Get the inside track on the media and government

Lyn

1/04/2011Hi Acerbic Conehead Here you come again with another delightful, fantastic, piece of reading "Phoney Footie" you are the sunshine on "The Political Sword", there is no doubt about it, you must have a wonderful fun time in your body. Thankyou, Acerbic Conehead, for your, very much appreciated, piece, to be admired by all. Cheers

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1/04/2011AC Many thanks for yet another incisive piece of satire, so relevant as the footie season gets under way, underscoring as it does the extraordinary number of free kicks Tony Abbott enjoys, courtesy of the MSM, and how many mock tackles allow him to score again and again without challenge.

D Mick Weir

1/04/2011FS your comment @ April 1. 2011 04:24 PM on the previous post [b]The ALP has come to its own fork in the road[/b] [i]I really don't know what to make of Rodney Cavalier. Is he Don Quixote, tilting at windmills, hoping to bring back to life an ALP that never really existed, ...[/i] I am astounded and/or flabbergasted and probably both at the same time. The article you linked to may, just maybe, on its own have given the impression that Cavilier is [i]'quixotic'[/i] and [i]'hoping to bring back to life an ALP that never really existed,'[/i] but I would of thought that you as a memeber of the (NSW?) party for ten years would have been able to place it some context and have a breater understanding of where he is 'coming' from in his article. Cavilier is highly regarded as an historian of the party and certainly knows its roots. He has, probably, more understanding of the history of the ALP, particularly NSW ALP, than any other person on this mortal coil at the present time. Cavilier was/is a grassroots member of the party and a 'maverick'. He has done some extraordinary things within and for the party. This alone, in the minds of some, would give hime hero status: [i]Cavalier won the seat of Fuller in October 1978 defeating the sitting member Peter Coleman who was the Leader of the NSW Liberal Party and a former government minister.[/i] http://www.parlpapers.sl.nsw.gov.au/display.cfm?parl_id=3800 His book, [b]Power Crisis[/b] opens with a great potted history of the party and that part alone should be required reading for all members and officials of the party. The whole book, read in conjunction with Simon Bensons' [b]Betrayal[/b] is an eye opening experience and would be of great assistance to anyone who wants to see the the party revive and survive. If someone hadn't 'permanently borrowed' my copy of Power Crisis I would have happily gifted it to you.

Lyn

2/04/2011[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Regional Agreement On Processing A Step Forward, Ashghebranious, Ash's Machiavellian Bloggery[/i] Abbott’s opposition style is he picks at an open wound. Its his greatest skill. It is also therefore his greatest weakness http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/regional-agreement-on-processing-a-step-forward/ [i]First Election Simulation for 2011, Possum Comitatus, Pollytics[/i] we now have enough data to aggregate the pollsters together, break the aggregated sample down into state based component http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2011/04/01/first-election-simulation-for-2011/ [i]The way we divide the GST cake is a scandal , Peter Martin[/i]carved out of the untied GST distributions and handed to the states on the basis that they spent it where it was needed. http://www.petermartin.com.au/2011/04/our-method-of-dividing-gst-cake-is.html [i]Tony Abbott – his position on the disabled exposed , The Eye-Ball Opinion[/i] Abbot – you are a twit along with all the other bigoted idiots who think disabled means a public drain of the public purse – your wanting to penny pinch from this group http://bleyzie.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/tony-abbott-boofhead/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog [i]Political soft-cocks, Massivespray, Spray of the day[/i] The Government should stop being scared of how they are portrayed in the media and use these live opportunities to savage these bullshit talking points of the Opposition. http://sprayoftheday.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/political-soft-cocks/ [i]Gillard: ‘we are a party of ideas’, Crikey, The Stump[/i] Her speech, Walking the Reform Road, contained a blunt assessment of NSW Labor’s woes and responded to the widespread criticism http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2011/04/01/gillard-we-are-a-party-of-ideas/ [i]Gillard takes a swipe at The Greens, Reb, Gutter Trash[/i] a stony faced Prime Minister delivered one of her most emotionless and boring speeches of all time. http://guttertrash.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/gillard-takes-a-swipe-at-the-greens/ [i]Julia, when the going got Gough, Gough got going, Johnathan Green, The Drum[/i] a statement of her government's intent... which seems to amount, in the short-term, to cutting government spending http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/01/3179966.htm [i]Be careful what you wish for, Tony Smith, Inside Story[/i] under Tony Abbott’s leadership the federal Coalition is promoting scepticism about – if not outright denial of – climate change http://inside.org.au/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/ [i]Climate Clippings, Brian, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] If the trend keeps going in the same manner for the next two decades I wonder whether we will still have sceptics. http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/04/01/climate-clippings-22/ [i]White Noise the denial movement is a distraction, Watching the Deniers[/i] The “deniers” mask the real debate about mitigation, adaption, energy and geo-engineering. They serve to distract the public and even bloggers such as myself http://watchingthedeniers.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/white-noise-the-denial-movement-is-a-distraction%e2%80%a6-and-the-end-of-wtd-generation-a-is-coming/ [i]Voters who say'A plague on all your houses!' Clarencegirl, North Coast Voices[/i] Excerpts from Analysis of Informal Voting House of Representatives, 2010 federal election: http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/ [i]International realism and dictatorship, John Quiggin[/i] for example, left or right political parties) may see each other as natural political allies against their domestic opponents http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/01/international-realism-and-dictatorship/#more-9665 [i]Shrunken Christianity becomes more militant, Mark Johnson, On Line opinion[/i] For every dullard-faced George Pell, there is a pinched-faced Dawkins, both joined in zealotry, both mere media spectacles. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11842&page=1 [i]The ugly little Australian coalition against Palestiniam rights (that will fail) Antony Loewenstein[/i] Today’s Murdoch Australian leads with this laughable front page non “story”, essentially finding countless corporate politicians and Zionist lobby hacks to smear the NSW Greens Federal Senate member Lee Rhiannon http://antonyloewenstein.com/2011/04/01/the-ugly-little-australian-coalition-against-palestinian-rights-that-will-fail/ [i]Taxing issues surround the economics of mining, Jonathan Pincus, The Conversation[/i] This week, Henry Ergas and I presented aspects of our December paper ‘Some Economics of Mining Taxation’ (co-written with Mark Harrison) to the Senate committee looking into the tax. http://theconversation.edu.au/articles/taxing-issues-surround-the-economics-of-mining-626 [i]NBN Co halts network construction tender, Renai LeMay, Delimeter[/i] He noted that NBN Co did not believe that the prices being proposed by the construction companies reflected capacity constraints in the industry. http://delimiter.com.au/2011/04/01/nbn-co-halts-network-construction-tender/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Delimiter+%28Delimiter%29 [i]Andrew Bolt + the right to free speech ,Gary Sauer-Thompson , Public opinion[/i] Poor Bolt. He's discovering the limits of a liberalism based on utilitarianism and the idea of harm; limits that would be overcome by a rights based liberalism. http://www.sauer-thompson.com/archives/opinion/2011/04/andrew-bolt-the.php [i]BOLT, A NECESSARY BASTARD.,Mike Stuchbery [/i] He’s two-faced, fork-tongued, a poisonous pufferish of political punditry. A bottle of bile, cellar-aged and aired daily in tabloids across the nation. http://mike-stuchbery.com/2011/03/31/bolt-a-necessary-bastard/#more-759 [i]April Fools, lmathison, Political Tarot[/i] fuming to the media that dammit, he was a fool not to have proposed to Gillard before they moved in.' http://politicaltarot.com/2011/04/april-fools/#comments

