub even, TPS is a lodestone, a beacon, a broadcasting point, a moral compass, a massive library in the sky as someone said. Just look at the tributes for Lyn already. This site gives us all heart. Thanks Web Monkey too, always. We are so lucky to have all you three! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are pleased anytime to welcome the Hon. Julia Gillard MP Prime Minister of Australia to this site. You always receive the respect here that is your due Ms Gillard. We are proud of you and your Government, as we are proud of Lyn, and Ad astra's [i]The Political Sword[/i]. On to Victory! Or as I am known to say: [b][i]VENCEREMOS![/i][/b]

2353

17/08/2012Oh - by the way, if you still see the sword at the top, reload the page. Worked for me :)

NormanK

17/08/2012Congratulations Lyn on a thoroughly deserved accolade. Your hard work and dedication are appreciated by all who visit here and by this reader in particular. You should be immensely proud of the contribution that you have made in bringing [i]TPS[/i] to the dizzying heights that it currently enjoys. Ad astra & Web Monkey Brilliant new banner and badging! You too should be proud of the success of this site and long may it remain so. It is a very beautiful gesture you have made by honouring Lyn in this way.

Ad astra

17/08/20122353, Talk Turkey, NormanK Thank you all for your kind words of praise and encouragement. With the new look and the new branding, let’s take a deep breath and steel ourselves for the rest of the political year. We seem to be having an impact. There are more and more articles that suggest that the tide is turning. But we must be vigilant and never cease our quest for just and fair treatment of the political dynamics. That’s all we seek – justice and fairness. It’s been a long week, so I’m calling it a day.

Truth Seeker

17/08/2012Ad, looks great, congrats to you, Lyn and all involved. A great site made even better. Cheers

Psyclaw

17/08/2012Well done AA and Web Monkey, a classy look. Lyn, the praise many give for your fine work will never be enough. Day in day out you are here leading us to the heart of all the important issues affecting our country. For you, too much praise is never enough. BTW on another matter, the changing of the MSM tide. On a number of occasions here I have mentioned the Super Network ( AM radio). It is based on 2SM Sydney and covers eastern Victoria, nearly all regional NSW and Sydney, and SE Queensland as far north as Gympie. It is a very right wing station, with tabloid and/or redneck announcers all aroud the 24 hour cycle. The daily 6pm to midnight shift is very redneck. The host is known for carrying out mini polls when the mood strikes him. He asks listeners to phone in to vote for an issue, allows them about 20 seconds each, and in half an hour or so puts a 100 or more voters to air. Typically the poll shows that 113 hate the carbon price ( or some other JG policy) and 2 support it. So the announcer and the vast majority of listeners are Abbotteers. In the car tonight I heard the Supernetwork 8pm news. It included a full explanation of what Mr Windsor said in the House yesterday without any (unbalanced) accompanying commentary, a full quote of all the important word used by TW and matter of fact mention of the main message ie that Abbott is a hypocrite in slagging off the carbon scheme because he' d have done the same if he had become PM with the Indies/Greens support after the 2010 election. Since the Supernetwork has now shown that they will broadcast news detrimental to Abbott, a wide change of the MSM approach of the last few years must surely be underway.[u][/u]

DMW

17/08/2012I can't recall whether I or anyone else linked to the following article in the last week or so but it is a very good read. [b]Labor’s next generation[/b] @InsideSTory Reports of Labor’s death have been grossly exaggerated, writes Dennis Altman [i]I spent that last day of the autumn session talking to several lower-house Labor backbenchers and watching the activity in the chambers and in the corridors. I sought out a small group of members young enough, and in safe enough seats, to be future leaders of the party, whether or not it retains office next year. I sought out members who would counteract the simple picture that all Labor members are without life experience or careers outside the party and union movement. For all the emphasis on party machines and the front bench, it is to the newer and younger members of parliament that we should look for a sense of potential political futures. Ultimately, the direction of any political party depends on its parliamentarians, and we know far too little about their backgrounds, ideas, values and priorities.[/i] http://inside.org.au/labors-next-generation/ A very good read and that may be because Altman chose three MP's that I have a great amount of regard, respect and time for.

DMW

17/08/2012I still haven't figured which would be worse to watch my wife and daughter raped, tortured and killed or for us all to drown at sea in attempt to get a better life. Does anyone here have answer to this dilemma?

Jason

18/08/2012Psyclaw, All well and good to listen to "shock jock" radio stations! As your comrade "TT" will attest to so do I. Do you ring them up like I do to try and put their bullshit to bed?

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012I forgot I posted this yesterday, I only went back to see where someone else mentioned that Lyn had said she thought NK's flowere was a Dahlia, I said [i]quite independently [/i]I thought it looked like a Dahlia (though I do think it's a Dahliary Rose anyway). Just shows About Lyn-&-my great minds. But what I did find was my yesterday's cheers for Lyn - even before Ad's thread today. And MWS's little tribute comes into it too. Lyn does so much work, please folks remember to retweet and post her efforts, that way her ifluence magnifies and multiplies, because neither she nor Ad nor any of us is here just for the entertainment, we are all trying to make a difference, to make australia a better place, and even more strkly, to stop it becoming much worse. So I'm proudly reposting this post of mine from yesterday. MWS (welcome) said [i]Thanks to Lyn for her daily links. I enjoy the articles, but Lyn's contributions keep me coming back. MWS [/i] Then I said Lyn is at the very core of online political information exchange now, I know she is a bit awed by that and it takes huge amounts of time, but fortunately for the rest of us she does love what she does for others, she does it for the Left, the Labor Party and good governance of our homeland. No-one is in the slightest doubt as to her vital presence to The Political Sword, she is our - erm ? What is the exact opposite of 'Secret Weapon'? Just letting her know you utilize her work is all the reward she wants. But better still retweet or repost her links, talk her up on other sites because the more people who hear the Tweets of Tweety the more savyy the whole political 5th Estate becomes. The more people come here to TPS and read Ad astra's calm rational insightful thoughts, and those of the rest of us - we're not claiming genius status, but by the living Dog I'd trust what I read and find here before anything I'm going to find on the MSM. Better writtenm ore fun, greater variety, fresher. I am dismayed altogether by the ABC's open and extreme bias. That's why TPS, and Lyn in particular, are so precious. TalkTurkey

janice

18/08/2012Good morning all. Ad astra, TPS just gets better and better. I love the "Order of the Tweety Bird". Our Lyn deserves all the kudos that comes her way and I just wish that medal could be given to her in it's 'real' form. So, Tony Windsor finally decided to forcefully and publicly give the rabid LOTO a slapdown. In the past he has put forward this information, but nicely, to the media in pressers but it was ignored. It is now being reported rather reluctantly because Windsor has indicated he has something recorded on his blackberry to back up his statements. I don't know what others are thinking re the AS and boats. However, I get the feeling that the report from the Houston panel was no surprise to the government and that the report is simply the means by which the government can force the LOTO to pass the necessary legislation to enable off shore processing. It is a shame that a lot of public money will be spent on Nauru and Manus but again, I get the feeling that the government are not about to spend billions too soon and will use temporary accommodation (army tents?) which will perhaps at least slow the boats while the Malaysia/regional solution will be pursued. TT - I don't share your view re Assange. I wouldn't lift a finger to help him get out of the mess he has created for himself. He is, imo, a man whose only interest is in promoting himself.

DMW

18/08/2012Hi Jason, I think that I have heard your dulcet tones on an extract that someone like Frank posted once. The big question is do yo go through a decontamination process afterwards?

Psyclaw

18/08/2012 [b]Swordsters[/b] In my words to AA a few days back about certain drawn out adversarials here to which I was a party, I wrote: [i]"So for the immediate future I will desist shining such spotlights here by way of direct comment; the “brain farts “ of this “pompous twat smartarse” will for the moment cease."[/i] This does not mean that I will not address any confusion set up here by others who purposefully or erroneously misquote or selectively (cherry pick) quote me, especially when the quote is lifted from my genuine and sincere remarks to AA. [u]Yesterday DMW partial quoted me thus:[/u] [i]"For example, a comment which almost verbatim endorses what Joe Hockey had said about the Swan / Springsteen issue and which implicitly derides JG and /or her team should IMHO be prefaced by something like “On this occasion I support what JH has said about………..” etc" [/i] He went on to describe how unreasonable and burdensome such acknowledgment would be, saying: [i]"There are couple of things overlooked in this proposition. It overlooks the possibility that the commenter may have come the same or similar point of view and expresses it in similar wording independant of what any politician or other commenter has said or written. 

If commenters were obliged to acknowledge 'talking points' would we only restrict it to those points that allegedly come from the opposition parties or would we be also be obliged to acknowledge that we are recycling the governments talking points? It could all get very messy. "[/i] [u]Here is the relevant contextualised comment by me in full:[/u] [i]"In the past, particularly the last 6 weeks or so I have become aware of a growing number of comments here which are re-badged Opposition viewpoints, sometimes subtle, other times quite blatant. I have no difficulty with such points of view appearing here, but in the interest of effective and honest communication I believe that such comments should be acknowledged for what they are. For example, a comment which almost verbatim endorses what Joe Hockey had said about the Swan / Springsteen issue and which implicitly derides JG and /or her team should IMHO be prefaced by something like “On this occasion I support what JH has said about………..” etc Otherwise the writers must accept that what they say will be challenged".[/i] The most relevant portions of my comment that were omitted are [i]"which are re-badged Opposition viewpoints, sometimes subtle, other times quite blatant."[/i] and [i]"which deride JG ......"[/i] DMW raises the possibility that TPS people might happen to come up with the same view as the Opposition, through their own independent thought. This is a strawman ..... a sidetracking. I was referring to blatant comments (and others not very subtle) which deride the government. I gave the Springsteen/Swan faux criticism by Hockey which was soon after posted here ...... the same argument, the same premises, the same conclusion, as an example. The rebadgements to which I refer and which have been posted at TPS, of well publicised light weight comments by the Opposition do not arise and appear here as a result of any [i]"independent" [/i]thought processes. Further, I did not say that posters should be [i]"obliged"[/i] to acknowledge statements made here. I suggested that when blatant second hand Opposition anti government positions are posted at TPS. Here is what I wrote, verbatim [i]"I[u] have no difficulty[/u] with such points of view appearing here, [u]but in the interest of effective and honest communication[/u] [b]I believe[/b] that such comments should be acknowledged for what they are. "[/i] But the most pertinent thing that I said was [i]"Otherwise the writers must accept that what they say will be challenged"[/i] It is commonly held that writer's have a responsibility to acknowledge thoughts/words that are not their original ideas and attribute them .... Media Watch frequently points out the failure to do so .... plagiarism. Effective communication requires the honest and open outlining of the premises which when logically assembled lead to a particular conclusion, rather than the bland assertion of the conclusion on its own. Whether writers choose to do so or not is their own business, but they should not be surprised to find that confusion and challenge might follow if they elect the ineffective path. And we all know that "look", from Mr Hockey himself ...[u].Sloppy[/u] Joe.

Psyclaw

18/08/2012 [b]Jason[/b] Yep, I do ring them fairly often. One in particular, Graeme Gilbert (2SM / Supernetwork) is unbelievably skilled and smooth in cutting off undesirables like me. He quietly picks the moment when undesirables are on the verge of stating their main point, gently talks over them to thank them as he presses the dump button and seamlessly changes the conversation. The largely redneck audience are oblivious.

DMW

18/08/2012Psyclaw, could you please provide a link to what Mr Hockey said to prove that what I wrote was direct quote of him. In my one brief search I did not find Hockey mentioning the the likes of Quiggin but if I am wrong I am sure you can prove it. In the interests of not having your vendetta take up space here you can email me D (d0t) Mick (d0t) Weir on the gmail domain Others are at liberty to email me if they wish.

Lyn

18/08/2012Good Morning Ad & Everybody Twitterverse for you: The MSM are silent on Tony Windsor calling out Abbott, I really hope Tony Windsor produces some proof. Anyone but a politician for our next GG, Laurie Oakes In the same magazine article for example, the Liberal Party’s Treasury mole, who for years supplied leaked documents to help damage the Labor Government, complained about a lack of “apolitical public service professionals”. It says something about the quality of political discourse in this country at the moment that the The Spectator Australia magazine and some newspapers expect us to take seriously the hypocritical ramblings of a character like Grech. Abbott can claim vindication for his policy, but there is a downside for him, too.The coalition’s preferred position was to keep the government looking paralysed. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/anyone-but-a-politican-for-our-next-gg/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Gillard gets up off the mat, Editorial, SMH The economy has not been squeezed - by a python or anything else - as the Opposition Leader has warned. Electricity bills may be about to rise but the carbon tax is only one of several causes, and probably not the most important. Gillard was able to turn criticism of the tax against her opponents with her pre-emptive attack on the states for policies and decisions that have increased power bills It has worked brilliantly, but two of his main targets - asylum seekers and the carbon tax - have been taken away. He will have to concentrate for the final year on sketching out a positive alternative to Labor. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/gillard-gets-up-off-the-mat-20120817-24dsz.html#ixzz23qT20xW0 The pain behind plan by Abbott's Mr Fix-It, Lenore Taylor At the beginning many charities and community groups in Britain also thought it sounded great. But in its implementation Big Society delivered, or at least was used to justify, sweeping cuts to the public service, to community services and even to the community and voluntary organisations it was supposed to nurture. But the Big Society rhetoric and ideas are already infusing a lot of what Abbott, his finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, and the families spokesman, Kevin Andrews, have to say http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/the-pain-behind-plan-by-abbotts-mr-fixit-20120817-24dgo.html#ixzz23q6gee00 Why conservatives prefer Blond Blond's Australian performances, including Q&A this week, would have been an amusing sideshow if it wasn't for the fact he has already met with the Coalition shadow cabinet and briefed Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on his 'vision' of how to take the axe to public services while singing Kumbaya. warm and cuddly wraparound for their cost-cutting is more attractive than the cold truth. The Coalition has a hard-wired, ideological disdain of the public sector and when in office, it will cut the services all Australians rely on. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4200650.html MrRabbitt‏@Antibolt The LNP get Blond out to try to help them fix the $70B black hole. Where were the headlines...Hockey needs help to fix black hole Lainie‏@Lain_Bee Phillip Blond a wolf in sheep's clothing. Can only imagine how Abbott laps up the positive spin of austerity and reduced gov services Tony Abbott would thrash around for a winning cause if he didn't have Julia Gillard on the other side of the stage, Peter Hartcher Tony Abbott has made the demonisation of Julia Gillard the mainstay of his political performance. The unending quarrel and liberal use of rhetorical violence is the whole point. Among some of his more feverish cheerleaders it has sometimes spilt over into incitement to physical violence too, like Alan Jones urging that the Prime Minister be tied up in a burlap sack and dumped at sea http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/joke-awaits-new-punchline-20120817-24du5.html#ixzz23q3fx8es David Donovan‏@davrosz It's hilarious that the gin-addled Tories who run The Spectator think a glowing endorsement by Godwin Grech is going to *help* Abbott Popi‏@popi6666 Swan puts MP on spot | http://www.dailymercury.com.au/story/2012/08/17/swan-puts-mp-on-spot-george-christensen/ George is like his leader,all TALK no Action... Newman says public service cuts popular "The overwhelming sentiment was that 'premier, we know these are tough decision but please keep on doing the right thing, we understand you're getting the state back on track'", he told ABC Radio. He also said it was "complete nonsense" that the state's debt was mainly due to two cyclones, the floods and the global financial crisis. He blamed it purely on increasing expenditure, including the rise in public servants' wages. http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/newman-says-public-service-cuts-popular/story-e6frfku9-1226451750686#ixzz23qQYF7WO John Pratt‏@Jackthelad1947 Malaysia crucial to asylum solution, says panel Abbott twists panel recommendations. #auspol #refugeeshttp://www.smh.com.au/opinion/-24dw3.html Premier fumes at 'wannabe Joe Tripodis', Sean Nicholls, SMH After days of escalating tensions within the NSW Liberals over the issue of plebiscites, or direct election of preselection candidates, the Premier chose to make a dramatic intervention. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/premier-fumes-at-wannabe-joe-tripodis-20120817-24e20.html#ixzz23qVBAwbU Matthew Rimmer‏@DrRimmer Shaun Carney - Puff of victory after smoke and mirrors effort on boats: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/puff-of-victory-after-smoke-and-mirrors-effort-on-boats-20120817-24e2c.html via @theage #plainpacks MBayForce‏@MBayForce Slash and Burn Qlds scorched economy hurting those who are prepared to give it a go most. #qldpol #LNP http://m.couriermail.com.au/news/axed-skilling-queenslanders-for-work-scheme- Pay rise for politicians delayed until 20,000 public servants are sacked , Courier Mail PREMIER Campbell Newman will wait until after the Budget to sign off on a pay rise for politicians expected to lift a backbencher's base salary to more than $140,000. Paperwork for the increase which was passed on to federal politicians last month is on the Premier's desk but it won't be rubberstamped until the core public service agreement is finalisedhttp://www.couriermail.com.au/news/pay-rise-for-politicians-delayed-until-20000-public-servants-

DMW

18/08/2012Possum Comitatus ‏@Pollytics "The Australian Carbon Tax: Finally, Someone Gets it Right!" at Forbes http://onforb.es/n2VGqs (HT to someone)

Ad astra

18/08/2012Truth Seeker, Psyclaw, janice Thank you for your complimentary remarks about the new look and about Lyn, whom I see has already posted her Twitterverse this morning. Talk Turkey What you posted yesterday about Lyn was prescient. Thank you for posting it again. It says so well what we feel about Lyn’s fantastic contribution to [i]TPS[/i] and to the whole Fifth Estate. I’m sure we all endorse your words: [i]”Lyn is at the very core of online political information exchange now, I know she is a bit awed by that and it takes huge amounts of time, but fortunately for the rest of us she does love what she does for others, she does it for the Left, the Labor Party and good governance of our homeland. No-one is in the slightest doubt as to her vital presence to The Political Sword…”[/i]

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012Good Morrow All, I just been reading [i]Gillard Gets Up Off The Mat[/i], National Times' highly insightful editorial. I [i]know[/i] it's highly insightful, because it is saying what Ad-&-I (I dare to bracket us cos it's true) have been saying all along about Labor's overall plan, and in particular what I have been saying all this week about what a subtle stratagem has been employed by - who else [i]but?[/i] - The Hon.Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister of Australia! I've likened her gambit to Saltbush Bill's claiming that the Best Day's Work That Ever He Did Was The Day He Lost the Fight! And so it has been, but with a breathlessly important issue at stake. Abbortt has plainly seen it all as a [i]wrist wrestle[/i]. Now [i]that[/i] is the sort of fight he can understand! (though you bet if the going got tough he'd lift his elbow off the deck and deny it.) But with Julia Gillard, guess what, he WON! He forced the Prime Minister's hand down hard on the table, WHACK! WOO-HOOO go his barrackers, he won the wrist wrestle! Ain't he tough! So 41 LCP MHRs gloated and crowed for hours and hours in the parliament about how they won the fight . . . Gillard forced to backflip . . . But gradually it has been seeping in through the thick skulls of the MSM and the Abborttians themselves . . . . [i]Duhrr[/i], Hang on, what was that all about ? D'uhhhh . . . But . . . did we [i]want[/i] to win ? er . . . Wasn't what we wanted was for the [i]wrestle[/i] to go on and on . . . But what *J*U*L*I*A* was playing with her other hand was much more akin to [i]Chess[/i]. Not a game Abbortt is into. She moved up a Committee of Three, much like a Knight a Bishop and a Rook . . . in an impregnable combination . . . Three players [i]who could not be challenged [/i]have forced the issue with the demand: [b]GET IT FIXED![/b] She sacrificed a couple of pawns . . . Yes to Nauru and Manus Island (she'd already offered Nauru don't forget, but before the report of the Committee of Three, Abbortt refused even then to negotiate!) But he could no longer resist the pressure of the Three any longer. And in appearing to win a little skirmish he has lost a major battle. A battle Labor had to win, in order to win the war in 2013. Abbortt is just beginning to realize how flummoxed he is, hoist with his own petard, done on every issue, but in particular this, the worst one, the shameful AS issue, which [i]had[/i] to be settled. And that is what Julia Gillard [i]has[/i] achieved. So Yes, I'm quite pleased with myself about reading correctly what was about to happen, (before the National Times anyhow), how our PM lost the wrist wrestle because the real game was Chess. . . but I didn't [i]have to be [/i]all that clever, the one who was really clever is *J*U*L*I*A* herself! All I did was a lot like reverse-engineering her overall game plan, and [i]actually to believe that she has meant every word she has ever said.[/i] This is the woman who told us, [i]if there's a roadblock the way you want to go, well [/i][b][i]you find a different way.[/i][/b] I don't think the MSM or the Abborttians were really listening, or anyway, what could a pointy-nosed redheaded sheila do against Them? Well, this is also the woman who has sworn she has no intention of lying down and dying. I think the MSM is starting to realize just what a fighter Our Ranga Lass, our Power Fox, our Boadicea really is. And the only place she's going is on to victory in 2013.

Ad astra

18/08/2012Good Morning Lyn What a lot of complimentary remarks have been made already about you and the new look [i]TPS[/i]. I see you are out already with another collection of Twitterverse. I’ve had time to read only the editorial in the [i]SMH[/i]. What a turn around in attitude! Tony Abbott and his advisers are bound to be worried at this turn of events. I’ll now look through the rest of your Twitterverse. Thank you for feeding us, even at the weekends.

Ad astra

18/08/2012Coming back to your Twitterverse Lyn, the Oakes article, which comments on the Godwin Grech suggestion of John Howard for GG and Tony Abbott as PM, illustrates what a disastrous combination that would be. At a time when healing is needed, the wounds would be slashed open again and allowed to fester. Lenore Taylor’s article about adopting Phillip Blond’s ‘Big Society’ concept that involves deep cuts in the public service and government services alerts us to what Abbott and Hockey might try. Nadine Flood’s article elaborates. We have been warned! Peter Hartcher makes an attempt to question Abbott’s power, which he believes rests on his Punch and Judy analogy – without Judy (Julia) who is Punch (Abbott). It’s a neat comparison, but when he talks about a Rudd comeback, the essence of his analogy evaporates. Analogies can be pushed too far. Shaun Carney is still harping on the issue of trust in Julia Gillard, which he still believes will outweigh the negatives for Tony Abbott although he concedes: “[i]His excessive and often quite incredible attacks on the effects of the carbon tax on living standards in recent weeks are not enhancing his personal standing.”[/i] Shaun is only half way through The Great Awakening. And then there’s more about Campbell Newman’s slash and burn. The more he does, the worse it looks. His LNP federal counterpart should watch closely.

Ad astra

18/08/2012DMW Tim Worstall’s article in [i]Forbes[/i] is so good it’s worth reproducing here in full: “[i][b]The Australian Carbon Tax: Finally, Someone Gets it Right![/i][/b] [i]”Hurrah, finally someone has managed to get a carbon tax to beat climate change right. Yes, it’s the Australians, with their new carbon tax that have got it right. The important point is this one: "The tax-free threshold for wage and salary earners to rise from A$6,000 a year to A$18,200 from July 1, 2012, and to A$19,400 from July 1, 2015. “Having written an entire book on just this subject of course I’m cheering this move. “The economics of this is just right. OK, well, if you think that climate change isn’t happening, we’re not causing it and that we shouldn’t do anything about it, sure, you’ll not be all that impressed. However, if you do think that all of those three things are true then this is the first such tax that has got things right. “We’ve an externality, something that is external to the market prices that we use to make decisions. The answer to this is to internalise the whatever it is into market prices. This means a Pigou Tax and that’s just what the carbon tax is. “Good, so we’re correct there. However, there’s no reason at all that fighting climate change means a higher level of taxes in general. Sure, we might want higher (or even lower) total taxes for all sorts of other reasons but fighting climate change isn’t one of them. So, we’ve got this extra money coming in because we’re taxing carbon emissions: but we don’t want to raise the general level of taxation. So, of course, we should lower some other tax. “Which is exactly what Australia has done. And they’ve lowered the best tax to lower: income tax on the incomes of the poor. So, now we’re taxing bads (emissions) and lowering taxes on goods (the incomes of poor people). “All of which is just excellent and what most economists have been saying everyone should be doing for the past decade or more. The problem this reveals of course is that only one country has in fact done what economists have been recommending.[/i]” Why can’t locals see what foreigners can?

Patriciawa

18/08/2012[b]TPS with Lyn's Links: A Hub for the Fifth Estate[/b] The Political Sword’s rebranding Is dedicated to Lyn. Her standing Amongst members of the Fifth Estate Has recently become so great Her Links are described as its hub, Her readers an ever growing club Of bloggers and Twitterati Of literate leftie glitterati. Fittingly Ad Astra has on her conferred A special Order of The Tweety Bird!

Ad astra

18/08/2012Talk Turkey Beautifully written. What an analogy – Abbott thought he was in an arm wrestle, consistent with his brutish approach to politics, but it was a game of chess after all, one too subtle for him. But he will go on as if it is still an arm wrestle, because he and his advisers know nothing else. Judging from your literary elegance, you are recovering well.

Ad astra

18/08/2012Patriciawa Your pome is magnificent. You are magnificent.

