Catallaxy Files

Australia's leading libertarian and centre-right blog

Open Forum: August 25, 2012

1,223 comments

Written by Sinclair Davidson

August 25th, 2012 at 12:01 am

Posted in Open Forum

1,223 Responses to 'Open Forum: August 25, 2012'

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  1. Me first.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:05 am

  2. Damn, second..

    Lazlo

    25 Aug 12 at 12:09 am

  3. Next time, Lazlo, next time. :)

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:12 am

  4. But silver is the new gold in Oz..

    Lazlo

    25 Aug 12 at 12:12 am

  5. Jarrah’s latest post on the previous thread:

    It’s not about his ideology, but his aims and actions. He wanted to kill those kids because they were the future leftist leaders. He carried out a purge of leftists. Just like you plainly stated you want to happen.

    JamesK, the Breivik fellow traveller.

    Just so it’s not missed by anyone.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 12:14 am

  6. Duly noted JamesK,
    This from a bloke (i.e.Jarrah) who thinks foetuses are not humans.

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 12:19 am

  7. But what really got my goat was that she played the gender card again. Jules clearly has a problem with being disliked, and she can’t seem to figure out that it’s not because she’s female. It’s because she’s currently heading the most incompetent and wasteful government in Australia’s history, which has just admitted that the mining boom is over and that they’ve spent all the money. (No biggie, though: they’re all going to retire on fat parliamentary pensions while our grandchildren go and work in South American sweatshops).

    But let’s humour her for a bit and think about misogyny. Why does she feel so victimised?

    Perhaps but don’t underestimate Gillard’s political opportunism and cynicism:

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_lying_about_abbott/

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 12:20 am

  8. C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:23 am

  9. from previous thread:

    So stop thinking that silly anti-psychiatry notion that because we can’t accurately describe and diagnosis mental illness ipso facto it is a furphy.

    Glad to see your reply to my musings, Dead Soul (JH), but can’t accept the R.D. Laing and Thomas Szasz label thanks. I have no time for ‘anti-psychiatry’. Brain malfunction is no ‘furphy’ and I too am fascinated by the extent and nature of brain plasticity. My point is that the behavioural categorisation so far is crap, which you obviously also appreciate and feel too. I am not slagging off at shrinks in general (well, only a bit, never personally had to encounter them except for my ma’s and pa’s psychiatric breakdowns (two lost souls), but know of their works). I think we basically agree, as I’ve never had the slightest doubt that it is very difficult indeed to define ‘normality’ whether under a bell-curve or any other form of sociological or anthropological capture. Poetry and literature provide as good a method as any other for me. :)

    Cheers, and good night.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:24 am

  10. Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 12:25 am

  11. The Australian’s editorial a cracker.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:28 am

  12. Gerard Henderson: Media Watch Dog

    ▪ Leigh Sales Truth-Syrup : But Only For Non-Journalists

    MWD was just so impressed with Leigh Sales’ aggressive interview with Opposition leader Tony Abbott on Wednesday. [Why do leading Liberals and Nationals accept invitations to appear on 7.30? I wonder – Ed]

    Ms Sales accused the Liberal Party leader of being “pretty loose with the truth” and “once again being a little loose with the facts”. There were similar refrains including a leading question to Mr Abbott which was as follows: “Are you absolutely scrupulous about making sure what you say in public is accurate?”

    Just after Leigh Sales made this public commitment to truth the following exchange took place:

    Tony Abbott : But look, this isn’t the main game for us. The main game for us are the cost of living pressures that this government has inflicted on the Australian public. It’s not really –

    Leigh Sales : Well sure, but a string of your – I’m sorry to interrupt, but a string of your frontbench have come out on this Slater & Gordon issue so I’m just wondering what are the questions that you want answered?

    Certainly Leigh Sales did not look sorry when she interrupted the Liberal Party leader. An “absolutely scrupulous” 7.30 presenter would have used such words as : “I need to interrupt” or “I want to interrupt” or “My producer requires that I interrupt”.

    MWD has contacted Ms Sales about this issue – so far, alas, without response. Some journalists believe that only journalists should ask questions. Stay tuned.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 12:28 am

  13. Jarrah’s latest post on the previous thread: It’s not about his ideology, but his aims and actions. He wanted to kill those kids because they were the future leftist leaders. He carried out a purge of leftists. Just like you plainly stated you want to happen.

    JamesK, the Breivik fellow traveller.

    Just so it’s not missed by anyone.
    I just took the trouble, and five minute loading time, to go back and check this, and wow! Jarrah really said this..

    Lazlo

    25 Aug 12 at 12:29 am

  14. 21 years for Breivik. Unbelievable.

    Martin Bryant has sat in Risdon Jail for 16 years. Imagine him getting out into the Tasmanian community in at most 5 years, not allowing for parole…

    Gobsmacked.

    Lazlo

    25 Aug 12 at 12:35 am

  15. She was at it again, intimidating the free press.

    Gillard had called The Australian’s editor-in-chief, Chris Mitchell, on Sunday night to find a way to end the coverage. Rather than answer the newspaper’s queries, she argued there was no point addressing the matter because every 20 questions she answered would only lead to 20 more questions. Previous disputes with News Limited – over reports by Glenn Milne in 2007 at The Sunday Telegraph and last year at The Australian – had led to similar phone calls. She seized on errors and called executives and editors to shut down the stories.

    On that mistake that Gillard made out to be a crime of humongous proportions,

    Up since 4am to scour the media, the Prime Minister’s team had found an error in one of The Australian’s stories where the “slush fund” was referred to as a “trust fund” – a mistake that may seem minor but can mean the world to a lawyer.

    The mistake appeared in a report by one of Thomas’s colleagues that was not central to the AWU matter and was later described by Gillard herself later as a “Mills and Boon” account of her personal life. For all that, however, the problem over one short word was enough for Gillard to challenge five days of reporting.

    The Prime Minister had not sought an apology from The Sydney Morning Herald when it reported that her actions might have breached West Australian corporate law but she regarded The Australian’s mistake as an egregious error of fact. Rather than contact The Australian she called News Limited group editorial director Campbell Reid at 9.15am and demanded an apology by 10am on all News websites. The Australian apologised immediately.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:41 am

  16. Gillard had called The Australian’s editor-in-chief, Chris Mitchell, on Sunday night to find a way to end the coverage.

    What a disgraceful fascist.

    The Australian apologised immediately.

    Why the fuck did they do that?

    Why would it be defamatory to say she set up a trust fund?

    You know, rather than an illegal “slush fund”?

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:47 am

  17. Yes, she is a fascist. This is quite self evident.

    Lazlo

    25 Aug 12 at 12:51 am

  18. Because it was the only thing she could actually pick on that was technically incorrect. Clearly everything else written in the Australian was correct and she couldn’t demand it’s removal.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:52 am

  19. Peter Hartcher:

    There’s more to come – nothing can stop that now.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:52 am

  20. Every four years it’s the same:

    Byron York: Voters fret about economy, Dems focus on abortion.

    A party obsessed with killing children.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:55 am

  21. Woo-boy. Hedley Thomas really serves it up to Gillard’s sycophantic press corps, ending with:

    They did not pursue it doggedly without fear or favour; they increasingly questioned whether it was even legitimate and worked overtime to downplay it.

    They saved their worst for Thursday when the Prime Minister seized on a trivial error by my colleague at The Australian who had incorrectly reported in an inconsequential page 6 colour story that Gillard had established a “trust fund”, not a “slush fund”.

    Gillard beat this nothing typo into something that a child would see as inflated nonsense.

    She then reached out to journalists too naive or intellectually dishonest to call it for what it was – a desperate, craven deflection.

    The Prime Minister used journalists to shoot the messenger, and at a time of threatened media regulation, they obliged and pulled the trigger.

    RTWT

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/opinion/medias-shameful-silence/story-e6frg99o-1226457713761

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:56 am

  22. Wow Gab.

    Just wow.

    What an indictment

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:07 am

  23. Even Hartcher agrees:

    One of the many intriguing aspects of the slush fund scandal that was revived against Julia Gillard this week is that the opposition had almost nothing to do with it.

    In the annals of scandal-based attempts to embarrass or pressure prime ministers, this makes it as rare as a blue diamond, but nowhere near as attractive.

    The opposition was not hawking to the press a dirt file on Gillard. It did not promote the story or brief reporters on the key questions to pursue. It did not use question time, not even once, to pressure her on the matter. These are the time-honoured hallmarks of an opposition-led assault; they were missing this week.

    Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/pm-and-a-fistful-of-questions-20120824-24rtj.html#ixzz24TZz4miO

    Yet apparently Conroy was on morning television this week saying it was an Opposition smear campaign. The same liar who plans to Finkelstein the media. Conroy should at all times be treated with the utmost contempt.

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 1:11 am

  24. Looks like another night of nothing to see at the Wish.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 1:11 am

  25. Conroy should at all times be treated with the utmost contempt.

    Paul Sheehan:

    You can learn a lot about people in toilets. I first encountered Senator Stephen Conroy in a toilet in the NSW Parliament…

    Read on.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 1:16 am

  26. It’s nice and amusing to learn via that revelation in today’s Weekend Australian that Old Slushy and her staff are up all night, wetting their pants about what’s being reported. The way it should be.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 1:19 am

  27. Conroy personifies this problem. He embodies it. His constant warring and plotting in the past year prompted the former ALP federal president, Greg Sword, to call him “mad”, and the federal Labor MP, Bob Sercombe, to call him a “dill”, among other insults from other Labor opponents.

    Conroy, loved by all.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:21 am

  28. The Australian editorial:

    At the ABC, political host Barrie Cassidy has demanded journalists place Tony Abbott under more scrutiny. Yet he argues Ms Gillard should face less. Perhaps instead of writing about journalism, he ought to practise some.

    Harsh but fair.

    well ok – not harsh enuff

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:21 am

  29. Yes, of course SteveC. Nothing to see at all you arsehole. None so blind as those who will not see.

    For anyone who is wondering, I have recently taken the JC meme to heart. Always escalate! I urge you all to do the same!

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 1:25 am

  30. Conroy, loved by all.

    What a piece of work.

    Conroy does not have clean hands in these matters.

    This is not new. When I first encountered him on May 20, 1997, he was occupied at a urinal in a men’s toilet. As I walked in, he finished his business and walked out. He did not pause. He did not wash his hands. He went straight back to the committee room.

    You do not forget such images.

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 1:28 am

  31. It’s nice and amusing to learn via that revelation in today’s Weekend Australian that Old Slushy and her staff are up all night, wetting their pants about what’s being reported. The way it should be.

    Yeah, I agree CL, but still, this doesn’t feel like freedom to me…even though this pack of arseholes is fearful of the people.

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 1:29 am

  32. Every four years it’s the same:

    Byron York: Voters fret about economy, Dems focus on abortion.

    A party obsessed with killing children.

    Condoms, abortions, taxes and hate.

    That’s the modern demolitionist party.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 1:35 am

  33. Condoms, abortions, taxes and hate.

    That’s the modern demolitionist party.

    Let’s not forget rolling over for demagogues in the hope of being rewarded with touchy-feely belly-rubs.

    perturbed

    25 Aug 12 at 1:43 am

  34. It’s nice and amusing to learn via that revelation in today’s Weekend Australian that Old Slushy and her staff are up all night, wetting their pants about what’s being reported. The way it should be.

    What a bunch of fucking wankers they are. Instead if staying up all night figuring good policy the lowrent party stays reading what the papers are saying about them. I bet they read the blogs too. What a filthy, filthy bunch.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 1:43 am

  35. He did not wash his hands.

    Note to self: Should you ever have the misfortune to encounter this politician at unavoidable event, do not, under any circumstances, shake hands.

    Note back to self: Previous notes have banned said self from shaking hands with Labor politicians at any time so new directive is redundant.

    Megan

    25 Aug 12 at 1:47 am

  36. What a filthy, filthy bunch.

    Especially Conroy, apparently.

    Megan

    25 Aug 12 at 1:48 am

  37. What Voters Will Remember about Abortion in November

    On November 7, we may well look back at this week’s events and see that this was the week that President Obama lost the presidency — because of the abortion issue.

    What the Obama campaign has decided to do is to make unrestricted access to abortion a key component of his campaign. By highlighting Sandra Fluke, NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and a host of pro-abortion advocates at the Democratic National Convention, their strategy seems to be to use abortion as a wedge issue in order to paint Republicans as out of touch with most Americans.

    Exactly the opposite is true. Our Knights of Columbus/Marist poll conducted this year found that only 12 percent of Americans support the president’s position on abortion. A full 88 percent support significant restrictions and 79 percent would limit abortion to the first three months of pregnancy.

    Interestingly, 20 percent of Americans would allow abortion only to save the life of the mother — or not at all. That’s almost twice those who support the president’s position.

    Moreover, our Knights of Columbus/Marist poll in May found that Americans say abortion is “morally wrong” by a 58 to 40 percent margin.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:50 am

  38. lowrent party stays reading what the papers are saying about them.

    It’s always a good idea to know what’s being said about you in the papers, but I’ll agree that the attention they’re giving it and the nature of their reaction are so utterly inappropriate it buggers the imagination (yes, buggers).

    perturbed

    25 Aug 12 at 1:51 am

  39. Gunman kills 1, wounds 8 at Empire State Building

    It’s not clear if Johnson opened fire on the officers, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the nine wounded may have been shot by police in the mayhem.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:53 am

  40. Obama has millions of fake Twitter followers

    President Obama’s Twitter account has 18.8 million followers — but more than half of them really don’t exist, according to reports.

    A new Web tool has determined that 70% of Obama’s crowd includes “fake followers,” The New York Times reports in a story about how Twitter followers can be purchased.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:55 am

  41. Uk Independent: Obama asks eurozone to keep Greece in until after election day

    US officials are worried that if Greece exits the eurozone, it will damage President’s election hopes

    he Obama administration will pressure European governments not to let Greece fall out of the eurozone before November’s Presidential elections, British Government sources have suggested.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:58 am

  42. James, I’ve been trying tell various doofi for months that abortion is now a loser in US politics. That’s why GOP supporters who fear being seen to oppose it are idiots.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 2:40 am

  43. The Obama administration will pressure European governments not to let Greece fall out of the eurozone before November’s Presidential elections, British Government sources have suggested.

    Is that desperation, or is that desperation? FMD, if they were looking good, it wouldn’t matter who dropped out of the fucking Euro. The fact that they’re worried about this making them look bad speaks volumes. The fact that they’re prepared to twist arms over it (however gently) speaks even louder.

    And now they’ve been caught at it.

    perturbed

    25 Aug 12 at 2:47 am

  44. Instead if staying up all night figuring good policy the lowrent party stays reading what the papers are saying about them. I bet they read the blogs too. What a filthy, filthy bunch.

    It’s to be expected. The ALP long ago made it clear that they don’t care about policy at all any more. Only power.

    Yobbo

    25 Aug 12 at 2:50 am

  45. 19 shootings overnight in Obama’s home town of Chicago

    19 people were shot in Chicago between Thursday evening and Friday morning, with 13 of the 19 shot in a span of just 30 minutes. Chicago’s murder rate has gone up 31 percent since 2011 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel was elected.

    So how’s all that Hope and Change and Gun Control workin’ out for ya?

    sdog

    25 Aug 12 at 3:13 am

  46. I am a bit despondent about Australia at the moment. How the media continue to toady up for the ALP. Remember how the SIEV X crusade against Howard played out. Remember how the AWB crusade against Howard played out. Any minute now Costello will be blamed by the media for the RBA corruption scandal. Anything that tangentially involves a Lib, even in the most obscure and delusional way, is played up for years and pursued in the MSM for all its worth. However, when the ALP is involved in what are clearly prima facie cases of criminal behavior, it is one excuse after another not to follow it up. Dark days indeed for our country as the Fascist ALP starts to close down some of our freedoms.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 3:27 am

  47. In better news Ryan seems to have given Romney a lift off and given him some great momentum going into the convention. Importantly, and for once, the Republicans have a big dollar advantage because Romney has been saving his cash, whereas Obama has been getting it and spending it straight away.

    Remember how in 2008 Obama claimed that running a political campaign was his executive experience? Well he is running the finances of his current campaign the way he has run the country. He has spent millions of dollars to damage Romney who has only grown stronger. Obama’s political spending has had about the same effect on the polls as his general spending has had on the economy. his campaign is all fundraise and spend with little direction, no real strategy and based on lies, smears and inuendo.

    Romney on the other hand is saving his cash for when it counts. Building up his war chest. This will force Obama to fundraise instead of campaign in the next few months. That could prove critical to the campaign. Romney has made strategically astute moves with some flair and creativity. He has been unpredictable to upset the Dems. Picking Ryan so that the Dems would launch a war on Medicare was a master stroke. Romney saw the weakness of the Dems and has turned the mediscare campaign of Obama right back against him, deploying Ryan effectively to strengthen Romeny’s bid for Florida. Romney fought on what is supposed to be a Democrat strength and won. All without spending much money.