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2/04/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Bilko

2/04/2011NBN stops the rorts before they begin and the Govt still can't win. The Pink batts and the BER rorts all carried out by Companies beholding to the Lieberals should all be named and blacklisted from any State or Federal business nothing short of fraud against the taxpayers where is the AFP investigation when you need one

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2/04/2011Hi Lyn What a marvellous collection of links you have given us for Saturday reading - twenty of them! Again, thank you.

Jason

2/04/2011Lyn, I heard somewhere that fresh from his week in the dock and not being able to call the judge a "leftist" or some other such stuff! he will be on insiders tomorrow, have you seen this anywhere?

Acerbic Conehead 2

2/04/2011Hi Lyn and AA, Glad you enjoyed the footie game. For his part, Wayne Swann is a bit down after the NSW State election, and fears that if the Indos change sides, the Coalition will be kicking goals right into The Lodge. Swannie walks into the gents in Parliament House and sees, under the door of one of the cubicles, a pair of football boots. He knows they could only belong to one person. Sing along with Wayne as he intones the old Nancy Sinatra number, “These Boots Are Made For Walking”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRkovnss7sg&feature=related :- ( You keep dodgin’ curly questions at pressers Something you call smart, but confess You ain’t been addressin’ questions you oughta be addressin’ You’re as phoney as the monster in Loch Ness :- ( Well, yer boots are made for walking Can’t see yer heels for dust When you’re in The Lodge yer boots are gonna walk all over us :- ( You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin' You keep bailin’ when you oughta front up You should come clean, but instead you go a-whooshin’ Tis clear with you, we’ve just been sold a pup :- ( Yer boots are made for walking No need to catch the bus After yer pay-rise, yer boots are gonna walk all over us :- ( You keep strayin’ when you shoulda been stayin’ And you keep thinking that you'll never get found out (HAH) Like, you keep changin’ your tune on global warmin’ (YEAH) And the journos will fall for any ol’ tripe you spout :- ( Yer boots are made for walking And you don’t give a stuff With yer media mates, yer boots are gonna walk all over us

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2/04/2011AC So you're continuing the football theme, how apt! I'll be out most of the day exploring Fremantle. I'll be back this evening. Enjoy the day.

TalkTurkey

2/04/2011AC Great spoof on 'Boots'! Quelle naturelle! May I suggest an ultimate line though? 'But break a leg, you'll NEVER walk on US!' - Because I'll be damned if I want him to have a final victory!

TalkTurkey

2/04/2011Ad astra FREE-OH! Yo-Ho-Ho! The Maritime Museum is the place to go! The story of the Batavia, whose pathetic remains are mainly there, is the most compelling maritime saga of all time.

D Mick Weir

2/04/2011Make of this what you will: Press Release - April 1 2011 [b]LAUNCH OF REPLACING THE ALP[/b] CANBERRA: A new political group with the goal of marshalling support among progressive Australians has been launched. The group, known as [b]Replacing the ALP[/b], has been started by a small group concerned by the decline of the Labor Party as an effective force that is able to deliver reform. The group’s aim is to promote an open discussion about a new party to replace the ALP. It believes that the interests of progressive Australians will be best served by replacing the ALP with a new mainstream progressive political organisation that listens to and represents their views and ideals. [b]Replacing the ALP[/b] believes that the Labor Party has become dysfunctional and has lost the ability to renew or refresh itself. It argues that the Labor Party is at the end of its effective life. The group believes that this has been underlined by the record low primary vote for the Labor Party at the March 26 NSW election, and by the corrosion of primary support for the federal Labor Party. ‘We come from Labor families and we are proud of that,’ said spokesperson Justin Ryan, ‘but this just isn’t working anymore’. The party is 120 years old and has decayed to the point of no return. There is no transparency in the organisation and no public trust in how the party operates. Australians with progressive values need a new model that they can believe in.' [b]Replacing the ALP[/b] is not affiliated with, or connected to, any other organisation. The group’s founding members are funding its operations. It is also actively seeking donations from the public, and has launched a membership drive. As part of the launch the group has booked a front page ad in Saturday’s Canberra Times. http://www.replacingthealp.org/index.html

Lyn

2/04/2011Hi Jason Sorry I took so long to answer you, I have been shopping this morning for pretty things, I decided the house needed a few presents. Yes he is on the Insiders again. You see, I said that with a heavy heart. Cheers:):):):):)

Lyn

2/04/2011Hi Ad Sunday again: Sunday morning TV - 3 April #auspol Your guide to this Sunday morning's political and business interviews Your guide to this Sunday morning's political and business interviews Full program listing available at: http://sundaymorningtv.posterous.com/ 8.00am Ch10 - Meet the Press Hugh Riminton is joined on the Panel by Eleanor Hall from ABC Radio The World Today and News Ltd's Steve Lewis. Together they interview Shadow Immigration and Citizenship Minister, Scott Morrison, and noted economist Saul Eslake from the Grattan Instute. 8:30am Sky News 601 - Australian Agenda On Sky News Australian Agenda this week interviews with Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Leader of the House Athony Albanese, WA Premier Colin Barnett, and former Mission Australia CEO Patrick McClure. Host Peter Van Onselen is joined by the The Australian's Paul Kelly and Annabel Hepworth. 8:38am Ch7 - Weekend Sunrise - The Riley Diary Political editor Mark Riley takes a look at Milk Wars, retail politics as the supermarkets come to Canberra, and the search for immigration detention centres continues as the Department tees up a luxury Gold Coast Hinterland golf resort as a potential contender. 8:40am Ch9 - Today on Sunday - Laurie Oakes interview No Laurie Oakes interview this weekend. 9:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 - Insiders On Insiders this Sunday, Barrie Cassidy interviews the new NSW Labor Party Leader, [b]John Robertson[/b]. On the panel: the Sydney Morning Herald’s Lenore Taylor, the Advertiser’s Mark Kenny and the Herald Sun’s Andrew Bolt. And Mike Bowers talks pictures with Herald Sun cartoonist, Mark Knight. 10:00am ABC1 & on ABC News 24 @ 5.30pm - Inside Business This week on Inside Business a feature interview with Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, about allegations of price gouging by contractors in the NBN build. They also talk to JB HiFi Chairman and big private equity investor Patrick Elliott about his company’s big news this week as well the general tricky nature of retailing at the moment. The pokies debate it heating up with key independent MP, Andrew Wilkie, threatening to withdraw support for the Gillard Government unless tougher new laws to limit poker machines use are introduced. As well there’ll be the regular update of the latest news from the markets and Alan Kohler’s incisive commentary.