DMW

18/08/2012Ad, [i]Why can’t locals see what foreigners can?[/i] And a parallel, Why do so many say/think our government is a laughing stock around the world? There may be some things* that our current government does that causes head scratching OS, but far and away, many are looking at us and what the government has done for guidance and inspiration. *I will leave alone a couple of obvious ones for now :P

DMW

18/08/2012The nit-picker is at again and he is a bleedin' wog to boot (at least that is what he sometimes calls himself.) [b]How the language of shock-jocks came to drive political debate[/b] George Megalogenis @TheOz [i]The GST was the last reform that either side of politics was prepared to debate in the sort of detail, and for the length of time, that would allow policy journalists to routinely run on the front page of every newspaper and at the top of the six o'clock news. Yet the way people such as myself treated that issue altered how governments, and oppositions, approached future reforms.[/i] http://goo.gl/q5GVR (Click on the google link for the full article) Interesting and informative, with a bit of mea-culpa and a few home truths we could choose to learn from.

Patriciawa

18/08/2012DMW, thanks for that link to Forbes Magazine, http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/10/12/the-australian-carbon-tax-finally-someone-gets-it-right/ which I now see Ad Astra has followed up too and reproduced here.

jane

18/08/2012Lyn, what a tribute to your tireless work every day producing all those invaluable links and twitters for all of us at TPS. You are an absolute whiz to give us so much information so quickly. I don't know how you do it, quite frankly. I am in awe of the prodigious amount of time you must spend each day ferreting out and precising links and twitters to place at our fingertips. I can only say how much I appreciate your work and how well deserved your award is. Wear it with pride. Ad astra, very flash new banner. I'd like to add my appreciation of the work you do providing us with thought provoking posts of such quality and quantity. Your name gives testament to your stellar work. It is much appreciated.

42 long

18/08/2012On present indications, the way the minority government is achieving, IF Australia kicks out the ALP and replaces it with the opposition, we will appear and will be the biggest idiots on the earth as a nation. People overseas most of whom are NOT going good at all let alone as well as we are, would ask "What do you have to DO to please THESE people?" It really does show you the POWER of perception and the all pervasive effect of propaganda. Goebbells would be proud, and if you don't know who he was look it up. Tony knows very well who he is and what his technique was. It is about repeated lies, propaganda spin and distortion and the restriction of the availability of truth. All the aid for this is coming at no cost, (from the sources we are aware of) untill he is exposed when he will be reviled.... Godwin Grech.... I even felt sorry for that guy. Turnbull thought he had a winner there. Misplaced sentiment on my part. I actually thought his reputation was so destroyed that he might get depressed and do himself some injury. NOOOOO he's still alive and wants "honest" John to be the governor General with Abbott as leader. Mon Dieu!! are there any of those second hand asylum seeker boats around cheap? I might set up a business, taking political refugees back the other way but I will be at the head of the queue, with the "Australian Taliban" running it here. They would probably burn Julia at the stake for being an "Atheist" infidel. I will reserve her a seat on the first boat for the good work she has done, and tried to do not for herself (as Abbott does) but for the COUNTRY, and the future. That word "future" makes me wonder really what it will be, if the WORST happens here. Bubbly Kevin surfaces again with guaranteed coverage in the NSM. What does he have that Mr Windsor hasn't got? Don't answer that. Every word he said was stating the absolute bleeding obvious, added NOTHING to the situation's finalisation at all (which everyone wants) and why relate it to the holocaust? Bit of a history lesson, I think to show us that He's still there and knows it all, and he CARES, ( about his ambition)

jaycee

18/08/2012did he write his name as : Scatspan?....or crapscan?

jane

18/08/2012Ad astra @12.08pm, thanks for reproducing Tim Worstall's article. At last a commentator who isn't afraid to lay the truth at our feet. TT @11.16am, well said. Locals, or at least some locals, don't geddit because they've been fed a load of cynical tosh by parties whose motive is purely one of self interest. They see it as a vehicle to political power. And you have to hand it to them; their ability to manipulate the public is quite extraordinary. In the meantime, they have trashed science and the scientific community. However, the twats who subscribe to this relentless science bashing need to be reminded just how much we owe science for the modern Western lifestyle we take for granted. Like abundant food, safe drinking water, disease control, modern housing, transport and technology to name but a few. Without science and its practitioners, we would still be ravaged by preventable diseases like measles, mumps diphtheria, whooping cough, small pox, syphilis, malaria, cholera, polio, TB and a host of others. People suffering from mental illnesses would be burnt at the stake as witches and a host of superstitions would terrify us. It's time we were reminded of all that science has given us and continues to give us and tell the peddlers of opportunistic hoo do to shut up and sod off! [quote]Why do so many say/think our government is a laughing stock around the world?[/quote] Because they desperately need to convince not just us, but themselves, despite all the evidence to the contrary, DMW.

Ad astra

18/08/2012jaycee Catspan is back. I felt inclined to delete his vitriolic ramblings, but have left his comment simply to expose what we have to deal with out there. There’s no point responding to him, as his attitude will never change. No amount of logic or factual evidence will suffice. The pejorative language he uses about what he likes to call ‘lefties’ reflects what detestation he harbours for them. Let’s just acknowledge that Capstans exist, many of them, and understand how they think. Know your enemy.

Psyclaw

18/08/2012 [b]Catspan[/b] I may be mistaken but I don't recall seeing you on this site before. Maybe I was away at the time. Anyway, thanks for taking the effort to post your contribution today. I can see that you put a lot of thought into it, especially in researching the expressive vocabulary you have chosen to use. I have been called by many affectionate terms but up till today, [i]"tosser"[/i] was not one of them. I think it might be an English term ..... are you a Pom? I suspect you are, since like you, they tend to use quite sophisticated words .... I think such vocab is actually [u]taught[/u] in their very private Public Schools, like Etin, for example. And you say that the PM is a [i]"drongo".[/i] I lead a fairly sheltered life and haven't heard her called that before. I am often referred to by friend and foe alike as a [i]"drongo"[/i]. I've always taken it to be a term of endearment, and it's great to see non regular posters such as you, here supporting our lovely PM. Just on one matter Capstan, I am a bit confused. You say that [i]"bleedin hearts are killers"[/i] in the last sentence of your obviously very important [b]point of today[/b] 5th paragraph. And then in your very first sentence of your 6th paragraph you say [i]"Australia is a perfect example......... etc etc ..... etc etc.......[b]. [u]no-one [/b]was killed[/u]"[/i] This really has confused me (you may have had other things on your mind at the time of writing and suffered an unfortunate lack of concentration) so can you explain how the claim that "bleedin hearts are killers ..... here is a perfect example .... no-one died" fit together. Maybe as a native of Ga Ga Land with GaGaese as my first language I am just having trouble in the translation. It is good that you have researched and brought up the issue of what JG apparently did when at Slater and Gordons. Good on you. In a democracy, people casting around and doing their original research about political leaders is a valuable contribution to our democracy. I am a bit surprised that that damning info about the PM has laid dormant against all odds, waiting to be discovered by a super sleuth such as you. Keep up the good work. I look forward to learning some more interesting words and ideas when next you post here.

Ad astra

18/08/2012jane It is surprising that while people in other countries can see what a marvellous country Australia is, many here can't. Could that be because Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and Coaltion members keep telling the electorate how awful things are?

Ad astra

18/08/201242 long The prospect of John Howard as GG and Tony Abbott as PM is too awful to contemplate. Surely we don't deserve that!

Ad astra

18/08/2012Psyclaw You have made a sterling effort to engage Catspan in logical discourse. Those of us who know Capstan of old can tell you that logical discourse with him is not possible. Please don't exhaust yourself trying. Just ignore him. No doubt he'll come back with more sarcastic vitriol. Please ignore that too.

jaycee

18/08/2012I must protest!!....Psyclaw..I saw him first!...He's mine, I tell you!...just because he wandered here by mistake, losing his way between Bolt and Lobotomy..he's still mine an' I want to do him slowly.."holey moley". Get over to your side of the street!

Ad astra

18/08/2012jaycee, Psyclaw Please don't fight over Catspan. It's not possible to 'do' him, even slowly. Nothing is possible with Catspan.

Ad astra

18/08/2012Folks We are getting on the road now back to the south coast. I'll be back later.

jaycee

18/08/2012On reading the other posts, I see AA is familiar with the cat-scat...so I will take his sage advice and cease and decist...but Oh boy!...it is tempting!

Gravel

18/08/2012PatriciaWa Another great little pome, thanks. Psyclaw I am still laughing, thanks heaps. jaycee Now now no fighting kids, or you'll have to do the dishes and clean out the car, and when your finished, clean up your rooms. :-)

42 long

18/08/2012People don't understand the scientific "method" I would call it a discipline. Science bases its conclusions in facts not opinions. and then tests and experiments carefully controlled. Controlled means they are repeatable and come to the same result. It also means that the sample is treated a certain way but a "control" is kept as a comparison. Scientists publish their conclusions for all to examine, together with an out5line of the way it was done and the logic and thoroughness are there for all to challenge. Belief is what we are asked to give equal weight to by "thinkers" in tha Abott mould. Try believing a bridge will carry you or have one designed by a scientist/ engineer. Would Tony get a person who simply believed he could do brain surgery or would he want a trained certificated surgeon? Astronomy is about the universe and what we have learned about it over the years. Not so long ago people were killed (Usually by the church) for saying the sun did not go around the earth. The church has always wanted to attribute to a GOD what has subsequently been explained by science and resist further knowledge being available. Astrology ( which has bno basis in science whatever) would be a belief. Evolution is one of the biggest break throughs in medicine , understanding genetics, psychology etc but is denied by many of the current LNP supporters. Genetic change is going on all around us all the time. This is a science. Some believe the world and implicitly the universe is 6700 years old. This is derived by adding up all the generations since Adam. I would suggest this is not science. When the question comes up about fossills " GOD made them OLD. The National conference of the LNP, just a few months ago unanimously passed "that intelligent design be treated as a science in schools and that evolution and climate science not be taught." This is the platform of those who would run this country.

42 long

18/08/2012Think he got his Nomme de Poste wrong . He is not a cats "pan". He is a "hit"

Psyclaw

18/08/2012 [b]AA[/b] As I said before I respect your advice and will desist. My post was just a one-off, following some other observation by my Comrade TT "have fun with........ " To a mere human, some things are just irresistible. :) [b]Jaycee[/b] You snooze you loose! :)

Michael

18/08/2012Seriously, anyone but welded-on 'all the way whatever they say' Coalition supporters who vote for Shouldabeen and His Howard Has Beens after he has made (yet again) his plans for a 'government I lead' crystal clear this morning, deserves entirely what they get. You know what Howard delivered when a 'landslide' election (well thank you, Mark Latham) delivered him all power and no restraints in Canberra, and that, of course, is the "Golden Age" to which the shambling Shouldabeen refers. http://www.news.com.au/national/ill-recreate-howards-golden-age-says-tony-abbott/story-fndo4eg9-1226453135882 OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says he is "wholly and solely" dedicated to recreating the "golden age" of the last coalition government. Sixteen members of the coalition frontbench were ministers during the Howard years, Mr Abbott says. "We will be a good government in the future because we have been a good government in the past," he told the Liberal Party's South Australian conference in Adelaide. "We won't have to learn on the job, because we've done the job before." Mr Abbott said the longer Labor was in power, the better it was making former prime minister John Howard look. "The Howard government now looks like it created a golden age of prosperity which is lost," he said. "Our task, to which we are wholly and solely dedicated, is to recreate those great days for our country and we will." Mr Abbott said that, to give credit where it was due, in their heyday the Labor governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating knew what it took to build a strong economy, but Prime Minister Julia Gillard did not. "If you've got the right government, you get the right economic results," he said. "The Howard government understood what it took to build a strong economy. The current government doesn't." I am not a descendant of Nostradamus, nor do I have a copy of the Mayan Calendar at hand, but some little tickle of ESP has been nudging away at me for the last few days, whispering that... Within the next 6 weeks Tony Abbott will have been ejected from leadership of the Federal Opposition, and the marital home, two events not entirely unconnected. It's buzzing round the ether!

jaycee

18/08/2012I have to admit, Psyclaw...I was awol mucking out the horse stables while you dealt with the trash..and I must say you did a thorough job too..mind you, whilst shovelling some horse manure, I did have an idea or two. Still..there are the quick and the dead and I have to yield ground to the swift of hand and fleet of foot! Though..one observation..: With the mention of the word ;"Tosser", I believe he meant to use the cricketing phrase ; "chukker"..as when you sent down that "googly" he was caught on the back foot and taken for a duck in the gully! Well caught, Sir!

2353

18/08/2012Brilliant article in the Courier Mail this morning (please read a few paragraphs before flaming me). http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/newman-government-budget-cuts-slay-the-big-end-of-town-not/story-e6frerc6-1226452911460 Paul Syvret is also a good read. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/cutting-the-skilling-queenslanders-for-work-jobs-program-doesnt-add-up/story-e6frerc6-1226452893593 And I haven't even started on the Brisbane Times yet. The times they are a changing. And can I suggest AA's advice on the reappearance of a certain troll is correct. Don't argue with idiots, they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

2353

18/08/2012Mike Calton is good as always [quote]How appropriate it would be if the new detention centres on Nauru and Manus Islands were named for John Winston Howard and Philip Maxwell Ruddock. Camp Howard and Camp Ruddock would be an enduring monument to their contribution to our national greatness, perhaps with a marble bust of each statesman in the dining hall and a sign done in wrought iron over the entrance gates: ''We Will Decide Who Comes To This Country''. Kevin Andrews should also get a guernsey, but as there are only two camps available for naming he would have to settle for something smaller: the Andrews Solitary Confinement Wing, perhaps.[/quote] http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/making-an-iron-fist-of-our-good-name-20120817-24doi.html#ixzz23sVrapg0 And here comes the Nurses Union - more power to them I say. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/nurses-launch-advert-blitz-against-cuts-20120818-24ext.html

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012Dear Comrades Enough people are replying to me that I never seem to catch up. One, from jaycee, fearing that Abbortt and the Abborttians are just Fascists . . .O My, Cobber . . . [i]Why do you think I write so desperately?[/i] That is why this blog exists at all, because of the HORROR of a potential Abborttian Government! And Comrades, make no mistake, if Abbortt or his like gain power, it will not be for a term or two, they will be aiming for a Thousand Year Reich! Adolf, Bjelke, Crapsmell, Abbortt - The "New Right" is always the Old Wrongs, that's what Albo means as through tears he declares, [i]I fight Tories![/i] [i]That's what I do![/i] Ad astra does it. Lyn does it. All the decent posters here, tragic socialists, Lefties, [i]Dog help us all[/i], :) what else can we do but speak out loud and stand together, and stand FIRM! Damn to their own Hell anyone who is traitor to their own - and *our own* is not just the people of our family or history, or our language, or our colour, nor indeed just people at all - *our own* is Planet Earth, [i]Gaia[/i] if you like (I do like), and in my time as a Human I have seen vast and irreparable damage to Her. I drive a car, I am as much to blame as every othe member of our species. But Fie on those who stand in the way of those many of us who want to turn that damage around. They must be arrested - in the real meaning of that word. Halted. Prevented. Challenged. And STOPPED. Fascists? They are the next, the [i]last worst thing beyond[/i] Fascists. These beings are wilfully destroying for Greed alone the viability of Life on this planet, I've said so forever and I will say so till I die, but I will die sad because of what we have done and lost. BUT IN THE MEANTIME I will fight this bastard Abbortt with my every breath, I swore last week a terrible oath to him, I said, [i]Abbortt I will get you, with my words I will wound you[/i], and by the living Dog I shall too! And I can! Because this blogsite gives me a place to do it. And I [i]WILL[/i] that Abbortt read what I write, with my WILL I will it, and he bloody well will too, whether directly or by osmosis my poison will get that bastard. Ad I am amused that you thought my gobble this morning was so 'elegant', I thought it was pretty messy myself. But yeah arm-wrestle brute strength vs brilliant inventive chess-like negotiation, that must just KILL Abbortt inside! Oh how that being's brain must be squirming like the poisonous toad that is its owner, so near, so NEVER! A pointy-nosed big-arsed redhaired sheila, OOOOhhh how that must burn him up! BTW the article about the PM getting up off the mat has a cartoon of Abbortt as a dumb-looking Hare and *J*U*L*I*A* as a bland but patient tortoise. I think I prefer the arm-wrestle /chess analogy better though, Oh Man, Isn't our girl clever? I mean [i]really[/i] clever, not just outsmarting the Opposition I mean, though she has done that repeatedly, but [i]finding ways of getting things done that no-one else would have thought of.[/i] Well that's what I've always thought anyway, and [i]then[/i] there was Slipper, and [i]next [/i]there was a price on carbon, and [i]now[/i] there is a way forward to a 'Regional solution' to the processing of Asylum Seekers. Which is what the Government wanted! Suck on that Abbortt, and I don't care if it poisons you. [b]OSMOSIS[/b] will get you Abbortt. [i]TalkTurkey[/i] is not a joke entirely. With you it is not a joke at all. For you to have made such decent people as the many who write here despise you so, you are cursed now by a power altogether beyond your fancy Sunday superstitious trappings and your obscene [i]te absolvos[/i]. Nothing will [i]ever [/i]excuse you. Abbortt be sure your sins will find you out, and I don't mean in your fond hereafter. I mean at the ballot box. Cursed, Abbortt. You got that? What will be left of you by Crispmess eh? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Janice: noted, with sadness and bemusement . . . WHY do you despise him so, so much that you would abandon him to THEM? You think he's a self-seeker, [i]is that all?[/i] You know I respect you Janice but I reckon in face of my long-held position, and your curt condemnation of this man, an Australian, [i]known to be guilty of nothing[/i], CHARGED with nothing! - Well I think you owe [i]me,[/i] if not him, more of an explanation of your attitude than that. Grasshopper, noted you too, with relief and a sense of cameraderie! I do like someone at my back . . . :) And there's Psyclaw, [i]sort[/i] of. But PC you think there's zip the govt can do, I differ there, it can tell the truth for a start, and I believe, well the allegations are, it has not done so. This is TT talking, not ToM da Typo!

sandra

18/08/2012I'm a relative newbie to this site and I'm just so thankful that I have been lucky enough to stumble on it. Ad Astra - you are an inspiration to read, your calm, thoughtful comments of encouragement are just what the 5th Estate really needs. Lyn - your work in sussing out all of those links is amazing - I'm with all of the other who have heaped praise and gongs for you. For ages now, I have had the opinion that the MSM have been controlled by the very Right Wing media owners. The journos have just gone along with what editorial want, after all, you don't bite the hand that feeds you do you? Perhaps, with all of the retrenchments of journos in the print media (those who have half a brain) will join in with the 5th Estate and be free to say what they really observe, not what they are ordered to write about. Tony Abbott is starting to look a lot older in the past couple of weeks, while the PM has a spring in her step. This hung parliament has been the best thing to happen for this country because they have had to concentrate on policies that are to the benefit of ALL of us, not just the privileged few. Sandra

42 long

18/08/2012If they move soon and put Turnbull in they will guarantee getting in.... but don't worry, THAT just won't happen. That would entail a self examination and internal revolution they just are NOT capable of. Abbott borders on delusional now. I really think he is going over the edge. This is what happens when there is no real plan, just a "belief" spurred on by denial and conceit that they are the "natural" leaders of the country and the others are not entitled to it, by any measure. They think they have all the "contacts' and can pull all the strings. Uncle Rupert will look after them. "I hope He liked me" Only if you are useful Tony. There is a lot to unwind yet with the now "Windsor" assertions the Slipper/Ashby and Thomson HSU matters that could dig up some serious doubts about propriety, and involvement. We live in interesting times.

42 long

18/08/2012Welcome sandra I felt the same way as you do when I found this place. I can't welcome you officially but Icouldn't let the similarity pass uncommented upon.

Cuppa

18/08/2012Appreciate your efforts, Lyn.

Patriciawa

18/08/2012Miglo has a delicious post and thread going http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/if-tony-abbott-wanted-the-prime-ministers-job-so-much-then-he-should-have-sold-his-arse/ which set me thinking. As always and promised to TT first draft is posted here. Critical comment welcome, Truth Seeker. [b]Tony Abbott’s arse would never be for sale![/b] The Leader of the Opposition’s arse Is now the subject of a rotten farce. It needs cleaning up, and laid out bare Lest truth be lost in a fog of foul air. Abbott, well known as a man of God, Wouldn’t lie, become a lightening rod For attack in such a crude debate With someone whose word holds little weight. Judge him by his Chamber output, I say. Then your doubts can be flushed away. First - alert and on the job! Number two - Passed lots of motions, raised many a POO. And [i]‘selling his arse’[/i] he’d never come at. Besides, he doesn't use language like that! All who know him say that’s just too explicit. Though to become P.M. he would willingly give it. PS re-CAPTCHA starts [i]Politics poo...[/i] What does that portend?

jaycee

18/08/2012Well!...AA...your observations were spot on. It gives thought to that age old conumdrum..: "What comes first...?" ..is it the smell or the substance? I notice over on Miglo's site, she has a few "resident" rightos' and their vocabularies are just as limited...I've tossed the idea around for a while to go to Bolt's site and post the one word..: "Dictionary"...the enigma being tantalising enough for one of those bogans to Google it, with the susequent "awakening"...but hey!...I know I'm dreamin', you can't possibly awaken a corpse!

Tom of Melbourne

18/08/2012[i]’JULIA Gillard left her job as a partner with law firm Slater & Gordon as a direct result of a secret internal probe in 1995 into controversial work she had done for her then boyfriend, a union boss accused of corruption, The Weekend Australian can reveal. Nick Styant-Browne, a former equity partner of the firm, broke a 17-year silence yesterday to reveal that the firm's probe included a confidential formal interview with the Prime Minister - then an industrial lawyer - on September 11, 1995, which was "recorded and transcribed". In the interview, Ms Gillard stated that she could not categorically rule out that she had personally benefited from union funds in the renovation of her Melbourne house, according to Mr Styant-Browne. She said in the interview that she believed she had paid for all the work and materials, and had receipts, which she later produced. The firm's probe revolved around Ms Gillard's work since mid-1992 for the Australian Workers Union and her then boyfriend - the AWU's ambitious leader at the time, Bruce Wilson - as well as her direct role in establishing the AWU Workplace Reform Association for Mr Wilson. Mr Styant-Browne's revelations today mark the first time that anyone among the former and present partners of her employer before she started her political career has spoken on the record about matters that have controversially dogged Ms Gillard since 1995”[/I] Gillard is going to be forced to address the issues she has carefully avoided. Thomson won’t go away either, it’s only in a hiatus. It’s all grim for Gillard. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/revealed-julia-gillard-lost-her-job-after-law-firms-secret-investigation/story-fn6tcxar-1226452973559

jaycee

18/08/2012Say!...What is it with this "Global warming"...all the spooring of fungi and sprouting of virusus(?) Look out everybody!..The germs are multiplying!!!

DMW

18/08/2012Hi Tweetie, I also throw in my two cents worth to thank you for your untiring efforts to bring us your bounty, which we all enjoy. As I am sure NormanK will attest from those times he has so admirably filled in for you that it can be a long, arduous and tiring task if not done with joy and and a sense of fun. Swordsters please forgive me a bit of plagiarism as I misquote verbatim and sing along with me I'm sure you will pick up the tune even though it seems not to have been played often enough during the last Olympics [b]Beneath our radiant thrusting sword She'll toil with heart and hands To make this blogoasphere ours Renowned of all the blogs For those who've come across to see She's boundless links to share With courage let us all combine To advance our Tweetie fair In joyful strains then let us sing, Advance our Tweetie fair[/b]

Cuppa

18/08/2012Here is Abbott, loose with the truth again... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvYzLIywCiA

Cuppa

18/08/2012'The Chaser' challenges Abbott to substantiate a three-word slogan. Abbott's reaction is hilarious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABtlI2Wk3Ws

Psyclaw

18/08/2012 [b]TT Comrade[/b] [b]Jaycee[/b] has yielded to the fact that my alacrity was of the highest order. Now Comrade, it is your turn to yield. Am I not the current champion at "having fun with ......!" You have no option but to admit that three explicit pieces of fun from one return post is pretty bloody impressive. There just must be a proverb about the quality of bait used when big fish are caught. These are they from Casteshin's reply @ 5.38 pm: (1) [i]"you saw me because I saw you"[/i] No comment needed except Ha Ha! (2) [i]"the English school to which you refer is "Eton", not "Etin" "(as in "etin' old sausages", perhaps? That was a joke - you are permitted to laugh).[/i] Really! I had [b]no[/b] idea! Catskin, old mate! I didn't accidently hit the "i"!!! More Ha Ha, TT Comrade! (3)[i] "the term "drongo" is never complimentary - perhaps you have spent your life mistakenly glowing in the warmth of what you erroneously assumed to be compliments".[/i] Well bugger me ! I am so surprised! Hilarious! TT Comrade, I just remembered the proverb .......... [i]"sucked in, chewed up, spat out!"[/i] Absolute hilarity. Come on Comrade! It was pretty good!......... Admit it!...... At least I should get a yellow smilie! How do you like your goose-cordon bleu Comrade. I'll send you a bit of a goose I just cooked. Rare? Medium? Well done with crackling (cat)skin? Just let me know.