    If executive management of the campaign is any indicator of Presidential ability, then Romney’s frugal campaign and financial policy focus, demonstrates that Romney will be a better President than Obama.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 3:47 am

  48. There. Finally pitched that stupid gravatar that seemed like such a witty idea one day about three years ago.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 4:14 am

  49. I have written a post based on the comment of the Green Party leader, Christine Milne, that “we should have been using the social sciences a lot sooner than we have been to work out ways to talk to people’s value systems rather than to their intellectual capacity.”

    http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/if-reality-is-ignored-or-disregarded-when-do-we-become-a-state-against-its-people/

    Milne’s comment of course referred to using education to instill a desired mindset that perceives reality as cultivated regardless of the true facts.
    She was reacting to the continuing problem of Denialism. Think of it as a more effective and permanent form of censorship.

    It was in an interview she did with David Bowman, Prof of Environmental Change Biology at the University of Tasmania. I have not seen it covered in Australia and it so relates to what the UN is pushing via education all over the world right now that I had to write about it. in connection with everything else I am tracking. The math and science as a social construct is a huge problem now in both Australia and New Zealand.

    Robin

    25 Aug 12 at 4:58 am

  50. James, I’ve been trying tell various doofi for months that abortion is now a loser in US politics. That’s why GOP supporters who fear being seen to oppose it are idiots.

    GOP supporters who want to build a campaign around supporting it are the true idiots, CL. I have no doubt the figures you cite are correct, but they don’t make it an issue of critical concern. Better to keep one’s eye on the ball.

    Fighting an election primarily on conservative social issues is an oft-proven losing proposition for the GOP, which is why the Dems are constantly keep trying to pick fights with them over such matters. Romney’s campaign hasn’t fallen for these diversionary tactics, happily.

    Oh come on

    25 Aug 12 at 5:21 am

  51. - supporting, + opposing

    Oh come on

    25 Aug 12 at 5:26 am

  52. Fairfax wheels out one of The Age’s good old boys, Russell Skelton, to do an anti-Liberal smear on polling day in the NT.

    FIRST Nations’ candidate and popular singer-songwriter Warren H. Williams has blasted the Country Liberals for using ”cruel in-your-face tactics” to win votes for the bush seat of Namatjira in today’s Northern Territory election.

    Mr Williams told The Saturday Age it’s ”enough to put you off politics for life, I don’t think I would have stood if I had known how bad and ugly the campaign was going to be”.

    He said he had witnessed ”vicious personal” attacks made on the reputation of ALP candidate Des Rogers at Santa Teresa community outside Alice Springs.

    The ”verballing of voters” was in Aboriginal language so polling officials had no idea what was taking place, he said.

    Mr Williams declined to identify who had made the attacks or repeat the defamatory comments he overheard, but said it had been part of a systematic campaign. The Country Liberals are fighting to retain Namatjira in today’s closely fought territory election, which politicians and analysts say could go either way.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 6:10 am

  53. The Fairfax zombies are all a’flutter trying to figure out what the devil of their dreams is doing:

    A rumour flew through the investment community that Mrs Rinehart never intended to sell the shares on offer, but knew the cheaper offer would push the price down. This would make it cheaper for her to buy more shares or put additional pressure on the board.

    One broker said: ”If it keeps falling then I think we fully expect her to make a bid for the company and probably move in to break it up.”

    She said shareholders were holding out to make a profit in the event of a break-up while fund managers who knocked back the offer on Thursday afternoon said they preferred to buy into companies with certainty.

    Mrs Rinehart’s office did not return calls.

    Following the $2.8 billion write-down by Fairfax on Thursday and a gloomy outlook for the short term by chief executive Greg Hywood, analysts yesterday cut their earnings forecasts for this financial year. Mr Hywood said the company was facing the ”perfect storm of structural change and cyclical downturn”.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 6:32 am

  54. I know this guy files you all with bile, but can you guys explain to me if any of what he says on the Republican’s new desire to go to the gold standard.

    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/gop-intellectual-decline-monetary-edition/

    WadeJ

    25 Aug 12 at 6:40 am

  55. In an apparent attempt to stave off government media regulation, the Australian Press Council has turned itself into an ogre at least as bad as the proposed Finkelstein censor.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 7:32 am

  56. Disagreeing is not trolling, observed SteveC at the end of the old thread.
    It’s true that we can all disagree, but it doesn’t usually look like a consistent campaign of disagreement. To hang around endlessly, throwing constant ” disagreement” and distracting counter points at people who you obviously are in permanent opposition to, is something else. The introduction of things like the Tony Abbott student days touching incident had all the hallmarks, particularly being from the usual perps, of the attempted equivalence they’re so fond of as a distraction.
    Disagreement can happen in any discussion, but what’s happening here most days is a campaign of disruption masquerading as participation. It’s quite obvious that a group enjoys sticking it to the catallaxians for no other reason than to be a nuisance. They are never going to be convinced by our points, nor we by theirs. They are ill mannered in not taking the advice that they are unwelcome, therefore deserve no consideration.

    Blogstrop

    25 Aug 12 at 7:42 am

  57. Hedley Thomas is letting the sycophants have it with both barrels:

    Medias Shameful Silence ($)

    I wonder if they’ll ask him for his Walkley back? They probably all thought that because he went in hard on the Howard government, he was a paid-up love media operative.

    He’s spot-on, by the way. Half the media have spent the majority of their time trying to discredit whoever reports this matter. It’s like they’re yearning for Finkelstein so they don’t have to work as hard.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 8:30 am

  58. For those Catallaxians who would like to play the role of ‘agony aunt’.

    The Price of True Love. Should a Debt-Free Man Marry a Girl With $340,000 in Student Debt?

    Ellen of Tasmania

    25 Aug 12 at 8:33 am

  59. Blogstrop, you twit. A huge part of the problem here is that polite dissent is rarely accommodated. In my case, for example, it is a continual matter of extreme ridicule and disbelief that I did vote for Howard every time, disliked Rudd quite intensely, think that the Left were nauseatingly hyperbolic against Bush and Howard re most issues, etc, etc. And the disbelief and denial goes on despite the fact that there is a 6000 post blog from 2005 showing it all.

    Yet, as with climate science, it’s like evidence simply doesn’t matter any more.

    In the current mix of important issues, I genuinely think the Right has lost its way and become ideologically fixated at the cost of pragmatism and common sense. It is worse in the US, but it has infected Australian politics too.

    This Frum like view is, I think, increasingly common: a complaint about the Right from parties normally sympathetic to it.

    Anyway, my point is that this is not treated seriously here at all; it is met with hyperbolic and personal attack, and rarely (very rarely) answered seriously. Strangely, it was on one occasion recently when JC did seriously respond to some links I put up criticizing Ryan on monetary policy. If a person could get commentary like that in response more than once in a blue moon, you might not find dissenters treating you here with disdain most of the time.

    In short, you treat genuine dissent with contempt, and yet you don’t expect it in return. As you don’t expect the obnoxious forms of attack from your “side” to stop, stop whining about what you get from dissenters.

    Steve from brisbane

    25 Aug 12 at 8:36 am

  60. San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state in the world. It was founded in 301 by a Christian stoneworker from Dalmatia (modern-day Croatia) who was fleeing persecution under Diocletian. …

    Tax rates are comparatively low. Regulation is limited. The government is tiny. San Marino has a long history of budget surpluses and zero debt.”

    Could other European countries learn anything from them?

    Ellen of Tasmania

    25 Aug 12 at 8:37 am

  61. Ellen of Tas, you are getting an extra http// in your links.

    Biota

    25 Aug 12 at 8:43 am

  62. StevieLiar you forgot to add that you are a dickhead. Do the washing.

    Tiny Dancer

    25 Aug 12 at 8:48 am

  63. @ellen – and they used to have their own GP until the corrupt little twerp Ecclestone took it off them and gave it to Bahrain or Turkey or some such place.

    The great shame of Australia (as I have noted previously) is a lack of old-world principalities like San Marino, Monaco or the Isle of Man. Places where you can move to and escape the government to a certain extent.

    It’s my party platform – make the Whitsundays a semi-autonomous special economic zone. Airlie Beach to be the wheeling-dealing port on the edge of the zone.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 8:57 am

  64. Ellen, just want to say how much I appreciate your contributions to this blog. They are a shining light coming out of Tassie in its darkest hours. I’d say from my recent holiday across Bass Strait that Tassie is far too good a place to be so badly governed by greenslime placed there by a hoodwinked population. Keep it up, and know we are all with you and others like you in the Gateway to Antarctica.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    25 Aug 12 at 8:58 am

  65. I know this guy files you all with bile, but can you guys explain to me if any of what he says on the Republican’s new desire to go to the gold standard.

    He claims they’re going to the gold standard, then attacks them with gusto for it. But what’s his evidence? He doesn’t offer any, but merely says “the GOP platform will reportedly include a call for steps toward a return to the gold standard.”

    Sounds like he’s set up a straw man (“the GOP will go to the Gold Standard, I tells ya!”) then set about kicking that straw man to pieces with gusto. I don’t believe it. I think he’s bullshitting.

    dd

    25 Aug 12 at 9:06 am

  66. make the Whitsundays a semi-autonomous special economic zone.

    SEZ’s a great idea brc. Get rid of the Greenslime element in Tassie and you have a whole island with plenty of high-leisure and other infrastructure already exsiting. Tassie could become a tax beater, rather than a tax eater. Have to change a lot of culture and bureaucracy though, so it may be too much like pushing the proverbial uphill. Still, maybe, perhaps with elements of the Fisk Doctrine applied ..

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    25 Aug 12 at 9:06 am

  67. Anyway, my point is that this is not treated seriously here at all; it is met with hyperbolic and personal attack, and rarely (very rarely) answered seriously.

    Hypocrisy much SfB? I have asked you (and mUnty) a number of times, initially politely and later not so politely, to explain how you can reconcile (on the most favourable reading of events) extreme carelessness with the leadership of the country. You have never, to my knowledge, answered that question and yet you continually throw up the ‘Tony Abbott farted in an elevator in 1976 and so Gillard is pure as driven snow’ schtick. So forgive me now if I treat you with the contempt you deserve.
    Fuck you, you whinging c*nt. Now piss off…no one is forcing you to comment here or even read the threads.

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 9:16 am

  68. sfb’s appeal for reason and considered debate starts with “you twit”. Says it all really.

    sfb imagine yourself on a busy city street corner, and many people are going about their business having a chat with each other as brief opportunity presents. Now imagine that every time a brief chat occurs, some rude person steps up and interrupts that brief moment. Well the street corner is the Cat, and you are the rude person who interrupts.

    Commenting on blogs is usually reserved for that part of the psychology that is known as the cognitive surplus which may or may not be deployed on the Cat. In any case it represents a small percentage of people’s available mental resources that are generally deployed elsewhere in the midst of a busy day. People simply don’t necessarily have time to stop and point out how your pathetic assumptions are seriously wrong, so they resort to shorthand. When you then continually pester people with your pompous indignation, it’s not surprising that they might call you a dickhead. When you continue to spin lies as truth, people correctly get annoyed and the naming escalates.

    You might as well be one those idiot Greenpeace people who hang around shopping malls trying to engage people about AGW. When I’ve been accosted by these people, I simply state my position and keep walking, because believe it or not I’m actually engaged in transacting other business. The Greenpeace idiot on the other hand, thinks I should stop and debate them.

    This is what happens when you have time on your hands – you start thinking everyone else has the leisure to talk to you. They don’t, and even if they do have time, they might not find you terribly interesting anyway. In order to alter your perspective, I suggest you get a job. That way, you might actually appreciate the need for brevity and not putting up with continual whining. Who knows, having a job might even make you interesting.

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 9:20 am

  69. Blogstrop, you twit. A huge part of the problem here is that polite dissent is rarely accommodated. In my case, for example, it is a continual matter of extreme ridicule and disbelief that I did vote for Howard every time, disliked Rudd quite intensely, think that the Left were nauseatingly hyperbolic against Bush and Howard re most issues, etc, etc. And the disbelief and denial goes on despite the fact that there is a 6000 post blog from 2005 showing it all.

    Yeah, we’re all super impressed that you claim to be a Robert Manne style conservative.

    Infidel Tiger

    25 Aug 12 at 9:21 am

  70. According to Jabba the hut it is Tony Abbott that has issues. He obviously takes his cues from SfB and mUnty and their comments here…

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 9:37 am

  71. A huge part of the problem…

    Rock ribbed conservative laments: “You left me, I didn’t leave you.”
    Roll VTR.

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 9:39 am

  72. Hedley Thomas is letting the sycophants have it with both barrels:

    Medias Shameful Silence ($)

    The major problem with that article is this line:

    Importantly, at no time in the past 17 years has the Australian public been informed of these remarkable circumstances surrounding Gillard’s conduct. Not by the mainstream media nor the authors nor the political insiders in Canberra and Melbourne.

    Circumstances, that is the issue here. Hedley did a fine job of getting players in the scandal to open up on the record, and discover documents and transcripts. When you consider all of the material he managed to find, however, it is still all merely circumstantial. There is no smoking gun, no proof, no evidence that could lead to any convictions. Just “remarkable circumstances”.

    As I said in the previous open thread, if all it takes is extra circumstantial evidence to reopen an old scandal, why doesn’t Hedley go interview the other 193 witnesses to the alleged indecent assault by Abbott? Why doesn’t he dig up all the stories of Abbott’s youthful hijinx as background to the case? Why doesn’t he find all the student pollies who encountered him back in the day and would no doubt have an axe to grind with him nowadays, as he did with the old farts of the union movement who have old scores to settle with the unionists and ALP politicians of today?

    Calling other journalists “intellectually dishonest” for judging correctly that all he had was an entertaining yarn of circumstances, not a substantive story of newly uncovered evidence of corruption, means Hedley has veered off the journalistic straight and narrow, and is open to accusations of capture by his sources.

    m0nty

    25 Aug 12 at 9:45 am

  73. Keith has said it beautifully. The only point I would like to make, and I won’t debate it further, is that many of Steve’s comments to the women who consistently post here are in no way, shape or form, “polite dissent”. They are, plain and simply, rude and bad mannered.

    They say far more about you Steve, and your lack of intellectual rigour, ability to analyse or form a coherent argument, than they say about the women you’re insulting. And that has absolutely nothing to do with which side of politics we might support, our personal views on contentious issues, and whether we believe in global warming or not.

    Megan

    25 Aug 12 at 9:48 am

  74. “Why doesn’t he dig up all the stories of Abbott’s youthful hijinx as background to the case? ”

    ‘cos Mr Abbott doesn’t go about having affairs with married people and helping to destory marriages involving young kids, that’s why, so there’s nothing to find. Ms Gillard has the immoral and decidely shady history that is not appropriate for someone in the highest position in Au.

    candy

    25 Aug 12 at 9:53 am

  75. Even Hartcher agrees

    Where is that “clean air”, “blue sky”, “cut-through”, and the like, that Gillard was supposed to have achieved in her surprise raid of the Press Gallery, Thursday?

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 10:00 am

  76. db, the Rudd-aligned journos are just having a whinge. By Monday, something else will be on the go.

    m0nty

    25 Aug 12 at 10:02 am

  77. David Frum is sfb without an apron.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 10:06 am

  78. That wouldn’t surprise me, monty, these journalists are as easily distracted as kittens.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 10:08 am

  79. ‘cos Mr Abbott doesn’t go about having affairs with married people and helping to destory marriages involving young kids, that’s why, so there’s nothing to find. Ms Gillard has the immoral and decidely shady history that is not appropriate for someone in the highest position in Au.

    Well said candy, well said.

    I would add to that, that Gillard has revealed a disturbing tendency to pursue the interests of people she is emotionally and intimately involved with at the expense of her duty to represent her employer and their clients who ultimately paid her salary. Whether or not she acted criminally or benefitted personally is irrelevant. It is the betrayal of her employer and clients that calls into questions her fitness for high office. The Australian people are her employer now. How can anyone trust that she won’t pursue the interests of her party and the union movement at the expense of the wider population? Are some people who frequent this blog so thick that they need this so blatantly spelled out to them?

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 10:10 am

  80. Laurie Oakes takes up JC’s admission that Abbott is a liar:

    Let’s not beat about the bush. Tony Abbott tells lies. So what? Is there anything surprising about that? After all, he’s a politician.

    m0nty

    25 Aug 12 at 10:12 am

  81. I already posted Jabba’s article. You’re only about 40 mins behind mUnty, you wanker…

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 10:17 am

  82. GOP supporters who want to build a campaign around opposing it are the true idiots, CL.

    The evidence suggests otherwise.

    I have no doubt the figures you cite are correct…

    I didn’t cite any figures.

    … but they don’t make it an issue of critical concern.

    The voters don’t agree.

    Better to keep one’s eye on the ball.

    It’s not baseball – one ball.

    It’s snooker – lots of balls.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 10:20 am

  83. Laurie Oakes is a clown. Monty, the other day Julia told us that once she realized what Wison had been up to she ended the relationship. Um why didn’t she call the police?