Lyn

2/04/2011Hi Ad See what the ABC are reporting, 4,000 against the Carbon Tax and 4,000 for the carbon tax, but then they say, "although orgainisers say upwards of 8,000". Unbelievable isn't it, they can't even bring themselves to say the facts, very funny that. Rival carbon tax rallies draw thousands, ABC An estimated 4,000 people gathered in Hyde Park in the city's CBD to protest against the policy. In Belmore Park, by Central Station, about 4,000 people rallied, although organisers said upwards of 8,000 people were in attendance, to show their support for the policy. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/02/3180643.htm?section=justin

Gravel

2/04/2011Acerbic Conehead I had a great laugh at your latest input and then the ditty for these boots are made for walking. Thank you.

NormanK

2/04/2011Acerbic Conehead Thanks for another entertaining romp. I'm glad to see Melissa Clarke got a starting jersey. No doubt she will have smirked her endearing secretive smirk as she used her superb sense of balance (perhaps she was a dancer in a former life) to help shepherd Abbott to the goal mouth. Is it shepherding when someone from the opposite team does it? One for the philosophers, perhaps. Poor old Laurie ([i]The Leak[/i]) Oakes, fancy asking him to do anything more than stand (or preferably sit) and deliver his lines to camera. Was he allowed his clipboard? He would have provided a significant obstacle for Tones on his way to goal but nothing that couldn't be stepped around. Chris Uhlman must have felt torn, trying to keep one eye on his career, one eye on his young wife [b]and[/b] keep track of the ball [b]and[/b] keep his balance. Fortunately, he can use his inner-eye to judge his position with regard to Our Lord. I assume he never actually kicked the ball, that would be altogether undignified and put the shine on his shoes at risk. I'm surprised Bolt got a start. The Tribunal hasn't handed down its ruling yet and he should have been suspended until such time as it delivered its findings on the charge of self-abuse. No doubt he will argue it was an accident or that the ref was picking on him. How unfair to single him out when there were so many other players doing the same thing on the field. Annabelle Crabb would have been pretty useless while she jotted down notes to remind herself of a really clever joke that just popped into her head (nature abhors a vacuum) to do with football, politicians and balls. Something about 'have they dropped yet' or 'who kicked what where'. It doesn't really matter, a giggle and a toss of her head will make it endearing. The truth about that parrot is that she has beautiful plumage and picks up new words very easily. She can't tell you what she had for breakfast yesterday though. Alan Jones would have been giving Tones rub-downs during the breaks and offering him tactical words of encouragement. Perhaps some lemon quarters to suck on as well. Gravel It's lovely to see you back. Your prolonged absence was a cause for mild concern. I hope all is well.

Feral Skeleton

2/04/2011Let me tell you, there were 2000 at the Anti Carbon Tax Rally, and 8000 at the Action On Climate Change Rally. I know, I was there. It appears that the ABC has become rotten to the core if they are saying that there were 4000 at each rally.

Lyn

2/04/2011Hello Gravel I have been thinking about you a lot, and wondering how you are, it's wonderful to see you here. Acerbic Conehead knows how to cheer us up. Cheers :):):):)

Lyn

2/04/2011Hi Hillbilly Copy of Ash's tweet below.. From, what I can see so far, News. Com. not reporting any attendance numbers,they are just making sure everyone knows, Eric Abetz had a petition with 25,000 names on it, same report on channel nine. AshGhebranious AshGhebranious #auspol Here we go again. Newspapers and police saying 4000 at no carbon tax rally... and 2ue reporting 6000. Inflation much? 23 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply cheers

Acerbic Conehead 2

2/04/2011AA, I hope you had a great day in Freo. Fish and chips down at the pier is obligatory when we visit there. TT, Thanks for your alternative closing line to the Nancy Sinatra song. It’s definitely a lot better than mine. You are a true romantic! And I agree about the Batavia exhibition at Freo’s Maritime Museum. It is a must see. However, another maritime epic associated with the west coast is the Catalpa Rescue of the Fenian prisoners incarcerated in Fremantle Prison. It is one hell of a story if you haven’t caught up with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-BWAGqy6CI Lyn, Thanks again for the links to articles and the preview to the TV programs we can tune into. We must be the best informed readers in the blogosphere! Gravel, I’m glad you enjoyed the story and follow-up ditty. I hope you have been well and will treat us more often to your insights. NormanK, What a great development of the story! Yes, unfortunately there are plenty more we can add to the MSM rogues gallery. But then again, they are only grist to our mill. FS, I hope you had a good day at the rally. With all those conflicting numbers, Barnaby must have been involved somewhere along the line. Maybe there should be an independent body to count numbers at these demos, something like the ABC (“Australian Bodycounter’s Commission”). After all, in the past, there has been a Ministry of Silly Walks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZlBUglE6Hc

Miglo

2/04/2011Talk Turkey, I'm reading Batavia (by Peter Fitzsimons) at the moment. It's a real page turner.