Cuppa

18/08/2012[b]Economic ‘Records’ of the Coalition[/b] * The biggest-taxing government in Australia’s history * The biggest trade deficit ever recorded * The longest run of successive monthly trade deficits ever recorded * Biggest foreign debt in Australia’s history (number 4 in the world in dollar terms) * Highest levels of household and business debt ever recorded * The lowest value of the AU$ (2001) * 94% of the mining boom tax windfall frittered away in just 2.5 years * Interest rates consistently above the OECD average * Highest inflation in 16 years * In mortgage rates, the highest interest component-to-average income level ever recorded * Housing affordability the lowest ever * Personal bankruptcies the highest in two decades * Government investment in Tertiary Education in reverse

Cuppa

18/08/2012 [b]Australian economy leads the world[/b] http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/australian-economy-leads-the-world-20120418-1x6ac.html Labor = Stronger Economy

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012Patricia, Seems like a certain word rhymes too well to ignore! Parents:Please teach this song to your children! (These are the proper words to the song often parodised as a children's fairy tale called [i]Away In A Manger[/i])http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RanA-Do25WY Away in the Chamber, no key to the Lodge Poor dumb Tony Abbortt was trying to dodge, But there Tony Windsor had him right in his sights, And the things that he said had the creep dead to rights! Tony Windsor didn't hold back, his demeanour was grim, As he vented on Tony Abbortt, he pointed straight at him: [i]An absolute disgrace[/i] he said, [i]you make this place a farce, And to get the top job you said you might even sell your arse![/i] The Government was laughing, [i]It's not true [/i]said Tone But our dear Tony Windsor grinned and pointed to his phone. . ! . . We adore you Tony Windsor, what a joy you have been, And we hope you're re-elected in 2013!

2353

18/08/2012Literacy isn't your strong point is it TfM? Quotes from your article. [quote]In the interview, Ms Gillard stated that she could not categorically rule out that she had personally benefited from union funds in the renovation of her Melbourne house, according to Mr Styant-Browne. She said in the interview that she believed she had paid for all the work and materials, and had receipts, which she later produced. [/quote] [quote]"She had extensively renovated her own house in Abbotsford. Mr Wilson had assisted in the renovations. She believed she had paid for all the work and materials, and had receipts which she agreed to produce. She was aware someone had sought payment from the AWU for work and materials he had supplied for the house. He was mistaken or misinformed. But she could not categorically deny AWU union or Workplace Association monies had been used for any of the work. As at the time of the interview, her relationship with Mr Wilson had recently ended." Mr Styant-Browne said the conduct of Slater & Gordon in waiving its conveyancing fee for the purchase of the Fitzroy house and lending $150,000 to complete the sale was not unusual.[/quote] All this article states as fact is that GIllard's ex-boyfriend is accused of fraud and at around the same time she renovated her house. What's more she could demonstrate to her accuser that she paid for the work at her house. We could talk about the shoplifting senators, the senators on assault charges, the Opposition Leader that is facing a defamation case (as well as taking a defamation payout from a section of the law he wants to eliminate) as well as the lies, $50BILLION black hole from the last Federal Election and so on. Your claim is straight out of the US Tea Party playbook - smear over something nearly 20 years old. Any other take on this has as much credibility as you do - you don't even participate in the election process giving you absolutely no ability to criticise the result. Also ask yourself before you pass any more of this crap around - is your life completely blameless, have you never offended any person and have you never committed a crime? Bet the answer is no - I know mine is

Gravel

18/08/2012It's good see everyone in better spirits.. PatriciaWa Another great pome, you are so quick on the mark. That reCaptcha is a great omen, given your latest in put. Talk Turkey Your getting some great stuff written lately. DMW I'm sure Lyn will be chuffed with your great effort. Sandra While Ad Astra and Lyn are absent, welcome and we look forward to more comments from you in the future.

nasking

18/08/2012 [quote]Thomson won’t go away either, it’s only in a hiatus. It’s all grim for Gillard.[/quote] ToM once again promoting the gutter level stuff of Libs and News Ltd...this blogging chameleon ever failing to admit his Liberal connections. The public are waking up to the nefarious approach of the Abbott team and Murdoch's minions. There will be a reckoning. Desperate sewer acts demonstrate Abbott and his media master are in trouble. If anyone should be investigated it is Machiavellian Tony and the Moriarty of the Media Rupert. Those with the ambition of dictators. -------- Welcome to Sandra. N'

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012I will not deign to talk with that obscene presence on this blog. If I am any guess I would think that Ad astra is likely to bury it where it cannot stink anymore ever again. Tomorrow morning I will be at Adelaide Parade Ground in company with some mates who fought in the Vietnam War, we will be respectfully remembering Long Tan together. I invite that obscenity to turn up and identify himself. 9.45 at the NW palm tree, I'll be waiting with a plaid cap on. He'd better be well insured when the blokes hear what he just wrote though. Ho Ho Ho.

Ad astra

18/08/2012Sandra Welcome to [i]The Political Sword[/i] family, and thank you for your kind comments about Lyn and me. Do come again. I agree with your sentiments.

Ad astra

18/08/2012TT None here will find any value in conversing with Catspan, or any variant of that name. Since I activated the automatic crap detector, I see his comments have been deleted. I'll leave it on until he goes away.

DMW

18/08/2012Hi Gravel glad you enjoyed the sing along :)

KHTAGH

18/08/2012If you want the nose & ear hair trimmed by some delicious flaming words against the Wing Nut read the following its a scream. enjoy http://wrb330.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/a-mans-man-or-scurrying-rodent/#comment-77 I'm defiantly seeing a decided shift with the vindictiveness & bile with increasing regularity of a lot of trolls on a lot of sites & I'm wondering if they are realising the anit Abborttian snowball is off & rolling down hill & we all know what happens then.

KHTAGH

18/08/2012AA I'm glad to see you removed the bile graffiti of our lovely new home wall.

Ad astra

18/08/2012Folks It's been a long and cold day getting back to the south coast. I've just got round to reading your comments. Thank you for them. I'll leave any response until tomorrow. Goodnight.

jane

18/08/2012[quote]......Tony Abbott says he is "wholly and solely" dedicated to recreating the "golden age" of the last coalition government.[/quote] Fool's gold methinks, Michael. Dear Catshit, I have one potent reason why Julia Gillard will be PM in 2014-Tony Liealot Abbott. Yours sincerely, jane Cuppa @7.06pm, yep. Them's Liealot's Golden Years alright, so beloved by Catshit and other drongoes. [quote]......the Moriarty of the Media Rupert.[/quote] ToM, that tired old fairy story got Glenn Milne the fabulous job doing the obituaries and a shock jock pulled. Any sign of that stat dec yet? Love it, Nas'.

jaycee

18/08/2012AA..and to whom it may concern..After an archival search, I have to compliment you, AA, on the sensitive and delicate approach to our recent visitors. It is now obvious that a gentler hand than mine better serves the situation. I shall in future adopt a more cautious until assessed approach to such posters. Indeed, the internet can be both communicator and condemnator(?) at one and the same time.

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012Psyclaw said . . . "the term "drongo" is never complimentary . ." My bro's fave rave acronym is [i]'Drongo'[/i], often his 'Byline' too. You will have heard of his whole name if you can work it out. He was a Federal Minister for quite a while . . . guess which Party . . :) Drongoes are Australian birds, I've never met any but there are Spangled Drongoes and there may be other species. Presumably they are temperamentally akin to Galahs! Though they are obvioussly not genetically related. Neither term is very offensive. You would not for instance call ToM a Drongo, nor a Galah, the birds would be rightly outraged.

Psyclaw

18/08/2012 [b]TT Comrade[/b] [i]"the term "drongo" is never complimentary . ." [/i] Just checkin! it was Catsnnip who said those words .... I just quoted the feline. Cheers

KHTAGH

18/08/2012I apologies to our lady readers/poster who don't have ample nose & ear hair like us old buggers.

DMW

18/08/2012TT @ 9:21 PM, please pass on my/our regards to you bro' for his fine work during those heady days. With a bit of insider thinking I'll drop a subtle clue or two. Twas a fine drop of Gin we shared in the bilges to heal the ill knee.

DMW

18/08/2012Oh and TT, I know for sure he was not a Country (Party) Member that is reserved for Black Jack or the man after the All Stars chose to name themselves :)

Casablanca

18/08/2012Loved this piece from Mike Carleton in SMH where he sends up Abbott's recent speech in Beijing as [b] the sort of clarity in foreign policy thinking you just don't get from woolly headed academics and the inner-city latte left,..[/b] Here is the full item: [quote]SPEAKING of the Chinese, the opinion pages throb with debate about our role in the coming war between China and the United States. This has been prompted by The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power, a new book from Hugh White, professor of strategic studies at the ANU. I have not read this yet; I'll get around to it when I have recovered from Fifty Shades of Grey, Amanda Hayward's intoxicating roman à clef. But, as I understand it, White suggests that nothing can be done to stop China's rise to economic and military power and that America should get used to it. Endorsing this idea, Paul Keating argues that we must challenge the assumption ''that Australia has no choice but to support American primacy in Asia against the threat of Chinese hegemony''. [b]A lot of this angst could be avoided if our defence and foreign policy gurus were to study Tony Abbott's recent keynote speech to Austcham Beijing, a high-powered forum of Australian corporate honchos doing business in the Chinese capital. Drilling down to the bedrock of the Australia-China relationship, Abbott told his audience that: ''The founder of Australia's wool industry, John Macarthur, employed several Chinese.'' And, he went on: ''The Chinese restaurant, long ubiquitous in Australia's suburbs and towns, was an early sign of our readiness to absorb foreign ways and make them part of our own.'' That's the sort of clarity in foreign policy thinking you just don't get from woolly headed academics and the inner-city latte left, and we can be sure it has been studied very closely at the highest levels in Beijing. Along with his suggestion that the Chinese ought to get cracking with a bit more democracy, thank you. Building on this dim sum demarche, Abbott as prime minister should continue to make Chinese ways a part of our own by inviting the People's Liberation Army to base a couple of thousand marines in the Top End. They could move in down the road from the Americans in Darwin, as nice a balance of power as you could hope for.[/quote][/b] Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/making-an-iron-fist-of-our-good-name-20120817-24doi.html#ixzz23tlENsRc

Truth Seeker

18/08/2012Patricia and TT, I dips me lid to the both of ya. Both out of the gates like thoroughbreds, and good work to boot. I have started one on the latest SSO, but not enough hours in the day at the mo, and TT you got the jump on me. Patricia, my loony left imagination has been working overtime on "Arsegate", and I was glad to see that I'm not alone. We poets each have an individual and unique way of sticking it to the Rabid Right, and MUST take every opportunity. Poeteers unite, the fifth estate needs you. Keep up the great work Cheers

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012DMW, Yeah right. Wish he'd made it to Prime Minister. He was simply the best. Free spirit and diligent Member, words aren't enough. He's still with us btw, not quite so bouncy maybe . . But there you go, Factions. A great pity. Glad you have known him.

TalkTurkey

18/08/2012Truth Seeker, We'll never let you go now. This, a lock-on attachment to your poem about the cub reporter, attaches you permanently to the Sword Blog, but allows infinite build-ons as long as ye both shall be needed to help seal Abbortt's fate. But that doughty cub reporter, who'd stirred up such a fuss - He didn't simply vanish, he turned into one of Us! Though he is barely seventeen, undaunted by his youth, He befriended our Truth Seeker, tireless Seeker of the Truth! [i]And they do say as how[/i], when certain cosmic signs align, When Dog Star Canis Major winks at Mars his curious sign, The Spirit of Righteous Vengeance of Truth Seeker and his young friend Will rise, and hound like Dogs of War that evil creep again!

DMW

18/08/2012TT only 'met' him briefly two maybe three times in passing but always struck me as decent bloke from what I saw of his performance in house and other spots.

Truth Seeker

18/08/2012TT, united in the cause. Poeteers, all for one and one for all. And you wield the sword with all the skill and determination of D'Artagnan himself. I salute you warrior. Cheers

janice

19/08/2012Talk Turkey, re Assange: Firstly I was angry when he started out on his "leaking", using the dubious media excuse of the peoples right to know. What he did may not have been illegal (though it could be said that the means by which the info was obtained was), it was grossly irresponsible and mischievious in the extreme. Secondly, there is nothing that would convince me that Assange's motives are pure as the driven snow. He obtained information that gave him the power to embarrass or even cause the overthrow of governments, and by releasing the conversations of diplomats, govt personnel in high places criticising other govts etc, is a dangerous exercise in that it causes sensitive people to 'lose face', causes diplomatic incidences and could even be the beginning of a world war 3. Thirdly, this despicable man selectively released stuff to embarrass this Labor Govt and then had the absolute hide to attack our PM on QandA. And if that isn't enough for you, Assange has been persistently lying with regard to the assistance he's been getting from Australia. I also think there is a lot more to be learned about why Sweden are so determined to get their hands on him (and I do not believe it has anything to do with the USA), and why Assange is so determined to stay out of Sweden's clutches.

Psyclaw

19/08/2012 [b]TT Comrade[/b] More clues please! What ministry? What years? Suppose asking for his initials is a bit much!

Psyclaw

19/08/2012 Janice I agree with your assessment of Assange. His motives are not all pure, I think, and he is much overburdened by a very weighty ego. Having said that, as Guamtanamo and all the US Supreme Court cases about it (criticising its "judicial" behaviour) shows, the fringe judicial system of the US military makes it up as it goes along. For mine , its trustworthiness rating is zero. Add to that the politicking, the propensity to cover up, the rednecks, the "agencies", and most of all the grand jury (for the existence of which I have seen/read very compelling evidence) etc etc then on this occasion I think Assange's fear of extradition there are anything but delusional.

janice

19/08/2012Psyclaw, [quote]then on this occasion I think Assange's fear of extradition there are anything but delusional.[/quote] Yes, but I don't think Assange fears extradition by Sweden to the USA. I think there is more to the Sweden thing than we know or, perhaps, will ever find out. Besides, if the USA really want to get their hands on Assange they will do so by fair means or foul. When push comes to shove, if I were in his shoes I'd rather be extradited under the glare of the law (Britain and Australia) than be plucked out of Ecuador or wherever and no-one knows what happened to me. At any rate, I have no sympathy for Assange who has brought all this upon himself and therefore he can stew in it as far as I'm concerned.

Ian

19/08/2012Mr. Assange, should he ever reach Ecuador, has, for all intents and purposes, consigned himself to a prison of international borders. Not of bars and bricks. The question is why? Do we believe that he is in fear of a rendition to the US to face the unknown charges of a secretive Grand jury? Do the Swedish authorities, given their system operates under an ' obligation to prosecute' premise, have more to add to the original matters about which they wish to speak to Mr Assange about?.....and Mr Assange knows this? Perhaps? but then again....maybe; Mr Assange has said to the US Govt wtte; " If you kill me these are the cables that are going to be released!" to which the US replied; " if you release those cables we will kill you.....just keep in mind....we killed Osama Bin Laden....you got no chance." If you can't kill someone what would be the best way to keep tabs on them? Perhaps forcing them to seek haven in a country where the telecommunications system would, presumably, be easier to circumvent, already be on the spy satellite rotation and, as against the UK and Sweden, has very little influence, if any, in the world of realpolitic. The above may be fanciful, but then again ....it may not be.

Shirley

19/08/2012Congrats to Ad Astra and Lyn on the new look. I am in awe of the depth and knowledge on people who contribute to this site. Found this article on the man who would like to depose the Honorable Tony Windsor at the next election. It would appear this man has make up his mind deficit syndrome. [quote][i]Richard Torbay, the independent member for the NSW state seat of Northern Tablelands (and one-time Labor Party member), was almost certain to seek National Party endorsement to run against Tony Windsor in New England at the next federal election. [b]The worldly art of Richard Torbay[/b] [b]http://inside.org.au/the-worldly-art-of-richard-torbay/ [/i] [/b][/quote]

bilko

19/08/2012AA Lyn does such a fantastic job that I am sure she is an ex ASIO operative and unlike Winston Smith(aka 1984)reports it as it is. Keep up the good work. PS I hear Julia gave paul kelly a serve this morning he like the abc is not worth capitals, sad the way things go downhill with time, especially since he left/booted/whateverfrom onesiders.

Lyn

19/08/2012Good Morning Ad and Everybody To all my TPS friends you have overwhelmed me with delicious kind words. Thankyou all so much, you are very valuable VIP’s with your fabulous opinions posted here each day. Your golden words are listed below & now recorded in TPS Files forever and ever. MWS , “ Lyn's contributions keep me coming back.” Talk Turkey, “That's why TPS, and Lyn in particular, are so precious.” Congratulations Lyn. Magic Bird You Are. Lady in Red “Tweety pie - great links as always.” “ Until I discovered TPS I was never so well informed and it is all thanks to you” KHTAGH “I'll be first to say , I like the new look, & the well deserved acknowledgement to Lyn's links” DebbieP “Lyn's dedication ( & friendliness)is truly amasing . I would also like to thank her, and all” Gravel “that building is still not big enough to house all the gold medals that Lyn and yourselves have earned.” Jaycee “safe harbour, and anchor to start the days' information and Lyn's Links are the food for thought that kick it off!” Linda “ Great new look! I would also like to add my thanks for the contributions - they provide a ray of hope “ Nasking “Nobody deserves an award more than Lyn...one of the most hard working and consistent contributors in the blogosphere”. Casablanca “My appreciation and admiration are unbounded.” Libbyx33 “I, too, am very grateful for Lyn. Love the new look of TPS, too! Thanks Lyn, & keep up the fabulous work! Ad Astra “We are a good team. Together we feed our visitors, you with countless links, me with essays” 2353 “Web Monkey, AA & especially Lyn for a job that must be at times heartbreakingly difficult” Norman K “Congratulations Lyn on a thoroughly deserved accolade. Your hard work and dedication are appreciated by all “ Truth Seeker “Ad, looks great, congrats to you, Lyn and all involved. “ Psyclaw “Lyn, the praise many give for your fine work will never be enough.” Janice “ I love the "Order of the Tweety Bird". Our Lyn deserves all the kudos that comes her way” Patricia “Fittingly Ad Astra has on her conferred . A special Order of The Tweety Bird!” Jane “ Lyn, what a tribute to your tireless work every day producing all those invaluable links and twitters “ Sandra “ Lyn - your work in sussing out all of those links is amazing - I'm with all of the other who have heaped praise and gongs for you.” 42 Long “ sandra I felt the same way as you do when I found this place” Cuppa “ Appreciate your efforts, Lyn. DMW “ To advance our Tweetie fair, In joyful strains then let us sing, Advance our Tweetie fair. Shirley “ Congrats to Ad Astra and Lyn on the new look. I am in awe of the depth and knowledge on people who contribute to this site Bilko “Lyn does such a fantastic job that I am sure she is an ex ASIO operative :):):):):):):):):)

Lyn

19/08/2012Hi Everybody Twitterverse:- AshGhebranious‏ Remember last week when @scottmorrisonmp stood up in parliament and declared that Nauru is READY TO GO! He was there he said. Liar Bushfire Bill Posted Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 3:42 pm But no. You waited until Gillard - who, God knows, has tried through Timor, Malaysia, the High Court, and the Parliament (twice) to address this matter - was finally blackmailed into doing something that your article only now argues is illogical, cruel and very possibly ineffective http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/08/18/seat-of-the-week-page/comment-page-11/#comment-1381170 Bushfire Bill Posted Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 8:37 am | Who is Michelle Grattan? Who is Phil Coorey Or Hartcher? Or Shanahan? Or Paul Kelly? They are just people, like their readers. Their opinions are as valuable (or as valueless) as anyone else’s, except they get the space in a subsidized, highly sophisticated web environment (name a major newspaper that’s making money) to put those opinions out as close to “fact”. They stick to the old paradigm of handing down wisdom from on-high, when the very basis of that paradigm is rotting out from underneath them, literallyhttp://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/08/18/seat-of-the-week-page/comment-page-23/#comment-1381813 How the language of shock-jocks came to drive political debate , GEORGE MEGALOGENIS The media is well aware that it let the public down in 2010. Abbott and Gillard should not underestimate that feeling. Another election like the last does not bear reporting. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/how-the-language-of-shock-jocks-came-to-drive-political- I'll recreate Howard's golden age, says Tony Abbott OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says he is "wholly and solely" dedicated to recreating the "golden age" of the last coalition government. Sixteen members of the coalition frontbench were http://www.news.com.au/national/ill-recreate-howards-golden-age-says-tony-abbott/story-fndo4eg9-1r Zac Spitzer‏@zackster What? By cuts cuts cuts.... Errr RT @NationalTimesAU Abbott: I'll revive Howard's golden age http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-ill-revive-howards-golden-age-20120818-24f31.html TAWNBPM‏@TAWNBPM " AUSTRALIANS put more household solar panel systems on their roofs than anyone else in the world last year, new... http://fb.me/1xRYPZDFM couriermail.com.au‏@couriermail 3000 schools face funding cuts http://goo.gl/fb/s7c8k Australian News‏ Assange to break silence amid diplomatic stoush: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected t... http://bit.ly/SBXYj2 #ausnews Financial Review‏ Cost & time needed to revive asylum seeker facilities on Nauru, PNG unclear: Bowen. #auspol http://bit.ly/NxMJeX wontletyoufly‏ Nauru demands rights, freedom for asylum seekers http://www.theage.com.au/national/nauru-demands-rights-freedom-for-asylum-seekers-20120818-24fjk.html via @theage Christopher Rhodes Gutter journalism! 'PM Gillard refuses to answer allegations from law firm after AWU scandal' - Herald Sun, Melbourne. http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/pm-julia-gillard-refuses-to-answer-allegations-she-resigned-from-a-law-firm-after-of-a PATRICK LION POLITICAL REPORTER From: News Limited Network August 19, 2012 10:13AM In an interview on Sky News' Australian Agenda this morning, Ms Gillard was asked on a number of occasions about the case involving her former partner and ex-Australian Workers Union official Bruce Wilson. Insiders:- Agnes Mack‏@AgnessMack #insiders Fran: Plain packaging big win for Govt, but no poll bounce, but wld've been bad 4 govt if lost. ... (Story of politics at moment) Le Grace‏@bow_and_arrow Not watching #insiders but they better talk about Windsor in Agnes Mack‏@AgnessMack #insiders Windsor!!!!! Bless him! AshGhebranious‏@AshGhebranious #arsegate at last! #insiders TalkTurkey‏@TalkyTurkey @Margy011 @abcgonetohell The photo of Hon.Tony Windsor MHR (Ind) pointing at his phone and grinning is the classickest classic EVAH! Jack Sumner‏@preciouspress #insiders stage management. Windsor attack on Abbott briefly covered followed by Paul Kelly's dirt digging question to PM. @abcmarkscott Agnes Mack‏@AgnessMack #insiders Mike Seccombe on the money there, it's not just Opp'n pushing examples of #cp - tabloids are at it big time. Agnes Mack‏@AgnessMack #insiders Nice one, Mike. Over 10 years Howard Govt ramped up $$$ to private schools, Australia slid down the int tables. AshGhebranious‏@AshGhebranious Surprise surprise.. LOL Private schools makes us dumber LOL #insiders Agnes Mack‏@AgnessMack #insiders Offended & feisty PM put Paul Kelly on spot in that clip...but of course vicious rumours now mainstream, Abbott's mob slavering Troy Ruivenkamp‏@6runs Now it's time to bring up Tony Abbott's physical abuse of a fellow university student. It's only fair! #insiders People Skills‏@people_skills Nice work @JuliaGillard. Paul Kelly is a nasty piece of work who is well past his prime. You put him in his place. #insiders Justin Barbour‏@justinbarbour PM very combative on Aust Agenda this morning. She needs to be like that more often. #insiders Agnes Mack‏@AgnessMack #insiders Wow! Lively exchange btwn PM & Paul Kelly Liv‏@mmechomski Amazing! YO! Barrie Cassidy reports Tony Abbott actually challenged on ABC radio. By Jon Faine. Onyer guys! #AUSPOLhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-17/cassidy-a-rare-challenge-for-abbott/4203120?WT.svl=theDrum

Ad astra

19/08/2012Hi Lyn What a magnificent collection of accolades, so thoroughly deserved. These acknowledgements are from the heart. We all love you and the way you feed us so sumptuously with your brilliant links.

Ad astra

19/08/2012Folks I thought [i]Insiders[/i] was pretty tame this morning, but the panellists were quite outspoken. Fran Kelly was surprisingly critical of Tony Abbott’s hypocrisy over the asylum seeker issue. Mike Secombe was his usual balanced self, as was Misha Schubert. In the interview with Sarah Hanson-Young Barrie Cassidy was confronting about the Greens’ obstruction in the carbon tax and the asylum seeker issues, but S H-Y was unprepared to concede that the Greens’ quest for ideological purity, and its unwillingness to compromise had cost the Government dearly. In fact the derogatory way she spoke of Julia Gillard was hardly consistent with being in alliance with the Government. She is a dogmatic woman who believes she has the answers, but not once has she or the Greens [b]detailed[/b] an alternative asylum policy. It has all been in generalities. I still don’t know how they would propose to get asylum seekers to Australia to grant them residency, in a way that would stop them boarding unsafe fishing boats. Yet neither Cassidy, nor anyone else ever strongly challenges them on this central matter. For example, would the Greens send jumbo jets to pick up those granted asylum? If so, how would they stop those not yet granted asylum from getting on fishing boats in order to reduce their waiting time to come here? If we could have honest answers to those questions, we would get a lot closer to really understanding their policy. Here is the S H-Y interview: http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2012/s3570972.htm The clip played from [i]Agenda[/i] and the headline in [i]The Weekend Australian[/i] show that News Limited are still gunning for Julia Gillard, this time over the Slater and Gordon episode 17 years ago, one that Glenn Milne tried to prosecute last year and was dumped from the ABC and News Limited as a result. But that did not stop Paul Kelly from raising it on [i]Agenda[/i] this morning. Julia Gillard was clearly annoyed at this attempt once again to blacken her name, and Kelly became annoyed when she suggested to him that he had been asked to ask her these questions, which of course he would see as an attack on his journalistic integrity. Take a look at the [i]Insiders[/i] clip to see how annoyed he was and how he reacted when confronted with the question: “Do you have an allegation?” Kelly’s behaviour points to him being no more that a News Limited tool, no matter how much he protests. He wants to discredit her and see he gone. Here is the clip: http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2012/s3570965.htm This episode reinforces the view that although the tide seems to be turning in PM Gillard’s behaviour, New Limited is determined, Kanute-like, to try to turn back the tide. We have to be vigilant and never indulge in hubris. There are malicious forces out there unwavering in their intent to destroy our PM and Labor. They will bring out their big guns, such as [i]The Australian[/i] and Paul Kelly to shoot her down.