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 10:21 am

  84. monty,

    We’ve already been subjected to the “phony Tony” phase of the PM. How did that work out? Must you repeat it?

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 10:30 am

  85. David Frum is sfb without an apron.

    LOL.

    That’s totally unfair on that dick Frum

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 10:31 am

  86. Oh no, whilst campaigning in the town he was born in, Romney made a joke about no one ever asking to see birth certificate. This is a terrible gaffe because the MSM, SfB and Monty know that ‘birth certificate’ is ‘coded language’ that really means:

    I want to round up every minority person in this State and grind their first born into a fine mince that I then make the rest of the minority male folk eat whilst being forced to watch me rape their wives and decapitate their elder children before I throw the remainder into a big fiery pit of fire whilst me and all my right, white folk dance nude around the fire singing Nazi marching songs. Or something like that. It couldn’t possibly just be a light hearted pun that everyone knows where Mitt was born.

    No it has to be the fiery pit racist thing, otherwise the comment just doesn’t make sense!

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 10:32 am

  87. It’s not baseball – one ball.

    It’s snooker – lots of balls.

    Liberty quote, please.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 10:35 am

  88. Check out these user reviews (at the bottom of the page) for Veet for Men Hair Removal Gel Cream.

    Hilarious. What’s that old cliché about blokes not bothering to follow simple instructions?

    papachango

    25 Aug 12 at 10:36 am

  89. All of the main charges against Gillard are now proved.

    1. She set up what she called a “slush fund” (which Fairfax considered illegal).

    2. She deliberately kept her dodgy activities secret from her colleagues.

    3. She was sacked from Slater & Gordon.

    4. She subsequently lied about her resume timeline.

    5. Suspiciously, during her humiliating interrogation at Slater & Gordon she couldn’t rule out benefitting from the money whose theft she facilitated.

    Moreover:

    1. She lied about The Australian’s “defamation” at her infamous press conference.

    2. She lied about the sources and pursuers of the story.

    3. She refused to answer any questions about the scandal.

    4. She said the boys were being mean to her because she has a vagina.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 10:36 am

  90. ” Um why didn’t she call the police?”

    more like she did not end the relationship but he just skidaddled back to Perth to his wife and children, and to call the police would bring attention to her shady lawyering

    candy

    25 Aug 12 at 10:39 am

  91. My point exactly Candy. Her failure to call police is herr admission of guilt.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 10:52 am

  92. No no no.
    MÖnty is right.
    Being found to have not touched someone’s bottom is equal to or perhaps even greater than a story which encapsulates the very nature of the modern Australian Labor Party.

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 10:53 am

  93. All of the main charges against Gillard are now proved.

    Yes, but look over there, Abbott is picnicking with his family; dog-whistling misogynist.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 10:55 am

  94. So Anders Behring Breivik has been convicted.

    You wouldn’t know it if your reading was confined to the extreme Right of the blogosphere.

    Bolt, Akerman, Catallaxy, and Blair have completely ignored the event. I wonder why?

    Contrast this eerie silence with Bolt’s rush to print when the news broke, as he initially canvassed the slaughter to be connected with Islamic terrorists.

    Could it have anything to do with the ideological proximity of these fearless opponents of multiculturism, and Breivik’s manifesto?

    To quote the cited article –

    It wasn’t just harder rightwingers such as Melanie Phillips, Mark Steyn and Pamela Geller who tried to deny the connection, but many more moderate writers and politicians.

    I would add those Australian bloggers listed above.

    They’re still denying the connection…..

    [You are a disgrace. Sinc]

    1735099

    25 Aug 12 at 11:04 am

  95. “This from a bloke (i.e.Jarrah) who thinks foetuses are not humans.”

    Wrong. But I guess you’re used to that.

    Jarrah

    25 Aug 12 at 11:09 am

  96. I know this guy files you all with bile, but can you guys explain to me if any of what he says on the Republican’s new desire to go to the gold standard.

    Krugman is referring to a WSJ report.

    The committee drafting the Republican Party’s platform before next week’s convention included a proposal to establish a commission exploring the United States’ return to a gold standard.

    No word on whether Romney would go all the way and install Ron Paul as the new head of the Fed.

    m0nty

    25 Aug 12 at 11:11 am

  97. FIRST BOX OFFICE: Anti-Obama Movie #1

    FRIDAY 2 PM: The anti-Obama movie 2016 Obama’s America went into wider release around America today and is opening right now in first place at the domestic box office. That’s quite a feat since the Rocky Mountain Pictures political documentary is still playing in only 1,090 North American theaters – or about 1/3 as many theaters as big-budget actioner The Expendables 2 (3,355 theaters). But these political documentaries like faith-based films are frontloaded……..
    Last weekend, 2016: Obama’s America grossed a strong $1.2M last weekend in 169 venues for a cumulative gross as of Thursday of $2.8M. It’s the #2 biggest indie documenatry of the year behind only The Weinstein Company’s Bully ($3.2 million) and already the #12 political documentary of all time. It will rise a lot higher in the rankings after this weekend.

    2016 Obama’s America detractors decry it as a slick infomercial heavy with conspiracy theories. But D’Souza says he made the film to motivate moviegoers to question what an Obama second term would look like, and credits liberal documentary maker Michael Moore for the structure of the film: “When he released Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004 ahead of the election, it sparked intense debate. I learned some lessons from Michael Moore, and hopefully he might learn some lessons from me about handling facts.”

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 11:11 am

  98. Fuck you, you whinging c*nt. Now piss off…no one is forcing you to comment here or even read the threads.

    QED

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 11:13 am

  99. Brit brother: Drones to watch over UK streets

    Unmanned police drones, comparable to those used in war zones such as Afghanistan, could soon be secretly watching over the streets of UK cities, according to a National Police Air Service director.
    The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being considered to monitor crowded events in Britain, such as concerts and festivals, as soon as the aerial units become cost-effective.
    “I see unmanned systems as part of the future. There is an aircraft over London all the time — every day, giving images back. Why does it need to be a very expensive helicopter? If somebody gave me an unmanned system that I could use as I use a helicopter at half the cost, within the regulations, I would buy it tomorrow.” Superintendent Richard Watson said in a presentation to the defense industry, reports The Times.
    Some police precincts have tried using the remote-controlled system to curb crime. Now the idea is to implement the drone policy nationwide.
    Watson said that one manufacturer had proposed an 81-million-pound (around US$127 million) system in a deal that far exceeds the annual National Police Air Service budget of a little over 60 million pounds ($95 million), reports The Telegraph.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 11:14 am

  100. Any QLDers here can participate in a short survey on Campbell Newmans performance so far.

    Any APN paper

    Jumpnmcar

    25 Aug 12 at 11:19 am

  101. How’s Tony’s wrecking ball looking?

    RBA says boom still blooming

    THE Reserve Bank has hosed down claims the resource boom is over, saying mining investment will keep rising for up to two years and the economy would even benefit if some projects were scrapped.

    As the price of Australia’s most lucrative export fell to a near three-year low, RBA governor Glenn Stevens said yesterday that miners had billions more to spend.

    Despite BHP Billiton shelving its $20 billion Olympic Dam expansion this week, Mr Stevens stood by the Reserve’s forecasts for mining investment to keep climbing towards historic highs of about $145 billion a year, or 9 per cent of gross domestic product.

    He conceded that reports of job losses and the debt crisis in Europe were denting confidence. But he said: ”I begin to wonder whether we in Australia worry about the Greek economy more than the Greeks do.”

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 11:24 am

  102. What the fuck are you on about, numbers?

    There are lunatics in every society. We accept that. We know that the previous individual World Record holder was Martin Bryant, at 36 dead.

    Brevik is merely the new individual World Record holder, until the next one. At least he amused us during his trial by occasionally letting loose with a Black Power salute.

    By the way, as someone else has said, Bryant has been behind bars for 16 years. Imagine if he had been slotted for only 21 years? In 5 years’ time, you may well be greeting your new neighbour, the one with the wild, staring eyes.

    Islamofascist acts of terror and mayhem are not symptoms of a mental illness. They are not lunatics. It is a political/sociological belief system, underpinned by a theocracy,that indeed makes acts of mass murder a sacred duty of the adherents of violent jihad.

    Brevik is mad-dog insane pond-scum, and reporting on him (apart from abject dismay at the light sentence he received) only fuels future potential for similar acts.

    What do you want Blair, Bolt et al to report? The fact that lefty jurists in the sissified State of Norway have philosophically found themselves between a rock (compassion for crazies) and a hard place (support for immigrants).

    Your whole comment stinks, numbers. What are you really trying to say?

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 11:37 am

  103. 1735099 – You’ll have to forgive us for not talking about Breivik. Most of us provided him with character references and we are pretty cut up by the decision.

    Infidel Tiger

    25 Aug 12 at 11:38 am

  104. Julia’s a fascist? When is she going to invade Poland?

    jim

    25 Aug 12 at 11:38 am

  105. “How’s Tony’s wrecking ball looking?”

    Martin Ferguson distinctly said the boom is over, it was all over Google the other day.

    So who do you believe? how confusing.

    candy

    25 Aug 12 at 11:39 am

  106. Jumpnmcar

    25 Aug 12 at 11:52 am

  107. @numbers

    What an utter fuckwit smearing machine you are.

    You should introduce yourself to like-minded lowlife Jarrah.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 11:55 am

  108. 1735099,
    I think Brevik’s sanity and conviction was noted in passing on an open thread. Is Catallaxy a news service? Didn’t know that.

    SteveC,
    Old Glenn had to front up with some good news, sitting at he is on top of a bribery scandal. US consumption has collapsed and the China manufacturing domino is falling. We’re next.

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 11:59 am

  109. sitting as he is

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 12:01 pm

  110. Shouldn’t you be out purging leftists, JamesK?

    Jarrah

    25 Aug 12 at 12:04 pm

  111. The most forensically interesting thing about Anders Breivik, profile-wise, is that his parents are reportedly ultra-liberals. So that worked out well.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:04 pm

  112. I suspect that CL is the new Graeme Bird. Unemployed, nematodes on his feet, planted to the computer. A fat useless [naughty. Sinc] smearing himself with butter,

    jim

    25 Aug 12 at 12:05 pm

  113. Only four trolls today.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 12:05 pm

  114. You kanga’s missing, Tom! nooooooo!

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:06 pm

  115. Drones to watch over UK streets

    Hitler’s V2 was ahead of its time, evidently.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:06 pm

  116. “I would add those Australian bloggers listed above.
    They’re still denying the connection….”

    there’s something distasteful about using murdered kids as a way of criticising Australian bloggers.

    candy

    25 Aug 12 at 12:12 pm

  117. Sold the pelt, Gab.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 12:12 pm

  118. In Brevik’s manifesto:

    – he takes inspiration from al-Queda

    – he refers favourably to Obama

    – he cites the New York Times as a fav

    – refers to Charles Johnson obsessively

    – he states clearly “it is essential that science take an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings”

    – he says that he is “first and foremost a man of logic,” calls himself “economically liberal” and reveres Darwinism.

    He’s a nutjob.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:14 pm

  119. awww! I’d grown accustomed to his face, Tom.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:15 pm

  120. Candy, Martin Fergsuson clarified his statement clearly:

    MARTIN FERGUSON: Penny Wong and I are saying the same thing. The commodity price boom is over and anyone with half a brain knows that. Coking coal down from $320 a tonne to $220 a tonne, iron ore down from $180 to $105 a tonne, thermal coal down from $220 to $80 a tonne.

    The difference is while the resources boom is over from a commodity price point of view, we are so well positioned – $270 billion committed capital investment, construction underway in Australia at the moment, creating wealth and spreading the benefits of the boom to all Australians.

    This is also what the RBA (Stevens) is saying

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 12:15 pm

  121. – he takes inspiration from al-Queda

    – he refers favourably to Obama

    – he cites the New York Times as a fav

    – refers to Charles Johnson obsessively

    – he states clearly “it is essential that science take an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings”

    – he says that he is “first and foremost a man of logic,” calls himself “economically liberal” and reveres Darwinism.

    He sounds exactly like an Australian lefty!

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:16 pm

  122. But how many nutjobs, Tom?

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 12:16 pm

  123. – he states clearly “it is essential that science take an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings”

    I’d be very surprised if that was a view only on the left, CL.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 12:18 pm

  124. He sounds exactly like an Australian lefty!

    Yes, I was going to say the same thing, myself, CL. Well done, Gab.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 12:19 pm

  125. Martin Fergsuson clarified his statement …

    LOL.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 12:21 pm

  126. Shouldn’t you be out purging leftists, JamesK?

    You are a turd Jarrah.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 12:21 pm

  127. Better a turd than a Stalinist like you.

    Jarrah

    25 Aug 12 at 12:22 pm

  128. Five.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 12:24 pm

  129. Anyone see this detailed article by Christian Kerr?:

    Now, in an adjudication that should give pause for thought to those on the Left advocating greater media regulation, the Australian Press Council has ruled we must not besmirch the blessed memory of our fellow travellers with Germany’s wartime regime.

    The council has upheld a complaint against Phillip Adams for last year in The Weekend Australian Magazine describing Eric Butler, the founder of the infamous League of Rights and one of Australia’s most notorious peddlers of race-hate and conspiracy theories, as a “traitor” for his wartime activities.

    “If the word ‘traitor’ means anything, Butler was a traitor,” Adams wrote, “often investigated during World War II by stumble-bum security people for his pro-Axis activities. He argued that Churchill, Roosevelt and John Curtin were ‘covert communists’, that then ally the Soviet Union was ‘a Jewish slave state . . . controlled by international Jewish financiers in New York’. And here we see his favourite theme. The evils of the Jewish race.”

    This Press Council ruling should make Finkelstein fans stop and think just who they might be sharing their media with in a tighter regulated environment.

    I don’t know much about this Eric Butler. Any thoughts, comments?

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:25 pm

  130. LOL – I’m a stalinist now.

    At least you acknowledge that you are a turd, Jarrah

    For a malodorous turd is what you are, Jarrah.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 12:26 pm

  131. Digital Dude does this quite often. Drops in and makes one stupid comment, then sits back and watches the fun.
    He is a troll.

    Winston Smith

    25 Aug 12 at 12:26 pm

  132. “He is a troll”

    That Febro person takes the cake tho, with his anti-Abbott stuff, there’s some weird dudes out there.

    candy

    25 Aug 12 at 12:30 pm

  133. AN appeals court has upheld a decision barring the US government from requiring tobacco companies to put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages, saying the government cannot scare smokers into quitting.

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/us-court-stops-graphic-cigarette-warnings/story-e6frfkui-1226457838198#ixzz24WNGF7AQ

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:30 pm

  134. So Anders Behring Breivik has been convicted.

    You wouldn’t know it if your reading was confined to the extreme Right of the blogosphere.

    Bolt, Akerman, Catallaxy, and Blair have completely ignored the event. I wonder why?

    Well, no. Catallaxy has held virtual symposiums debating whether he should be executed, with dot and I (plus a couple of others) in favour, and the death penalty opponents predictably against. The most recent was on the Open Thread.

    Contrast this eerie silence with Bolt’s rush to print when the news broke, as he initially canvassed the slaughter to be connected with Islamic terrorists.

    Could it have anything to do with the ideological proximity of these fearless opponents of multiculturism, and Breivik’s manifesto?

    To quote the cited article –

    From the Guardian, a newspaper that has uncritically given columns to terrorists (such as the leader of Hamas) and members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an extremist arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. It’s not surprising that sensible Leftists are now referring to the Guardian as the house journal of the “Breivik Left“.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 12:34 pm

  135. Bolt did an item on it earlier today defending Adams’ right to have opinions, Gab. The industry has put the left in charge of the APC apparently as a sop to the current government. So now we have a voluntary media regulation system that reinforces the fascist left’s view of the world, including its support for the Ecuadorian press freedom model.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 12:36 pm

  136. Oh, I haven’t been over to Bolt’s yet, Tom. I’ll check it out. Ta.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:38 pm

  137. The Guardian is an elite journal of the more liberal right.

    In much the same way the Big Issue is the nation’s top selling formguide.

    Infidel Tiger

    25 Aug 12 at 12:39 pm

  138. this “Jules”character sounds like febro.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:40 pm

  139. Fisky, I also called for his execution by cremation.
    Just to keep the record clear.

    Winston Smith

    25 Aug 12 at 12:42 pm

  140. Breivik’s conviction was never in doubt since he didn’t deny doing it, the trial was whether he was mad or sane.

    Incidentally, his next target was going to be Protestants.

    coz

    25 Aug 12 at 12:42 pm

  141. Who is this ‘Julius’, our latest space cadet affront to truth?

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 12:43 pm

  142. Robert Manne made a complete fool of himself over economic policy, then the “stolen generation”, and now he has moved on to climate change. A slow learner?

    Rafe

    25 Aug 12 at 12:45 pm

  143. Incidentally, his next target was going to be Protestants.

    Are there still some Lutherans remaining?