Feral Skeleton

2/04/2011AcerbicC., I think the ABC has become 'The Ministry of Silly Talk' :)

Feral Skeleton

2/04/2011Got it in one(from Twitter): [quote]Te #LNPTrolls have engaged in a deliberate campaign of personal attacks and abuse to render meaningful debate impossible [/quote]

TalkTurkey

2/04/2011Tweetie-Bird Lyn, You are our Southern Cross and Pointers, directing the rest of us constantly through the limitless vastnesses of the blogosphere and always, always chirping welcomingly to those who visit here. Je t'adore. Gravel As others have said, It's lovely to hear from you, yes. It's been too long. Keep your posts coming please. AC, you said "TT, Thanks for your alternative closing line to the Nancy Sinatra song. It’s definitely a lot better than mine." NO, AC! it ISN'T! I'm sorry! I #@&%ed up! It lacks syllables! I NEVER do this usually, I am so ashamed. It needs to read, "But break a leg, you're NEVER gonna walk all over US!" Dunno what came over me. Maybe, it not being my pome, I hadn't heard it in my head. Please excuse? Thanks for the link to the Catalpa story, I'll look it up later. I don't know nuffing about it. But it sounds just a little like the horrible story of Pandora, the ship the Admiralty sent to arrest the Bounty Mutineers. The less-known, more awful latter half of the Bounty story. Yet taken together, both still pale into anaemicity compared to the Batavia story. Miglo, amigo, I have heard Fitzsimons on his telling of the Batavia story, he seemed to think that he has a new slant on it which I seriously doubt. I have read several books including Henrietta Drake-Brockman's definitive text Voyage to Disaster which published in full Pelsaert's Journals, and Huw Edwards' Islands of Angry Ghosts, plus others. I am interested in Fitzsimons' account of Jeronimus Cornelisz's part DURING the voyage: Fitzsimons himself, on the radio rave I heard, said that Cornelisz was the one that was fomenting mutiny while they were still at sea. That would be rewriting history, if that's what he said in his book. Cornelisz might have been complicit in the plot - mostly, he didn't blow the developing plot to Commandeur Pelsaert when he could have - but it was the Skipper Arien Jacobsz who was the real plotter againt the VOC and Pelsaert. Jeronimus (my hero/villain!) only came to lead the mayhem when he finally came ashore, last of all, when all the ship's officers and seamen had deserted and headed for Java with both the ship's boats. If that is indeed the way that Fitzsimons tells it - and I don't know for sure, I'm only going on what he said in a hurried interview - , (perhaps you might tell me?), - but if it is, it is a litmus-test afa I'm concerned for the respectability of his retelling. There are several other books on Batavia, and you may even find the condensed and faithfully-told version of the story on my own website www.ozzigami.com.au/batavia , I wrote it many years ago but I got it right because I LOVE the story, it is a metaphor for an overpopulated under-resourced world, starker and more chilling than Easter Island story, with the great undeniable truth of naked humanity at its core. But EVERYONE who knows the story wants a proper, UNVARVISHED full-feature movie made of it. NOT by the Yanks! Kiwis or Hollanders if not Australians. Peter Weir done a doco about it many many years ago - 30+! which is how I first heard about it. (Weir apparently accompanied Firtzsimons to the Abrolhos recently-ish.) A famous Dutch director I forget his name was wanting to make a movie of it only a few years back but it's TOO BIG! and he gave up it seems. But WE know, don't we eh! Every Aussie should. And Ad astra, as the others have attested, the Maritime Museum is a must. Hope you have! Bilko, hi, 2353, Adelaide Girl, everyone, g'day.

TalkTurkey

2/04/2011Not sure how to handle these dual current posts. I'll put more, and more serious at that, on the other one soon. And some of what I've already put there demand answers and/or justifications from NK and DE in particular, and more will. (Though Jason tells me DE's scuttled, hurt. Boo hoo.) My Captcha challenge is 'tenerst hand'. Now Obelix and I KNOW it's code.

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3/04/2011Folks Had a great time in Freo - saw the Roundhouse and the markets, and much beautiful architecture and great streetscapes, but not enough time for the Maritime Museum TT, AC - that's for next time. Then onto Cottesloe and King's Park. A great day - 31 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I'll miss the morning's TV as I have an early start tomorrow.

Lyn

3/04/2011 [b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Trying to neuter the Greens Left, Jeremy Sear, An Onymous Lefty[/i] This morning’s Weekend Australian follows yesterday’s outright lies by David Penberthy with an all-out series of attacks on the party http://anonymouslefty.wordpress.com/ [i]Punch doubles down - doesn't just refuse to retract clear untruth, actually repeats it, Jeremy Sear, Pure Poison[/i] (still up this morning) – it has now gone and published Mark Kenny repeating it: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/04/02/punch-doubles-down-doesnt-just-refuse-to-retract-clear-untruth-actually-repeats-it/#more-9621 [i]Pending a recount, Greens claim Balmain,Mercurius, Larvatus Prodeo[/i] And can you believe it – the ALP has apparently lost Balmain!? http://larvatusprodeo.net/2011/04/02/pending-a-recount-greens-claim-balmain/ [i]Speaking of Murdoch thuggery over Israel/Palestine, Antony Loewenstein[/i] some advice for Penberthy and his cuddly mates; read something about what’s happening in Palestine instead of receiving your information from the Zionist lobby. http://antonyloewenstein.com/2011/04/01/speaking-of-murdoch-thuggery-over-israelpalestine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+%28Antony+Loewenstein%29 [i]Tony Abbott is most concerned with his own job! , Australian Politics[/i] This short term politics from Abbott, desperate to become PM, is sickening. Abbott needs to get over the fact that he lost the last election http://australianpoliticsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/abbott-is-most-concerned-with-his-own.html [i]Stop worrying about the environment – it isn’t helping, The Conversation[/i] There is no simple button that we can push to get people to ‘do the right thing’. http://theconversation.edu.au/articles/stop-worrying-about-the-environment-it-isnt-helping-627 [i]Politics of Australian climate policy, Harry Clarke[/i] Again clearing the field for a new set of distorted statements of the cost by Abbott. In my view a mistake. http://www.harryrclarke.com/2011/04/01/politics-of-australian-climate-policy/ [i]The real Value of the Australian $ …The Eye-Ball Opinion[/i] rising A$ v $US means $billions in lost revenues – it kills tourism – it impacts on retail when consumers go on line and buy offshore – it has untold impact on the Australian economy. http://bleyzie.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/the-real-value-of-the-australian/