KHTAGH

19/08/2012pretty well sums it up for all of us I think. Rubens Camejo: 17 Aug 2012 1:42:51pm Rick It's about money. Currently the money involved is about $2 billion a year, if not more. I have NO proof of this other than just pure logic, public information, (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/profit-loss/pay-tv-operator-foxtel-lifts-subscriber-numbers/story-fn91vch7-1226267166596), and what has happened in the US and will continue to happen worldwide as technology keeps improving. The deal is; the media does not question Tony and aids him in his ascendency to power, he kills off the NBN and Foxtel maintains its market dominance of pay TV services in Australia, largely through the fact that most people sign up to the service in order to watch sports. How are tony and Pay TV related, you might ask? Foxtel, in Feb of this year reported they had 1.58 million subscribers and just under $1 billion from subscriber revenue for the half year. The NBN will, of course, put a potential 14 million connections that will be but a flick of a switch away from being able to receive a pay per view service. Good for Foxtel, you might think? Think again. In the USA Basketball has taken back its TV rights and is now providing the pay per view service for its sport. Profits stay within the sport. Our sports will be able to do exactly the same thing here. Should that happen, who then would sign up for the rest of Foxtel's services? Tony has promised to kill off the NBN negating or at least delaying such a catastrophic situation for Fox. Who owns Fox and Fox Sports in particular?, You guessed it.... News Ltd. Why would over 70% of our media question Tony when they'd suffer financially if he fails to win power? No proof but common sense would tell you that there might be something to my theory. By the way... who owns your local paper?

2353

19/08/2012AA, I agree with your analysis that the Australian will be used to try and get a hit on Gillard. It has already started with the article that TfM linked to yesterday. It seems that the Slater and Gordon thing is a direct lift from the US Tea Party playbook - on the assumption that everyone has a skeleton hiding in their cupboard (despite the decades that have passed by) - how can we exploit it to our benefit. For further evidence look at the "Obhama wasn't born in the USA" campaign that still exists to a point despite the release of his Hawaiian birth certificate and because Obhama's middle name sounds "middle eastern" he is a Islamic spy. Both crap of course, but the gullible swallow the bait every time. I'm waiting for TfM's response - it should be interesting.

42 long

19/08/2012That is the reason Murdoch runs an otherwise unprofitable newspaper. How can an educated Country sit back and not realise the power of persuasion this ONE person weilds without being concerned about it. It is in fact a conspiracy. But one that suits those who believe they are "born to rule". Regarding the big shift of money to the Private school sector under Howard and that event being linked to a drop in literacy/numeracy etc, the gov't school aren't selective and carry the bulk of the disadvantaged kids, which require more money per individual to deal with. Pyne has plans to sack large numbers of teachers. presumably that will be from the non-private sector ( Where else?) This is what the LNP state governments have all done. TAFE etc as well. Pyne has 3 kids at private school. I presume that the LNP would generally have privately educated people predominating in their ranks. NOT MUCH OF AN ADVERT FOR THEM, is it? They COULD be the lower-performing ones, in fairness, but it makes you wonder.

TalkTurkey

19/08/2012Good morning I haven't seen any of the sunday morning stuff because I'm in my van and my TV don't work squat here. I hear Paul Kelly has covered himself with *glory* in a tete-a-tete with our Prime Minister. From the reports of seen, it boils down to he put to her a smear about her past he'd either dreamt up or someone else had, She said Put up or shut up, he kept trying, and then She said, WTTE You've been put up to ask me this (i.e. [i]haven't you you WHORE![/i] understood) and Kelly lost his appetite for further pursuit of the matter. [i]Did I get that right?[/i] Anyway Goodday and let us look forward to the feistiest-ever performance from our parliamentary representatives! Claw back the territory lost to the Abborttian Stooges, smack down this poisonous toad and eradicate his horrid influence through the only means we can, and that is Education. Education is the single issue to which the Hon Julia Gillard PM Prime Minister of Australia has particularly identified. Not all teachers agree with the changes to education systems she has insisted upon, (many [i]don't[/i], and I have some sympathy with their point of view I have to say) but none would dispute the importance of Education in all its forms. Funding alone can't help, but [i]prioritising[/i], of exactly the kind that Christhopper Pyne wants not to happen, certainly can. But education doesn't only happen in halls of learning. it happens in real life, adn more and more it happens on computers everywhere. And where it happens politically wrt Australia, Lyn has been there and pointed it out to us, and Ad astra is across the philosophy of . . . .? [i]Everything! [/i] Those who know anything about Ad astra know that he is a highly qualified and vastly experienced medical practitioner. There is no higher calling - [i]except one[/i], and that is [i]Teacher[/i]. Teacher to teachers of medicine, and Teacher of the principles of reason in life generally - Ad astra is all of the above, with a AAA rating at that. The more people come to this blog the better, it's good for our heads! This is the [i]Hub[/i], well we're the [i]spokes people [/i]I guess! (Pun see, I had to tell you because you might have missed it and I couldn't bear to let you escape the pain. . . :) But I'm very serious about this blog's importance in the big picture. Lyn isn't and Ad isn't here to waste time, count me with them and so many nore, we are here to make a difference in this OUR homeland, to the way it is governed and the way *Justice* is meted out and the way services and goods are distributed. It is the biggest task we could possibly aspire to influencing in the slightest, yet we do note our influence in little ways on the media, on the Abborttians, on the Government and on the People. We [i]will[/i] grow it, we [i]will[/i] make a difference. I speak of 'osmosis', the tendency of some dissolved or colloidal particles to pass through semi-permeable membranes . . Oh it's a rave I guess but I mean Truth will out, it seeps into people's consciousness if we suck hard enough and blow hard enough, no unintended intentions intended, that's the way to influence the rate of osmosis you understand. And I believe in Synchronicity, which includes multiples of people virtually simultaneously arriving at similar ideas whose time has simply come. The whole history of computers and especially social networking is testimony to its power. Well Folks we is gonna nudge the politics of this country back into sanity, at least far enough that Tony Abbortt Will Never Become Prime Minister. Nor any of his horrid horde. This is my vow to Abbortt: [i]With my Words I will Wound you With my Pen I will Poison you You will wilt before the venom of my attack.[/i] You will lead your mob of hooligans into utter dismay. [b]And there isn't long to wait now . . .[/b]

Ad astra

19/08/2012Hi Lyn Your Twitterverse again is interesting and informative. I see plenty of comment about the Paul Kelly interview. The MSM will be alive with this tired old issue, and Abbott and Pyne will play it for all its worth, but it will pass, as it has always before, as scuttlebutt. I thought Bushfire Bill's comments were spot on, as usual.

Patriciawa

19/08/2012Okay, I'm breaking a commitment to myself not to write a word about Julian Assange, an exhibitionist, narcissistic, sexist, exploitative bastard if there ever was one. Whatever the rights and wrongs are of the freedom of information issue, let's just remind ourselves that if anyone is suffering for their 'heroism' it is the 'whistleblowing' baby faced young Bradley Manning who broke his country's security laws and passed on vast amounts of classified material to Assange and Wikileaks. Since then Assange has selectively leaked huge swathes of that material and embarrassed this, his own country, and others to say nothing of the United States to whom that material belongs. He has exploited the sensationalist newsworthiness of that material in our western media for his own personal advantage and for no altruistic reason, no alleviation of world poverty or suffering, no promotion of environmental issues, or contribution to global well being that I can see. He has only been able to do that because he lives in the free world and travels between the capitals of western democracies where the rule of law and rights to protest give him the opportunity to exploit judicial and court systems to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sexual assault charges. I'm sick of having to scroll past page after page of rationalisations of these charges as trivial and trumped up. It pleases me to think that there is one country in the world at least where a man, or woman for that matter, can't get away with exploiting hospitality by bludging meals, accommodation and sexual gratification to the point of seriously endangering the health of their hosts. We have evidence he was been able achieve that with two women over one longish weekend. He has not denied that. I've no doubt he is a serial offender here, and can only imagine the incalculable amount of food and lodgings, domestic and sexual servicing he has taken without payment in his freeloading and exploitative career. I'd advise the London staff of the Ecuadorean embassy to lock up their wives and daughters, perhaps padlock their fridges and insist that he does his own laundry and housekeeping. If the whistleblower Bradley Manning had been a Chinese or Russian soldier, even today, he would be dead. If Assange were living in Asia or an Eastern bloc country, we might have been reading about his summary arrest or even assassination. Yes then by now we would perhaps be protesting about all that over the internet and some fools would be joining demonstrations outside Chinese or Russian embassies. But we wouldn't be having these interminable discussions about the fancied intentions of Sweden, the foolishness of their rape laws, (compared with our own???) or the suggestions that British judges along with our own PM and Foreign Minister are all part of a conspiracy to whisk poor darling Julian off to Guantanomo prison when all he'd ever done wrong was to break a condom at the height his manly passion. After all, he is a martyr! At the very least a hero who could become a martyr! Isn't it rendering a service to world peace and freedom of expression to provide Rupert Murdoch with copy to promote in his international, democracy promoting, media empire? The more I read of Julian Assange and his attention seeking antics and the silly arguments raised by his supporters here and elsewhere the more I hope he is somehow rendered silent and the material he holds is restored to its rightful owners. I don't want a man of his character making decisions material to my security.

TalkTurkey

19/08/2012Wow Lyn. I just saw that list of things folks have said. I guess that'd be a Yes then! I don't know about you, but I had to dry my eyes before I could go on. Dam there I go again! As Eric Cartman on Southpark has been known to say (when he's got an angle on saying it!): I LOVE You Guys!

Patriciawa

19/08/2012PS - my comment above about JA was intended for the Poll Bludger where I used to get my overnight news blasts if I was awake before Lyn had put up her links. Recently I've found less and less there to read fruitfully since there obsessive posters about Assange or a likely Rudd return which I usually scroll past. This morning was a bit different. Tacker spilt my coffee in bed this morning. Well, I did really! And I got mad at him because he wouldn't move and I couldn't. Well, actually I could! Suddenly I found that I had almost 100% mobility. Somehow that made me even more angry, and I smacked poor Tacker for the second time in his life. He is such a reasonable soul that I think he has forgiven me and understands that I am sick of being a patient and patient and putting on a brave face about my poor broken and painful leg! Which isn't painful or broken any more! But my sheets are soaked in black coffee and my mattress is stained aften ten years in pristine condition. And I had just read that Julian bloody Assange is going to address the multitudes from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London! Talk about last straws! I know that more than one of my favorite posters here might not agree with me about him, but I think Janice might!

TalkTurkey

19/08/2012Psyclaw I didn't really mean to make a guessing game or shout about it, but it's all there included with the byline. Don't please tell me when you do work it out, I already know it.

jaycee

19/08/2012It has struck me since I did a bit of digging on our "scratchy" visitors yesterday, that some of the right-wing visitors we get on the site are a little in need of medical/psychiatric assistance....really!! It is why I wrote approvingly of AA's softly, softly approach to these posters. I too, in future will look to hints of unbalanced behaviour before pushing their buttons too hard and I would suggest more care is taken with some of these "unsteady" posters lest we become too cruel to such hapless fellow humans. Believe me..they are not "well".

Lyn

19/08/2012Hi Ad Here is a little bit more about the Paul Kelly interview with PM Julia Gillard this morning:- Peter Van Onselen provided a link below to a certain blog, looks like PVO & the other person are having a disagreement. I have copied the blog post in question so then you will not need to follow the link they count the hits. AshGhebranious‏ She directly asked Paul Kelly to put an allegation to her and he did not Stephen Koukoulas‏ To my knowledge, no one has asked Mr Abbott about his arrest for vandalism, as outlined in Duffy's book Jane Cattermole‏ Gillard to Peter van Onselelen " Well, Peter, let me welcome but also question your grand naivety". Classic Gillard. It's why we love her Peter van Onselen ‏@vanOnselenP Nobody told Paul Kelly what to ask, it was a simple misunderstanding of what Paul told one of the PMs staffers bf the interview... 1/2 Peter van Onselen ‏@vanOnselenP This post sums up the way Bolt operates. He makes slurs without a clue about the facts, which I'll detail on #Showdown http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/this_issue_will_hurt_not_only_gillard_but_some_in_the_media/ Two passages in Julia Gillard’s interview today with Paul Kelly and Peter van Onselen on the AWU scandal may have profound implications for the reputation of some in the media business. The first: Julia Gillard: Well, and this is the issue, isn’t it? Because I understand you’re being asked to ask questions today. Paul Kelly: No, no, no, sorry, there’s no-one asking me to ask questions. JG: Well, that wasn’t my advice a little bit earlier before this show. PK: Well, I’m sorry Prime Minister, I ask my own questions and nobody tells me what questions to ask. Who did tell Gillard or her staff that Kelly had been asked to ask about the AWU scandal? I suspect Kelly would very much like to know. Second: Peter van Onselen: Can I just ask one question on this and then we’ll move on. Last question. Why not just put it all out there? I believe you that you did nothing wrong. I made a comment on Friday on my show “The Contrarians” that I thought this is all a beat up and we should move on to the major issues. But why not just address it straight down the barrell so that we can move on and all of this scuttlebutt that goes on online, which frankly I’m sick of people emailing me about this, we can just move on from it. JG: Well, Peter, let me welcome but also question your grand naivety. It is not for any real journalist to absolve a politician completely before bothering even to properly check what it is he’s ticking off on. Grand naivety puts it mildly. PS Insiders last year dumped Glenn Milne for having written about the scandal it today finally mentioned itself. Does that mean it will now bring back Milne, or does it give Barrie Cassidy even more reason to play down the issue?

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012I heard a replay of an interview between Gillard and Paul Kelly. Gillard tried to intimidate Kelly by her ‘what is the allegation you are accusing me of line’, and “you’ve been told to ask these questions”. She’s on a loser. Gillard has been obfuscating about this issue for a decade and a half, it’s now catching up with her. She needs to answer-
 *Was she dismissed (or did she resign under pressure) from Slater and Gordon?
 *Was she accused by the firm of incompetence or unprofessional conduct?
 *Is it unprofessional to represent your lovers interests while their employer is paying the legal bills?
 *Is this a conflict of interest?
 *Is the reason that these questions are asked after 17 years, is that Gillard has avoided answering them for 17 years?

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012Some narrow minded types here think the Assange issue can be addressed by accusing him of being narcissistic, or by saying he’d be dead if he was in China, or something. These types of observations are as narrow minded as they come. • Assange has offered to co-operate with Swedish investigators, and in the past they have conducted interviews with people overseas, rather than extradite them. • The Australian Government obviously thinks USA is likely to seek his extradition fro Sweden. • US can hold him in isolation. • Assange has merely published factual information. • Media outlets throughout the world have now published the information that Assange published. • Assange would go to Sweden if USA advised that they would not seek his extradition. People that comment adversely on Assnage’s circumstances should never consider themselves progressive, left wing or humanitarian.

Patriciawa

19/08/2012jaycee, Spot on, but it's not just our [i]'scratchy visitors'[/i] of the Right to this site, either. Sadly it seems that the Right generally [i]'are not well'[/i] these days, and that has affected/infected well over half of our population! And they were not always thus, as TT and his former Liberal minister brother will tell you. I wonder if he personally chose that extra tag at his current party site which is apparently not shared by other Libs who have varying slogans attached. [i][b]Positive! Passionate! Persistent![/b][/i] That could almost describe our TT, couldn't it? I've written quite extensive notes on the state of mind of the Liberal Party and the impact on them of Abbott's obsessive negativity and prophecies of doom at http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/tony-abbott-and-the-prophets-of-doom/ Hopefully they will be restored to health some time in the future, but I think that Tony Abbott's leadership and obsessive determination of the Coalition and its media and big business supporters to defeat Julia Gillard and her government has become even more maniacal recently. There's a note of hysterical desperation there which verges on the ridiculous and which I think more rational journos know they cannot ignore. So I was surprised on Insiders today when the question of confidence in the economy amongst Australians not matching the reality of the country's performance came up, more was not made of Tony Abbott's personal responsibility for this with his prophecies of doom. [i]As Tony, Julie, and Joe spread ‘the facts’ About carbon pricing’s dire impacts, Worried Aussies, supporting a family, Cut down on spending, unsurprisingly. Nonetheless the economy boomed. The world didn’t think that Oz was doomed. Towns weren’t destroyed or industries dying, But in some big stores people weren’t buying.[/i]

nasking

19/08/2012 [quote]The clip played from Agenda and the headline in The Weekend Australian show that News Limited are still gunning for Julia Gillard, this time over the Slater and Gordon episode 17 years ago, one that Glenn Milne tried to prosecute last year and was dumped from the ABC and News Limited as a result.  But that did not stop Paul Kelly from raising it on Agenda this morning.  Julia Gillard was clearly annoyed at this attempt once again to blacken her name, and Kelly became annoyed when she suggested to him that he had been asked to ask her these questions, which of course he would see as an attack on his journalistic integrity.  Take a look at the Insiders clip to see how annoyed he was and how he reacted when confronted with the question: “Do you have an allegation?”  Kelly’s behaviour points to him being no more that a News Limited tool, no matter how much he protests.  He wants to discredit her and see he gone.  Here is the clip: [/quote] Ad, I reckon Murdoch, the old dirt digger, has something on Paul Kelly. Kelly's not the columnist he used to be. He's become yet another Murdoch Inc lackey. Sad. Patricia, wishing you all the best with your leg...hope it heals soon. As for Assange, we'll agree to disagree...but I do feel for him. If Romney's lot get in I reckon the over-the-top patriots will find a way to off him...they won't take the risk of pissing off independent/libertarian voters with a long trial and imprisonment or death penalty. Assange has made mistakes...but he had the courage to work with others to expose govt and corporate wrongdoing across the world. For better or worse we need people like him. As an Aussie he deserves more protection by our govt...he is a hero to many...a stained one...but essential in war times...and when corporate corruption is rife alongside ongoing war. Cheers N'

jaycee

19/08/2012Juat saw the Kelly clip W/Julia Gillard. Line them all up..:Kelly, Uhlmann, Van Onselen, Oates, Gratten, Fran Kelly....there are others..sacrificed their integrity and professionalism...Bass Cass, Benson...for what?...For a brain-dead politician who is politically "dead" after the next election...What a sacrifice..I hope Rupert's got the spondulics to compensate when they come to his door for payment for dirty deeds done!

42 long

19/08/2012Patriciawa, I can't allow myself to be as judgemental as that. Assange clearly doesn't like what America does at times. He is not alone there. Much of the world doesn't. This doesn't mean that they don't like americans as individuals. Americans are wrestling with this fact now but from what I have heard they don't get it. They are the leaders of the world in every way ( so they think) Morals, godfearing,the world's policeman, runs trade agreements that are one sided. wants oil cheaper than anyone else.. has the worlds biggest defence force ( Why?) more people executed than anywhere else, increasing poverty gaps. Highest percentage in prisons.etc etc. Bradley Manning has to be a hero. He is being tortured (solitary confinement IS torture,) trying to get him to admit Assange is tied up with his "treason". He hasn't broken yet, but HE must have a high regard for Assange and what he is doing, to hold out under the pressure. The Swedish Newspapers have tried ASSANGE already. Have you seen the articles?. You know what newspapers can do to shape persons opinions . He has already been tried and convicted in the swedish media, yet he has not been charged with anything yet. Follow the fool way the brits have attempted to pressure Ecuador by threatening to storm the Ecuadorian embassy and arrest Assange. That is remeniscent od "Colonial style" bullying. At least 6 prominent (publicised) people in the US, have stated that he should be "taken out", "REDNECKS" because he has shown the world what SOME Americans have done.

nasking

19/08/2012 I noticed Tony Abbott considers the Howard years as the "Golden Age". Does this mean he thinks Labor state govts help create Golden Ages? ----- I larfed so hard when I heard the Abbott comments...I haven't larfed so hard since the Republicans chose Palin as their VP nominee. Abbott is indeed the gift that keeps on giving. :) N'

Lyn

19/08/2012Hi Ad Thankyou so much for your post @ 12:50 PM As Talk Turkey said @ 01:40 PM "I LOVE You Guys!" :):):) I agree with these words of the above pasted article: "may have profound implications for the reputation of some in the media business"

nasking

19/08/2012 [quote]Peter van Onselen ‏@vanOnselenP This post sums up the way Bolt operates. He makes slurs without a clue about the facts, which I'll detail on #Showdown [/quote] The games that Murdoch minions play to get attention eh? And to pump up a story. We've seen it all before. Ask the poms. N'

nasking

19/08/2012 Gracias Lyn for the links and tweets: Stephen Koukoulas‏ [b]To my knowledge, no one has asked Mr Abbott about his arrest for vandalism, as outlined in Duffy's book [/b] Indeed. A number of other things journos have glossed over too. N'

42 long

19/08/2012The more I watch lately I find the labor "ladies" rather good performers. They are out there just getting on with it, very competently. Contrast with most of the LNP, where (apart from J bishop)they just appear on token occasions, and don't acquit themselves spectacularly at all

Ad astra

19/08/2012Shirley Thank you for your kind comment and the link to the Richard Torbay story. With a CV that says: “[i]He’s a professional politician of outstanding ability who rose from teenage kitchen-hand in the University of New England Union to become chancellor, from thirty-year-old Armidale councillor to mayor, state member and speaker.[/i] one wonders why he would waste his time in a Federal Coalition. jaycee I agree with your sentiments about how best to respond to aggressive, impolite bloggers, mentioned at 9.18 yesterday and 2.21 today. Given that some appear unhinged, a gentle response, if one is made at all, is preferable to an angry one. bilko Thank you for your kind remarks. There is a lot more to come over the Paul Kelly interview, and it won’t be complimentary to Kelly. 2353 The analogy you draw between the current and recurring attacks on PM Gillard about the Slater and Gordon matter, and Tea Party tactics, is apt. It looks as if much of the Coalition strategy and its echo chamber, News Limited, is taken from the Tea Party’s line of attack.

Ad astra

19/08/2012Hi Lyn Thanks for the additional material on the Paul Kelly interview. What a strange piece from Andrew Bolt, who seems to be taking a tilt at Kelly. Or am I reading him incorrectly?

jane

19/08/2012Ad astra @12.56pm, I think you've hit the nail on the head wrt to SH-Y. I liken her to the barber's cat, full of certain unpleasant by-products of digestion. As for Paul Kelly, his allegiances have been stamped all over his forehead for years. The sooner the wizened foreigner's ghastly claws are prized away from the stranglehold he has on the msm, the better. KHTAGH @1.07pm, your potent argument connects the dots. NBN will be a huge revenue loss to Rupert. No wonder the OO has ratcheted up its Liealot protection racket a few more notches. TT @1.28pm, sounds like the PM is putting these hacks on notice. Cough up the proof or shut up! I bet Kelly's ordered in a load of steak for those black eyes she's just metaphorically delivered! Janice @7.15am, I agree with you completely wrt Assange. If he genuinely believes that he is in danger of a trip to Gitmo, I would assume that a South American country would be the last place to seek refuge from the long arm of the US. When he released his leaks to embarrass the present government, I thought that we would finally have the dirt on AWB, invading Iraq and other Rodentochracy malfeasance. Instead, nothing to this very day. Patriciawa, I read your comments about Assange and concur. Perhaps it's a female thing, but he just gives me the creeps. There are some people one takes an instinctive dislike to. You can't explain it because you don't even know the person, but there's something about him/her you don't trust. Assange didn't take the risks and the last time I read anything about him, his co-workers confirmed your assessment, Patricia. And why is Sweden being badmouthed so much? Two(?) of its citizens have accused Assange of sexual assault and the Swedes have an obligation to question Assange and get his side of the story. I have no opinion either way about whether he has committed a crime; that's for the cops and the courts to determine. At this stage, it's he said, she said and he has the presumption of innocence. However, he seems to be using US bashing to avoid facing the allegations against him in Sweden. If his fears about being whisked away by the CIA or the FBI or whoever are well founded, I'm sure he could be provided with protection. Swedish authorities could interview him on neutral ground in the UK. I also find it difficult to swallow that Sweden is being bullied into handing him over to the US. It's not that I think the US isn't a bully, but I think they choose their targets very carefully and Ecuador would be a fine place to apply pressure. I'm sorry this Assange business has put you out of sorts. I'm sure Tacker understands and has forgiven you. If he was a cat, I wouldn't be so certain. :)

Jason

19/08/2012ToM, What time does "Evita Assange" appear on the balcony to give what will probably a fairly boring sermon as he's not allowed to make any public political statements during his address. That’s one of the conditions of accepting political asylum from Ecuador. Maybe he'll announce he's no longer going to run for a senate seat next year!