    I’d have thought leftists would have purged them by now

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 12:46 pm

  144. Well said, Skuter @ 9.16am.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:54 pm

  145. Henry VIII purged the Protestants, did he not, as he did the Catholics?

    ‘nonconformists’ probably, life was a series of purges then, as it is now.

    coz

    25 Aug 12 at 12:54 pm

  146. You too, Keith @ 9.20am.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 12:55 pm

  147. Doomlord would be excited that his absence has created a new record: five trolls operating simultaneously.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 12:56 pm

  148. Well its good for the traffic statistics!

    Rafe

    25 Aug 12 at 12:59 pm

  149. Doomlord would be excited that his absence has created a new record: five trolls operating simultaneously.

    In julius-speak: ‘did you not’ count Julius Tom?

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:02 pm

  150. Megan said:

    Keith has said it beautifully. The only point I would like to make, and I won’t debate it further, is that many of Steve’s comments to the women who consistently post here are in no way, shape or form, “polite dissent”. They are, plain and simply, rude and bad mannered.

    They say far more about you Steve, and your lack of intellectual rigour, ability to analyse or form a coherent argument, than they say about the women you’re insulting. And that has absolutely nothing to do with which side of politics we might support, our personal views on contentious issues, and whether we believe in global warming or not.

    His attacks also extend to female conservatives in the politicsl reslm.

    As his leader put it, SFB is a

    “misogynist nut job on the internet”

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:02 pm

  151. “political realm”

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:03 pm

  152. If only we had a few ads down the right, Rafe. We could make them pay for the priviledge.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 1:03 pm

  153. As far as I can see, no one has noted the Courier Mail Galaxy poll indicating a 7% jump in Federal Labor vote in Queensland (admittedly, to a still dismal 30% FP and 43%TPP, but a big jump is a big jump nonetheless.)

    Almost certainly due to Newman being seen as in too much of a rush to dump public servants, I expect.

    Interestingly, the poll indicates 70% say the carbon tax has had minor, or little or no, impact on the household budget. (Strange break up of choices there.)

    I was also listening to the radio about the huge surge in PV panels to be installed in Queensland over the next year, due to the rush of people to get in before the feed in tariff reduces. People who get decent solar are going to be somewhat insulated from the carbon tax.

    All in all, not looking as bad for Labor in about a years time.

  154. Marine Corps reissuing the .45 pistol.

    Hopefully our blokes get the SLR back.

    Winston Smith

    25 Aug 12 at 1:04 pm

  155. David Frum is sfb without an apron.

    LOL

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:05 pm

  156. So Lance Armstrong was a cheating a-hole?

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 1:05 pm

  157. JamesK, I exclude Jazza because he’s not a shrieker.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 1:06 pm

  158. lmost certainly due to Newman being seen as in too much of a rush to dump public servants, I expect.

    Sure, but there is also a really vigorous campaign against him by the unions. Also, if he cuts the QPS down to size over the next six months or so, he will have three years to demonstrate good governance, by which time Queenslanders will have forgotten.

    dd

    25 Aug 12 at 1:06 pm

  159. Gab, your attacks on me are frequently shrill and based on the “you’re an emasculated man” meme which I have always said is a very high school male type of approach; Lizzie likes to call me “Stevie” to same effect.

    You deserve what you get.

  160. JamesK, I exclude Jazza because he’s not a shrieker.

    Yeah he’s boring and he’s a turd.

    I thought that counted

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:07 pm

  161. The SLR had shit sights.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 1:07 pm

  162. Um why didn’t she call the police?”

    more like she did not end the relationship but he just skidaddled back to Perth to his wife and children, and to call the police would bring attention to her shady lawyering

    True, Candy. He was the one who left her, not as Gillard purported, and left in a hurry too.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:09 pm

  163. So Lance Armstrong was a cheating a-hole?

    I don’t regard ‘performance enhancing drugs’ as cheating unless the drugs themselves are illegal to possess and use.

    caffeine= not cheating
    steroids = not cheating
    cocaine = cheating
    human growth hormone = cheating

    dd

    25 Aug 12 at 1:10 pm

  164. How to find out who else was on the registration of the Association? i
    See, it must have been incorporated to get tax exempt status under Tax act Section related to business, 501(c)(6)and as well as the Mission statement that we hear a little of, it would have had to outline it s office bearers, procedures(states have their own re management) election and dissolution procedures,board size, registered “office” etc.
    WHO else was in on it and how could any lawyer naive or not middle-aged or not do it all with two guys and not have some other contact with the rest or see documentation involving their consent?

    The WA Cpmmissioner wouldn’t have incorporated if the whole thing didn’t fit guidelines and certainly not for a slush fund,as no person is allowed to benefit from “profits, under tax exemptions law, so it was not a quick multiple choice one pager and Blewitt and Wilson signed, surely? Methinks a lot of dirty water is about to be diverted from under the bridge and being so naive as to understand the WA law (?how to manipulate it allegedly possible?)but not see screaming scam right under your nose will no longer cut it!!

    Jazza

    25 Aug 12 at 1:10 pm

  165. You deserve what you get.

    Spoken like a true wife-beater. You gonna threaten to slap me again?

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:11 pm

  166. Hey fellas, Im NOT a HE!
    Cheers from the Great Grandma!

    Jazza

    25 Aug 12 at 1:13 pm

  167. Gabrielle, how many times have you told me not to do that?

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 1:13 pm

  168. I noticed the Together Union had cannon fodder out on street corners with sandwich boards saying “We can do better”. If that was the case they would have won the election.
    It will be a long two and a half years for these zombies by which time they will have either got a job in the real world or be still sitting at home on benefits.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 1:14 pm

  169. Oh alright, I know, Tom. sheesh…..but you do it tooo! :P

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:15 pm

  170. Woops, Jazza. Mixup with someone else using a nickname. My bad.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 1:15 pm

  171. Not any more, Gab.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 1:16 pm

  172. Editorial in the Courier Mail on Gillard’s past:

    As to any matters that go to Ms Gillard’s bone fides as a lawyer or her conduct, there was nothing that raised serious questions. She was right, as things stand, to declare an end to the matter.

    and on Abbott:

    Just as Ms Gillard will welcome the opportunity to push her agenda along, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott should broaden his outlook and not spend his time simply regurgitating his often alarmist claims about the impact of carbon pricing.

    The CM can hardly be labelled a Lefty rag, yet expressing the same views here gets one labelled as lying agent of the Labor government.

  173. Gillard is a crook, and all of Laurie Oakes and Barry Cassidy’s redirection won’t change the facts. Her argument to discredit the Australian rests on the fact that she set up a slush fund not a trust fund. My god, imagine if a Liberal tried that line of fence.

    I would think that right now Hedley Thomas should be asking the WA Government if they a going to make a complaint on behalf of WA tax payers and thereby force the WA Police to investigate and try and recover tax payers money. Indeed ey could request that the money be recovered from Thiess.

    We all know, regardless of who is Government, no police force will investigate Union corruption without significant pressure being applied first.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 1:20 pm

  174. The CM can hardly be labelled a Lefty rag…

    Certainly it can be.

    All of the major claims against Gillard are either true or, as yet, unanswered.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 1:21 pm

  175. Bolt with a new question for Old Slushy:

    Mmm.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 1:28 pm

  176. Through either negligence or complicity, S&G are up to their neck in this sorry affair and have been hiding it for 17 years..

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:32 pm

  177. I am not a lawyer so this is an honest question.

    If Gillard did the conveyancing on the Kerr St house, doesn’t she have to check which accounts the money comes from and goes into?

    If so, how could she have not noticed that the cheque was drawn against the slush fund account?

    Buying a house doesn’t even have anything to do with the associations bogus purpose of reelecting Wilson. So buying the house is a fraudulent use of a fraudulent fund! Clearly our PM is a liar.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 1:32 pm

  178. I know you’ll deny it, CL, just as climate denial now involves not denying that the temperature has increased (after years and years of trying to show it was all an artefact of thermometer placement), but the “major claim” against Gillard was always that she knew of Wilson and Blewitts use to which they their association, and personally benefitted from it.

    It was never likely true, as people with evidence to use against her had 18 or so years to do so before now.

    It remains a mere smear allegation.

    And the fact that (say, speculating here as to what Gillard meant when she said she couldn’t be 100% sure hadn’t got a benefit) maybe a tradie was paid by Wilson (if he offered to get a job done by a mate who owed him a favour, or whatever) would make no difference.

  179. The Courier Mail is a left rag.
    Dennis Atkins Left
    Steve Wardill left
    Terry Sweetman left
    Mike O’cconor left
    Paul Syvert left
    About the only openly right Journalist would be Des Haughton.
    They bashed Newman constantly during the election and use similar superior smug leftie reporting against Abbott. If you didn’t know it was owned my Murdoch you would swear it was a northern outpost of failfax.
    I stopped my subscription years ago.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 1:34 pm

  180. The CM can hardly be labelled a Lefty rag, yet expressing the same views here gets one labelled as lying agent of the Labor government.

    Are you for real Stevey? You really are fucked in the head, at least the bit they left untouched in the laborotomy…Having a bowel obstruction and passing kidney stones at the same time is more pleasant than conversing with you…
    Now, how about you tell us all how you can sleep at night, being such a dishonest, tribal arsehole?
    I’m also going to backtrack a little on Jarrah because he is at least usually good for a decent debate, even if we don’t always agree. But Jarrah, your comment about Breivik and JamesK was fucking low. I would urge you to pull your head in and retract.

    Skuter

    25 Aug 12 at 1:35 pm

  181. Splatacrobat: if you’re standing at the lighthouse at Byron Bay, everything is to the left of you.

  182. THE chair of a parliamentary committee says the bribery scandals at the Reserve Bank’s two banknote-making companies could prompt the government to establish an anti-corruption body for federal agencies.

    Allegations were raised again in the past week about the bank’s wholly owned subsidiaries Note Printing Australia and the part-owned Securency, where staff bribed foreign officials to gain contracts.

    Labor MP Melissa Parke, chairwoman of the joint Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity committee, said the government should canvass the option of creating a national anti-corruption body for commonwealth agencies.

    I’m thinking an anti-corruption body for unions would be more pressing.

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/govt-should-consider-fed-corruption-body/story-e6frfku9-1226457934173#ixzz24WdYldhR

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:37 pm

  183. Splatacrobat: if you’re standing at the lighthouse at Byron Bay, everything is to the left of you.

    If thats the only place you can see your friends from then go for it Steve.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 1:40 pm

  184. I suppose the Courier Mail has to the opposition party up here, because there’s so few Labor ministers, they’re lending a hand.

    candy

    25 Aug 12 at 1:41 pm

  185. Bolt with a new question for Old Slushy:

    Mmm.

    I’ve been saying that is the crux of the matter for more than a week

    Why would her boyfriend risk sending in to S&G his union and girlfriend’s firm a cheque drawn on a supposed union account for a private dwelling?

    Did Gillard, in fact, carry the cheque into S&G on Monday morning in her handbag after the auction on the Saturday?

    How else did Brucey boy get the money to the vendor’s solicitor before mid-day on the Monday as is usual practice?

    It was supposed to be a bank cheque but it was lodged in a S&G Trust A/c.

    Did a S&G TrustA/c then transfer the union cheque funds to the vendors solicitors s Trust A/c before 12:00 mid-day as is usual practice?

    If so they did it on the back of it being a trustworthy cheque,
    something no purchaser’s solicitor would normally do without it being a bank cheque.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:45 pm

  186. I don’t regard ‘performance enhancing drugs’ as cheating unless the drugs themselves are illegal to possess and use.

    dd, I think you wrote this before thinking. You are usually quite thoughtful so this is surprising.

    Steorids are prohibited by sports rules from use by sportspeople. Secretly violating the rules of the game to gain an advantage is cheating.

    You may argue that the rules are wrong. But once the rules are there you must obey the rules.

    It is like saying that swiming free style in a butterly race is not cheating because swiming free style is not illegal.

    Boris

    25 Aug 12 at 1:46 pm

  187. I will say one thing we don’t have radid left wingers on 612ABC like you do in other states. On the whole the likes of Spencer Howsen, Steve Austin and co are very balanced and hardly ever add personal commentary.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 1:47 pm

  188. Splatacrobat: if you’re standing at the lighthouse at Byron Bay, everything is to the left of you.

    Facing north or south?

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 1:47 pm

  189. Who did they buy the house from?

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 1:50 pm

  190. I was going to mention that James but thought it might be a tad too existential for poor old Steve

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 1:50 pm

  191. Assuming for the sake of argument that ms Gillard was innocent of any and all accusations of partnership in crime and corruption in the union movement 17 years ago, at the very least she became aware of the existence of crime and corruption.

    Assuming that she is a decent and honest person with the best interests of the Australian people at heart, given that knowledge then some time between then and now she should have got started on cleaning up the stables, including, most obviously, the gross over-representation of unions at the ALP national conference.

    The obvious time to get serious about that was when she came into the brand new, reforming Rudd administration where she was a prime mover in most of the major reforms -the paper on asylum seekers, elimination of Workchoices, the education revolution.

    Can some defender or admirer of ms Gillard draw our attention to the moves that she has made in that direction?

    Rafe

    25 Aug 12 at 1:53 pm

  192. The Guardian is an elite journal of the more liberal right.

    This troll has a certain avian aroma.

    Abu Chowdah

    25 Aug 12 at 1:54 pm

  193. Good questions, James.

    If so they did it on the back of it being a trustworthy cheque,
    something no purchaser’s solicitor would normally do without it being a bank cheque.

    And yet Gillard gives Con the Greek builder two bank cheques for work done on her house. Bizarre.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 1:56 pm

  194. Who did they buy the house from?

    It was bought at auction.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 2:00 pm

  195. And yet Gillard gives Con the Greek builder two bank cheques for work done on her house. Bizarre

    Presumably after the new Vic union leader started asking questions of her.

    The same union leader who vociferously and in writing opposed her appointment to Brumby’s office?

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 2:02 pm

  196. I’ve been wondering whether Wilson seduced JG because she worked at S&G and he wanted a captive lawyer. Fits in with him then running and her feeling used.

    Biota

    25 Aug 12 at 2:11 pm

  197. You know, Margaret Thatcher got called some dreadful names during her time as PM and was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism. Not once did she ever slur her critics as being misogynists. Not once did she ever hide being the “it’s because I’m a woman, innit” lament we see today from a pathetic Gillard and her sycophants in the press.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 2:12 pm

  198. I was discussing this with my brother last night and we both agree the house is the most damning issue.

    My bro is a lawyer and reckons the only way that a cheque drawn on the Association could be accepted was if the 5 members provided a letter authorising it.

    Otherwise there is no way a legit solicitor could accept it. No way.

    DaveF

    25 Aug 12 at 2:12 pm

  199. StevieLiar you are proof that Jayant Patel also practiced brain surgery and the patient managed to survive. Have you made your husband his lunch?

    Tiny Dancer

    25 Aug 12 at 2:13 pm

  200. From the Bolt article (quote from original reporting at the time)

    A cheque made out to the “Slater and Gordon Trust Account” was dated five days before the firm arranged settlement on the $230,000 property.

    So it was 5 days before settlement.

    Isn’t that strange in itself? If the cheque was for a deposit, wouldn’t it have been written the customary 30 days before settlement?

    The whole ‘get your lawfirm to finance your house pro-bono thing’ gets curiouser and curiouser for me.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 2:15 pm

  201. She got the paperwork together for something she knew was false. Her confession – they all did it – whatever. She used her professional position dishonestly so that others, and maybe her, could gain, dishonestly.

    It’s not rocket science.

    Whoever at the firm did the conveyancing should have baulked at the cheque given it was not a union purchase. Defies belief. I suspect she did the conveyancing and if she did then it is another dishonest act.

    StevieLiar and mOron are busted arses.

    Tiny Dancer

    25 Aug 12 at 2:22 pm

  202. @dd / others

    Anyone getting onto the ‘Armstrong is a cheat’ bandwagon should read his statement before making judgement.

    Lance Armstrong statement

    Points he makes:
    - USADA has no jurisdiction to strip TdF titles
    - Armstrong was continually tested throughout his career, and never once returned a positive result
    - the move is based on testimony from other riders, rather than from drug results

    My take is that he pushed the rules as far as they would go back in the day but was within them.

    I respect the guy for telling them to go jump, as he’s got more important things to do.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 2:22 pm

  203. Not once did she ever hide being the “it’s because I’m a woman, innit” lament we see today from a pathetic Gillard and her sycophants in the press.

    The Iron Lady had principles. The Australian Ironing Lady 2012 has only objectives.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 2:23 pm

  204. @tiny dancer : I guess the key question – was there a file opened for the conveyancing, or was it done on the down-low as well. That would be instructive. I think at the point of her interview they hadn’t even worked out the house purchase.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 2:23 pm

  205. I’ve been wondering whether Wilson seduced JG because she worked at S&G and he wanted a captive lawyer. Fits in with him then running and her feeling used.

    You would have to think so. But maybe it was just an idea that came to him after he started seeing her. I think they’d been together for a year or two when it kicked off.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 2:24 pm

  206. There are mo reasonable answers to any of the questions re the slush fund. The only explanation that makes any sense is that Gillard is a crook.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 2:33 pm

  207. - USADA has no jurisdiction to strip TdF titles

    He filed a law suit on these grounds, but it was dismissed by a US court.