Lyn

3/04/2011Hi Ad Not one Newspaper or news reporter will say the number of people attending the Carbon Support Rally, but various numbers for the Abbott rally, 2UE boasts 6000. Some reports, "orgainisers were hoping for 5000", they think if they put "hoping 5000" people will misread, and think there were 5000. [quote]Rival carbon tax rallies draw thousands, ABC An estimated 4,000 people gathered in Hyde Park In Belmore Park about 4,000 people rallied, although organisers said upwards of 8,000 people were in attendance to show their support for the policy. [/quote]http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/02/3180643.htm?site=sydney&section=news&date=(none) Carbon tax rallies draw big crowds ,Sydney Morning Herald Organisers said about 5000 people, many of them baby boomers and retirees, gathered at Hyde Park to protest against price increases resulting from the proposed tax. At the same time, several thousand people rallied in support of the tax at an event in Belmore Park organised by the political action organisation GetUp! ' http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/carbon-tax-rallies-draw-big-crowds-20110402-1csc0.html Two protest rallies climates apart , Sam Maiden, The Telegraph Organisers of both rallies claimed they had the bigger crowd, but no official figures were available from police to settle the argument. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/gillard-taking-heat-on-big-bills/story-e6freuy9-1226032599276 Carbon tax rallies draw big crowds, Tracy Lien, Brisbane Times Organisers said about 5000 people, many of them baby boomers and retirees, gathered at Hyde Park to protest against At the same time, several thousand people rallied in support of the tax at an event in Belmore Park organised by the political action organisation GetUp! http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-[/quote]national/thousands-demonstrate-for-and-against-tax-20110402-1cs0v.html Rival carbon camps face-off in Sydney, Sky News The Hyde Park demonstration mirrored in size and tone a rally held in Canberra recently. Organisers were hoping for 5000 people to turn up to Saturday's event although it remains unclear what the exact head count was. http://www.skynews.com.au/businessnews/article.aspx?id=596501&vId=2297704&cId=Business Passions run high at Carbon Tax rally, 2UE Police estimate more than [b]six thousand [/b]people turned out for the No Carbon Tax Rally at Hyde Park in Sydney. http://www.2ue.com.au/blogs/2ue-blog/passions-run-high-at-carbon-tax-rally/20110402-1cs8x.html Thousands demonstrate for and against climate tax , The Australian The Hyde Park demonstration mirrored in size and tone a rally held in Canberra recently. Organisers were hoping for 5000 people to turn up to to the event although it remains unclear what the exact head count was. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/thousands-demonstrate-for-and-against-climate-tax/story-fn3dxiwe-1226032484698 Thousands demonstrate for and against climate tax , Miles Godfrey, News Com Organisers were hoping for 5000 people to turn up to to the event although it remains unclear what the exact head count was. http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/thousands-demonstrate-for-and-against-climate-tax/story-e6frfku9-1226032484698#ixzz1IOoQA53u

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011I wonder what the subsets of the '25000 signatures' on the Anti Carbon Tax Petition were a) also Alan Jones/2GB listeners, b) Menzies House supporters, and c) Members of the Liberal/National parties?

Ad astra reply

3/04/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Ad astra reply

3/04/2011Hi Lyn You've been busy this morning with the extra batch of links about the rallies, which I've added to the other links on your special page. Many thanks for the extra ones, which will be an interesting historic record. I deleted the duplicate post of the rally links. I'll be out most of the morning. I hope Andrew Bolt is not too gross on [i]Insiders[/i]. I'm not sorry I'm missing that episode.

Lyn

3/04/2011Hi Ad I am so pleased to hear you had a wonderful day in Freemantle,there is a of history there. Sorry Ad, I didn't realise, or think, about keeping the newspaper's distorted stories, so therefore, the links did not have the topics in italic, suppose it's ok though. You are right in saying, they may come in handy, historically, for later reference, good idea. Andrew Bolt was as normal, the court battle has not humbled him at all, in any way. Actually as soon as Kevin Rudd's name is whispered, Bolt grows fangs. Poor Lenore had trouble, at least three times that I saw, she said "If you let me answer" "I am trying to answer Andrew". Andrew Bolt was harping on about some ridiculous hypothetical senario, about if Tony Abbott had of said, the same thing, he would have been etc. etc. Barrie Cassidy did not have any control at all again. Barrie interviewed John Robinson, and of course asked him about same sex marriage, knowing full well his son is gay, poor John Robinson, he handled it ok, but I felt really sorry for him. Mark Kenny pulled a lot of faces at Andrew Bolt, evident he was not happy, otherwise Mark Kenny, was on the same wave length as Lenore, and appears fairly balanced. So there you go Ad, you missed jiltz. Have a lovely day Ad. Cheers

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Another thoughtful article from Lachlan Harris: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/its-a-fact-opinion-is-rising/story-fn6b3v4f-1226032633097

Ad astra reply

3/04/2011Hi Lyn It seems that [i]Insiders[/i] was a good one to miss. I wonder when balanced journalists like Lenore Taylor will complain to Barrie Cassidy about Bolt’s behaviour, perhaps refusing to be a co-panellist with him? Hi FS That is an important piece by Lachlan Harris. Long ago Rupert Murdoch said that ‘opinion is news’. Now we are seeing that aphorism in all its sinister manifestations. We in the Fifth Estate have a responsibility to expose this, even though we are but a small voice.

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011I'm still trying to figure out why Andrew Bolt was on Insiders again for the 2nd time in 4 weeks. Who makes the decisions about which journalists will be sitting on the couch from week to week? Did Barrie Cassidy offer Andrew Bolt a return 'performance'(as in, journalism as performance art), because he wanted to show solidarity with him after his appearance in the court case this week, or because he wanted to pee off all the people that wrote in and complained about Bolt's previous appearance on Insiders? If it was the latter, then Cassidy must certainly be wanting to change his demographic to the bogans and the outer suburban 'Aspiratiional Tradie' demographic, because those of us who want considered debate on Insiders, without the Bully Boys and Girls, are going to turn off it forever soon. There's only so much abuse of our sensibilities and tolerance for the outlandish behaviour of Messagists, such as Bolt and Akerman, that can be borne in the search for quality informative debate, before we just switch it off for good. What's the bet that Bolt will now write an article to further his latest anti-Gillard government meme that the PM's Whitlam Oration speech was a homophobic attack on Bob Brown? Like I said to my son(who forced me to watch Insiders today so that I may know what the enemy was up to, lol), "That Andrew Bolt is like a dog with a bone, he'll keep worrying at it until he gets his way".

Lyn

3/04/2011Hi Ad Some Bolt reports: [i]ABC Insiders just another vehicle for reactionary pamphleteers dog whistling for Abbott [/i], [i]Seeking Asylum Downunder, Mark Thompson[/i] [quote]I have finally given up on this show, which should be compulsory viewing for political junkies like me. However, it has become a vehicle for right wing pamphleteers to dog whistle for reactionary politics. Attempts to counter their twaddle by sensible journalists are foiled by bullying and poor hosting. [/quote] [quote]I've persevered for a long time but Bolt's 'performance' today was beyond the pale - he will be back snickering with his fellow travelers on his appalling blog before the day is out and our ABC will be further diminished under its own charter[/quote]. http://seekingasylumdownunder2.blogspot.com/2011/04/abc-insiders-just-another-vehicle-for.html [i]Free speech or hate speech? How offensive can you be? , Tom Hyland, The Age[/i] [quote]The case has attracted national interest, not just because Bolt is the most widely read newspaper columnist in the country - and one of the most inflammatory. For his critics, there is delight in his discomfort.[/quote] [i]he might have described himself as ''incandescent with rage''. It was a description he was to use later, when he said he was being smeared in court as a racist and homophobic bigot.[/i] http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/free-speech-or-hate-speech-how-offensive-can-you-be-20110402-1csit.html

Ad astra reply

3/04/2011Hi FS, Lyn Thanks for the feedback on [i]Insiders[/i]. What a good one to miss. I too wonder why Bolt was back on again after only two weeks' respite. Has he got a contract with the ABC, or is Cassidy giving the bird to all of us who have objected to Bolt? Let's see when he coms on next.