42 long

19/08/2012I find the Assange revulsion here pretty disappointing. If the same treatment is done to Gillard as to this man you would be up in arms. Can't you see your inconsistency?. What I have read here (in the negative and is the majority so far) is mostly personal character assassination and a lot of it on a pretty shallow level. Why so judgemental?

Ad astra

19/08/2012Talk Turkey I enjoyed reading your comment at 1.28. You are in fine fettle. I hope that is a signal that you are recovering well. Thank you for your kind comments about me. It was a tortuous professional route I took. At school I was determined to be a school teacher, following somewhat in my parents’ footsteps, but when one memorable day I saw the frustration of my chemistry teacher trying to beat facts into our unreceptive heads, (I remember that it was about cadmium that he was trying to teach us), and his resolve to start all over again when his questioning showed we had learned almost nothing, I thought to myself, I can do without this. My father had casually suggested that I might like to consider medicine, an idea I initially rejected, but having cleverly sown the seed, the idea germinated and so that’s where I headed instead of teaching. After years in clinical medicine, the old attraction to teaching returned and I ended up in medical education in academic settings. The combination is magic. You are right; education underpins everything. At present we have the Government trying, at times not all that successfully, to educate the public about, for example, climate change and carbon pricing. But in the background there is the Coalition shouting a contrary message and a largely complaint media echoing its message rather than promulgating the Government’s. It’s like having two teachers in front of the class with one saying something and the second contradicting everything the other is saying, and adding that the first teacher is incompetent to teach anyway. We have said here on many occasions that the Government needs to upgrade its media capability with the addition of educators and professional communicators. Not PR people, but born educators. Of course even with that, the chances of educating the public are impeded when the media refuses to transmit the Government’s messages accurately, instead distorting them to the Government’s disadvantage. We have seen today how powerfully the media can distort messages to suit its own agenda. We on [i]TPS[/i] are in the business of informing and educating. We act as a counter to the misinformation that is spread every day by the Coalition and the MSM. Our voices singly are small and scarcely audible, but collectively we can speak loudly, and in many places. That is our mission. We can make a difference despite the formidable forces we face.

Ad astra

19/08/2012Nasking I see you are in fine form. You raise an interesting question – does Murdoch have something on Paul Kelly so that he has to be compliant? One thing is employment. I doubt if Kelly would get as good a paying job elsewhere, and he wouldn’t be able to make much from his books, no matter how well they might be regarded. 42 long You are right – the Government ‘ladies’ are impressive. They exude confidence and competence. The ladies on [i]TPS[/i] are similarly impressive.

Jason

19/08/201242 long So Assange is above the law is he? The British legal system is flawed and everyone else except Assange is wrong. So if Assange isn't responsible for his life's decisions who is?

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19/08/2012Patriciawa I’m glad your leg is improving. Bones do take a while to heal. I enjoyed reading your description of Tacker and the coffee. I hope the bed recovers. I’m sure the media will be out in force for the Assange balcony address.

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012Jane and others should brush up on some facts, rather than just go with the vibe. [i] “I'm sure he could be provided with protection.”[/i] What exactly, given that he can be held in isolation? [i]”Swedish authorities could interview him on neutral ground in the UK.”[/i] He’s offered this on numerous occasions, and Sweden have declined. Sweden have a history of traveling throughout Europe to interview people but refuse to extend this courtesy to Assange. [i] “However, he seems to be using US bashing to avoid facing the allegations against him in Sweden.”[/i] Assange remained in Sweden for 6 weeks following the complaints, he only departed the country when authorities advised him that they didn’t intend to pursue the matter. It is entirely reasonable that Assange decline to return to Sweden without a specific commitment that the USA won’t seek his extradition.

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19/08/2012jane I think News Limited will hang onto Paul Kelly so long as he is emitting anti-Gillard propaganda, in line with its ‘let’s get rid of Gillard agenda’.

LadyInRed

19/08/2012Ad astra I saw Insiders and I agree S H-Y was very long on accusations and spitting at the PM but very short on alternatives. Policy purist that she is, I can see now why Brown retired, its an impossible position to be in. I think ultimately the end of their party, as their only hope of any real influence is now during this hung parliament, but they are locked into this purism from which they can't seem to escape. I saw Paul Kelly. Mysogyny, plain and simple. They would never ask TAbbott a question like that. JG handled it well, put up or shut up. Mud slinging is another word for it. The idea that the PM should answer mud slinging charges ....well it beggars belief! It is right up there with 'Obama is a muslim' (not that I would care if he was one, but clearly in the USA it is a big issue). To even answer the question would be a further slur on JG or Obama - this is for the benefit of ToM just in case he bothers to red my posts! You can tell I am hopping mad over this.

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012The issues concerning Gillrd’s character and history were raised in some detail in 2007, that's when Gillard made the very lame "young & naive" excuse. It has been the subject of plenty of comment for a decade. Gillard has obfuscated and hoped the questions would go away. Their relevance is that the issues go to Gillrd’s character and judgement. If she has a shady and questionable past and has been pushed out of a prominent law form, it’s a relevant political issue.

TalkTurkey

19/08/2012Patricia What are you saying! [i]"TT and his former Liberal minister brother"[/i] [b]NO![/b] My brother was a LABOR Member. [i]He's[/i] the one most likely to call you Comrade! That's where I got it from. A one-word call to courage. Most people weren't even game to utter it! Well my bro was. What's more he took the seat from a sitting Liberal, held if for several terms, including being the nemesis of Saccharine Queen Janine, the hardest unfairest fight ever because she was so-o-o-o sweeeeet,such a daaaahhhhlinggg! of the Media! Had she gained that seat [i]as everyone said she would bar my brave bro[/i] the political landscape would be different today, with Democrats in the Lower House. My brother worked like a Dog for his electorate and in his portfolios, and as a senior diplomat before that, and he was fun and clever and inventive in his job and I wish there were more like him, as do and did the people who work/ed with him. I don't know how you got his Party arsi versi. As if! but I didn't get the gist of this anyway - I wonder if he [who?] personally chose that extra tag at his current party site which is apparently not shared by other Libs who have varying slogans attached. Positive! Passionate! Persistent! That could almost describe our TT, couldn't it? If you thought my bro was a Liberal . . . did somehow you think that individuals in the Coalition were ever any good? - Well no, they've nearly all nearly always been appalling, odd exceptions approaching humanity (Petrou Giorgiou, er, er, ) but it's appalling how much more appalling they have become under Abbortt. I'm not sure quite what you meant altogether actually. You know what Pauline H would say . . . ? I never meant him to put him on the cover of Newsweek. Let him catch King George Whiting in peace. It's just . . . he's a loveable [i]dronGo[/i].

Lyn

19/08/2012Hi Ad Here is a link to the interview by Kelly and Julia Gillard, it is well worth your time to watch, the expressions on Paul Kelly's face, his persistence the intervening of PVO and Julia's comments in reply are wonderous: have done nothing wrong: Gillard Julia Gillard has clashed on-air with The Australian's Paul Kelly over allegations she was dismissed from law firm Slater & Gordon for dishonesty http://video.theaustralian.com.au/2270091207/I-have-done-nothing-wrong-Gillard

Jason

19/08/2012ToM, Slater & Gordon says the internal legal review was a standard response to the allegations made and nothing was found to contradict Ms Gillard's statements. "Ms Gillard cooperated fully with the internal review and denied any wrongdoing," Slater & Gordon said in a statement released on Sunday. "The review found nothing which contradicted the information provided by Ms Gillard at the time." Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/i-did-nothing-wrong-gillard-on-law-firm-resignation-20120819-24g0c.html#ixzz23yR0uZ2E

Ad astra

19/08/2012Hi Lyn Thanks. That is a good link which I have saved for future reference. It is the only full vision of that incident. It shows how they think they are onto something like a dog with a well chewed bone.

Trevor

19/08/2012After what I thought was a pretty good week for the government, carbon pricing disappearing as an issue, AS issue dealt with, Thompson/ Slipper affairs reflecting badly on accusers. I thought what distraction will Tony come up with to avoid having to talk about actual policy? Well it didn't take long to find out. Seems a conference call with News LTD to come up with what will be the big distraction this week, turned up the hackneyed 17 old allegations about the PM's resignation from Slater & Gordon. Besides the obvious nastiness of this type of stuff what will be disappointing is, it will probably work. Watch the headlines tomorrow and if you could stand it listen to talk back. I bet this gets a good run. Job done by News.

Ad astra

19/08/2012Jason Many thanks. I've filed that article for reference. I'll bet those words from Slater and Gordon won't appear in News Limited media.

Ad astra

19/08/2012Trevor I agree. It's worth writing up this scurrilous action of News Limited.

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012So did she resign from Slater & Gordon under pressure? Or was she actually dismissed. Her job was to protect the interests of her client, the AWU. But she was briefed by her lover. This is a clear conflict of interest and goes to her professional judgment. Her lover used the accounts Gillard set up for his personal benefit. This goes to her professional competence. There are plenty of legitimate questions about her capability, ethics and judgement in this.

nasking

19/08/2012 [quote]Job done by News.[/quote] Trevor, a nasty media corporation assisting a nasty politician (Abbott). Are these the people Australians want governing them?...running their country? ------ Ad, going by the haunted look on Paul Kelly's face sometimes I suspect it's more than just trying to keep his well paid position. But maybe yer right...and that look comes from having done a deal with the Devil. You'd think at his age with his abilities he'd know better. But I guess there's no accounting for the lengths some will go to pull in the dineros and keep their face in the game. Cheers N'

Patriciawa

19/08/2012My apologies, TT! I have been under the impression that your brother had the initials BB and was a former Liberal minister and is currently shadow minister for small business. [i]Mea culpa![/i] a thousand times! When I looked at that site he seemed half human, but I must say rather younger than I had expected. Am I forgiven? About Tacker more importantly than anything else! Ad Astra seems to have understood my state of mind!

Jason

19/08/2012ToM, "But she was briefed by her lover." You mean like Cathy Jackson was doing with her lover?

nasking

19/08/2012 Jason, thnx for the SMH link: [quote]But the manager of opposition business Christopher Pyne said the issue raised very serious questions about the prime minister's integrity.[/quote] This coming from a man who is up to his armpits in Abbott-style lies, scheming, distortions and negativity. Pyne has the integrity of a car salesman offering up a fleet of lemons and toxic products. N'

jaycee

19/08/2012Given, as we are all aware, the Murdoch is plainly an oppotunist extrodinaire, I ask ; Has he done a deal with the LNP. that he will supply the flack so they can gain office if they will give him the NBN...? (and perhaps toss in the ABC. for good measure!)...after all, we all heard that Tony will do ANYTHING to get govt'!!

Jason

19/08/2012N, I do find it funny whenever Pyne talks about those sort of things!

Trevor

19/08/2012If the issue of the PM's resignation from Slater & Gordon is this weeks QT focus by the opposition it will expose their complete Inappropriateness for office. Recall when the that other attack dog Wilson Tuckey dredged back in to Paul Keatings past to find a bit of sleaze. If I recall correctly after a savaging by PK even his own party disassociated themselves from him. Sadly we now have the Wilson Tuckey equivalent leading the party. Surely a groundswell from the moderates of the party would have to emerge and shame them . One hopes.

jaycee

19/08/2012If you read the ABC. "just in" news report on the Gordon and Slater interview, you will see at the bottom of the page an Editor's note that makes for an interesting slant(aka suckole apologist?) on the ABC's intent to pacify The Australian.

Gravel

19/08/2012Patriciawa I fully agree with you. Sorry 42long, everyone had to abide by the law. Lyn I felt sick reading your stuff about Julia and Paul Kelly. I then watched the clip by Ad Astra. I have clicked on your link but all I am getting is the word loading with arrows going in circles, is there a trick to getting it to actually play? Knee High Yes, I am sure the NBN has a lot to do with Limited News' bias and reporting. That doesn't explain the total bias by the ABC though. Trevor The slur against Julia has been accomplished. Watched Ch7 news went through a bit and at the very end mentioned statement by S&G denying any wrong doing but if you weren't paying attention you would have missed it. SBS did a much better job, explaining the Julia didn't leave for at least 12 months after the event. Won't hold my breath for ABC to be anywhere near balanced.

42 long

19/08/2012Rhe rest of the party won't do anything because they are locked in to a "trash her" plan that they have no alternative option to apply. Thia is is another "dirty" trial by media episode that the LNP dirty tricks mob dredge up from the past. Those who play this game better make sure their slate is clean. Wise pollies don't go down this road. Tony's past has some episodes in it but there would be howls of derision and cries of "FOUL" if the ALP lowered themselves to operate this way. I actually hOPE they DO find something with that MOB of creeps. There's a lot of potential and people know a lot. Their plan is to accuse and insinuate, and she has to prove herself innocent. They have done this with Thomson ( all gone quiet there, but it worked at the time. Slipper too Whoops there are some scary untidy bits there, but anyhow it's gone quiet.. Windsors spoil Tony's day was either deflected or not reported on... Helps to have that media onside eh! but that's gone quiet too.. LOOK at the pattern over all this time. Consistent digging up muck to distract right on cue. Throw some shit and some will stick. Sure you can see on the faces of the LNP hopefulls a kind of resolute tolerence for the pantomime but the "Shame shame's" arent so convincing You can't cry wolf for ever and get the same effect. It's not a class way of doing things. The people have less regard for ALL pollies. More damage is done. Someone will one day attempt to asses the amount of real "damage" that Tony's lies, acaring and negativity, lack of certainty, sheer undermining of a government far beyond the normal functions of an opposition. Part of an oppositions job is to point out the failings of the government and to offer a true alternative path of ACTION. Yes action man, not just rave on about the glorious times under "honest" John and say you have a government of Superior people just waiting to hit the ground running and save the country. Just words Tony and from a person fewer and fewer are prepared to believe. Time to stop destroying people Tony, and show us what sort af a person you are if you are going to want the "top' job, at some stage you will have to earn it. So far YOU are the person who I would lEAST want to trust the prime ministership to of anyone I have known to be in politics and I used to listen to Menzies most afternoons on the radio when I was a kid. I can't comprehend how you could concieve that you MIGHT be up to the job. YOU couldn't be that unrealistic. You are mean spirited and destroyed by ambition.

jaycee

19/08/2012I suspect that with all the lying done by Tabbott these last couple of years, he must have promised some sort of "plenery indulgence" to George Smell to save his soul from eternal damnation! He'll be eternally damned as far as I am concerned!

Lyn

19/08/2012Hi Gravel Here is a new link for you, an Advertisement comes on first sometimes I have done nothing wrong: GillardJulia Gillard has clashed on-air with The Australian's Paul Kelly over allegations she was dismissed from law firm Slater & Gordon for dishonesty http://video.theaustralian.com.au/2270091207/I-have-done-nothing-wrong-Gillard http://video.theaustralian.com.au/2270091207/I-have-done-nothing-wrong-Gillard

BSA Bob

19/08/2012jaycee at 5.52 I think the NBN plays a big part in the media's hostility to Labor. While the obvious suspect is Murdoch it's a threat to all in the way it opens them up to competition. Much better to either kill it or buy up whichever chunks of it suit themselves.

jaycee

19/08/2012But BSA. Bob..if you could "own it" lock, stock and barrell, you'd cut out all the other players!...it's the sort of monopoly murdoch would salivate over.....Say!..that's a Beeza 500cc single in your gravatar, isn't it?

DMW

19/08/2012Possum Comitatus ‏@Pollytics 7:34 PM - 19 Aug 12 via TweetDeck You can almost sum up the last 4 years of State and Fed politics in Australia as: "WANTED - one front foot. Please phone ALP on...." Possum Comitatus ‏@Pollytics 7:34 PM - 19 Aug 12 via TweetDeck It almost defines pretty much everything at every level

2353

19/08/2012TfM believes that having an interview 17 years ago in regard to the actions of an ex-partner (and producing evidence that the claims were incorrect) disqualifies you from public life. And yet we have TfM who has admitted he didn't vote in state and/or federal elections. That is a criminal offence as voting in elections is compulsory in this Country. So why should we believe the rantings of a self confessed criminal over the words of someone who is being subjected to an organised campaign by a media group who's UK arm has admitted to illegal acts? TfM needs to put up or shut up. Go back to the Gutter where you belong.

NormanK

19/08/2012Gravel If you have an AdBlocker programme running, videos that commence with an advertisement won't play; all you will get are the 'loading' symbols. More information available should you require it.

nasking

19/08/2012 [quote]And yet we have TfM who has admitted he didn't vote in state and/or federal elections.  [/quote] 2353, voter apathy helped GW Bush win twice and enabled two unaffordable wars that the corporate rich and other McScrooges benefited from without much sacrifice. I'm sure the Right-wing here would luv to see plenty of voters opting out in a non-compulsory voting system...particularly Indigenous voters, welfare recipients, plenty of uni students...the list goes on. Interesting that Tom of Melbourne seems to heart same. And continually spreads the same kind of cynicism...and anti-big govt, anti-union sentiment (in a crafty way) that is so cherished by right-wing radio jocks, the Murdoch empire and contemporary Aussie Liberals and American Republicans. But he happens to conveniently claim membership of a basically extinct party...The Democrats. Frankly, I can't think of any Democrat who would spend their time day in and day out for many years on blogs criticising anything that smells of modern Labour and the union movement. Don't you love the smell of horse dung in the morning, lunch and evening? N' N'

Ad astra

19/08/2012Folks Tomorrow is another day. Now I'm called today a day!

Trevor

19/08/2012I seem to recall that during "golden years" of the Howard govt there were many rumors going around concerning a liaison between the venerable Howard and Ms Pru Goward. Now I don't like to put much faith in these rumours but I would like to know why he won't simply come out and state that it was not true. Until he can do that. Well you know, where there is smoke........

Cuppa

19/08/2012The Liberals are always trying the back door method to wrest power. Godwin Grech, Slipper, Thomson, now the latest smear against the PM. Meanwhile they constantly shun policy work, and don't even bother to get their costings done properly or write original budget reply speeches. Lazy and dirty. It's the born-to-rule mindset. They believe they needn't work (that's for the "lesser" parties), they'll just wrest power to themselves using tricks and contrived scandals... or, if absolulutely unavaoidable, bide their time until a regularly-scheduled election and just waltz it in on the back of years of minute-to-minute media boosting. Because it's their right, you know. How odious. Now, if I can see this, it can't be too hard to fathom. Let's hope there's enough time for people's eyes more generally to open to the simple reality of this dirty mob and their unworthiness for what they most crave. As Ad astra said, our voices put together make more noise and travel further than speaking out singly. So let's never be shut up, let's shout out the truth every day and open the eyes of the voters!

TalkTurkey

19/08/2012Ad astra, As I have told you (all) tears come easily to me these days, many reasons, I don't want to go to all of them . But things that have been said on this site in the last few weeks have done it a lot to me (since my unhappy surgical experiences in particular). That you understand, is not necessarily a bad thing.* But today I've dissolved several times. It makes me so happy to see people coming here, encouraged to speak, encouraged to realise they are not alone in their political thoughts, just [i]encouraged![/i] - And you are the best encourager there is. Well equal-best of course, with Lyn. Welcomers and encouragers, enthusiasts, both of you. Seeing our collective pent-up expressions of adoration for Lyn's efforts - Dam! there I go AGAIN! Bloody hanky is damp . . . But why I started writing this is, I speak of synchronicity, well just as I've synchronously visualised this site as, yes, a hub, - I once tried to characterise it as a sort of cyber-doyley, (Ad you would know why 'doyley' I guess) but not just flat, extending towards infinity in every direction- - well I similarly started visualising how thick a book would need to be to contain, in A4 format and in 12 point print, your threads on TPS snce you began it. I can't think it will ever happen . . . Why put it on paper at all? Just thinking . . . Huge! But it is there forever in cybersticks. . . .(as is the humblest of the rest of us, courtesy Ad himself.) But the point is, I was thinking, [i]any collection of your work would need a sort of foreword by you.[/i] That was this morning I was thinking that. Well it seems to me that what you have written at 4.17 today is just about what was needed! Your life is a complete circle isn't it! In those few paragraphs, you have introduced yourself, and you never in my experience have deviated a whit from your own principles which run through all your writings like spun golden thread. With the removal of the couple of lines about TT at the top, it would be an ideal introduction to any collection of your work. The very fact that [i]it was not written with that in mind [/i]would make it [i]unique[/i]. I might even make so bold as to ask Web Monkey to keep it thoughtfully handy and on file? I think it is a fine little mini-biography. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *There is a material in soil called - rhodium? rhodonite? Rho-something anyway, which is a like a Rare Earth, or anyway it's everywhere, we collect it accidentally and it acts as a [i]depressant[/i]. By far the richest source of it collects in our tears . . .so when you weep you rid yourself of this rho-stuff depressant . . . so it lifts your mood! Women and I know this . . . Sob . . . :)

Patriciawa

19/08/2012TT, I agree with you about that very revealing post from Ad astra about himself. I have always found him the most lucid of writers about things political, quite apart from his innate wisdom. His ability to be both objective and empathic at the same time is now explained by his combination of hands on healing experience over many years, plus the intellectual discipline of marshalling academic argument for teaching of tertiary level students. Lyn, many thanks for the link to the full Kelly attempted ambush of our PM. I don't think anyone else will try that on! TT just realized how I came to make that awful gaffe. Apologies again! Cheers, P

jane

19/08/201242 long, I'm afraid I just don't think Assange is the champion you think he is. TT, what a brilliant brother you have and vice versa. And for him to be Janine's nemesis is the icing in the cake. Those bloody glasses. I always wanted to pull that frizzy hair and break her bloody glasses! Gee, ToM @5.40pm, Slater and Gordon don't seem to agree with you or Rupert's arse lickers. Gosh! What should we believe? Unfounded rumour, lies and innuendo or the truth? BTW, your double standards are hanging out all over the place. Liealot assaults female uni students, but that's OK. It was a long time ago. All is forgiven. Julia Gillard and her lover commit no crime, but you're outraged, although it's also ancient history. Allegations are made against Craig Thomson. No charges have been laid, but you're outraged again, pronounce him guilty and declare he's unfit for public office. No presumption of innocence for Craig Thomson. Julian Assange, Liars party stooge, is accused of rape, but you leap to his defence, denounce his accusers and declare that he should be given the presumption of innocence. Can you see a pattern emerging? jaycee @5.52pm, sounds like a plan. 2353, not voting isn't illegal, not getting your name ticked off is. So ToM may toddle off to the booth and not actually tick a box and satisfy his legal obligation. Having said that, we in this country are extremely fortunate to have the right to vote for our representative and the government we prefer. We don't always get what we want, but at least we get another chance and we can whinge our heads off about it, something which is denied to millions across the globe. That's why It infuriates me that there are those in this country who metaphorically spit on people who are denied their say and then whinge and whine about a system they brag about not participating in! A long winded way of agreeing with you, 2353. :) Nas' @8.24pm, roflmao.

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012I think you’ve lost the plot Jane. That is even more irrational then your standard over the top posts. Normally there’s amusing, but this one is just a rant. Do you have any evidence that Assaange is a Liberal stooge? As a matter of interest he’s not in parliament – but Gillard and Thomson are!! They’re the ones who present themselves as standard bearers of the community. ,,,,anyway, cheer up! Gillard won’t be around too much longer, and then you won’t have to worry.

DMW

19/08/2012PWA, it was one of darned spelling mistakes that the useless spellchecker missed : blame the carbon tax

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/2012 [i] I can't think of any Democrat who would spend their time day in and day out for many years on blogs criticising anything that smells of modern Labour and the union movement.[/i] You really don’t follow the Democrats, do you Nasking?

Tom of Melbourne

19/08/20122353 - [i]” 
And yet we have TfM who has admitted he didn't vote in state and/or federal elections.[/i] I’ve said no such thing, I’ve said I preference the ALP and the Liberals equally, near the bottom of the list. I put the DLP, Family First and One Nation below them if they have candidates. I see no reason to differentiate between this ALP and the Liberals. You should stop inventing stories and lying.