    Boris

    25 Aug 12 at 2:36 pm

  208. Armstrong is right to tell USADA to get stuffed. They have hounded him for years, they have access to all his samples and have never detected a banned substance. Their pursuing of him without any evidence is just malicious. They couldn’t prove he cheated so they have just ground him down with a never ending process.

    Funny that Armstrong could conquer mountains and endless plains, but he can’t overcome the dead hand of a bloated malicious bureaucracy.

    John Comnenus

    25 Aug 12 at 2:37 pm

  209. My take is that he pushed the rules as far as they would go back in the day but was within them.

    This sounds like an accusation to me. Are you saying he was indeed taking drugs? How do you “push the rules”? He either took drugs or he didn’t.

    We all know that the rules in respect of having to be proven guilty have drastically changed. These days the requirement is that an accused must prove his or her innocence. The prosecution no longer has to prove guilt.

    Thus if you want to sully a reputation, all you have to do is to line up a bevy of accusers and a range of acusations. Proving negatives is not often possible. That’s why it’s impossible to argue against climate change.

    Don

    25 Aug 12 at 2:37 pm

  210. Interesting article over at Bolt’s defending Phillip Adams from the Press Council after they hauled him up for calling the former leader of the League of Rights a “traitor” for being sympathetic to Hitler.

    The interesting corollary is this: Phillip Adams used to be a member of the Communist Party of Australia, an organization which famously supported the Nazi-Soviet Pact during WWII, and opposed the Australian war effort even to the point of encouraging the disruption of war supplies on the docks. Giving material support to Nazi Germany in the form of shipping boycotts is obviously much more serious than publishing pro-Hitler pamphlets.

    Question: has Phillip Adams ever accused the Communist Party and the Wharfies of “treason”? If not, why not?

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 2:37 pm

  211. I do not think the Armstrong case is quite closed. USADA is disappointed it has not going to fight and win the battle in public. Given that Armstrong still has many supporters, they would want to publicise their evidence. OTOH, we can’t rule out a possibility that a criminal case would be re-opened. UCI may also challenge the USADA desisions regarding TDF victories. So it may end up in CAS.

    Boris

    25 Aug 12 at 2:40 pm

  212. We all know that the rules in respect of having to be proven guilty have drastically changed. These days the requirement is that an accused must prove his or her innocence. The prosecution no longer has to prove guilt.

    The presumption of innocence applies to criminal law. On the football pitch referees have a different standard.

    Boris

    25 Aug 12 at 2:43 pm

  213. A lawyer doing a conveyancing used to check to see you had a valid bank cheque, but what account the money came out of is not something they would or could check unless given permission by the client.

    Rubbish.

    Normally the bank cheque is delivered by the purchaser to the real-estate auctioneer by Monday midday after the auction Saturday

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 2:45 pm

  214. Pickering Post’s Readers Comments aren’t showing, or accepting comments:

    http://pickeringpost.com/

    There are a lot of commenting readers there, including such as those you’ll also find at conservative blogs like Piers Ackerman’s, but there seemed to be more after Ms. Gillard called them “nut jobs from the internet”.

    Could that have something to do with why we can’t see those comments anymore…along with what been written by seriously respected journalists of the likes of Hedley Thomas, since…you know, those clearly articulated articles that make the same indisputable points as those, “nut jobs from the internet” do.

    true lilly

    25 Aug 12 at 2:45 pm

  215. Julius, you said

    A lawyer doing a conveyancing used to check to see you had a valid bank cheque, but what account the money came out of is not something they would or could check unless given permission by the client.

    Are you actually stupid or being deliberately misleading? This is the whole point of the matter- THERE WAS NO BANK CHEQUE. The deposit cheque was a company cheque from the trust slush fund/ association that the lying slapper set up.
    The fact that you have misrepresented this most crucial of facts shows that you are nothing more than a partisan troll and you have no place on this blog, much less commenting on this matter.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    25 Aug 12 at 2:46 pm

  216. Blair:

    Cycling is now seeing the impact of drugs even at amateur level. All things considered, the sport should probably be outlawed.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 2:48 pm

  217. Hang on, if it costs 10K – 20 k to run an election campagne in a union, then, really, the election is not about a contest of ideas or how one person can improve the lives and safety of workers in comparison to the other candidates, it is about how many steak dinners you can buy. How many prozzies you can pay for. The whole thing is corrupt. And stuck in the middle is a woman who, maybe/alledgedly, knowingly entered a relationship with a married man. This particular individual is morally bankrupt. Naturally you should treat this individual’s every action with sceptiscism.

    Then this person claims the moral high ground by labeling some commentators as misogynist. Where are the outraged sisters calling this person a home wrecker? A cheat? Greer, are you out there? Or is it just Female Empowerment?

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 2:53 pm

  218. @BRC: The $67k cheque drawn on 18 March 1993 would have been a “balance required for settlement” paid to the Slapper & Gordon trust account, to enable (a) time to clear, and (b) Slapper & Gordon to draw a Bank Cheque from their trust account, in order to settle the conveyance.

    Remember that Slapper & Gordon advanced $150,000 for the purchase, as a solicitor’s mortgage investment for its clients. High interest, lo-doc, 66% loan-to-value ratio as a first mortgage.

    The auction was on 13 February 1993, the price was $230,000, and the usual auction fall-of-hammer deposit of 10% ($23,000) would have been paid to THE REAL ESTATE AGENT, within a short time after 13 February 1993.

    It is pure speculation, but the settlement figures may have looked like this:

    Purchase: $230,000
    Deposit: $23,000
    Bal: $207,000
    Less: Trust (not “slush”) Fund mortgage: $150,000
    Bal: $67,000
    Plus: Fees, stamp duty, costs on Trust a/c mortgage facility: usually would total $10,000+, but to you as a good client, let’s say $722.30. Please provide us with your cheque for $67,722.30 a week before settlement, so that we can draw a bank cheque from our trust account for completion.

    As I say, pure speculation, and it may have been the case that the Kerr Street property was thousands of dollars in arrears, owing for Council rates, land tax, water etc, so that the $10,000 reduced to $722.30, because I’m assuming thaat any vendor arrears would be deducted fromthe purchase price.

    In any case, Slapper& Gordon would have asked for $67,722.30, and it would have been receipted to the purchase file, and banked.

    The “source” of the funds is pretty well irrelevant for the conveyancer. It is received and banked to the Trust Account, for a specific purpose.

    You might think that this is a wonderful mechanism for money laundering.

    You would be correct.

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 2:58 pm

  219. You know, Margaret Thatcher got called some dreadful names during her time as PM and was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism. Not once did she ever slur her critics as being misogynists. Not once did she ever hide being the “it’s because I’m a woman, innit” lament we see today from a pathetic Gillard and her sycophants in the press.

    Isn’t that because she had cojones that the rest of her cabinet didn’t?

    Interesting that now she has dementia, the Streep-ites have a free reign to ridicule her.

    Much as I detest George Negus, at least he had the guts to confront her when she was at her peak. Of course she cleaned him up and spat him out. It was almost as enjoyable as watching Kerry Packer demolish the Senate Committee that time.

    Don

    25 Aug 12 at 2:59 pm

  220. I note that Roxon and Plibersek love dredging up Abbott’s acquittal. Imagine if the opposition decided to bang on about her two affairs with married men. FMD Plibersek and Roxon would have strokes. Does being an Emily’s lister mean you have to spread it around the boys?

    Tiny Dancer

    25 Aug 12 at 3:02 pm

  221. Aaaaww, GREAT news, SoB can go to the Paralympics now.
    Let’s get behind the special little fella.

    Jumpnmcar

    25 Aug 12 at 3:02 pm

  222. The “source” of the funds is pretty well irrelevant for the conveyancer. It is received and banked to the Trust Account, for a specific purpose.

    That may be right but a union cheque for a private purchase, if she did the conveyancing pro bono, is an entirely different matter. I suspect that she did and supporting documentation is about to emerge.

    Tiny Dancer

    25 Aug 12 at 3:06 pm

  223. “I can’t keep score, I lose track and get confused, because I’m not good at maths, and I struggle to remember tactics, so my coach always has to remind me,

    This would let SoB qualify too.

    Jumpnmcar

    25 Aug 12 at 3:06 pm

  224. The deposit cheque is interesting stuff. When it came in it should have been receipted in the name of the association; and when it went out again the payment should have been authorized in writing by the association. I wonder what the trust account shows? Also, who signed the trust receipt; and who authorized it?

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 3:11 pm

  225. Tony Abbott says carbon tax introduction not catastrophic
    Gosh, next he’ll be saying the wrecking ball is smaller than expected, and maybe the python is dead.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 3:15 pm

  226. The Pyhton bought a house in Melbourne

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 3:18 pm

  227. The Python bought a house in Melbourne

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 3:19 pm

  228. Really Sinclair?

    [You got caught in auto-moderation. Don't know why. Sinc]

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 3:20 pm

  229. You know, Margaret Thatcher got called some dreadful names during her time as PM and was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism. Not once did she ever slur her critics as being misogynists. Not once did she ever hide being the “it’s because I’m a woman, innit” lament we see today from a pathetic Gillard and her sycophants in the press.

    Real Julia Version 17, I think:

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/gillard_says/

    “our discussions about 2010 should now be at an end”. (Don’t talk about the way I once knifed Kevin.)

    It’s deja vu all over again.

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 3:21 pm

  230. The Paleotards are going to infest Max Brenner at Westfield Parramatta at 1800hrs, Thursday 20 September.

    https://www.facebook.com/syd.bmbc

    Thanks guys. Never knew there was a Max Brenner out there until now.

    boy on a bike

    25 Aug 12 at 3:23 pm

  231. Imagine if the opposition decided to bang on about her two affairs with married men. FMD Plibersek and Roxon would have strokes.

    Well plibersek is married to a convicted heroin dealer. Dunno about Fraulein von Roxon. She was at one stage bonking Billy Shorten(ed.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 3:24 pm

  232. The Courier Mail is a left rag.
    Dennis Atkins Left
    Steve Wardill left
    Terry Sweetman left
    Mike O’cconor left
    Paul Syvert left
    About the only openly right Journalist would be Des Haughton.

    Des has shifted right following his experience of Blight Govt, imo. As of 3 years ago:

    http://www.slattsnews.observationdeck.org/?p=3146

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 3:27 pm

  233. @ Cato:

    When it came in it should have been receipted in the name of the association; and when it went out again the payment should have been authorized in writing by the association.

    The “deposit” cheque would have been $23,000 paid to the Real Estate agent.

    The Real Estate Agent would account for this as “deposit – Blewitt purchase from Smith*”.

    *note – not a real name

    It would not necessarily have been receipted by the real Estate Agent in the name of the account holder, i.e. the “drawer” of the cheque.

    However, the “drawer’ would be listed on the bank deposit records of the Agent.

    When you say “when it went out again”, we are talking about an auction. In Melbourne. It didn’t go out again at all, it was snaffled by the agent by a trust account authority from the vendor, and (most likely) a further bill would have been sent to the vendor.

    It would be interesting to find out who the agent was.

    You might think that this is a wonderful mechanism for money laundering.

    You would be correct.

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 3:28 pm

  234. Ian Cambridge’s affidavit suggests the deposit came from a $25k cash withdrawal at about the right time.

    DaveF

    25 Aug 12 at 3:31 pm

  235. Whatever happened to the Conroy $40,000 scandal?

    VicHansard 6 June 2001

    VicHansard 16 Oct 2001

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 3:33 pm

  236. The $67k cheque drawn on 18 March 1993 would have been a “balance required for settlement” paid to the Slapper & Gordon trust account, to enable (a) time to clear, and (b) Slapper & Gordon to draw a Bank Cheque from their trust account, in order to settle the conveyance.

    Good thinking Kaboom.

    You are right:

    The cheque was deposited with the S&G Trsut A/c 5 days before settlement

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 3:36 pm

  237. Hitler left.Doofus.Your cartoons are crap. Get an actual job.

    jim

    25 Aug 12 at 3:39 pm

  238. Quite right Kaboom, my bad. I have now read your earlier post and agree with your analysis. My comments were directed to the $67K balance funds cheque. The paper trail should still be there at S & G. The result would be interesting and possibly embarrassing for S & G but that’s about all.

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 3:43 pm

  239. Unless of course it was Gillard who authorized the trust receipt. That would be kinda hard to explain, since the receipt says “received from AWU etc. for the benefit of Wilaon”

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 3:45 pm

  240. Wilson. F&$&!? IPad

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 3:46 pm

  241. Whatever happened to Julia’s imminent arrest?

    jim

    25 Aug 12 at 3:49 pm

  242. @ JamesK:

    Not only that, but AFAIK any monies received from ANY source would be receipted to the solicitor’s trust account in the client’s name. They are “trust” monies, after all.

    The trust account records at Slapper & Gordon might likely say: “Received from R. Blewitt $67,722.30 – 18 March 1993 – balance of purchase monies Blewitt purchase from Smith*”.

    * assumed name of vendor.

    Essentially, it would not make one jot of difference if it was a cheque from Kaboom for $67,722.30. It will still be “credited” to Blewitt’s client trust account records with the solicitors, if it was handed over by Blewitt (or his representative) for the purpose of the purchase.

    {Well, to be honest, there would be one difference – a Kaboom cheque in that sum would bounce to the moon….}

    The actual deposit cheque would only be shown on the Slapper & Gordon trust account bank deposit records for 18 March 1993 as “AWU Workplace Reform Association $67,722.30″

    You might think that this is a wonderful mechanism for money laundering.

    You would be correct.

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 3:51 pm

  243. Never happen. Not enough evidence. She’s been shown to be a sloppy, sleazy lawyer but tht’s not enough for an arrest.

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 3:51 pm

  244. Thanks, Gab. Didn’t know about that. Fits his profile. Labor’s culture of entitlement is deeply ingrained.

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 3:57 pm

  245. 2Cato; Is there a trust account receipt disclosed anywhere which says:

    That would be kinda hard to explain, since the receipt says “received from AWU etc. for the benefit of Wilson”

    That would be very entertaining. Can you point me to it?

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 3:58 pm

  246. Pickering nails it with this one.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    25 Aug 12 at 4:00 pm

  247. Sorry Kaboom, typing short hand with iPad. No such disclosure AFAIK, I meant very embarrassing IF she authorized the trust receipt. Normally signed off by supervising partner but who knows in this case?

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 4:03 pm

  248. Hey JC – Are you gonna clean up Monday on Apple?

    I hope you don’t have Samsdung in yer portfolio

    LOL

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 4:07 pm

  249. 1735099

    25 Aug 12 at 4:08 pm

  250. Hey Numbers, it’s not about how sleazy Pickering is, it’s about how sleazy Gillard is.

    Cato the Elder

    25 Aug 12 at 4:09 pm

  251. I continued my investigations and had to make a conscious decision not to take information from some people or to seek to access that information because I would have been breaching the law. The information concerns a number of Australian Workers Union bank accounts I believe exist to assist the party’s branch-stacking activities.

    Some members of the Australian Workers Union — in particular Bob Smith, who was the former secretary of the AWU; Mick Eagles, who according to my information has a criminal record for assault; and Cesar Mecaem, who is from the Deer Park area — were involved in what can only be described as a secret bank account in the name of the AWU, which the rest of the leadership did not know about. The account was so secret that Bill Shorten changed his direction — he had been mooted as the next member for Melton — and decided instead to take over the AWU. Bob Smith was moved out of the union and is now the ALP candidate for Chelsea Province in the upper house.

    The bank account in question was held with the North Melbourne branch of the Commonwealth Bank. Its number was 3158 500 6004. It was held in the name of the Industrial Development Fund, was organised by Messrs Smith, Eagles and Mecaem, and was operated by none other than the infamous Stephen Conroy, a Labor senator.

    Senator Conroy and company, together with their corporal, the honourable member for Clayton, were responsible for the payment of the moneys. In one instance in the Springvale area 12 people were living in a house just so they could vote in a preselection.

    Interesting stuff. VicHansard 14 April 1999

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 4:12 pm

  252. Fuck off numbers you obfuscating bufoon, it scares me that you have described yourself in the past as a teacher.

    No wonder new graduates are illiterate morons with you in the system.

    Carpe Jugulum

    25 Aug 12 at 4:14 pm

  253. Mr LEIGH — That is correct, it is corruption. The new Leader of the Opposition has an opportunity to implement the Dreyfus report. However, I do not believe he will do so because he is not in control of the matter. Honourable members should remember that the honourable member for Williamstown was selected by Greg Sword, Marsha Thomson and Stephen Conroy. The puppets opposite accepted him as their new leader.

    The faceless people of the past again run the Labor Party. Marsha Thomson and Stephen Conroy manipulate honourable members opposite.