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Here's the Deltoid blog debunking Greg Hunt's latest attempted exposition of the Coalition's Climate Change policy Direct Action: http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2011/04/greg_hunt_thinking_outside_the.php

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Very fine article about the Andrew Bolt court case this week: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bolt-put-in-place-in-race-case-20110401-1crlt.html

Bilko

3/04/2011Takk turkey hi yourself, direct action is "Newspeak" for no action and onesiders from TPS comments a must miss this week for one and all. Did anyone watch inside business today ? I have recorded it now that I have finally sorted out the clocks being changed forward then backward. And FS re Acerbic., "I think the ABC has become 'The Ministry of Silly Talk'" its more like 1984's Ministry of Truth. Julia's WA "Gough" speech seems to have hit a nerve to all sides of the political spectrum sny one know why??

Lyn

3/04/2011Hi Bilko How are you, I had a nice chat, to you on our third last post, but you must have missed it. Anyway good to see you, also I asked ,how your wife's broken bone was going now. I commented on your 50th Anniversary, being the same time as the Senate change. I forgot about Inside Business , I was so furious with Andrew Bolt, there was something interesting coming on too. Anyway cheers Bilko nice to see you today.

Lyn

3/04/2011Hi Hillbilly Grog has the same opinion as us: [quote]GrogsGamut Greg Jericho Watching replay of #insiders. Barrie might not be on Twitter, but someone needs to tell him Bolt is treating him & his show with contempt 17 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply [/quote]

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Bilko, I'm finding that it's easy to miss Inside Business as well because I catch up with Business Spectator every day and they have Rob Burgess, who I never see on Inside Business, even though they are both Alan Kohler vehicles. Also, Inside Business is agenda-driven, with its campaign against the NBN and the RSPT before the MRRT was negotiated. In other words, against just about any economic move the government tries to make. I despair, I truly do. Insiders cocks a snook at its Centre Left audience by having Bolt on again to push his garbage at us, and Barrie Cassidy continues to carry out his vendetta against anyone who dares criticise him by antagonising us with Bolt. What have we done, by wanting to support the Centre Left politically, that deserves such spite from the employees of the ABC? Of course, the commercial channels are worse. Channel 9 openly supports the Coalition now. They have Tony Abbott on his own on the Today Show weekly, and Coalition MPs on whenever they want to be, plus Andrew Bolt as a regular, without any balancing pov from other journalists, unless they are also Right Wing Shock Jocks. If they do have a government MP on they mock them openly and condescend to them and ask them questions arrogantly. Not to mentiion Channel 7, which tonight classed as an 'Exclusive' the latest smear on Asylum Seekers and the government's help for them delivered by Scott Morrison. It was a beat-up about how much it costs the government to bring Asylum Seekers to the mainland by plane. So what? That's what they must do if the Christmas Island Detention Centre is full, or if they have been granted Asylum. As I said, I am beginning to despair that this country can ever find its soul again, when it is rele3ntlessly being fed a diet of hate-mongering and Yellow Journalism, in order to benefit the Economic Elites and the political party that represents them.

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011lyn, Murdoch Inc. treats the ABC as a chattel. I'll be interested to see what Grog has to say about it. Trouble is, the Labor federal government are now2 under attack from both sides of politics. The Greens are honing their attacks and the Coalition love nothing more than attacking opponents to the political death. Just look at poor old Rob Oakeshott in Lyne as well. They had Joe Hockey up there on NSW Election night, and just about every 2nd week to deliver a media attack on him. Not to mention the story I read the other day that now that Gina Rheinhart is on the board of Channel 10 every political news story has to go across her desk for approval, I can only reach one conclusion.It's not fair. I just put the whole picture together with the media's virtual conspiracy against our federal government trying their best to do the right thing by our fair country, and I can only see it leading to one destination, a One Party State under the Conservatives and their facilitators and enablers in the media.

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Lyn, Putting up Grog's latest blog because it is about Insiders: http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2011/04/decline-and-fall-insiders-and-donald.html It seems as though people who are commenting on it this week are disappointed rather than angry. Angry certainly only got Bolt thrust back in our faces by Barrie Cassidy and the Producers of Insiders. ReCaptcha Bingo says it all about the Bolts, Akermans, Hadleys et al of Australaian media: Scourges

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Another person's blog about today's Insiders: http://jamespurser.com.au/blog/mornings-insiders-and-bolts-performance

TalkTurkey

3/04/2011L*y*n this is for you. Lyn said: "Mark Kenny pulled a lot of faces at Andrew Bolt, evident he was not happy . . ." Do you know that joke? - I'm just reversing my car when I bump into a tiny little car so low it's below my line of site. I get out, and a dwarf gets out of the micro-Mini. He looks at the damage to his car, shakes his head, mutters savagely "I'M NOT HAPPY!" . . . So I say, "Well which one are you then? . . ." BTW truly I really mean no offence to dwarves, don't mean to belittle them -(oh dear!)- But I mean it, they are great little people with very tough rows to hoe. I was a guest one day of a vivacious beautiful redhaired dwarf girl in Geraldton once, Margaret, I met her in the bar, she came in and climbed up the barstool ever so nimbly and sat down by me. Her arms were like a baby's for short, but she was beautifully proportioned just the same. She had a brand new (1 week old) adapted Mini-Minor with pedals raised with, like, ACME XXX Extender lifter pedals [you know, like Wile E. Coyote's (sic) ACME Road-Runner-Punching extender tool?] She was so proud of it, she had never owned a car before though she'd driven big cars with blocks of wood. The steering wheel was like a saucer for small, but there she was like a pilot in a fighter jet, so cool. She took me for a spin around the local salt flats! 270's! and she'd only had it a week. I didn't mean to write this story. When I told about Not-Happy I figured I better, to make sure everyone knows I'm sincere. Cos I am. A smile 4 U to take to bed. Or wake up to so early in the morning. Thank you from all your followers Lyn.

Lyn

3/04/2011Oh! Talk Turkey Thankyou so much. [quote]A smile 4 U to take to bed. Or wake up to so early in the morning.[/quote] You made me laugh, you made me smile, now, I have smiling tears,to take to bed. You are magic, talk turkey.

Feral Skeleton

3/04/2011Mr Denmore about Andrew Bolt: http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/2011/04/outrage-business.html?showComment=1301832099125#c5109635714742110595 Brilliant as always.