Jason

19/08/2012ToM, Was that Assange on the tv singing to the crowd "living it up at the hotel Ecuador you can chek out anytime but you can never leave"?

jane

20/08/2012ToM, Assange is remarkably silent on the matter of the invasion of Iraq and the AWB scandal. Surely they're matters most of us would all like to see exposed. One can only assume that he doesn't care for the Rodentochracy to be laid bare in all its corruption. Why would that be? Assange is accused of sexual assault. He has chosen to be in the public eye and portrays himself as a paragon of virtue. So why the double standards? Why give Assange the presumption of innocence, just because he hasn't been charged with any crime? You don't have any trouble pronouncing Thomson guilty even though he has still not been charged with any crime. And it seems you don't have any trouble with Kathy Jackson although it seems her fingers have been well and truly rummaging in the till, she has attempted to contact the person hearing her case. And there's the case of the disappearing documents. Yet you airily wave this away as if it's of no consequence. No outrage and pronouncements of guilt and unfitness for office for her. How so? Misappropriation of funds is misappropriation of funds no matter who does it. So is sexual assault. You can't pick and chose who gets the presumption of innocence. And you can't pronounce guilt or innocence before a charge has been laid and tested in court. Rumour, innuendo and lies aren't evidence or proof of guilt. You seem to have a lot of trouble distinguishing one from the other.

nasking

20/08/2012 [quote]I see no reason to differentiate between this ALP and the Liberals[/quote]. So Tom, if that's the case then prove it. Spend the next few mths dumping on Abbott and the Liberal party the way you have the ALP the past few years. Let's see some balanced criticism from the poster who purports to be a Democrat and does not "differentiate between the ALP and the Liberals". Or are you all talk and mask? N'

nasking

20/08/2012 Do Republicans in America actually listen to themselves?: [b]Doug Priesse: Ohio Early Voting Process Should Not Accommodate Black Voters[/b] [quote]An Ohio GOP election official who voted against the weekend voting rules that enabled thousands to cast ballots in the 2008 election said Sunday that he did not think that the state's early voting procedures should accommodate African-Americans. "I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban -- read African-American -- voter-turnout machine," Doug Priesse said in an email to the Columbus Dispatch Sunday. "Let's be fair and reasonable." Priesse is a member of the board of elections for Franklin County, which includes Columbus, and chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, on Wednesday ordered all 88 counties in Ohio to allow early voting Monday through Friday, until 7 p.m., during the final two weeks before the election. Weekend voting, however, will not be allowed. Weekend voting helped 93,000 Ohioans cast ballots in the final three days before the 2008 election. Black churches promoted taking "your souls to the polls" events on the Sunday preceding the election, an option that will be unavailable if Husted's ruling stands. (The Obama administration has sued Husted to restore the final three days of early voting.)[/quote] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/19/doug-priesse-ohio-early-voting-_n_1807434.html Anything to keep the black vote down eh? SHAME N'

Truth Seeker

20/08/2012WHEN the Democrats were around (pre GST), I thought their moto was "Keeping the bastards honest", not "Lying like a bastard"? Cheers

Lyn

20/08/2012Today’s Links Diary of a madman, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless One does not simply appear in Australian Spectator; one is inducted after having passed tests of conservative soundness such as being a Liberal staffer and Murdoch journalist (e.g. Tom Switzer, Christian Kerr) or having been a Liberal MP of many years' standing (e.g. Peters Coleman and Costello), or - no, that's pretty much it http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/ Back On The Chain Gang, Peter Wicks, Wixxy Leaks I don’t apologise for offending anyone with this post, racism is something I cannot, or will not tolerate, no matter what stupid name people call it, such as Nationalism, or whatever dumb terminology politicians may use, such as “protecting our borders”. Where would we be if the Indigenous Australians had been better at border protection I wonder? http://wixxy.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/back-on-the-chain-gang/ From the Archives- Tony Abbott's allegedly misogynistic and homophobic student years, Clarence Girl, North Coast Voices This matter of the alleged assualt was again alluded to in the media in May 2012 when the Coalition dismissed the idea of a formal code of conduct for federal parliamentarians. http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/from-archives-tony-abbotts-allegedly.html TONY WINDSOR… YOU DA Man, Peter Wicks, The Hoopla Abbott tells us the government’s Carbon Price will hurt families, yet, Windsor says, Abbott has the “audacity” to offer as an alternative, a vastly more expensive policy, that punishes families and pays polluters. Not only that, his Direct Action policy has more holes in it than Alexander Downer’s fish net stockings. http://thehoopla.com.au/christmas/ If Tony Abbott wanted the prime minister’s job so much then he should have sold his arse, Miglo, Café Whispers Two years ago he begged for support to become Prime Minister, saying he would do anything except sell his arse to get the job. Tony Windsor pointed out, yesterday, that this was the real crack (pun intended) in Abbott’s negotiating skills. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/if-tony-abbott-wanted-the-prime-ministers-job-so-much-then-he-should-have-sold-his-arse/ Gillards Letters to Abbott for Cooperation over Refugees, Wayne Brookes, Curiosity and Challenge Tony Abbott could have recieved no other information or beliefs than his efforts to continually block policy, deny the Government executive powers over our own borders would add to the countries woes. In effect Abbbott has done everything humanly and politically possible to cripple all avenues of resolution http://wrb330.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/gillards-letters-to-abbott-for-cooperation-over-refugees/ What did Tony Windsor say that rattled Tony Abbott? (full text and video), Turn Left 2013 Mr WINDSOR (New England) (15:28): There has been a lot of discussion today about history. It has been discussed here today that, two years ago, the Prime Minister made a certain comment in the run-up to the election. As most of us would be aware, the Prime Minister did not win the election; this is a hung parliament http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/what-did-tony-windsor-say-that-rattled-tony-abbott-full-text-and-video/ Pitt Raises Questions On Costello Roadshow, Curtispitt Com What Mr Costello is doing is touring the state on a pay-for-access roadshow, charging Queenslanders $45 each for the privilege while at the same time he refuses to brief Opposition MPs,” Mr Pitt said http://www.curtispitt.com.au/2012/08/16/pitt-raises-questions-on-costello-roadshow/ Belling the Abbott cat, Dragonista this post is an attempt to capture all of the articles and posts that have challenged Tony Abbott’s merry dance with the truth. I’ve included those that I’ve noticed – let me know in the comments or on Twitter any other examples and I will include them: http://dragonistasblog.com/2012/08/17/belling-the-abbott-cat/ #91 A terrible, cynical, disingenuous news organisation Part 6- Conservative humour, Uthers Say This is part 6 of eight which gives a description of what takes place in that hour orchestrated by the Pontiff of the Fox “no spin zone” in combination with willing helpers as they launch an assault not only on John Stewart but on anyone who is seen as a threat to the agenda of the 1%. http://utherssay.com/ A MESSAGE FOR TONY, Nick Feik, Editor, The Monthly There has been a distinct step up in criticism of Tony Abbott this week. Following Laura Tingle last Friday, there have been strongly worded articles by Tim Colebatch, Dennis Atkins, Mark Latham and Barrie Cassidy, amongst others.Cassidy notes that 'the media' rarely pull Abbott up for his inconsistencies, and have generally failed to hold him to account in the way they have previous Opposition leaders. http://www.themonthly.com.au/politicoz Former Lib leader Hewson urges strong action on carbon and rebukes Abbott , Tina Perinotto, The Fifth Estate He described Mr Abbott as “one of the most negative people I know” on economic and political issues such as climate change.“Now there’s the guy who blew the GST, so I can speak with some authority.” Instead of policies, Mr Abbott relied on slogans, said Dr Hewson: “No carbon tax, no boat people.” http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/23993 The Non Spacific Solution, Graham Hardy, Independent Australia Will the number of boats decrease? Probably. The numbers will probably decrease in the short term, but in the long term, they will probably increase. And more people will drown. Will more asylum seekers benefit from more humane treatment? Definitel http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/the-political-plan-that-wont-stop-the-boats/ Abbott could clean up. He could bet against the market on inflation, Peter Martin Ahead of the introduction of the tax in July Opposition leader Tony Abbott claimed its impact on the cost of living would be “almost unimaginable.” His Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said it would “drive up the price of everything." In contrast the government predicted a one-off boost in the consumer price index of http://www.petermartin.com.au/ I must have been abducted by aliens!, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery Tony Wright does an admirable piece despite closing with a comment about how Tony Windsor is an old National man gone feral. Piers Ackerman and Andrew Bolt seem to have missed it and are still writing about last decade. Gabrielle Chan went through the details, but focused on the return of the phrase ‘pig’s arse’. Breakfastnews on ABC http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/i-must-have-been-abducted-by-aliens/ Gillard dismisses allegations of law firm wrongdoing, ABC Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says I think there are real issues that the Prime Minister needs to address and if she would like to make a statement to the Parliament this week the Coalition would gladly facilitate it," he told a press conference in Western Sydney. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-19/gillard-dismisses-allegations-of-law-firm-wrongdoing/4208360 Sky News Australia‏@SkyNewsAust Julia Gillard on Sky News discusses asylum seekers + reports over her resignation at Slater & Gordon 17 years ago. http://twitdoc.com/view.asp?id=62328&sid=1C3C&ext=DOCX&lcl=Australian-Agenda-interview-with-Julia-Gillard-19-August-2012.docx&usr= Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 20 August 2012 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

2353

20/08/2012Lyn - great links - thanks. Jane - you're correct, all you have to do to "vote legally" is get your name crossed off by the polling official (and put the paper in a ballot box so the polling officials can balance that night!) TfM - There are a number of people here that can remember your statements claiming you haven't voted. Sorry the Abbott style backflip won't work. Go back to the Gutter.

Ad astra

20/08/2012LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

jaycee

20/08/2012Could it be true that Peta Credlin is liasing w/news corp' to give timing and direction for the best results for attacking the govt'?

Tom of Melbourne

20/08/20122353 – “[i] There are a number of people here that can remember your statements claiming you haven't voted.[/i] You’re lying, I’ve never made the claim that I haven’t voted and I have always explained my rational for voting informal (ALP & Liberals equal, down the list as far as possible) So cut the crap, post a link to prove your assertion or retract it, or put up with being called dishonest. ------------------------------ Jane, stop verballing people. I’ve always said that Thomson is a sleaze and “has a case to answer” and doesn’t being in parliament. I’ve never advocated his arrest or gaoling, or extradition. Kathy Jackson isn’t in parliament and regardless of all the mud and inventions that Wicks and his mates throw around, it remains a matter for FWA and the HSU. If she stands for parliament, she’ll deserve all the scrutiny anyone wishes to provide. The individual who leaked the information to Assange has been in gaol without charge for 2½ years, and all you seek to do is score points by trying to compare this with a sleazy former union official, now ALP MP. Assange has already offered to co-operate with the investigation, he stayed in Sweden for 6 weeks – until investigators told him he could leave. Trying to draw our parallel is disgraceful.

2353

20/08/2012It seems that NewsCorp is on a "Carbon Tax" crusade today. A lot of "stories" with small business owners that "can't afford" to pass on the cost. What isn't said (and it seems that comments are not welcome) is that the actual increase per item is only a couple of cents - despite the scary $10,000 increases in power bills per quarter. Obvioulsy the Gillard/Slater & Gordon slime didn't work as intended so its back to flog the "Carbon Tax" again. TfM - you have had plenty of opportunity to correct any impression prior to yesterday that you haven't voted. You didn't. Therefore why claim differently only when your illegal activity completely ruins your (or rather the LNP's current meme) claim that Gillard received money inapporpriately 17 years ago despite the production of evidence she didn't? Go back to the Gutter.

TalkTurkey

20/08/2012Australian Labor‏@AustralianLabor Today is your last chance to have a say in our first ever national survey of members and supporters: http://www.alp.org.au/survey2012/ #auslabor Expand Reply Retweet Like

Cuppa

20/08/2012I've seen the troll over a number of years pushing Liberal/Costello/anti-union talking points. To deny they're a Liberal reinforces how casually RWFs treat the truth.

Lyn

20/08/2012Good Morning Ad & Everybody Ad Alan Kohler's article is quite interesting about The Coalition promising to halt the NBN . If you can't get the link to work tell me and I will post the whole article for you. Twitterverse Internal inquiry cleared PM, law firm reveals, Michelle Grattan http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/unions-call-for-50-dole-boost-20120819-24gix.html Anne Summers‏@SummersAnne Where is the Australians retraction & apology? Sandy‏@ThumpersAunt @PeterOnselen will your program issue an apology to the PM @JuliaGillard - what happened yesterday is why so many despair over Oz MSM John Hanna‏@John_Hanna Poor #NewsLTD. Digs up a 17 year old story & looses the plot in 24 hours. #HeartOfTheNationIndeed Australian Politics‏@aus_politics 'No contradiction' on Gillard information: JULIA Gillard's old law firm says a 1995 probe into work she had done... http://bit.ly/PIdygo Jack Sumner‏@preciouspress Slush fund claims raise fresh leadership tension http://bit.ly/NduJRk The Tele makes the case its for INDEPENDENT Media Regulation. Old ghost is Gillard’s recurring nightmare, Jennifer Hewett, AFR After another embarrassing diversion, a bad poll tomorrow could even see a leadership move, for all its messiness and unpredictability. Better polling numbers should stave that off, but it’s obvious to her supporters as well as her opponents that leadership tension has ratcheted up again. “Kevin Rudd doesn’t have the numbers to push her out, but that doesn’t mean she can’t blow herself up,” one MP says. http://afr.com/p/opinion/old_ghost_is_gillard_recurring_nightmare_2rlHoGszu4xFAf9rt5ZAHK timdunlop‏@timdunlop I thought it was the flood levy that was going to be the end of her, Neil. http://bit.ly/NzvjdB Katharine Murphy‏@murpharoo Good morning, here's #thepulse folks. Come and join us http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/blogs/the-pulse/politics-live-august-20-2012-20120820-24h5e.html via @NationalTimesAU Phillip Coorey‏ Politics NT style: Blind rage at NT Liberals' 'jerk-off' advert http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-diary/blind-rage-at-nt-liberals-jerkoff-advert-20120820-24h66.html via @smh Dafid‏ self admitted LIAR @TonyAbbott accuses Prime Minister of writing cheques for schools that will bounce http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/breaking-news/pm-writing-bouncy-school-cheques-abbott/story-e6frea7l-1226453915218 The Coalition’s NBN policy is madness Alan Kohler, Business Spectator Sometime between now and the election the Coalition will need to dump its plan to stop the NBN rollout and replace it with a fibre to the node network. To implement that policy the new Communications Minister, presumably Malcolm Turnbull, would have to negotiate a new deal with Telstra to buy or lease its copper wires. Imagine trying to negotiate that deal having made an unbreakable election promise that you would. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/NBN-coalition-turnbull-pd20120820-XBSQE?OpenDocument&emcontent_Kohler

DMW

20/08/2012Stephen Fry is an intiguing fellow and through his humour he often brings home some telling truths. In an article @ The Gaurdian David Smith takes us through some of Fry's dilemmas around the UK's [i]The Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill[/i] http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jun/05/religion.hayfestival2005 Fry was taking part in an episode of the BBC's [b]Who Do You Think You Are?[/b] when he made some gruesome and chilling discoveries. [i](Fry) told of his disgust after a quest to trace his Jewish ancestry ended with the discovery that his great-grandfather's grave had been desecrated by robbers.[/i] Spoiler Alert. The last paragraph strikes a chord. [i]'It's now very common to hear people say, "I'm rather offended by that", as if that gives them certain rights. It's no more than a whine. It has no meaning, it has no purpose, it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. "I'm offended by that." Well, so f***ing what?'[/i] As has been said before [i]... offence is more often taken than given.[/i] I wonder if some geek could build an app so that when we take offence Fry's quote and reminder of giving and taking pops up before we hit the send button.

jane

20/08/2012Nas' @6.15pm, hear! hear! And @6.20pm, that's outrageous! How do these people sleep at night? Stupid question, they sleep very well secure in the bigoted knowledge that God is a WASP and it's their God given right to keep them darkies in their place! jaycee @8.00am, wouldn't surprise me. The sooner the wizened foreigner and hos spawn are toppled from power the better. This latest campaign by the Liars and the Murdochracy smacks of desperation, imo. Strident braying for an election NOW will soon follow. Time is running out for them, I think. The msm could be sensing it and no doubt they are following the fortunes of the wizened foreigner closely. There could be the scent of blood in the water and they might be trying to distance themselves from him. ToM, Jackson was in a position of trust in charge of hefty sums of money that did not belong to her. For you to infer that any dishonesty in her handling of members money is of no account or not a criminal act because she's not in Parliament is double standards and complete bullshit writ large. Next thing you'll be saying that the executives of Enron, Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns and the other architects of the GFC were blameless because they weren't in Parliament. WRT sleaziness, how come you're not outraged about Mirabella, Liealot, Edwards and the tribe of other Liars Party MPs and senators facing action? Edwards has been accused of misleading and deceptive conduct to the tune of $400k+. Mirabella breached the Electoral Act for failing to declare $100k and use of a vehicle courtesy of Colin Howard. And then there's the matter of his estate worth in the region of $1m. Liealot is facing a defamation case and may have rorted his travel allowance to travel the country promoting his book. This stuff isn't gossip, lies or innuendo, it's cold hard fact, but we don't hear any sanctimonious outrage from you wrt Liars Party wrong doing. Why is that? Why are you not outraged that although 17 years ago Julia Gillard satisfied her then employers that she was not involved in any wrong doing, the Liars Party and their co-conspirators in the Murdochracy are pedaling a series of lies, innuendo and gossip as fact. And let's not overlook the inconvenient fact that Bruse Wilson has NEVER been charged with misappropriation of union funds. So put up or shut up. Where's your [b]evidence[/b] that either Gillard or Thomson has committed any crime? Liars Party lies, innuendo and gossip are not evidence of anything except malevolence, desperation and double standards, considering the number of Liars politicians in legal shit. They're all in Parliament, but there's a deafening lack of outrage from you about [b]their[/b] unfitness for public office and sleazy behaviour. Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. Oh look! it's Tom of Double Standardsville!

jane

20/08/2012TT, survey completed.

nasking

20/08/2012 Top links...thnx Lyn. That one about the NBN by Alan Kohler is certainly worth reading...the Coalition look ridiculous when it comes to their NBN policy...if you can call it that. ----- Well said jane: [quote]WRT sleaziness, how come you're not outraged about Mirabella, Liealot, Edwards and the tribe of other Liars Party MPs and senators facing action? Edwards has been accused of misleading and deceptive conduct to the tune of $400k+. Mirabella breached the Electoral Act for failing to declare $100k and use of a vehicle courtesy of Colin Howard. And then there's the matter of his estate worth in the region of $1m. Liealot is facing a defamation case and may have rorted his travel allowance to travel the country promoting his book. This stuff isn't gossip, lies or innuendo, it's cold hard fact, but we don't hear any sanctimonious outrage from you wrt Liars Party wrong doing. [/quote] Some are blind to the corruption and negatives of the Abbott Coalition...some prefer to turn a blind eye...the way Howard's govt did during the AWB scandal that saw Saddam Insane pocket nigh on 300 million Aussie dollars in bribes...some that may have been spent on weapons to kill our troops. Ahhh, but that's the Howard "Golden Age" that nasty Abbott refers to. N'

nasking

20/08/2012 TT, good one...I completed the Labor party survey too. Good stuff jane. N'

nasking

20/08/2012 BTW, Neil Mitchell sounded like a complete idiot when describing PM Gillard's interview on SLY NEWS. These corporate greedster shock jocks are the scourge of this country. They have managed to help keep this country back decades. They are crafty moneymakers working for the corporates pretending to work for the little guy and gal by doing the odd good deed...they are experts at convincing some voters to vote against their own interests. And they get paid handsomely for it. How they look in the mirror is beyond me...perhaps all these delusional greedsters see are Gods on a mountain? I see pathetic greedy characters with massive chips on their shoulders needing desperately attention, confrontation...and ways to vomit the internal poisons. A decade in Nth America during the 70s early 80s taught me enuff about the damage shock jocks, talkback hatemongers can do... I don't listen to them if I can help it. N'

nasking

20/08/2012 An informative read: [b]This is what the Right is expert at: smearing[/b] Bernard Keane @ Crikey.com [quote]What’s changed, though, is that whereas muckraking and smearing used to be more difficult when there was only a limited number of media outlets, now anyone can do it. The mainstream media still likes to distinguish itself from bloggers and social media. News Ltd’s stout defender Mark Day once declared that blogging had the intellectual value of graffiti on a toilet door. The Oz used an editorial on the Queensland floods in early 2011 to attack social media for spreading incorrect information. Apparently, however, new media has undergone a credibility rebirth in the eyes of Holt Street. Perhaps that’s why, last time we looked at how much trust Australians had in their media outlets, The Australian had fallen nine points and News Ltd newspapers were the least trusted metro titles. News Ltd ought to be careful. Eventually its trustworthiness will be down with commercial radio. Or, even worse, with the blogs that it now apparently trawls for material with which to attack the Prime Minister.[/quote] Indeed. N'

jane

20/08/2012Nas' @2.39pm, yeah, brimg on that fool's gold age! lol Couldn't agree more wrt shock jocks. A bunch of ignorant liars paid far too much for far too little.

jane

20/08/2012Perhaps bring it on. *blush*

Lyn

20/08/2012Hi Ad and Everybody I couldn't wait to get this Twitterati posted on Question time today. If you missed QT there is only one thing you need to know Tony Abbott got thrown out: Twitter went into immediate overdrive, these are the choice tweets:- George Naumovski‏@gn_corp Abbott ejected from the house in heated question time http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-ejected-from-the-house-in-heated-question-time-20120820-24hvw.html via @theage Boot him out of politics all together! Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been thrown out of question time by acting Speaker Anna Burke for refusing to withdraw unparliament The extraordinary move is believed to be the first time a leader of the opposition has been ejected from the parliament under section 94A. He was ordered to leave for an hour http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-ejected-from-the-house-in-heated-question-time-20120820-24hvw.html#ixzz243rxq6R2 Craig Emerson MP‏@CraigEmersonMP .@warrentrussmp Coalition leadership considers Abbott being ejected a badge of honour. Disrespectful of the Parliament AshGhebranious‏@AshGhebranious BREAKING! @TonyAbbottMHR breaks Australian record! Maybe first opposition leader to be kicked out of parliament #auspol #qthor Karen Middleton‏@KarenMMiddleton Abbott turfed out for interjecting despite Dep Spkr's warning, withdrawing when asked but then repeating interjection while withdrawing. AshGhebranious‏@AshGhebranious You could not help yourself - dep speaker to Abbott... so true # Nikos‏ “@geeksrulz: Well done Abbott. Probably first ever LOTO to be booted. #qt #auspol #history” Good to see LOTO & his #arsegate exiting Marian Rumens‏ It's very unusual to boot opposition leader. Must have really got under speaker's skin#qt Karen Middleton‏ Lordy. Acting Speaker Anna Burke has just tossed the Leader of the Opposition out of the chamber for an hour, for refusing to be quiet. Brigadier Slog‏@BrigadierSlog Abbott, Hockey and Pyne all kicked out of #qt. *cries* Oh happy day! Judge 'n Jury rocket‏@sprocket___ Abbott does not like women in positions of authority - just can't help himself. Rude, obnoxious, smartarse. #qt #auspol Truthiness Geek‏@geeksrulz ABBOTT GONE!!!! #qt Mark Travers‏@mark_travers Bye bye Tony, a great example to your team # Wonder Llama‏@SirWonderLlama ABBOTT GONE - BLAM #qt

jane

20/08/2012Alan Kohler makes sense wrt NBN, but there are still dingbats desperately telling us we don't need more speed or bandwidth, or that mobile wireless is far superior, except in an area here there is no reception. Or that nbn is already out of date; they know places where they use 2 horses to walk round in circles. Or the snivel about a cost-benefit analysis, as if this isn't public infrastructure. Or woe is us, it will cost $100bn, or as some wag put it $100 billion, squillion, gazillion! I wish these clowns would go back to their flint knapping and let us modern humans alone.

Ad astra

20/08/2012Hi Lyn I was watching QT when Abbott's expulsion occurred. He earned his ejection. When asked to withdraw an unparliamentary remark without qualification, he withdrew but proceeded with a qualification, and so was booted out. "You just can't help yourself' said the Deputy Speaker. And he can't. This is the man who wants to be PM. Nobody so far can remember if a LOTO has ever been ejected, so maybe Abbott has established a 'first' for such loutish and disrespectful LOTO behaviour in parliament. Every day the prospect of this person becoming PM becomes more and more horrifying. I'm working on the next piece, which I'll post tomorrow afternoon.

nasking

20/08/2012 Sadly I missed Abbott being kicked out. Won't bother with ABC Qld news because they rarely show anything critical of the Opposition. Perhaps 7:30? Recommendations? N'

KHTAGH

20/08/2012yehaaa The whinging win nut gets turfed out of parliament at long last. The speaker just couldn't take his crap any longer, she got just a little red faced as the same time too, pity they don't monitor Blood Pressure of the chair. Hummm that would be a good monitor to have up next to the clock behind the speaker wouldn't it. What is even funnier there was no poodle to start yapping at the chair "its just not fair deputy speaker, he is untouchable"

KHTAGH

20/08/2012Yes AA it was nice to see at long last wasn't it, Sorry. Note to self refresh before posting.

Michael

20/08/2012It's taken far too long for any of the current crop of Speakers and their deputies to eject Abbott from Parliament. It's been manifestly obvious that he was playing on the rarity of a party leader being turfed out, and was pushing Anna Burke well before Parliament resumed last week. I recall her frustration with his kindergarten sandpit tactics at testing the Speaker's tolerance of his position, and wondered why she did not turf him long ago. Perhaps, now a 'standard' has been set, he can more routinely be brought up to reasonable behaviour? No, I take back that previous sentence. Not a thought, phrase, or word, in it can accurately be used to describe the shenanigans of Shouldabeen, THE disgrace of Australian politics. (Here and when overseas.)

Lyn

20/08/2012Hi Nasking How is our good friend to day I see you are providing us with interesting reading thankyou. Here is a video of Mr Abbott being tossed out of QT today, he is not happpy. Quite plain he doesn't like women especially ones he has to obey, notice he didn't run out like before when he tried to avoid a vote. http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/blogs/the-pulse/politics-live-august-20-2012-20120820-24h5e.html

nasking

20/08/2012 Many thnx Lyn. Abbott acts like such a petulant child...he is not leader material. He also definitely has a problem with women...particulaly women in power. I should've know better but went to the ABC to watch and all I got was Lindal Curtis giving Julie Bishop an opportunity to play apologist for Abbott and then take pot shots at the PM. It was pathetic. They did not even show Abbott etc. being ejected from parliament. I have no time for the ABC these days. Nor any of the MSM on TV. The ALP made a huge mistake when they left Mark Scott and other Libs and Howard appointees in charge. N'

42 long

20/08/2012One step higher? on the level of disrespect shown for the procedures. If a 15 year old group of "windy day" schoolboys behaved like that you wouldn't be proud of them. Pyne poked his tongue out at Anna when he was despatched recently ( It is well photographed.) Wearing ejection as a badge of honour? Well after all the NP walking out on one previous occasion, anything is possible. I don't believe that the NP should have been let get away with that. Anna Burke has let them get away with far too much in the past, but today she might have made a stand. Better late than never. Lets see what the MSM make of it. They will find some way to reverse the onus of responsibility. Think you are right AD about abbott's dislike of women power Yhinl Menzies and Howard have been kicked out. Tony would think that he was amongst equals there. He should be known as "Destroyer Trasher Tony". Shows NO respect for anything. You're not paid to ride your bike around in parliamentary time Mate. Leaping LEO was the last person to be made notable for a bike, wasn't he? .