    Page 273

    That is not in the interests of democracy. Senator Stephen Conroy is the spokesperson for the Labor Party on financial matters. And well he might be because he is the one using the bank accounts! Senator Conroy and others have used questionable tactics and acted illegally.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 4:15 pm

  254. @ Cato:

    No such disclosure AFAIK, I meant very embarrassing IF she authorized the trust receipt. Normally signed off by supervising partner but who knows in this case?

    That’s OK, we just need to be REALLY precise here.

    I would assume that JG didn’t personally do the conveyancing (on top of everything else), and I assume that it did get a file started, and the work was done by the conveyancing people elsewhere in the building.

    AFAIK, JG would not have to “authorise” anything.

    If the cheque came through to Slapper & Gordon attached to a letter from their CLIENT, a Mr R. Blewitt, instructing the deposit of $67,722.30 for the purchase of Kerr Street, it would be receipted to their CLIENT.

    Or, indeed, his Attorney, Bruce Morten Wilson.

    BUT – don’t forget, that the CLIENT is a Mr R. Blewitt.

    You might think that this is a wonderful mechanism for money laundering.

    You would be correct.

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 4:21 pm

  255. James

    I bought Apple as a trade and still have it. I bought in the highish 540s and Lester Majesty was laughing at me when I did. It’s 663ish on friday.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 4:31 pm

  256. The information concerns a number of Australian Workers Union bank accounts I believe exist to assist the party’s branch-stacking activities.

    Sheesh, they’re all at it.

    The account was so secret that Bill Shorten changed his direction

    That name again.

    Senator Stephen Conroy is the spokesperson for the Labor Party on financial matters. And well he might be because he is the one using the bank accounts! Senator Conroy and others have used questionable tactics and acted illegally.

    The thing that makes Conroy uber-despicable is his attempt now to assume the moral high ground to advocate Finkelstein regulation.

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 4:36 pm

  257. Dear Sir,

    I have been prompted to write to you due to the current publicity the ALP is attracting due to bitter factional infighting within the ALP Victorian branch.

    I am an unemployed truck driver and ex-union official with the Transport Workers Union, Victorian Branch.

    The purpose of this correspondence is to alert you and your colleagues to serious fraudulent activities involving a Mr Stephen Conroy (secretary ALP right faction Victoria) —

    Senator Robert Ray, Senator Gareth Evans —

    and a Mr Roland Lindell (previous TWU official now ALP Victoria branch organiser). Conroy works as a full-time TWU official and is very close to Robert Ray and the Victorian ALP leader, John Brumby.

    Before working for the TWU in 1992 Conroy was a full-time staff member of Senator Robert Ray. He worked from Ray’s office located at 4 Treasury Place, Melbourne. His work was confined to ALP right-wing factional politics that included organising election campaigns within a number of trade unions in an attempt to increase the power of his faction.

    I first met Conroy in 1990 during the lead up to the TWU election. I was an active member of the TWU and joined the rank and file reform group that contested and went on to win the last TWU elections in 1992.

    In 1990 Conroy and Lindell began helping our team to organise the campaign. Our entire campaign was organised and run from 4 Treasury Place using the office and staff of Senators Ray and Evans with their consent. It is not unusual to see and talk to Ray on most Friday mornings about the campaign.

    Our entire campaign, including printing, photocopying over 200 000 various union election newsletters and the many thousands of phone calls that we made from their office to union members — –

    The cost of this would have run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. The deal was that when we won the election the ALP rights Ray and Conroy would have total political control over our union. We are not the only union they have helped and now control.

    It did not take long before problems occurred in our union with Conroy and others employed by the union with each given a union car, free petrol and expenses. They do very little legitimate union work and concentrate mostly on gaining more power within the ALP.

    I lost my position with the union because I made it clear that I was prepared to do what was required to stop these people using the union in this way.

    Page 538

    I believe that this issue of Ray, Conroy and Lindell using hundreds of thousands of public funded dollars to set up a huge ALP faction power base must be exposed and I hope that you raise this in Parliament.

    I cannot reveal my name but I assure you that this information is true. I urge you to get your colleagues in the Senate to ask Ray and Evans questions about these matters.

    If these allegations are denied I will provide further information including another person who was involved and will be prepared to go public.

    VicHansard 5 Oct 1994.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 4:42 pm

  258. Quite right Kaboom, my bad. I have now read your earlier post and agree with your analysis. My comments were directed to the $67K balance funds cheque. The paper trail should still be there at S & G. The result would be interesting and possibly embarrassing for S & G but that’s about all.

    and in that same file would be the documents for the $150K mortgage given by S&G for the property purchase. IT would have the mortgagors and mortgagees signatures on it and the witness to those signatures. and possibly the name of the authorising partner and copies of the withdrawal slips or cheque for the $150k amount. It would be interesting who signed those.

    ADDITIONALLY – how was this $150k Mortgage from S&G re-paid? not with cheques from the CBA account “AWU Workplace Reform Association “

    Max

    25 Aug 12 at 4:42 pm

  259. Steorids are prohibited by sports rules from use by sportspeople. Secretly violating the rules of the game to gain an advantage is cheating.

    You may argue that the rules are wrong. But once the rules are there you must obey the rules.

    Sure, a sports body can make any rules it likes, but once these rules extend beyond the temporal and spatial bounds of the sport, it’s getting into control-freak territory.

    It’s in the same category as the policing of athlete behaviour in terms of getting drunk and rowdy, etc, which I regard as too authoritarian. Anyway, it’s not the sports bodies trying to enforce this, its a government agency.

    dd

    25 Aug 12 at 4:44 pm

  260. should read

    not with cheques from the CBA account “AWU Workplace Reform Association “I hope, otherwise S&G are receiving stolen funds…..

    Max

    25 Aug 12 at 4:44 pm

  261. lardarse dullard and the ozdraylian lobodomy pardee:

    Corrupt. As. Fuck.

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  262. is his attempt now to assume the moral high ground

    ? does that term refer to the gaol cell on the top floor of the prison?

    A good long Royal Commission chaired by a victim of Union thuggery might be unfair and yet achieve justice.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    25 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  263. is his attempt now to assume the moral high ground

    ? does that term refer to the gaol cell on the top floor of the prison?

    A good long Royal Commission chaired by a victim of Union thuggery might be unfair and yet achieve justice.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    25 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  264. Kaboom – your trail on the conveyancing seems pretty believable to me going on what happened in any of my property purchases (with the waived costs and easy mortgage of course), or Da Hairy Ape’s too.

    ————————————-

    Steve from Brisbane – aww Stevie, when I am in a friendly mood I call lots of people in the diminutive, even macho guys like Da Ape. If ever I call you Steven then you really should worry. Anyway, you once called me a dill, your prerogative, but I’m not. Everyone here calls me Lizzie, my preference, with the exception of Candy who likes to be formal (good on her, I am sure she has her reasons).

    Speaking of things formal, I spent the morning at the hairdressers because tonight we go to a big formal dinner where Da Ape has a role. Didn’t come back and wash it all out either, because he and I both liked it (I have form on this). Trophy Wife time. Everyone tonight will call me Elizabeth. It will be beautifully written there on the placecards: Mrs. Elizabeth Ape. Diamonds will sparkle.

    Where do you go to my lovely? sings that song in my head. Me and who else, I will wonder, looking around.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    25 Aug 12 at 4:58 pm

  265. oooooops – without the waived costs and easy mortgage
    (not with, natch. We get no special favours like union guys do).

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    25 Aug 12 at 5:00 pm

  266. Can we expect a full report on the night’s events from Trophy Wife? I hope so. Sparkle away, lovely.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 5:04 pm

  267. If Julia won’t answer any more questions I guess Journos and investigators will have to start asking questions of the S&G managing partners

    Questions for the S&G managing Partners

    1) Who asked for the firm to extend a solicitors mortgage for the purchase of the property?

    2) Who within S&G Authorised the Solicitors Mortgage for $150K for the property purchase?

    3) why was this expending the mortgage not considered a conflict of interest given that the purchaser was also an employee of the firms client the AWU?

    4) who drafted the cheques from S&G to the vendors for the property settlement to go ahead, who authorised and signed these cheques?

    5) who repaid the mortgage and how was it repaid? were cheques from the CBA account “AWU Workplace Reform Association “ used to repay the mortgage?

    6) how much interest was charged on the mortgage and how was this interest income reported to the Tax Department?

    Max

    25 Aug 12 at 5:06 pm

  268. Winston: SLR had shit sights

    Not the one I want

    Love the old SLR. Prefer it to the bloody F88 any day

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    25 Aug 12 at 5:08 pm

  269. If there is reasonable suspicion of funds not being properly accounted for, and the funds might affect the taxable income of the entity, does the “client priveledge” blanket not apply to investigations by the tx department? Just wondering ignorant as a cloud.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    25 Aug 12 at 5:11 pm

  270. Dear Mrs Elizabeth Ape,

    Have a wonderful, sparkling evening – and I’m glad about that correction!
    (Thanks for the earlier thumbs up – cheers my little soul.)

    Ellen of Tasmania

    25 Aug 12 at 5:12 pm

  271. One way the government could save momey would be to abolish the AFP and replace it with the Wish files. The investigative powers of this blog are astounding.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 5:13 pm

  272. 11magazines? That seems a lot?

    WhaleHunt Fun

    25 Aug 12 at 5:14 pm

  273. Is eleven usual for sale with such a weapon ? Breivek probably used less?

    WhaleHunt Fun

    25 Aug 12 at 5:15 pm

  274. The investigative powers of this blog are astounding.

    Yes, I can see how it would seem that way for you.

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 5:22 pm

  275. If there is reasonable suspicion of funds not being properly accounted for, and the funds might affect the taxable income of the entity, does the “client priveledge” blanket not apply to investigations by the tx department? Just wondering ignorant as a cloud.

    Correct LPP does not apply and can’t be used by S&G here.

    Max

    25 Aug 12 at 5:22 pm

  276. @ Max:

    ADDITIONALLY – how was this $150k Mortgage from S&G re-paid? not with cheques from the CBA account “AWU Workplace Reform Association “

    Ahhh! That’s the easy part!

    When the Kerr St love-nest was sold in {1995? 1996? – that would be an interesting date….} the proceeds of sale would (I assume) look something like this:

    Sale Price: $340,000
    Less – deposit: $34,000
    Bal: $306,000
    Less unpaid rates, unpaid water $6,000
    Bal: $300,000

    Payable to:
    Slapper & Gordon $150,000
    R. Blewitt $150,000

    You might think that this is a wonderful mechanism for money laundering.

    You would be correct.

    Kaboom

    25 Aug 12 at 5:26 pm

  277. One way the government could save momey would be to abolish the AFP and replace it with the Wish files.

    Fair call.

    http://www.rightpulse.com/archives/36938

    Ivan Denisovich

    25 Aug 12 at 5:31 pm

  278. I realise everyone is excited and all but please let’s not refer to individuals as ‘sluts’ or ‘abattoirs’.

    Sinclair Davidson

    25 Aug 12 at 5:34 pm

  279. Winston: SLR had shit sights

    Not the one I want…

    Love the old SLR. Prefer it to the bloody F88 any day

    I’ll stick with the M4.

    Abu Chowdah

    25 Aug 12 at 5:40 pm

  280. Just got an email from an incredulous Canadian friend. Worth quoting:

    ‘Let me get this straight. Mick the pencil dick Mann just challenged Mark Steyn, the bull-Moose buggering schlong of the east, to a Gaia f**king competition in open Court? He’s nuts. Does he not know that Steyn took on the might of Canada’s human rights thought-Gestapo in their own Star Chambers and, armed only with his mighty manhood, humped them all to death on their own court-benches?

    Man I gotta stock up on popcorn, it’ll be a helluva show’

    (He’s from Alberta)

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    25 Aug 12 at 5:47 pm

  281. 11 mags is a little unusual but it’s a mag-loaded rifle. You do lose the damn things chasing pigs in rough terrain.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    25 Aug 12 at 5:51 pm

  282. Yeah, I have to stick with my trusty old P14. it’s coming up on its 100th birthday soon

    Still nudges ferals very nicely though. Got a new scope on it. I can aim small miss small at 200 yards now.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    25 Aug 12 at 5:54 pm

  283. What SteveC posted @ 3:15 pm:

    Tony Abbott says carbon tax introduction not catastrophic…

    What Tony Abbott actually said:

    ….the introduction of the carbon tax had not immediately been “catastrophic”….
    …. its long-term effects would eventually spell disaster for Australia’s economy.

    A half-truth is a deceptive statement that includes some element of truth.
    It comes under the general description of lying.

    manalive

    25 Aug 12 at 5:54 pm

  284. SteveC, you dishonest leftwing douchebag.

    Get back to Kimberly your plastic sex doll.

    No deceit here, fuckhead. Try it somewhere else.

    Jc

    25 Aug 12 at 5:59 pm

  285. Mann just can’t get enough of those court cases. I understand he has engaged lawyers who have defended Big Tobacco from time to time. Ironic isn’t it, lefties usually accuse the sceptics of adopting the tactics of Big Tobacco.

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 6:01 pm

  286. @don – it’s a late answer:

    This sounds like an accusation to me. Are you saying he was indeed taking drugs? How do you “push the rules”? He either took drugs or he didn’t.

    It’s not an accusation at all. I’m defending him.

    All cyclists take some type of drugs, whether it’s sleeping tablets, aspirins or whatever. They have a list of substances that are banned. No doubt the 7 year reign of his team coincided with cutting edge research on how to get the best out of a body without using banned substances.

    What I mean by this is that he would have been doing something – I don’t know, drnking a lot of Red Bull? – and that is what the other cyclists are accusing him of. But if you’ve tested clean, then you’ve obeyed the rules.

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 6:01 pm

  287. The SLR was reliable but a bit too heavy and long for jungle warfare. I had the opportunity of firing the heavy duty SLR light machine gun with the tripod. It still had shitty sights and with only a 20 round mag it was hopeless in delivering a decent rate of fire. The Bren was better than that.
    I remember hearing an old digger telling the story about a bren gunner who having run out of magazines called out for more. Those close by threw the Bren mags they all had to carry and ended up knocking the gunner out as they rained down on him.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 6:04 pm

  288. Our school cadet unit had its own armoury with Bren guns and 303′s.At our school fete we had a local army unit let the kiddies lob practice mortars across the oval. They had some kind of dummy mortar connected to compressed air I think.
    Now day’s you can’t even read a Biggles book at school.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 6:13 pm

  289. Ian Cambridge’s affidavit suggests the deposit came from a $25k cash withdrawal at about the right time.

    Surely this was a bank cheque? I can’t believe they walked into a real estate office with a bag stuffed full of notes?

    I wonder if the association cheque for the settlement was a mistake – a slip up. A ‘crap I forgot to organise a bank cheque and I need to pay it today’ moment. If Wilson had supplied a bank cheque, the house would have been very difficult to tie to the slush fund. But with the presented cheque – there’s your link, right there. From WA taxpayer to Union Bosses house, all tax free and illegal.

    I’ve heard about the deposit slips. When are they going to turn up? Could they be the mortgage payments?

    brc

    25 Aug 12 at 6:16 pm

  290. Rafe @ 1.53

    Assuming for the sake of argument that ms Gillard was innocent of any and all accusations of partnership in crime and corruption in the union movement 17 years ago, at the very least she became aware of the existence of crime and corruption.

    Assuming that she is a decent and honest person with the best interests of the Australian people at heart, given that knowledge then some time between then and now she should have got started on cleaning up the stables, including, most obviously, the gross over-representation of unions at the ALP national conference.

    The obvious time to get serious about that was when she came into the brand new, reforming Rudd administration where she was a prime mover in most of the major reforms -the paper on asylum seekers, elimination of Workchoices, the education revolution.

    Can some defender or admirer of ms Gillard draw our attention to the moves that she has made in that direction?

    Given your assumptions, Rafe, it would be reasonable for such a person, having left the suspicious organisation, to have thought “Wow I really dodged a bullet that threatened my professional career, I had better report this to the cops”. A decent and honest person would have taken such steps almost immediately. There is no evidence that Gillard took this fundamental step, never mind the later stable cleaning.

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 6:21 pm

  291. But “the slapper” is OK Sinc?

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:31 pm

  292. Tony Abbott says carbon tax introduction not catastrophic
    If you don’t like the headline, take it up with your favorite right-wing rag, the Oz, they wrote it. So the Oz is lying now?

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:34 pm

  293. brc

    Cambridge had all the bank records, the account in question is on page 17 or so. He noted the $25k cash a few days prior to the auction and concluded that was the deposit.

    So, yes, he handed a brown paper bag to the auctioneer.

    As far as bank cheques go I’d say Cambridge could have obtained the name of the payee.

    I wonder if that is another question we could add to the Gillard questions list.

    “Was your boyfriend in the habit of carrying around large sums of cash? Did you think that was a little odd?”

    As far as bank cheques go I’d say Cambridge could have obtained the name of the payee. Unless Wilson withdrew $60k odd in cash and purchased the bank cheque over the counter…

    But I think it’s more likely they were poisoned by the culture of corruption and never thought there would be any blow back.