Lyn

3/04/2011Hey, hillibilly That's a good new blogger you have found for me, James Purser, thankyou hillbilly. Yes, Grog definately shares, our opinion about the Insiders, and hasn't Grog written up a brilliant piece, as normal. Cheers

D Mick Weir

3/04/2011For those who are up late, [b]DO NOT[/b] whatever you do read John Quiggins latest contribution to what ails the ALP. It may cause sleeplessness. I will give you the opening and closing pars before I divulge the the title of the post. [i]Most of the press coverage of Julia Gillard’s Whitlam oration has focused on her partisan digs at the Greens, and even then only in an “inside football” way, that is, on the likely short-term political implications rather than the validity or otherwise of her criticism. ... Gillard’s speech, coming from someone who is still nominally a member of Labor’s “Socialist Left” faction, is a clear and well-argued exposition of the position of today’s ALP. It seemed, briefly, that Kevin Rudd might promote a rethinking of that position but the moment passed and is unlikely to be recaptured. [b]Any positive thinking about Australia’s future will have to come from outside the Labor party.[/b][/i] (My emphasis.) And the title for the piece: [b]Menzies' Heir[/b] http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/03/menzies-heir/ If you can't sleep go, have a read (and weep). It is a well argued and incisive piece that all true believers need to read and absorb.

Casablanca

3/04/2011Just switch Insiders off for good. We only encourage the bastards and raise our collective blood pressure by tuning in. Hopefully, decent journalists will start to think twice about accepting an invitation to appear on "Inside Barrie, Andrew and Piers' warped brains" The ABC will realise eventually that the program is losing audience.

TalkTurkey

4/04/2011BOYCOTT BUM-BOLT

TalkTurkey

4/04/2011At nearly 2 am I'm prepared to admit that I might have gone a bit hard on Doug Evans, and been a bit abrasive to my old friend NormanK. I did think, well I still do, that DE was pretty dismissive and know-it-all without the evidence to back it re the roof insulation scheme, and singularly negative on everything the Government has done, and not done, and been pretty holy about it all for his part, but what really matters is that I guess I'd still hope we would/will still be on the same side of the Barricades, whatever form that might take. Labor types I do trust. Greens, well . . ? . . They're certainly not HATEFUL like the Rotten right but they would be a LOT more HELPFUL with their shoulders to the wheel in the Labor Party anyway, is my true belief. And like Jason I believe that it would have been infinitely (that's INFINITELY I'm afraid DE, we lost so much way back then) had the Greens not torpedoed Labor first time round and had we now something rather than nothing at all. I believe that the Greens are actually so deeply ashamed of this fact that they go to great lengths to deny that we are in a far weaker position than we are but oh well. I guess you know your own mind DE but you could sure give Labor credit where it's due. I'm actually pretty sure NormanK and I are on pretty much the same side mostly, pity he won't read this! But Norman if you do I reckon you made some imputations about me that I cared not for, that misread me (-eed not -ed) and that got up my nose, when it really wasn't your issue. Anyway, NK . . . (Dog~gobble.) Half way?

Lyn

4/04/2011[b]TODAY'S LINKS[/b] [i]Decline and fall - Insiders and Donald Trump, Greg Jericho, Grog's Gamut[/i] Mark Kenny and Lenore Taylor were treated with sanctimonious contempt by Bolt whenever the topic got on to the Greens or climate change, http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2011/04/decline-and-fall-insiders-and-donald.html [i]The Outrage Business, Mr Denmore, The Failed Estate[/i] ABC, for instance, is so ready to provide multiple platforms for professional provocateur Andrew Bolt and his News Ltd stablemates to http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com/ [i]Doubts about the Oakshott Judgement, Richard Farmer, The Stump[/i] Sunday Telegraph this morning admitting his conservative-minded electorate has turned against him and blaming the media for it. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/ [i]Blinded by the light ....., John Richardson, Your Democracy[/i]chaos ex machina, and so the former union supremo John Robertson has been duly ''elected'' as Labor's new parliamentary leader in NSW. Unopposed, comrades! http://yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/12119 [i]Nothing black and white about Bolt's case and right to free speech, Richard Ackland, Donnybrook Mail[/i] They comprised a nasty, personal rant against fair-skinned part-Aboriginal people who identify as indigenous Australians. http://www.donnybrookmail.com.au/news/national/national/general/nothing-black-and-white-about-bolts-case-and-right-to-free-speech/2121621.aspx?storypage=1 [i]This mornings Insiders and Bolts performance,James Purser[/i]Bolt's attack on Lenore was typical of the sort of tactics that the masters of this art in the US use. Straight from the book of Beck, he was overbearing http://jamespurser.com.au/blog/mornings-insiders-and-bolts-performance [i]Carbon parochialism, Dave's Archives[/i] We cannot engineer a climate policy that is only in the national interest. We cannot employ a version of Maxwell's Demon http://davec.org/ [i]Menzie's Heir, John Quiggin[/i] The only responses I’ve seen pay any serious attention to what is (or at least is presented as) a major restatement of Labor’s vision have come from bloggers http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2011/04/03/menzies-heir/#more-9672 [i]'Overpriced' NBN tenders called off, Alan Kohler, Inside Business[/i] After months of haggling, 14 of the nation's biggest infrastructure builders were all told that their prices for building the fibre optic network around the country were too high. http://www.abc.net.au/insidebusiness/content/2011/s3180875.htm [i]Labor and the Greens on the Carbon Tax debate , Tristian Evans, Left Focus[/i] suggested by progressive economist John Quiggin - would be a substantial equity measure, and provide over $10 billion/year http://leftfocus.blogspot.com/2011/04/labor-and-greens-on-carbon-tax-debate.html [i]AST and the Climate Change denier, Pengsheep[/i] in Australia we've had the pathetic spectacle of shock-jock organized marches with embarrassing support from political figures. The http://pengsheep.blogspot.com/2011/04/ast-and-climate-change-denier.html [i]The Media is responsible … or so I think , Eye Ball, Eye-Ball Opinion[/i] The ‘Independents’ and the ‘Greens’ are now firmly in the media focus – and as I watch ‘The Insiders’ this morning – all are looking at the next live carcass to maul and take down http://bleyzie.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/the-media-is-responsible-or-so-i-think/ [i]Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, we are the great and powerful Oz , Cut and paste, The Australian[/i] The Sydney Morning Herald's national affairs correspondent Lenore Taylor on ABC1's Insiders yesterday: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain-we-are-the-great-and-powerful-oz/story-fn72xczz-1226032912032 [b][quote]The Cut and paste Trophy - April 4, Dave Gaukroger, Pure Poison[/quote][/b] What we want you to do is find comments that are wrong headed, offensive, stupid, or simply embarrassingly bad. Repost it here with a link, http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/

Lyn

4/04/2011Hi Ad and Everybody On Q&A tonight: Kevin Rudd, Julie Bishop, Jeff Bleich, Louise Adler and Robert Manne.