2353

20/08/2012Thanks for the link to Abbott getting the boot Lyn, I missed it in real time as well.

Ad astra

20/08/2012Folks I’ve been writing a piece for tomorrow and am just catching up with your comments, and Lyn’s Links, Twitterverse and Twitterati. Thank you all. TT, Patriciawa Thank you both for your kind comments; they are much appreciated. TT, with regard to aggregating past pieces into a whole, this already exists in digital form in the [i]TPS[/i] 'Archive', accessible from the top menu. There you will find pieces that go back to the beginning of [i]TPS[/i] in mid September 2008 in reverse chronological order. The pieces are aggregated under four categories, in alphabetical order: Coalition, Media, National Events, and Rudd/Gillard Government. All items are to be found under the latter, and lesser numbers under the others. Naturally there is considerable overlap across the categories. To find a particular piece, access ‘Archive’ to view the list of pieces, which are all linked to the original, or search, using the ‘Search’ field in the left panel, using a keyword. You can also include the comments in your search by ticking that box. You may not have noticed the search facility before as it was somewhat buried at the bottom of a cluster of LYN’S LINKS that we have now aggregated into LYN’S LINKS ARCHIVE. So what you are seeking is already there. I will consult with Web Monkey about how it could be presented with a foreword and look more like a ‘collected works’. Thank you for the suggestion.

Gravel

20/08/2012Lyn Thanks for reposting the link again, you are a gem. NormanK Thank you, I still can't get it to run, and I do have a blocker. I am using Firefox and don't know where to go to turn it off. I only seem to have this trouble on a few sites, most times they have an ad at the start and they work.

Lyn

20/08/2012Hi Ad & Everybody This is some information regarding the latest effort to bring Julia Gillard down: Paul Kelly & Peter Van Onselen should be ashamed of themselves. Larry Pickering - the conman stalking Gillard, Michael Pasco, SMH Business DAY. Aside from Slater and Gordon denying the allegation, there's a major problem with the latest instalment in the vitriolic anti-Gillard campaign being waged by Larry Pickering: it's being waged by Larry Pickering and therefore immediately lacks any credibility the best that can be said of hacks who promote his tawdry campaign might be that they are poorly researched and ignorant – or perhaps not wanting to look a colourful yarn in its source http://m.smh.com.au/business/larry-pickering--the-conman-stalking-gillard-20120820-24hxi.html Slaters backs Gillard’s ‘non-story’ lawyers Weekly In September 1995 Ms Gillard took a leave of absence from Slater & Gordon in order to campaign for the Senate,” said Grech, adding that these events occurred more than 17 years ago and that none of the individuals involved remain in the employment of Slaters. “Ms Gillard’s resignation from the firm became effective on 3 May 1996 when, Slater & Gordon understands, she commenced employment with the then Victorian Opposition leader as an advisor http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/news/slaters-backs-gillard%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98non-story%E2%80%99#.UDHJO8ouKv4. Statement from Andrew Grech, Managing Director Slater & Gordon, regarding the employment of Prime Minister Gillard In September 1995 Ms Gillard took a leave of absence from Slater & Gordon in order to campaign for the Senate. Ms Gillard’s resignation from the firm became effective on 3 May 1996 when, Slater & Gordon understands, she commenced employment with the then Victorian Opposition leader as an advisor. http://www.slatergordon.com.au/media/news-media-releases/vic-act-sa-tas-nt/Statement-regarding-the-employment-of-Prime-Minister-Gillard

jaycee

20/08/2012What does it say of the journo' hacks still backing "The Lunatic"? They now, after his latest dummy spit, have to be considered as "Trash Journo's".....suitable only for writing some sort of porno-spin for a "stick magazine".

Jason

20/08/2012ToM, The parliamentary privileges committee has cleared the scandal-plagued former Labor MP Craig Thomson over allegations of misleading parliament and failing to declare details of his finances on the pecuniary interests register." http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/no-grounds-to-pursue-thomson-committee-20120820-24i76.html

Jason

20/08/2012ToM, A small mystery is why the serial bankrupt with the millionaire's lifestyle has been trying so hard to bring down a Prime Minister over her poor choice of men two decades ago. http://www.smh.com.au/business/larry-pickering--the-conman-stalking-gillard-20120820-24hxi.html

Patriciawa

20/08/2012Truth Seeker, any progress on your Arsegate verses? I was thinking that rather than write more than a few brief notes linking my own effort to Tony Windsor's speech, it might be an idea to gather my own, TT's and your creations together in the one post at http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/ So far an appropriate illustration hasn't come to hand. I usually take that as a sign to hold off for the appropriate moment to post. It seems to work, so perhaps waiting for your masterpiece is right too. What do you think?

Lyn

20/08/2012Hi My dear Patricia Abbott under 94A Is this any good for you:- Anna told Abbott to get used it and start bringing a cut lunch, just had captions added by George Bludger:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/64041833@N04/7821882614/in/photostream

nasking

20/08/2012Lyn top links again. That article by Pascoe is scathing of Larry Pickering. Why are these conmen not in jail? I also saw an article by Phil Coorey...was pretty slack...the image of the PM was the typical "gotya" crap you'd expect from the hard Right. SHAME COOREY SHAME I used to think him balanced. N'

42 long

20/08/2012I did not watcg QT today but I listened to it in the train. Passsengers must have thought I had something wrong with me as snicker, laugh chuckle happened. It got up their noses today. Julia and Albo Garrett Combet. performing well. Bad losers. Tony and Co.Typical of many. Good at dishing it out especailly rubbing Julia's nose in it for hours a few days ago, but POOR at copping it. Isn't strange how they are nasty and many of their supporters are nasty too. Tony is a magnet for the horrible ones. Well there would have to be something wrong with your intellect if by now you don't have serious misgivings about him by now. Those who promote him are doing it out of pure self interest. They will be advantaged by Tony's horrendous new world. It's money and power for them. Some would put their grandmother on the street. Gillard should run with the line to tell people to buy green power and it's price will be unaffected by the carbon price and the percentage of that will increase as the price affects the market. Another line she could run is that Tony's alternative will cost a hell of a lot more because everyone says so and both sides of politics have the same long term targets. Isn't it an irony that the left side of politics is going for a market based answer and the free market types are using the gov't to pay the polluters and pick winners. WTF? Anyhow the world acccording to tony seems to be coming unstuck. It had to happen.

KHTAGH

20/08/2012Yes 42 long its the same old "privatise the profits & socialise the losses"

LadyInRed

20/08/2012Jane Agree on the Alan Kohler article. The amount of people who still think the NBN will be a waste is remarkable. Question on standing order 94a. If Tabbott got kicked out for an hour and he didn't do an hour because QT ended before he could does the residue carry over to the next day?

Patriciawa

20/08/2012Hi Lyn, George Bludger is great value, isn't he? Thanks for that, but that link isn't working. I can't seem to access his latest. Any other way to get to his site?

NormanK

20/08/2012LadyInRed As I understand it, the member is kicked out of the House for one hour; not kicked out of Question Time. A member can be kicked out under 94a at any time of day.

Bacchus

20/08/2012An excellent article on the savings to be had from the NBN into the future: [quote]The National Broadband Network (NBN) can shave up to AU$700 million per year off its telecommunications infrastructure maintenance costs once fibre replaces the copper network, according to analyst firm BIS Shrapnel.[/quote] http://www.zdnet.com/au/nbn-to-save-up-to-au700m-in-copper-maintenance-costs-7000002846/

LadyInRed

20/08/2012Thanks NormanK - hope he gets kicked out more often. I think he sets the tone of the debate and thats getting lower and lower.

TalkTurkey

20/08/2012Patricia, Yes I do forgive you . . . Nothing to forgive really now I understand it. But when I first read it, I thought WTF! I didn't know [i]what[/i] you meant, I know [i]who[/i] you meant now though. I thought for a first reading you were having a weird go at me somehow, maybe because of our sharp differences over Julian Assange. Blog's not a nuanced medium necessarily, or anyway it's easy to get things wrong. My own initials [i]are[/i] BB, but not my bro's, so I'm confused with Bushfire Bill a little (touches forelock) but never with my bro. But O the horror of having it thought that I could live with myself with a Liberal brother, urgh, it truly horrified me just the thought! It did make me very aware of just how loyal I am to Labor, by making me aware of how disgusting I find the notion of being closely related to someone on the Right. The person you thought was my brother, Bruce Bilson, ug, (I jump every time I hear his name), he's just another Abborttian when all's said and done, anyway I looked him up and I saw those words you quoted, Positive! Passionate! Persistent!* Yeah well words are cheap. If one is saying them of oneself anyway. But to have someone else say them of oneself, well that's nice, because it has to be earnt, and [i]not[/i] for [i]even that much[/i] reward. Thank you very much. It's my pleasure. And my bro really has been worthy of those fine words too, and I do mean, in Spades. I say again: [i]Shame he never made PM.[/i] Hat tip to other nice commenters re him. We are Labor!

Lyn

20/08/2012Hi Patricia George is emailing picture for you. Boy was that link mashed up, sorry about that. Must only work on Twitter I think.

TalkTurkey

20/08/2012Wanna know about my bro? Check Alan Ramsey! Here you go: http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/in-praise-of-certain-pms-past-and-present/2008/02/08/1202234162182.html You don't get writing like that any more! (Not on the MSM anyway) [i]I sorely miss Alan Ramsey![/i]

Tom of Melbourne

20/08/2012Jane – [i]’ Where's your evidence that either Gillard or Thomson has committed any crime? 
[/i] Just he helpful Jane, and point out where I’ve ever said either had committed a crime. I think you’re too inclined to indulge yourself with overblown rhetoric and exaggeration. I’ve always said Thomson “has a case to answer”, and (yes Jason) so far he’s seen off about 3 of the 180 findings against him. Gillard has a rich record of poor judgment and looseness with the truth. She’s hooked on reinterpretation of her own history, and it’s now catching up with her. I’ve always said Gillard- • Clouded her responsibilities to her client (the AWU) with her relationship with Wilson. • Was either incompetent or unethical by setting up the funds without proper authorisation from the AWU. • Was not “young & naïve” when she was a partner and in her mid 30s and a mature political operator. • Has ducked and weaved in her attempt to avoid dealing with this issue. It’s fine with me that she’s going to be pressured into properly dealing with her past. ----------------- …and I’m going to continue to call 2353 a liar until (s)he withdraws his statement that I’ve said I don’t vote. Making up stuff is poor form.

Truth Seeker

20/08/2012Patricia, Thank you for including me in your idea and am happy to contribute, although as I said there are not enough hours in the day at the moment and as a consequence I am still a way off posting. If you are happy to wait a few days, I will keep you updated on progress. I have been trying to find a link to the entire Thursday QT, as I need some more info for my loony left commentary of the event, which I have already started, so if you or anyone knows of a link I would appreciate it, otherwise I will have to make something up... Oh dear. BTW, I have enjoyed your short rhymes, and I mostly agree with you over the Assange situation. Cheers

jaycee

20/08/2012Get a gander at "Richo"..the dirty old wino!

NormanK

20/08/2012Hi Lyn We've had that problem with links before - especially to Twitpics and the like. If you copy the extra bits that are hanging off the end of the link as it appeared here (i.e. the bits that are not underlined) and add them to the address in your browser it should give you the desired destination. Part A: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64041833 Part B: @N04/7821882614/in/photostream Truth Seeker If you are looking for Tony Windsor's contribution you will find it here: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber%2Fhansardr%2Fa8785071-a01e-4d0b-bf4e-9e6ea9104940%2F0120;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2Fa8785071-a01e-4d0b-bf4e-9e6ea9104940%2F0000%22 If you are looking for other material from that day's sitting use the menu on the left to navigate.

Libbyx33

20/08/2012My question on the Q&A website (but never canvassed on the show)- "Graham Richardson: The Government has had a couple of big wins in the last week. Yet you are on tv & in print regularly speculating on her leadership credentials & Government stability. Doesn't this make you a turncoat & just another Murdoch-paid lackey?" Not appropriate? The man's become a back-stabbing reprobate imho. Pity - I used to like the man. Also, how many times did he reference "my show"? He IS just another Murdoch pig:-(

Libbyx33

20/08/2012P.S. Newspoll up for our Julia again - by 2 points, despite all the carbon tax BS. Coalition unchanged... Here we go. Lift off! lol :-)

Michael

20/08/2012Truth Seeker, hi. Thursday and every other day (in toto) for a long long time in the House of Reps can be found here: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard

Trevor

20/08/2012In the circle of people I mix with on a daily basis, most are not closely engaged with the political tussle. They reflexively tend identify themselves as liberal voters, I think because they believe that is what middle class professionals should be. Whenever politics is discussed you could almost hear the gasps when I out myself as supporting labor and believing Tony Abbottt to be nutter not deserving of high office. This week though I have noticed a difference, during one of these conversations I once again ventured the view that Tony Abbott would never be PM because he was to much of a flake and this trait could not be continuously glossed over. Somewhat surprisingly rather than the usual guffaws I found a number of these so called liberals agreeing with me. The conversation then turned to who would replace him, it seemed only then that they realised they could be in trouble. All agreed Joe Hockey was not the man nor Morrison And the only credible alternative was Turnbull but the party would not go back to him. While this is a isolated experience, I would not be surprised if similar dawnings are not becoming widespread amongst people who identify as liberals but do not closely follow politics. They have engaged enough over the last few weeks to see their leader for what he is and don't like what they see. Standby for News Ltd to lead the charge in another massive distraction campaign. Anything to stop people paying attention to policy issues that actually affect them.

jane

21/08/2012AA @4.09pm, I heartily concur. The thought of that lying oaf strutting on the national stage, let alone the international stage is enough to make you reach for the smelling salts and a very stiff brandy. TT @9.21pm, I figured it out after your comment to Patricia. A great man and a credit to Labor and its values. I understand your horror at the thought of any sort of relationship to Bruce Billson. Jason @6.08pm, that'll disappoint some people. Brandis is probably in his crypt trying to trump up some other pack of lies to hawk around the Murdochracy. [quote}Gillard has a rich record of poor judgment and looseness with the truth. She’s hooked on reinterpretation of her own history, and it’s now catching up with her[/quote] There you go again ToM, spewing forth Liars party bullshit. What evidence apart from Liars Party tosh and Rupert's lies do you have to support anything you have written. The PM has dealt with the issue any number of times. S&G have supported her account (see Lyn's links @5.42pm) and the AWU doesn't support your fairy tale. Once more you attempt to smear Julia Gillard with rubbish straight from the Liars Party handbook. You should acquaint yourself with the facts from reputable sources, rather that get them from Menzies House. Don't bother with the old carbon tax lie, lie. Trevor @11.23pm, it's funny how so many people give so little thought as to what party best serves their and the country's interests. Middle class people voting Liberal is a knee jerk reaction. Snobbery is at the bottom of it, I think. So it must be a pleasant surprise that the scales have fallen from some of your co-workers eyes. I'm sure there will be more desperate attempts by Ltd News to distract people's attention from the stark policy differences between Labor and the Liars Party. But as your co-workers are realising, not only does the Liars Party not have any policies, but it is almost exclusively stocked with hand picked buffoons.

paul walter

21/08/2012On a day when the opposition leader and some of his colleagues were pitched out of parliament for unparliamentary behaviour and when it transposes that the death toll at the South African platinum mine massacre is higher than the one mentioned in the papers, it is indeed appropriate to mention the suffering that occurs with the eyes of any afficianado of the internet and to commend the salutation offered by adastra. Lyn, the sore itchy and bloodshot eyes of the readership, themselves no strangers to electronically derived grief, bulge forth in unconditional admiration and gratitude. Actually, I mean it. With the failure of traditional media and press, people are increasing forced to seek relevant news of the world and its affairs online. And when someone goes to the trouble Lyn goes to, out a sense of responsibility and respect for her readership, how can readers do other than express their gratitude.

Truth Seeker

21/08/2012NormanK and Michael, thank you so much for the links, a great help, proving yet again what a great resource TPS and its Swordsters really are. Cheers Trevor and Jane in relation to your comments, I have found similar things in my discussions with LNP voters, which prompted me to write a poem a couple of weeks ago on "The aspirational voter" I usually try to post poems that are in some way relevant to the discussion, so with that and your previous comments, here it is..... The aspirational voter. The aspirational voter…. is a funny little thing It dreams of eating caviar and wearing lots of bling Drinking aspirational beer from a glass like a champagne flute While using old newspapers to block holes in his worn out boot And residing in a single bedroom, ground floor flat While looking at the penthouse, saying one day I’ll have that Working late, flipping burgers at the local drive through While looking down his nose at the likes of me and you With no great skills or intellect and not much else within He’ll still extol the virtues of the right wing spin As he drives home in his rusted out Hyundai Excel While ignoring all the rattles and the take away smell And dreaming of an Audi from the front seat of his car With the VOTE 1 LNP sticker covering rust on it’s bumper bar And he goes to all the meetings of the local LNP And he’ll hand out how to vote cards just to prove his loyalty When elections roll around and the local booths need manning In the wind and rain or sweltering heat his future he’ll be planning And they’ll thank him for his efforts and they’ll shake his calloused hand And invite him to their BBQ to reward him for his stand Then it’s back to flipping burgers for another working day And his dream of becoming manager to escape his minimum pay But as the years slip slowly by and his job remains the same And he sees new candidates come and go, his aspirations wain And after years of faithful service to his local LNP mob His small business owner boss decides he’s no longer got a job So he drives his old excel to his local Centrelink Where he fills out heaps of forms, then he goes home for a drink But the fridge is nearly empty and the cupboards are all bare And his aspirational attitude quickly turns into despair So after days of racking brains, he thinks “I’ll call me LNP mate” The one who just got nominated as the local candidate So he rings him up and asks him “could you help me find some work?” But his so called mate from the LNP turns out to be a jerk So he looks around and finally finds a job in a factory And he stays there till retirement, and he’s still in the LNP So he never gets his penthouse, and his excell’s long since dead And the cuts made by his right wing mates means he’s barely even fed And when the winters chill sets in, his heater just stays off So he wraps himself in blankets to avoid the winters cough But pneumonia proves his great demise and from his dying bed He looks back with regret upon the wasted life he’s led His so called mates left long before when he ceased to be of worth And he realised poverty like prosperity was an accident of birth And his life of aspiration was a life of lost endeavour As he helped fulfil other peoples dreams while his own were lost forever And the message on his gravestone reads “To the LNP be true If you are rich or ruthless,….. otherwise it’s really not for you Cos they’ll use you up and spit you out, and move on to the next While you lay there on your dying bed, feeling lonely and perplexed So think long and hard you aspirational lot, before you join their ranks, As a handshake and a BBQ will be your only thanks. And a life of service to the LNP, just isn’t worth a kipper For there are no real friends in the radical right, just ask… Peter Slipper.” Cheers :lol:

Lyn

21/08/2012Today’s Links The Coalition’s NBN policy is madness, Alan Kohler, Business Spectator Turnbull and his public service negotiators would be greeted by the frightening sight of broad, happy smiles on the other side of the table, as David Thodey and Team Telstra gleefully prepared to screw them. An expensive, drawn out debacle would ensue.Replacing the NBN with a FTTN network would mean tearing up the existing $11 billion deal between NBN Co and Telstra http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/NBN-coalition-turnbull-pd20120820-XBSQE?opendocument&src=rss Alan Kohler’s NBN , Malcolm Turnbull Alan Kohler’s column today “The Coalition’s NBN policy is madness” is pure fantasy. He says that by the time of the next election the NBN will have “about a million” connected to its fibre to the premises networ http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/blogs/malcolms-blog/alan-kohlers-nbn-fantasy/ Open Letter to Tony Abbott, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery You make iron clad, rock solid guarantee after guarantee and you can tell you only said that because you could not help yourself. Whether it’s ‘Dead, buried, cremated’ or ‘Stop the boats’ or even ‘Stop the smokes’, you really just can not help yourself. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/open-letter-to-tony-abbott/ It’s bottom of the barrel time, Massive Spray, Spray of the Day So what rabbit do they pull out of a hat? Nothing less than a 15 year old corruption slur against the PM, which was disproved at the time and has done so every time they wheeled it out for another airing. Of course, the talking heads are treating this like earth shattering new revelations http://sprayoftheday.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/its-bottom-of-the-barrel-time/ Electioneering, Peter Wicks, Wixxy Leaks Speaking of due process and failure, Kathy Jackson was due to appear in Federal Court ,again last Tuesday. In a show of how much respect she has for both due process, and the legal system, she didn’t bother showing up. http://wixxy.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/electioneering/ Turnbull rejects Kohler’s “pure fantasy” NBN analysis, Michael Wyers Mr Turnbull has not yet disclosed key aspects of the Coalition’s rival NBN policy, and refuses to answer core questions about how it would function in the real world. This is objective truth. It is this fact which is behind much of the underlying tension in Kohler’s article. If Turnbull came clean on the Coalition’s policy, http://michaelwyres.com/newsdesk/article.php?hash=67dbebcd32ea382a9454471ac2fe0bff Wake up, Australia! You’re being brainwashed by the right, Denis Allen, Independent Australia Abbott et al including their cheer squads MSM and shock jocks have consistently many times a day, every single day for the past two years called the PM a “liar”, that she “lied to the people of Australia” — and, in doing so, have effectively brainwashed thousands in the public into believing it http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/politics/wake-up-australia-youre-being-brainwashed-by-right/ Howard’s Golden Age, The Piping Shrike The over-turning of the orthodoxies of the Howard period during 2008-2009 has been forgotten as much as the reason for the popularity for the man who brought them about. The agendas of the major parties, and its acceptance by the media, that remains in their thrall, has turned back to the orthodoxies of the Howard period because it gives them the best way to understand their predicament now. http://www.pipingshrike.com/2012/08/howards-golden-age.html Gibbons calls for more truthiness in media reporting by threat of fines, Margaret Gees, Media Round “So when a media outlet, journalist, or red-necked shock jock deliberately broadcasts or publishes a statement that they know is factually wrong, and it is subsequently proven that they knew it was factually wrong, they ought to be subject to an appropriate penalty.” http://mediaround.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/gibbons-calls-for-more-truthiness-in-media-reporting-by-threat-of-fines/ Plain packs- The new lines of attack. Big tobacco tries the WTO and TPPA, Peter Martin The World Trade Organisation has revealed that within hours of Australia’s victory in the High Court Wednesday the former Soviet republic of Ukraine upgraded to formal a complaint against Australia’s law and demanded the establishment of a disputes panel. http://www.petermartin.com.au/2012/08/plain-packs-new-lines-of-attack-cancer.html This is what the Right is expert at: smearing, Bernard Kean, Crikey dirty money or being sacked by a law firm: that of upsetting a journalist. And not just any journalist, but a senior journalist, a doyen of the gallery, Paul Kelly. “One of the nation’s most credible political commentators,” thundered The Australian Financial Review. Gillard had “sealed her own fate” thought Neil Mitchell, when she “personally attacked one of the most respected and experienced political journalists”. http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/08/20/this-is-what-the-right-is-expert-at-smearing/ Jackson, Robertson and class of ’04 remembered in print, Andrew Cook, Crikey But Jackson, who had failed in her bid for an upper house seat of Silvan eight years earlier, and would jostle for preselection in Northcote two years later, leaves the door ajar: “If we’re able to represent our members and have been successful union officials, then if a choice at some point is Parliament, it’s a choice that has http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/08/20/jackson-robertson-and-class-of-94-remembered-in-print/ Abbott promises a return to the golden years (of debt) Macro Business If the Coalition has nothing better to offer Australia’s macro settings than a return to the unsustainable Howard/Costello model then the next few years are going to very interesting indeed. And not in a good way http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2012/08/abbott-promises-a-return-to-the-golden-years Carbon tax not sole power price villain: Abbott, Australian Financial Review But in a shift of his policy position, the Opposition Leader conceded that: “It’s true that the carbon tax is not the only factor in the dramatic rise in power prices but the carbon tax is making a bad situation far, far, far worse”Mr Abbott has previously described claims the “gold-plating” of electricity infrastructure has forced up power prices as a “fabrication”, http://www.afr.com/p/national/carbon_tax_not_sole_power_price_0FAtsK3ooeGzlxd6TmDglK HSU elections due in September, Australian Financial Review Mr Moore said anyone thinking of being a candidate or “simply being actively involved in the political process” would need to carefully consider the new rules.The union has been the subject of fierce factional rivalry for many years http://afr.com/p/national/hsu_elections_due_in_september_iSbfP16hE0mr9L9ogBMl2L Mungo MacCallum: Eat My Words, 891ABC Adelaide Mungo MacCallum has been covering politics in Australia for the best part of half a century Mungo might have lunched with lobbyists and dined with drug taking rock stars but these days he’s fed up with http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2012/08/mungo-maccallum-eat-my-words.html Tony Abbott is kicked out of Federal Parliament, You Tube People may remember that in August, 2010, Tony Abbott stated the following:- It's important that we make it absolutely crystal clear that the Parliament is a place for debate, not for mindless political point-scoring. The Parliament is a place for members to be able to ask reasonable questions and get reasonable answers. And yes, I am totally committed to this." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqcWScOQHgs&feature=em-uploademail Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 21 August 2012 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

TalkTurkey

21/08/2012"Legitimate rape" . . . yeah like consensual murder . . . humane torture . . . Caring Abborttians . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Truth Seeker You are SERIOUS competition for Patricia and TT ! [i]The Aspirational Voter[/i] is very dam good indeed. Yum Yum Pig's Bum! We gonna sink their filthy scum! Don't it feel good to bore it up 'em, in verse it feels like we REALLY get 'em where it hurts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rhyming Slang GHunt absolutely gobsmacked at being a little bit pursued by Michael Rowlands . . . who has just started grudgingly saying . . . "The carbon tax. . . The price on carbon, whatever you want to call it . . . " Seems to me the ABC is becoming increasingly querulous about, "er, er, What if WE [i]lose[/i] the Election after all?" Abbortt is gangrenous, he's had it, people despise him. Credlin is now distancing herself from him, nobody believes him at all, and though the ABC is VERY careful always to say today that Abbortt and *J*U*L*I*A* are equally unpopular, it doesn't say ANYTHING about how unloved and unbelieved he is by those that still support him, while those that support *J*U*L*I*A* love and respect her, and their love and respect grows with every day, Abbortt's losing every day.