    Anyhow here’s the Aff:

    http://pickeringpost.com/mediax/resources/Affidavit2.pdf

    No attachments unfortunately.

    DaveF

    25 Aug 12 at 6:35 pm

  294. Bacon Park.

    The mind boggles. I’d say ‘only in America’, but you know it’s coming to a park near you!

    nilk

    25 Aug 12 at 6:42 pm

  295. But if you’ve tested clean, then you’ve obeyed the rules.

    No, brc, it just means you didn’t get caught. That’s like saying if you are speeding, but no cop catches you, you weren’t speeding.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:43 pm

  296. Yes, I can see how it would seem that way for you. and for you Keith.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:45 pm

  297. If you don’t like the headline, take it up with your favorite right-wing rag, the Oz, they wrote it. So the Oz is lying now?

    Fuck off Steve C. You posted that swill here, not the Oz, you douchebag.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:45 pm

  298. Gosh, posting a quote on the Wish now has greater impact than publishing a headline in the Oz.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:46 pm

  299. But “the slapper” is OK Sinc?

    I’m deputising.

    It’s fine.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 6:48 pm

  300. But “the slapper” is OK Sinc?

    I’m deputising.

    It’s fine.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 6:48 pm

  301. Oh good Lord, someone throws out bacon and it becomes an investigation by the police because mussies took offense. Please! Idiots.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 6:49 pm

  302. Climate change adversely affecting agriculture

    JAIPUR: Climate change, the greatest global challenge, is already a reality for the farmers of Rajasthan. It is increasing the pressure on already scarce resources and if proper measures are not taken, migration towards the cities will soon reach new heights.

    Any change in climatic determinants could not only adversely impact food security and nutrition but also affect the well-being of the population that derives its income from the sector. Agriculture and allied sectors, therefore, exhibit high sensitivity to climate fluctuations. The way ahead is, “Breeding of climate-hardy livestock and development of nutritional strategies to prevent heat stress and productivity loss; Dairying of goats and other small ruminants should be promoted; indigenous varieties with heat resistance capacities could be identified and promoted to minimize related losses in milk production.”

    Oh dear, that’s not what I was told here.

    SteveC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:50 pm

  303. Rumours about Lance Armstrong have been circling since day dot. He passed every drug test, sure, so did Marion Jones. I believe both of them were on the take with Balco. Have Balco tacitly admitted supplying athletes with dodgy therapeutic substances? Yes. Is Armstrong guilty of taking performancing enhancing drugs? On the balance of probabilities, yes. Will the French people rejoice in his guilt? Yes

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 6:52 pm

  304. What I’m curious about is where the money went.

    Roughly every fortnight or so there was a cash cheque for $5k or so.

    That’s a LOT of walking around money. Is it even possible to spend that much and have nothing much to show for it?

    Unless you have an expensive girlfriend I suppose….

    Gambling maybe? But if that was the case he’d be withdrawing every 2nd day…

    DaveF

    25 Aug 12 at 6:53 pm

  305. SteveC

    So what you’re implying is that farmers aren’t able to rotate their crops over period of time.

    Kimberly is calling. See what she wants.

    Shoo off, you clown.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 6:56 pm

  306. All this pc speech is getting me in a slattern & gordian knot.

    Nanuestalker

    25 Aug 12 at 6:58 pm

  307. “That’s a LOT of walking around money. Is it even possible to spend that much and have nothing much to show for it?”

    In 1990 dollars it is a lot and probably accounts for why Wilson looks 10 years older than he should

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 6:58 pm

  308. Climate change adversely affecting agriculture

    JAIPUR: Climate change, the greatest global challenge, is already a reality for the farmers of Rajasthan

    And The Gr8 Bar Reef, and da sinking islands and da hilmolyas and da bush foires and da hurricanes and the da North pole and da south pole.

    But apart from those few places, it doesn’t seem too bad.

    JamesK

    25 Aug 12 at 7:04 pm

  309. I think everyone should chill and have a David Bowie moment. “is there life on Mars?”

    Daisy

    25 Aug 12 at 7:12 pm

  310. ….. So the Oz is lying now?

    Dissembling is another form of lying.

    manalive

    25 Aug 12 at 7:16 pm

  311. [You are a disgrace. Sinc]

    What gives you the right to abuse me?
    I call what I see princess – grow up!

    1735099

    25 Aug 12 at 7:20 pm

  312. What I’m curious about is where the money went.

    According to Pickering Wilson bought a restaurant called “Rumbrellas”. Needless to say, it didn’t go well. About as well as the Big Welsh Bullshit Artist has gone over with the electorate.

    Andreas

    25 Aug 12 at 7:25 pm

  313. ROFL:

    James Delingpole laments: ‘Damn you, @MarkSteynOnline … Damn you, @MarkSteynOnline . How come you get to be sued by Michael ‘hide the decline’ Mann and not me?’

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 7:30 pm

  314. Yessss! What a fuckin’ game!!

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 7:31 pm

  315. What gives you the right …

    Oh noes! The tiny fists of rage.
    On a more important subject: Is it time for the ARU to let Robbie Deans go and give Sr Mary Margaret (coach of the St Carmel, Inookalavie West, under 8s) a shot?

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 7:33 pm

  316. [You are a disgrace. Sinc]

    Hahahahahahaha!!! Always knew you had a great right foot, Doomlord. Will you coach the Dons next year, it apparently being beyond Hirdy?

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 7:34 pm

  317. spudpeeler – you vile, lobotomised, embittered ol’ coward – FUCK OFF!

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 7:36 pm

  318. Yessss! What a fuckin’ game!!

    Robbed – robbed, I tells ya!

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 7:37 pm

  319. Hahahaha! Hey Digits, Sinclair isn’t one of your defenceless pupils you know!
    As you will find out…

    Winston Smith

    25 Aug 12 at 7:38 pm

  320. Wasn’t just, Fisky. Carn the Hawks!

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 7:39 pm

  321. What gives you the right to abuse me?

    After trying to link mainstream journalists to a mass murderer, you are lucky not to have your IP details published.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 7:40 pm

  322. Oh great – the mcfuckwits.

    Go Beagles!

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 7:40 pm

  323. Wasn’t it just…

    I’m just back from the pub, sorry.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 7:42 pm

  324. @ DB – I note that the spot betting still had the Hawks behind on $3.50 even after they edged a point ahead in the last two minutes. I guess the punters are used to seeing them choke in close matches.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 7:43 pm

  325. Fisky – the spudpeeler is easily the most vile, lobotomised leftist loser to have cursed this site.

    Allow the alzheimers afflicted, syphlitic ol’ coward no quarter whatsoever.

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 7:43 pm

  326. You have a bizarre understanding of both “mainstream” and “journalism”. None of the purveyors of fear and loathing I outed could be called either “mainstream” or “journalists”.
    And threats don’t cut it….

    1735099

    25 Aug 12 at 7:45 pm

  327. Fisky, I was afraid of that myself. Nice to see them hold it together. They dominated the last two minutes. Two great goals and then iced it. Roll on finals.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 7:49 pm

  328. It’s alright, Rabz, I’m guessing the spud-peeler has loaded up on FauxFacts shares.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 7:51 pm

  329. No, Bolt and Akerman are high-circulation journalists with views well within the mainstream of Australian society. You tried to link them to a terrorist mass-murderer – I think you should be given the choice of writing a personal letter of apology to these gentlemen including your name and address, or, if you refuse, to have your IP details published.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 7:51 pm

  330. I’m guessing the spud-peeler has loaded up on FauxFacts shares.

    Thanks Tommy – he’s so stupid that he no doubt spent his last dole cheque on them at 45 cents yesterday!

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 7:54 pm

  331. None of the purveyors of fear and loathing I outed could be called either “mainstream” or “journalists”.

    Excuse me, they are journalists. That is their profession. If this is your way to accuse them of unprofessional conduct, then you should have your IP details published so the matter can be followed up accordingly.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 7:54 pm

  332. views well within the mainstream of Australian society

    Both these hacks make a living from inciting hate. I saw enough of the consequences of this in Vietnam in 1970, and in this country upon my return to convince me that I would call it every time I saw it.
    Any apology is owed by them – not to them.

    1735099

    25 Aug 12 at 7:57 pm

  333. What gives you the right to abuse me?

    Ah poor little conscripted Bobby, still not over Vietnam?

    Nanuestalker

    25 Aug 12 at 7:58 pm

  334. Why is Bobby posting here? Well he he sums it up himself …

    I’ll need to publish something outrageous to get a reaction.

    Please fuck off Bob.

    Nanuestalker

    25 Aug 12 at 7:59 pm

  335. Both these hacks make a living from inciting hate.

    Right, so now you are alleging without evidence that they have attained material benefits from unethical behavior. Sinclair – could you pass on 1735099′s details to the appropriate parties, please?

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 8:02 pm

  336. NT Election results
    4.1% swing to CLP
    4.9% against Liar’s Party
    39% counted

    This, after all that boogah, boogah, too close to call garbage from their ABC.

    Keith

    25 Aug 12 at 8:03 pm

  337. still not over vietnam?

    Evidently not

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 8:04 pm

  338. Both these hacks make a living from inciting hate. I saw enough of the consequences of this in Vietnam in 1970

    Could you do me a favour and publish the names of the people you allege “made a living from inciting hatred” in Vietnam? Please include attachments to examples of their incitement as well as their estimated payoff. This is a serious accusation, and we must take it seriously.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 8:05 pm

  339. This, after all that boogah, boogah, too close to call garbage from their ABC.

    Frontline grublic servants are gunna lose da jobs, I tells ya!!!

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 8:06 pm

  340. Numbers wrote a book about his adventures in Vietnam. I heard it was a good read.
    Click his link to see more.

    kae

    25 Aug 12 at 8:08 pm

  341. The Vietnam war was a long time ago Bob, if you still have unresolved conflicts in your head go see a shrink. Don’t come in here trying to link current day journalist’s political ideologies ( for they all have them from left to right) with your perception of how you were treated as a serviceman in a now forgotten war.
    And as for linking your service number nic to your website and book promotion this is very unsporting.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 8:10 pm

  342. The Greens have fallen to 2.8% in the NT.

    What a booyudifell set of numbers.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 8:13 pm

  343. Cross your fingers for Bess Price in Stuart.

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 8:13 pm

  344. Bob is deluded.

    Australia left Vietnam nearly 40 years ago.

    It was also the left, the peaceniks, the likes of Lee Rhiannon, funded by the Soviets, that incited such hatred.

    Libertarians, who oppose conscription, or conservatives, who might like conscription but are strongly anti communist as well, are not to blame.

    The shoes on your foot, Bob. It was your ilk who gave you a kicking.

    I suggest you maintain the rage and have a Liberal Senator ask Rhiannon was she was on the take from the USSR during the Cold War.

    You’ll never forgive the public? Understandable. The same incitement was egged on by the likes of Rhiannon and culminated in the election of the disastrous Whitlam “administration”.

    You ought to find out who your friends and enemies really are.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 8:17 pm

  345. Kae’s right check numbers link.

    Daisy

    25 Aug 12 at 8:18 pm

  346. Robbie Deans will be sacked by the end of the year and will end up “coaching” a French team of the lowest order. Deans will proclaim his coaching career a success.

    Meanwhile, the biggest selling item of wallabies supporters gear for 2012 will be a petrol infused effigy of Deans.

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 8:20 pm

  347. Labor 8
    CLP 14
    Other 1
    In Doubt 2

    Labor goneski

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 8:21 pm

  348. Flipping heck, those NT electorates are small. The total enrolled in Stuart is 4706 (yes, that is not missing a zero) and turnout last time was 52.8%.

    Our council wards are bigger than that!

    boy on a bike

    25 Aug 12 at 8:21 pm

  349. Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 8:21 pm

  350. Looks like 16:8:1 CLP:ALP:Ind in the NT. Even the ALPBC couldn’t keep their BS “predictions” going forever.

    Good. The ALP got a kicking, the Aborigines got in the CLP, and otherwise formed their own party to try to better themselves, and the Greens had the shyte kicked out of them as well.

    Maybe some public servants can get sacked now so more people in the private sector can get jobs – instead of funding their outrageously costly, low productivity, useless “roles”.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 8:22 pm

  351. Bess Price wins

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 8:23 pm

  352. The spudpeeler is an evil, embittered, diseased ol’ commie COWARD.

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 8:23 pm

  353. All Blacks 22 v Wallabies 0

    While watching Hawthorn I couldn’t believe my eyes at that score line. Just pathetic.

    dover_beach

    25 Aug 12 at 8:25 pm

  354. In Sanderson, the FNPP (First Nations Political Party) is represented by “MAGRIPLIS, Dimitrious”.

    Did he get that name because his indigenous parents were fans of Greek philosophers?

    boy on a bike

    25 Aug 12 at 8:26 pm

  355. ABC 24, Green Ant says Bess Price behind by seven votes.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 8:27 pm

  356. In Sanderson, the FNPP (First Nations Political Party) is represented by “MAGRIPLIS, Dimitrious”.

    Did he get that name because his indigenous parents were fans of Greek philosophers?

    boy on a bike

    25 Aug 12 at 8:28 pm

  357. Sorry musta missread previous smoke signal.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 8:29 pm

  358. The interesting point is the size of the swing. It probably would have been even higher if Gillard had of campaigned.

    Splatacrobat

    25 Aug 12 at 8:31 pm

  359. Hopefully the indigenous CLP, being a territory government, will get the ball rolling for the greater good of the indigenous movement in general?

    Is The Black Steam Train hopeful?

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 8:31 pm

  360. All Blacks 22 v Wallabies 0

    Beyond fucking disgraceful.

    Sack the bastards.

    No more comfy $300,000pa contracts, you loathsome pansies!

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 8:32 pm

  361. Green is projecting a 3.4% margin to Price though. She’ll probably make up the votes on postals and absentees. Terrific if true!

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 8:32 pm

  362. Particularly, Price will be able to get her revenge against the Left under privilege.

    Fisky

    25 Aug 12 at 8:36 pm

  363. Oh dear, that’s not what I was told here.

    And nobody invited you, nobody respects or even likes you, so piss off.

    blogstrop

    25 Aug 12 at 8:39 pm

  364. All Blacks 22 v Wallabies 0

    While watching Hawthorn I couldn’t believe my eyes at that score line. Just pathetic.

    They actually played quite well, the 0 was a result of a relentless determination not to bank any points from penalties and go for the line. Though the only thing on the field, that was stupider than their chip kicking in attack, was the referee. He would have done a lot better if he had been allowed to bring his guide dog on to the field with him.

    Rob

    25 Aug 12 at 8:40 pm

  365. …the ruthless efficiency developed by the Americans after years of practice in a wide range of conflicts.

    That would be
    Germany Aug ’42 to Apr ’45
    Japan Nov ’44 to Aug ’45
    Korea Jun ’50 to Jul ’53
    Did I miss any of the wide range of conflicts?

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 8:47 pm

  366. Ah, Satuday evening. Two Stellas, barbecued pork leg steaks and a nice Coonawarra Cab Sav.

    :)

    Septimus

    25 Aug 12 at 8:47 pm

  367. Go Bess Price! As I predicted, a decisive, but not crushing win to the CLP in the Territory. 7.5% swing against Labor; but only three out of 25 seats in the NT Assembly changing hands. Would have been more but for the CLP’s weak leadership. Fairfax smeared the Libs this morning and don’t accept the result. Expect Labor’s smug old shitbucket Cassidy to do another job on the Libs tomorrow morning. Fair dinkum. The media coverage in Australia is like the Chinese People’s Daily. Former Labor chief minister (and a former colleague of mine) Clare Martin conceding Labor will have to have a good hard look at itself. Aborigines see their future political leadership with the Coalition.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 8:48 pm

  368. Aborigines see their future political leadership with the Coalition.

    As they bloody well should.

    Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 8:52 pm

  369. The referee is but a variable. You still need to attack the line, support your player moving forward and above all, if your having trouble with continuity NEVER kick the ball away whilst in possession.

    Deans isn’t on the field mucking in, sure, but what the eff is he teaching his players? He needs to go and the other 14 players should learn how to play with Nathan Sharpe’s mongrel.

    Dan

    25 Aug 12 at 8:52 pm

  370. Barry O Farrell can form Government in his own right without the National party in NSW, ferbo.

    The Nats are actually almost the opposition. If the ALP lost two to three more seats to the Coalition the ALP would be a third party.

    Shut up.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:03 pm

  371. Flipping heck, those NT electorates are small. The total enrolled in Stuart is 4706 (yes, that is not missing a zero) and turnout last time was 52.8%.

    Our council wards are bigger than that!

    Er…. in all your researching of stuff & crunching numbers, you never got around to dividing the population of the NT by the number of seats?

    But the seat of Stuart does have any council ward beaten hands down, for sheer size (area)!

    Steve at the Pub

    25 Aug 12 at 9:04 pm

  372. .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:07 pm

  373. ALPBC’s NT Votes currently has the CLP on only 12 seats – one less req’d to form Government?!

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:08 pm

  374. Bess Price seems to be ahead now by 18 votes!

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:11 pm

  375. Feeble, there’s no doubt that labor in NSW are back. They are actually in the position where than can win seats if no one else is standing.