Ad astra reply

4/04/2011LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

Ad astra reply

4/04/2011Folks I have just posted [i]The vilification of our nation's leaders[/i]. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com

Feral Skeleton

4/04/2011DMW, I'm actually going to address the concerns you raise later this week. :) Suffice to say, I think Quiggin is wrong in his argument in a substantive way.

TalkTurkey

4/04/2011Swordsfolks I don't know how we come to have twin threads but I'm on this one now. Come back Ad astra we need you! One reason I have been so testy with those I feel have been scornful of Labor or impugnative of TT in the last few days is that evil creep Andrew Bolt. He is a phenomenon, he's like Adolf, you don't want to watch but you do in fascinated disgust with steam coming out your ears. I saw bits of him yesterday in between reading a few posts to TT that only raised my BP further. The repeating on TPS of the sickening deadly meme that the roof insulation scheme was so terribly done when we know it wasn't and when the lie is so damaging to Labor, and being told it HERE, oooh that really got me going! Anyway, I'm not kidding here, a lot of the way I responded included my vitriol spilling over from the way I feel about Bolt, it's the truth. DE and NK both crossed me in different ways at the wrong time, Bolt time, and this is really about him. WHY WAS HE ON MY ABC BOX YET AGAIN? There are so many decent people, why HIM? I turned him off when Crassidy failed to rein him in yet again. Poor decent browbeaten Lenore Taylor, why doesn't she SCREAM at him when he interrupts? Sheesh, 'f I was a girl in that situation I'd smack his face hard while I had the chance! But I've turned off Bolt for good now. Never again will I watch him for longer than it takes to shoot him with my remote. I'll never go to his blog. I want nothing to do with him. Though I'd love to put him through a shredder I can't, there's no percentage to pacing back and froth (typo~sic!) in front of my TV like a shrivelled lion, so I'm not even interested any more. I've stopped caring, officially. BOYCOTT Bolt. That's the only thing to do. If ever he is on Onesiders again, don't watch. No loss. Don't talk about him nor read about him. Marginalise him instead of letting him influence a significant part of the mainstream intelligentsia (us) - and if anyone mentions him refuse to talk about him, and ridicule the mentioner for mentioning him. Do it as a discipline. Make him a pariah, not even a laughing stock, COAT him, i.e., turn your back, refuse to acknowledge anything to do with him. I told yous that would work with 3 true trolls we had, and look it did. We have to do that on a broader scale with Bolt. And it's the ONLY thing we can do. The more we whinge the more he thrives and the more animal magnetism he exerts. Like a smelly dogturd in the kitchen yes, repellent but unignorable. UNLESS you turn him off and turn your back. If you see him im person turn your back ostentatiously if possible. Nothing else you can legally do anyway, bummer, but there it is. The horrible part is, he's a maggot deep in OUR mango, the ABC. What IS the ABC up to? It is APPALLING! WHY BOLT? Yes I read whose-was-its blog saying it's just for ratings, but it's much more sinister. It is being driven hard in one direction. It is calculated and malicious, top-driven obviously, and the Government MUST find a way to control its bias! The ABC's idea of balance is as a Dingo to a Duck. The memes which, so far from debunking, it actually repeats and promotes ad nauseam, threaten the Government itself. And threaten the nature of our very society. FOREVER! Anyway I'm never going to watch Bolt again, and there are many on other blogs who have independently said the same. Boycott Bum-Bolt! Make it your meme! Let Boycott Bum-Bolt Be Our Theme! Oh the other thing we could do is start a different line: ANDREW BOLT FOR PRESIDENT! with Alan Jones for Vice (!) and Piers Ackerman as Minister for Information Naah. Boycott Bolt. He's nothin'.

Jason

4/04/2011Lyn, Good news Bolt quits Insiders! http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/04/04/media-briefs-bolt-quits-insiders-more-from-the-mercury-subs-thailands-deadly-floods/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrikeyDaily+%28Crikey+Daily%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#comments

Jason

4/04/2011Or this, HERALD Sun columnist and associate editor Andrew Bolt is in talks with the Ten network about a new on-air role. Bolt appears as an occasional panelist on the Ten news program The 7PM Project, but the new job may involve a much bigger role. If a deal with the commercial network is struck, Bolt will quit as a regular panelist on the ABC's Insiders program. Insiders host Barrie Cassidy told Media today that Bolt had not left the program and was booked in for an appearance in three weeks' time. However, he had indicated he had another television project under consideration and he would let the ABC know if it conflicted with his role on the Sunday morning political chat show, Cassidy said. On air on Sunday, Bolt hinted that it may be his final appearance. "It's nearly 10 years that we've been on air and I've come to really appreciate and rely on the support I've got. I love ABC viewers, thank you very much," he said. The head of Ten News Jim Carroll would not comment. Ten sources said the 8am Sunday political program, Meet The Press, would remain on air regardless of any Bolt initiative. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/bolt-in-talks-with-ten-about-tv-role/story-e6frg8zx-1226033362135

Feral Skeleton

4/04/2011Jason, Bolt on Insiders in another 3 weeks! Barrie Cassidy really must want to kill Insiders stone dead.

Jason

4/04/2011FS, I don't know what is worse! that he might be back in three weeks,or from my crikey link above he gets $800.00 each time he is on the show!

Feral Skeleton

4/04/2011Jason, Adelaide is no longer the groovy city of Don Dunstan it seems: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/kevin-foley-tears-up-as-he-reveals-he-was-assaulted-again/story-e6frea83-1226033445670

Feral Skeleton

4/04/2011Jason, You know why he is in talks with Ten? Murdoch the Junior and Big Gina Rheinhardt have taken over. They want to turn it into Mini Fox. Are we to get no peace in our lives from the dread influence on the media of the Robber Barons and Baronesses?

Jason

4/04/2011FS, Yes Kevin Foley former Deputy premier, now that he is police minister and it's the second time he's been attacked,in the city, most people are saying nothing like first hand experience to show you about the lack of police on the night club beat. Lets hope he does something about it! people have been complaining for years but when he was treasurer the only thing he was worried about was the triple A credit rating!

Jason

4/04/2011FS, Channel 10 have for years chased the extreme sports crowd, What possible project could Bolt do on there that they could even be remotely interested in? Channel 10 have low enough ratings as it is that George had to go to 630pm I think as of tonight! Perhaps Bolt could come on after Benny Hinn or the home shoppers.