Ad astra

21/08/2012LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

TalkTurkey

21/08/2012Good Morning Lyn! Good Morning Ad! Woo-Hoo! Winning! Aren't you glad! :)

Trevor

21/08/2012Q&A last night was instructive of how the world is viewed by the News ltd troops. We had the bizarre assertion that the Prime Minister of the country had lost her senses because she did not treat their "doyen" with reverential respect. Never mind that day in day out News Ltd will label the PM with any derogatory mysoginist term they can reach for and this so called doyen had just attempted to launch a smear that he could not even frame into any sort of alleged wrong doing. But for the Prime Minister to question HIS motives, well that shows disrespect and poor judgment that proves she should not be PM. Well in Richo's world anyway. What a strange world, our elected Prime Minister can be trashed but the News Ltd reporters are untouchable.

jaycee

21/08/2012Amazing the dexterity and multiskilling now of the MSM.journos'..First Paul Kelly (the esteemed veteran...)now his namesake Fran Kelly(the esteemed vocalan...)trying their hand at archaeology! Dig, dig, dig.."Look, look!..we've found some bones that are in the public interest....Has anybody got something we can level at Julia Gillard in the public interest?...What about you News Limited journalists digging over there?...YOU HAVE!..wonderful, give it to us and I'll ask Mark Scott if I can broadcast it!!

TalkTurkey

21/08/2012jaycee Well I think you're pretty cynical. Not enough, but you're getting there! This fat self-satisfied slimeball Sicko Richardson, surely amongst the most horrifying of Labor turncoats! I will never forgive him for what he said last night, I will spit on my hand surreptitiously before ever shaking his hand. What is the matter with these embittered ungrateful beneficiaries of years of Labor decency to them? Oh and there's even Germaine (by name not by nature) Greer! There's some kind of illness setting in to the world . . .

jaycee

21/08/2012I raise the archaeology analogy in reference to a cartoon by that sublime cartoonist; Michael Leunig, where he has his little man in an obvious archaeological setting admiring a just unearthed vase..behind him is a mullock heap with the broken outline of a thermos..the caption reads : "How does it benefit a man, when, by unearthing an ancient Greek vase, he buries his thermos flask?" I ask in all seriousness : "How does it benefit a journalist, who, by digging up a dead story, they "bury" so many "living" stories?

Tom of Melbourne

21/08/2012[i]” The PM has dealt with the issue any number of times.[/i] The problem for Gillard and her apologists is that this statement just isn’t true, she hasn’t. She obfuscates. Did Gillard leave Slater & Gordon because of incompetence? Did she allow the personal and dishonest interests of her boyfriend interfere with her actual duty to her client, the AWU? Did she bill the AWU while working on the personal interests of her boyfriend? These types of questions go to her character. The “young and naïve” excuse doesn’t wash. She was a partner with Slater & Gordon, She was in her mid-30s, she was a mature political operator. She is being disingenuous when she says she was “young & naïve”. Gillard deserves this scrutiny, and the reason it is still around after all this time is because she has never addressed the specific questions concerning her actions, which illuminates her character.

jaycee

21/08/2012ToM..with due respect to "your condition" and a seemingly lack of capacity to read AND absorb the remittigating letters from the Prime Ministers old employers, I have to ask ; "Are you in some sort of endless loop of self-satisfying fellatiating commentry?"

2353

21/08/2012Mr no legitmacy is still peddling the crap from a bankrupted conman. The only ones that believe you are the hacks that write in the Australian. Read the Slater & Gordon press release - Gillard went on leave of absence to contest a senate seat some months after this event (which I'll remind you again, the firm of lawyers she worked for found there was no case to answer), then she left the firm to work for the Victorian ALP. Lets compare this with Abbott, Mirabella, Edwards and Fisher. So your point is exactly? Go back to the Gutter.

nasking

21/08/2012 So, Abbott thinks funding public schools is an "injustice" eh? He was the same way with public health as a minister taking a billion dollars out of it. His dislike for funding public essential services is a pattern of behaviour. He has shown his true colours. N'

nasking

21/08/2012 It's about time the Gillard govt declawed the sleazy character assassination bureau Murdoch's News Ltd. They've screwed with our democracy long enuff. Richo should be ashamed of himself for playing the role of Murdoch lackey, just like Paul Kelly, you could see the rot of guilt in his face last nite. Murdoch is like an evil virus...once he gets into you... N'

nasking

21/08/2012 [quote]This week though I have noticed a difference, during one of these conversations I once again ventured the view that Tony Abbott would never be PM because he was to much of a flake and this trait could not be continuously glossed over.  Somewhat surprisingly rather than the usual guffaws I found a number of these so called liberals agreeing with me. The conversation then turned to who would replace him, it seemed only then that they realised they could be in trouble. All agreed Joe Hockey was not the man nor Morrison And the only credible alternative was Turnbull but the party would not go back to him. [/quote] Trevor, the nurse who gave me the blood test this morning was scathing of Abbott...and QLD's "that fella Mr. Can Do" as she referred to him. I hope Abbott remains leader...he's going to lead the Coalition into a disaster zone...as will that old fool Murdoch. THE COMEBACK IS ON Long way to go...but we can see the light. N'

Lyn

21/08/2012Good Morning Ad & Everybody Thankyou Talk Turkey for your smiling happy post @ 8.08am , your words always put a smile on my face. Good Morning Lyn! Good Morning Ad! Woo-Hoo! Winning! Aren't you glad! Twitterverse for you:- Bushfire Bill Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 7:09 am There was some internal frisson and she left. It wouldn’t be the first time this has ever happened. She went on to become first a political advisor, then an MP, then a Minister and ultimately Prime Minister. Sounds like a good career move to me http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/08/20/newspoll-53-47-to-coalition-4/comment-page-5/#comment-1384497 Peter van Onselen‏@vanOnselenP He knows his audience... RT @mumbletwits: Commenters on Bolt's blog see a Newspoll-Labor conspiracy. http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/newspoll_surprise_lift_fit_labor/ HSU's whistleblower at the centre of the Craig Thomson scandal named in complaint , Simon Benson THE whistleblower at the centre of the Craig Thomson union scandal has been referred to police in an official complaint over mysterious payments that included wages paid to the sons of her partner, a Fair Work Australia official http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/hsus-whistleblower-at-the-centre-of-the-craig-thomson-scandal-named-in-complaint/story-e6freuy9-1226454456943 Alan Kohler‏@AlanKohler Kohler Sorry Malcolm, it's still crazy Worse, the money saved – Turnbull estimates $20 billion – can’t be spent elsewhere or used to bring down taxes, because it is capital expenditure, not operating expenditure Also, the new minister would have to sack the entire senior management of the NBN Co and hire a whole new team because Mike Quigley and the rest of them all believe passionately in fibre to the premises. And he would have to tell all the service providers that have been gearing up to FTTP, including Telstra, that – terribly sorry – you have to change all your planning to FTTN now. Very messy, it seems to me. Lots of pain, little gain. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Turnbull-Coalition-NBN-Co-broadband-Telstra-pd20120821-XCSPS?OpenDocument&src=sph 'No grounds' to pursue Thomson: committee, Jessica Wright the committee — which holds unrivalled powers to discipline MPs for breaches of parliamentary rules — had deemed there ''were no grounds for further investigation'' into Mr Thomson and Mr Kelly over the alleged failure of declarations http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/no-grounds-to-pursue-thomson-committee-20120820-24i76.html Abbott ejected from the house in unruly question time, Jessica Wright http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-ejected-from-the-house-in-unruly-question-time-20120820-24hvw.html#ixzz247j32ImT MP wants journalists fined for mistakes, Channel 7 Federal Labor backbencher Steve Gibbons has called for fines for journalists who publish misleading or incorrect stories. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/14602427/mp-wants-journalists-fined-for-mistakes/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Werner & Ursula‏@Wersula Right on!RT“@kjob85: Good work by Latham: Lunar right crusades against Gillard Not surprisingly, the anti-Labor newspaper The Australian has given succour to Smith and Pickering, deploying a so-called investigative reporter to pursue the Prime Minister. So far his efforts have not taken the story any further than when the matter was first raised by the Liberal Party in the Victorian Parliament 17 years ago. The fact that, as a young man, Tony Abbott was charged with damaging public property and faced sexual assault allegations is of no concern to the Murdoch flagship. Its interest in reviewing old legal documents, in sweeping away the dust on yellowing affidavits, is restricted to the pursuit of Labor leaders http://www.afr.com/p/opinion/lunar_right_crusades_against_gillard_qMiZPwon3XmunIsgVboHyM” School blue sees Abbott scramble, Phillip Coorey, Jewel Topsfield, Bianca Hall Labor strategists believe Mr Abbott becomes accident prone under pressure and were buoyed yesterday when he became the first opposition leader since John Howard, 26 years ago, to be thrown out of Parliament. It is believed today's Newspoll would show Labor's primary vote is holding up after a five-point surge a fortnight ago. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/school-blue-sees-abbott-scramble-20120820-24irj.html#ixzz248Fxoi6b Australian News‏@LatestAusNews Newspoll still catastrophic for ALP: Libs (AAP): Voter support for the Gillard government conti... http://yhoo.it/PP6P4f #ausnews #uavaus Australian News‏@LatestAusNews Swan accuses Coalition of muckraking over Gillard's past (ABC): Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan ha... http://yhoo.it/Qjsz2F #ausnews Lawyers from union case 17 years ago say no Gillard link, Philllip Coorey http://www.smh.com.au/national/lawyers-from-union-case-17-years-ago-say-no-gillard-link-20120820-24ioi.html#ixzz247iWHy4M Jeremy de Korte‏@jdk_music This is pleasing to see. #carbontax #auspol #climate #agw http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-21/climate-change-report/4211572

LadyInRed

21/08/2012So another poll bounce for all the poll junkies. Swan sticking to the well trodden mantra of not taking too much notice of polls and proving it by sticking with the PM through thick and thin - sensible and logical. Barnaby Joyce this morning giving credence to the polls by saying the bounce is because the adopted Coalition policy....silly fool if you give credence then you have to accept that the electorate really don't like TAbbott. I also note how MSM just ignore the Greens vote. Two party preferred v(Greens 11 + Labor 35) = 46%.......Libs 45%....sounds ominous. And Independents? ......its no wonder that polls this far out are just silly. Go Julia! She is one heck of a leader, full of grace and dignity. TAbbott looking increasingly unelectable.

nasking

21/08/2012 Greg Hunt hasn't an ounce of integrity...Abbott has completely ruined him. Abbott has the career ruining touch. Hunt should really lose his seat. He's a disgrace. Nothing but BS, bluster and exaggerations. I respected him once. Not anymore. N'

LadyInRed

21/08/2012Lyn Fantastic links - but this is priceless absolutely priceless [i] "It's important that we make it absolutely crystal clear that the Parliament is a place for debate, not for mindless political point-scoring. The Parliament is a place for members to be able to ask reasonable questions and get reasonable answers. And yes, I am totally committed to this." [/i]

paul walter

21/08/2012I never get past ToM's vindictiveness. You really are part of the big smear campaign that keeps tripping over its own shoelaces, aren't you? Jacksonville, educational class warfare, boorishness in parliament, Slipper, the Carbon tax scare...the list goes on and on. Yet still you find no world of rebuke for Abbott but concentrate exclusively on Gillard. What drives a spiteful individual like you?

Jason

21/08/2012ToM, Still pedaling your lies,if it isn't Thomson now it's the PM and so it goes. Says more about your character than it does anyone else's! Were you the child Abbott gave up for adoption?

nasking

21/08/2012 [quote]Obama On Romney Welfare Accusations: 'You Can't Just Make Stuff Up'[/quote] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/obama-romney-welfare-reform_n_1812171.html Republicans continue to make sh@t up...like they did with WMDs in Iraq. It's a pattern of behaviour. N'

nasking

21/08/2012 Present day Republicans are a disaster zone. The Murdoch, Rove, Tea Party, Palin and Limbaugh influence has turned them into a bunch of greedy losers and wackos. [b]Republican under pressure over rape comments[/b] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-21/us-republican-candidate-under-pressure-over-rape-comments/4211578 And to think Abbott's Coalition are taking ideas from this lot of dickheads. N'

Lyn

21/08/2012Hi NormanK& Paul Walter Paul thankyou for your appreciation words you've made me happy reading them. Norman K your very helpful advice regarding the rogue link I posted for Patricia will serve me in good stead for future occurances. Thankyou very much Mr Valuable TPS Tech head. Lady in Red the excerpt you quoted provided me with some hilarity, merriment I had a great time copying it. A couple of compliments for our Government: National Times‏ Al Gore praises inspirational Australia http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/al-gore-praises-inspirational-australia-20120821-24jh8.html The Gillard government’s carbon price has already ‘‘inspired the world’’ to press ahead with measures to tackle climate change, former US Vice President Al Gore says. Justin Barbour‏ Labor continues its #newspoll climb following the introduction of the #carbontax. http://bit.ly/QjJjHf #auspol :):):)

Tom of Melbourne

21/08/2012Nasking said- [i]” It's about time the Gillard govt declawed the sleazy character assassination bureau Murdoch's News Ltd.”[/i] I’d like Nasking to [b]specifically[/b] state which part of the current reporting about Gillard isn’t factual, or exactly which part of the story shouldn’t be told. Come on Nasking, Stop with the lazy generalisations, it’s time to be specific about your criticism of this reporting.

Patriciawa

21/08/2012I think TT has nailed it in this para [quote]Abbortt is gangrenous, he's had it, people despise him. Credlin is now distancing herself from him, nobody believes him at all, and though the ABC is VERY careful always to say today that Abbortt and *J*U*L*I*A* are equally unpopular, it doesn't say ANYTHING about how unloved and unbelieved he is by those that still support him, while those that support *J*U*L*I*A* love and respect her, and their love and respect grows with every day, Abbortt's losing every day. [/quote] Tony Abbott has no integrity and no credibility in the country at large and also amongst those on his own side still capable of wanting good leadership and some self respect. Others still willing to follow him will abandon him when it's obvious he is unelectable. Whereas Julia Gillard has character and integrity which is recognised by people looking for good government and not driven purely by self interest. Amongst her team and those who know her well she is held in a respect and affection which doesn't depend on opinion polls. She has sound political judgement too and I trust her to make the best decision for us all about leadership and the next election. Interesting response from the Q&A audience to Richardson [i]et al[/i] on the scandal probe. One of their rare bursts of applause was for the buxom blonde who said she was sick of it all and that the PM should be left alone to get on with more important things.

Jason

21/08/2012Nasking, Don't get sucked in by ToM taunts!All he has is lies and smear he's not interested in anything you might come up with because he'll ignore it anyway. ToM just likes to shit stir he's a grub.

jaycee

21/08/2012I know I shouldn't..but it is fun...: ToM's got his hands in his pockets, playing billiards and is typing with his nose!....Multi-skilled!

jaycee

21/08/2012I say, AA..better get that new article up asap. We are getting so bored even ToM's becoming amusing!!

2353

21/08/2012Nas - don't bother with someone that has no legitimacy. He needs to return tot he Gutter where he belongs.

42 long

21/08/2012TfM please don't think I amm addressing YOU because I'm not. This Slater & Gordon thing has been around for yonks, kept in the arsenal for the right time for it to be brought out for the express purpose of damage to Gillard, Who they have never ceased tp attack. If Iran closed the straits of Hormuz there would be less space taken up in the MSM. This shows yopu how much effert the MSM ( Rupert) wantg's labour out. The Australian is his big gun. Doesn't matter if it loses money it has POWER. Murdoch has made no secret of the fact that he doesn't want labour in power. Why doesn't that set the bells ringing foe everyone? We can see what a fraud Abbott id. We can see what he will do when he gets in. The Can dio and BoF and Uncle Ted have a scorched earth policy of hit tafe Public schools Public servants, ( perhaps even Public toilets. Hey we could privatise toilets) everything with "public in it". Kennett urged Tony when he gets in, to copy the manner of can do. Tony probably doesn't need any urging. What sort of an australia will we get after Abbott. They want to not only get in but they want to change a lot of structures so there will never be a left leaning gov't ever getting back. We will be commencing the 1,000 year REICH. ( And I am not joking THEY would love it)

Lyn

21/08/2012Hi Ad and Everybody 42 long agree with every word you said "Doesn't matter if it loses money it has POWER. Murdoch has made no secret of the fact that he doesn't want labour in power." It's a wonder this got published a good read:- Grubby hands are throwing the political mud, Courier Mail Apparently this all still somehow goes to the "character" of our Prime Minister but, for me, it says more about the character of those hurling the mud than their target. And if we want to talk character, integrity and ancient history, then what of the indecent assault charges Abbott faced (and which were dismissed) during his student years, something our aspiring PM dismisses as "part of the Abbott story - it is not part of the Abbott present". http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/comment-grubby-hands-are-throwing-the-political-mud/story-e6frerc6-1226454369126?sv=8b09e386761b44883bda011a4be5f968

2353

21/08/2012Hi Lyn, Paul Svynet writes well doesn't he? He's a regular in Saturday's Courier mail. Thanks for the link as he's sometimes hard to find online.

42 long

21/08/2012Thanks Lyn. Rather good article in the Courier Mail. Perhaps they want enough of a pleasant Qld. to be left for tourists to visit and buy their papers. All this would be funny IF it wasn't so SERIOUS. Being hoodwinked constantly, may be remarked at in passing by the armchair theorists, but I AM worried about basic freedoms continuing and science being accepted for what it is. and the ordinary people having a chance. Are we going to have a cross between Putin's Russia and the American TEA PARTY. Imagine a worse case scenaorio. Abbott unfettered here and Romney in in the USA. We would be at war with China /Iran within months/ years. Romney was over in Israel a short while ago beating the drums about Iran. They are all bloody MAD crazy loopies.

Ad astra

21/08/2012Folks I have just now posted [i]The News Limited vendetta against PM Gillard intensifies[/i]. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2012/08/21/The-News-Limited-vendetta-against-PM-Gillard-intensifies.aspx

Jason

21/08/2012Latham has a piece about ToM and his ilk! "The Brucers are an example of the damaging impact of obsessiveness in public life. They fit the first rule of fanaticism: when all is lost, redouble your efforts. These political fringe dwellers specialise in myth-making and the harassment of innocent people – not just Gillard, but media figures who stand up to them and refuse to peddle their conspiratorial theories." http://www.afr.com/p/opinion/lunar_right_crusades_against_gillard_qMiZPwon3XmunIsgVboHyM

42 long

21/08/2012She did ASK them (the Journo's) earlier in response to a question as to what she would like them to do ... Don't write CRAP . It shouldn't be too hard. Well it wouldn't be too hard if you weren't paid by MURDOCH. What Rupert doesn't realise is that HE is NOT immortal and history will write him up for what he is. It wouldn't be something I would want for posterity personally. The dirty digger Digging dirt for the future.

jane

21/08/201242 long @11.39am, well said. Hi Lyn and [quote]Grubby hands are throwing the political mud,[/quote] Succinctly put. It says it all about the campaign to smear the PM and anyone who stands in the wizened foreigner's way. Jason @ 12.35pm, nailed it. ToM is starting to remind me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMkth8FWno

KHTAGH

21/08/2012Lady in Red Im typing madly so I don't miss this edition, one question, has anyone else realised this small fact, when that sour faced twat on the abc24 Fran Kelly mentions the polls she always says but that is within the 3% degree of error the actual figure could be a lot lower, Ummmmm hey stupid it also means it could be 3% [b]higher[/b]. Yet those words have never come out of her mouth, I take it she must be that dumb, there is the straight out proof that she is bias or blatantly stupid or maybe its the way they dress her.

jane

21/08/2012[quote]I’d like Nasking to specifically state which part of the current reporting about Gillard isn’t factual, or exactly which part of the story shouldn’t be told. Come on Nasking, Stop with the lazy generalisations, it’s time to be specific about your criticism of this reporting.[/quote] Au conrtaire, ToM. We're still all agog waiting for [b]you[/b] to provide the evidence which specifically states which parts of the current reporting about Gillard are factual. I think you're relying on untruthful generalisations from such sources such as convicted conman and serial liar Larry Pickering. You've been provided with plenty of facts wrt Julia Gillard and true to form choose to ignore them for smear from the likes of Pickering and shock jocks like Alan Jones et al. But carry on, Black Knight. Another limb gone and still you insist that it's attached.

jane

21/08/2012ToM read this and weep. Seem familiar? I've copied & pasted it so you don't have click on a link. Who's the sleaze? [quote]THE whistleblower at the centre of the Craig Thomson union scandal has been referred to police in an official complaint over mysterious payments that included wages paid to the sons of her partner, a Fair Work Australia official. Kathy Jackson, the former union boss turned informant, was the subject of a formal police complaint lodged just days before the HSU was put into administration in June. A dossier of allegedly unexplained payments totalling more than $150,000 and relating to Ms Jackson's former HSU branch has been handed to the Victoria Police unit investigating Mr Thomson for allegedly using the union's funds for escort services - a claim he denies. The separate claims relating to Ms Jackson include wages paid by the union to the children of Ms Jackson's partner, the vice-president of Fair Work Australia, Michael Lawler. The document claimed the wages had not been disclosed as related party transactions - as required. There was also $58,000 in allegedly unaccounted for EFT payments to Ms Jackson's former husband and HSU official Jeff Jackson. Police have also been asked to investigate $36,774 in payments from the union to a consultancy company which lists Ms Jackson as a director. The Daily Telegraph has obtained a copy of a formal letter of complaint lodged with Victoria Police Commissioner Ken Lay on May 22 - and referred to investigators. The letter was signed by then HSU East acting secretary Peter Mylan, who was brought in to replace its former secretary Michael Williamson - the subject of a separate NSW police investigation into alleged fraud at the union, which is also denied. Sources confirmed Victorian Police are expected to broaden their investigation into Mr Thomson to include the claims against Ms Jackson. Ms Jackson yesterday appeared unaware a formal complaint had been lodged and said police had not contacted her: "They haven't spoken to me. If (anyone) has any allegations against me they should refer them to the proper authorities. Good luck to them." Documents relating to alleged payment of childcare fees for Ms Jackson's son, the disappearance of several computers, $12,500 in postage and shipping reimbursement to Ms Jackson and a $22,000 payment to a Hong Kong woman were also included in documents referred to police.[\quote]

Tom of Melbourne

21/08/2012Jane, it really is hilarious watching all the ALP sycophants attack Jackson because she’s helped put the spotlight on Thomson. I’d only say- so what? Does any of it prove Thomson didn’t do the 180 or so things FWA found against him? A few years ago, attacking a union official for political advantage was called “union bashing”, it’s really in vogue with you and your mates these days. ----------------------- No facts re Gillard, she has again proven to be duplicitous. It’s caught up with her, because she has chosen to try to avoid the questions and answers all this time. She’s dug herself into a very deep hole.

jane

21/08/2012It proves nothing about Thomson, but it does say a lot about the character of the person who accused him. However, because it doesn't suit your agenda, you again choose to disregard the possibility that Ms jackson has lied about Thomson as she has about so many other things; to cover her tracks and divert suspicion elsewhere. Once again no facts to offer about the PM, just gossip, innuendo and lies. That's your proof? And you accuse Gillard of duplicity?

jane

21/08/2012KHTGH @1.56pm, they're always very careful to ensure that a positive can be spun as a negative.

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21/08/2012Folks I'm calling it a day.

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22/08/2012Folks Thank you to all of you; jane, Jason ad 42 long especially, for having the patience to respond to ToM's comments.

Ad astra

22/08/2012Folks This is the 300th comment on this piece, one that dedicates the new [i]TPS[/i] strapline: [i][b]A Hub for the Fifth Estate[/i][/b], to our treasured Lyn. As comments are now on the next piece, I'll close comments on this special piece.