    Last year it was more respectable to say that you were a convicted criminal than a NSW labor minister in the previous govt, next year many of them will be able to put their hand up for both of the above.

    Rob

    25 Aug 12 at 9:14 pm

  376. Fuck me. The ALP has owned the seat of Arafura (which includes the Tiwi islands) forever. Looked like it was a formality with former AFL footballer Dean Rioli standing for Labor. But he’s been rolled by one of the CLP’s indigenous candidates, Francis Xavier Maralampuri (don’t you love those Tiwi names!).

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 9:15 pm

  377. Isn’t it time for the AEC to insist that rump oddball group – the ALP – change its name to the Tasmanian Labor Party?

    Honesty in advertising etc.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 9:16 pm

  378. David Marr on Insiders tomorrow. Something to look 4ward 2.

    Should be hilarious watching the man who once published a hit piece on John Howard’s father and grandfather express his shocked disdain over the pursuit of Gillard re Slushgate.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 9:18 pm

  379. hope Bess Price gets in

    val majkus

    25 Aug 12 at 9:19 pm

  380. David Marr on Insiders tomorrow. Something to look 4ward 2.

    Yes, if you’re brain dead.

    Megan

    25 Aug 12 at 9:23 pm

  381. and Alison Anderson

    val majkus

    25 Aug 12 at 9:24 pm

  382. Nothing wrong with convicted criminals per se, Rob. Australia was founded by them, bless their audacious hearts.

    No.

    It was founded by Captain Arthur Phillip.

    Quite a few of the convicts were simply violent scum.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:25 pm

  383. Daisy

    25 Aug 12 at 9:33 pm

  384. Sorry 10.36

    Daisy

    25 Aug 12 at 9:34 pm

  385. My heart swells with pride. The NT reduced the Green vote by 25% from 4.2% to 3.2%. Further strengthens my belief that the Green scum will not get more than 8% in a federal election. If I keep extrapolating, that means the Greens will lose three Senate seats next year and probably lose the balance of power. Early days. But I’m hopeful the Australian electorate will next year break out of the zombie prison.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 9:37 pm

  386. Price leading at the moment

    val majkus

    25 Aug 12 at 9:41 pm

  387. Rabz

    25 Aug 12 at 9:43 pm

  388. Interesting that the Greens polled 44% in one NT booth. Sign of the times.

    Yes.

    Moonbeam green left carpetbagger scum flocking to PS positions, and vote to lock up resources on traditional landowner’s property.

    Do not make a mistake. The Greens are anti black development arseholes.

    The intervention? Supported by all to start with. Overbearing in its eventual aegis, treating adults like kids.

    The Feds in their capacity to enforce human rights, (through the AFP IMO) are correct to stop seven year old children getting syphlis as a result of systemic sexual abuse.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:45 pm

  389. Kon Vatskalis is like a real life minty or ShitFer.

    The CLP are going to fire nurses, cops and firemen…and not useless PS bureacrats….LOL

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:47 pm

  390. The war between reason and Third World voodoo is only just beginning, Dot. Civilisation is fighting back.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 9:50 pm

  391. You’re a venomously spiteful leftie piece of shit, feebles.

    The only reason you come here is to spite. Piss off.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 9:51 pm

  392. “Deans isn’t on the field mucking in, sure, but what the eff is he teaching his players?”

    It matters little what he tells them Dan because they’ve attained unteachable. Once they hit the big money on an ARU contract that means they know everything ‘cos they’re “special” – it’s a Matt Giteau thing.

    Deans doesn’t make the sly, thieving little spiv from Tokoroa go missing under (even mild) pressure and hide on the wing, or the ex Waratahs waddling mouth breather not tackle … and kick aimlessly 100% of the time. He, along with Brand O’Dollar, was sooo awesome so early in his life that they had them bypass Club rugby altogether, where one learns to play rugby.

    That’s like going directly from infants school to post grad, skipping basic English and Maths en route.

    What you saw tonight was a loose grouping of frauds, bound together only by the handsomeness of their $0.5m to $0.9m contracts. They talked and twittered a fabulous game for the past fortnight, failing to recognise they were about to play a real rugby team whose members feel the need to earn their black jersey each time they play in it.

    They’re lucky they weren’t done by 20 more. They will still get paid the same wage this week though, which is just one of the myriad problems besetting Australian rugby now.

    Mick Gold Coast QLD

    25 Aug 12 at 9:55 pm

  393. max screa m returns.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 9:55 pm

  394. So what ferbo?

    One half of Arnhem land has a 26% swing to the CLP.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:55 pm

  395. max screa m returns as that vile pos febro.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 9:56 pm

  396. WTF, ferbo?

    Arnhem

    Southern Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt
    Last Updated: Sat, 25 Aug 2012 20:38:00
    Roll: 4,902
    Votes Counted: 45.6%
    Booths Counted Primary Vote: 8/8
    Booths Counted 2CP: 8/8

    ABC Predicted Final Result: CLP GAIN: 29.6% swing to CLP

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 9:57 pm

  397. Why would the scum of the earth suddenly turn up here, JC? Something is amiss in their world. Remember last year when they were pissing our money against the wall like Perrier water? It’s almost all over. They’re already thinking about the torching of public buildings in Canberra to mark the end of their era.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 9:59 pm

  398. Bess Price now 44 ahead.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 10:02 pm

  399. The grünreich surges in Braitling.
    One booth is polling 90%.
    Febro is right, it’s a sign!

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 10:02 pm

  400. Interesting that the Greens polled 44% in one NT booth. Sign of the times.

    FFS – did you bother looking at the details of the Greens candidate, George Pascoe? George got 44% of the vote in one booth – his home town, Maningrida. 174 of the 393 that cast a vote in that town voted for him. The FNPP candidate got 31% of the vote in that booth – and she happens to live in Maningrida too.

    The CLP candidate got 80% of the vote in his home booth of Nguiu.

    boy on a bike

    25 Aug 12 at 10:08 pm

  401. Confirmed: the whole country hates the Labor Party.

    C.L.

    25 Aug 12 at 10:09 pm

  402. What ferbo said:

    The ALP is rightly being punished for the Intervention. But the federal Libs introduced it. The election result is chips.

    What I said:

    The intervention? Supported by all to start with. Overbearing in its eventual aegis, treating adults like kids.

    The Feds in their capacity to enforce human rights, (through the AFP IMO) are correct to stop seven year old children getting syphlis as a result of systemic sexual abuse.

    The ALP are being rightly punished, indeed.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 10:09 pm

  403. History being made, according to Labor Senator Trish Crossin. For the first time, the NT election decided in the (Aboriginal) bush – not in Darwin’s northern middle class suburbs. This is the fallout from Howard’s intervention: the blackfellas want to be ruled by the conservatives; it’s the only way they can escape from the Labor welfare state. This is big nationally, folks.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 10:11 pm

  404. The CLP candidate got 80% of the vote in his home booth of Nguiu.

    Canaries in the coal mine

    Yep, the ALP is fucked.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 10:15 pm

  405. Febrile, the Cat’s own graffiti ‘artist’ defacing with words.

    Biota

    25 Aug 12 at 10:18 pm

  406. Lots of people I know, who have been living off the Labor gravy train in the NT for a decade, are losing their jobs as we speak. I hope they saw it coming.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 10:22 pm

  407. Tom I miss kanga

    val majkus

    25 Aug 12 at 10:25 pm

  408. Let febro have a moment of glory, Biota.
    One mobile booth had 27 green votes.
    That’s practically storming The Winter Palace.

    lotocoti

    25 Aug 12 at 10:25 pm

  409. The cockroaches love it here, bless their hearts.

    Tom

    25 Aug 12 at 10:28 pm

  410. Yeah Aborigines have always done well under conservative rule. Not. As the history books show.

    Why does the right hate Aboriginal people? Easy. They are social darwinist and therefore objectively genocidal.

    Really?

    Lee Rhiannon was on the payroll of the Soviet Union.

    …and see here

    http://www.bovination.com/readArticle.php?articleId=1661838

    Imaginary Houses 2009-07-31 21:50

    Two years ago Kevin (‘economic stimulus’) Rudd allocated 672 million dollars to build houses for Aborigines. Now, dear reader, let’s do a quick calculation on how many houses that might build. A friend of mine spent $350,000 building a house recently. Add 50,000 for servicing a block, and that’s probably around $400,000 to build a lovely spacious modern house. So 672 million hard-earned tax dollars should build around 1920 houses, right? In fact if we were willing to do without the double garage with internal access we could easily do over 2000.

    So how does that get allocated? Well, Tenant Creek was allocated $36 Million for 20 houses. That’s 1.8 million dollars per house! But it gets worse. It was then revised down to nine houses. That’s four million dollars per house! Apparently “training costs and fees for consultants” were significant (who’d have thought). But still it gets worse. Now it’s been revised to zero houses. Yes, that’s right – zero houses will be built with the $36 million. The money is going to be spent on fixing up some existing houses.

    In fact no houses at all have been built on the scheme so far. Anywhere. With the whole 672 million dollars. Some houses might be built in 2011. Maybe. And they are talking about a total of 300 houses. That’s 2.2 million dollars per house! If they even build that many.

    Many Australians were overjoyed when Kevin Rudd apologized to the Aborigines. All the child abuse, the drug problems, the health issues were all going to be solved. Because we apologized. Kevin had the solution. Kevin was smart. Kevin could close the gap. Kevin could make everyone happy.

    Except that 672 million of hard-earned tax-payers money and two years has not produced a single house.

    .

    25 Aug 12 at 10:29 pm

  411. Satuday . . . hmm.

    Saturday even.

    Heh. In vino veritas :)

    Septimus

    25 Aug 12 at 10:34 pm

  412. I remember a few weeks back that xevram idiot going on about how the NT green vote was going to go up, because they’re all worried about Harbour dredging or something. Green supporters are such a joke, always declaring they’re about to start winning.

    Brc

    25 Aug 12 at 10:34 pm

  413. Re our esteemed (cough cough) PM. How is this for a question: Had John Winston Howard done anything that might render him unfit to practice as a solicitor (as he had been) without necessarily exposing him to any criminal sanction does anyone think that:

    i. He would have ever been able to be leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party of Australia once, let alone three times?; or that

    ii. The crime family formerly known as the ALP, not least the world’s greatest pig farmer/Mahler fan, would have not had him face scrutiny in the house over it?

    Just Another bloody Lawyer

    25 Aug 12 at 10:41 pm

  414. It really disgusts me that she gets the honorific “honourable” and that she’ll be on a hefty pension plus plus plus benefits courtesy from the taxpayer until the day she carks it. ccse.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 10:44 pm

  415. courtesy of..

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 10:45 pm

  416. This is pretty significant election. The indig actually gave the government to the CLP. That’s incredible and would not have thought possible only a few years ago. Wow!

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 10:45 pm

  417. Rafe has started a thread on it.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 10:46 pm

  418. Did you have a chat to the tribes Joe?

    Tal

    25 Aug 12 at 10:49 pm

  419. It really disgusts me that she gets the honorific “honourable” and that she’ll be on a hefty pension plus plus plus benefits courtesy from the taxpayer until the day she carks it. ccse.

    My main gripe ever since she staged her coup, Gab. I feel pure rage whenever I open my payslip and see how much of my honestly hard earned is going in tax to support the Red Headed Dodgy One in what will be a comfortable old age. Unless the Karma Fairy intervenes and she trips and falls under a bus. NB: This is NOT a death threat.

    Megan

    25 Aug 12 at 10:50 pm

  420. she’ll be on a hefty pension plus plus plus benefits courtesy from the taxpayer until the day she carks it

    Unless such benefits are stripped away following a Royal Commission and gaol term and prior to deportation to Wales.

    Septimus

    25 Aug 12 at 10:51 pm

  421. Unless such benefits are stripped away following a Royal Commission and gaol term and prior to deportation to Wales.

    Look. I don’t want to be cheered up, you tease.

    :)

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 10:52 pm

  422. LOl

    Yea Tal. I spoke to fellow tribal leaders and convinced them to talk the rest to vote CLP.

    It’s so interesting to contrast this election result against the white 9 suing Bolt and what this represents.

    JC

    25 Aug 12 at 10:56 pm

  423. I feel pure rage whenever I open my payslip and see how much of my honestly hard earned is going in tax to support the Red Headed Dodgy One

    heh. Should be used as a line in a Lib ad for the next election.

    Gab

    25 Aug 12 at 10:57 pm

  424. We do live in interesting times JC

    Tal

    25 Aug 12 at 11:00 pm

  425. 12 months to go down here in Tassie till we get the chance to do the same.

    Driftforge

    25 Aug 12 at 11:20 pm

  426. Unless such benefits are stripped away following a Royal Commission and gaol term and prior to deportation to Wales.

    Steady on
    Death penalty maybe, but Wales?
    That’s a bit extreme.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    25 Aug 12 at 11:53 pm

  427. Confirmed: the whole country hates the Labor Party.

    Who will take the blame inside the ALP?

    twostix

    25 Aug 12 at 11:55 pm

  428. it’s not going to be ‘i’ve done nothing wrong’

    val majkus

    25 Aug 12 at 11:58 pm

  429. On second thoughts…

    Troubled US Vice-President Joe Biden ordered to cancel his Tampa RNC spoiling visit. White House blames impending weather.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 12:08 am

  430. Red Kezza on their ABC looked a bit sad tonight. He’s watching the great Australian socialist edifice crumbling before his eyes. Now going into his dotage, he sees all his efforts have been for nothing. Great.
    That Aboriginals would actually vote CLP was the subject of many remarks – the ingrates!

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 12:08 am

  431. Want to see Red Kezza’s face when Abbott privatises the ABC and Gina buys it.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 12:12 am

  432. It’s so interesting to contrast this election result against the white 9 suing Bolt and what this represents.

    You watch, the luvvie left and commie media will start denouncing NT aboriginals now.

    They’ll probably call them racists.

    Oh wait, they already did that on SBS the other week didn’t they?

    Odds on they’ll say that NT aboriginals are “not smart enough” to see through the evil conservative’s “tricks”. They’ll use the usual euphemism calling them “low information voters”.

    This is why they’ve worked so hard to create a new aboriginal race, real aboriginals just aren’t reliable enough, but those white inner city luvvies, well they’re just as aboriginal as those NT mob.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 12:12 am

  433. Troubled US Vice-President Joe Biden ordered to cancel his Tampa RNC spoiling visit. White House blames impending weather.

    How lucky are the Dems?

    They have climate change to blame for Joe’s sparse audiences

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 12:14 am

  434. Gina: “These are your performance indicators and this is the deadline to achieve them. Non-achievement means dismissal without redundancy and without reference.”

    Welcome to the real world, Red Kezza.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 12:16 am

  435. Mick from the gold coast you are far too easy on them. They must piss in one another’s pockets 24 hrs a day after each hiding to keep going. At Brisbane last year they blew the Blacks off the field. Then they were shit.

    There is a lot of truth in them peaking at the time they sign the ARU contract. I don’t mind losing but I hate it when the effort is rubbish. Chip kicks in ur own half should be banned. Carter didn’t do one. If that was the game plan then Deans should go.

    Tiny Dancer

    26 Aug 12 at 12:17 am

  436. Tiny, it was a deplorable performance from the Wallabies tonight. I’ve been watching these guys for nigh on 30 years now and can’t remember too many times when we’ve looked so rudderless in consecutive matches. Kicking the ball back to one of the best counter attackers in world rugby (Izzy Dagg) is absolute suicide and yet we did it time and again.

    Deans must go.

    tbh

    26 Aug 12 at 12:24 am

  437. The upside was that Hooper looks a real talent and Timani might have turned the corner as an international standard lock.

    tbh

    26 Aug 12 at 12:25 am

  438. The Australian Defence Pansy Force…

    THE military will offer women temporary ”try before you buy it” deals to encourage them to take on full combat roles, and replace some exacting physical requirements with more practical tests for both sexes.

    Despite months of intensive publicity over the year since Defence announced it would open frontline roles to women, the military says only three have so far expressed interest – all of them as naval mine clearance diver officers.

    No army women have sought combat positions and the air force has not had any responses to its call for applicants…

    The general physical tests for most jobs across the military are also being rewritten as part of the push to move women into more roles.

    New specialised tests, designed to ensure people can do the core tasks in more than 150 different jobs, are being developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, in conjunction with the University of Wollongong.

    It would actually be embarrassing for a man to join this increasingly poofterised organisation.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 12:33 am

  439. tbh. Hooper has plenty of talent and will end up being a world class loose forward. So will Gill. Sadly the rest are soft. Makes it hard for cooper and Barnes to do anything when the forwards can’t keep going forward. They did it for 9 phases early in the first half and then fell apart. Can’t agree about Timani. They really miss Horwill. Also helps if the referees had enough balls to pul, McCaw on. He gets away with murder.

    Tiny Dancer

    26 Aug 12 at 12:37 am

  440. Mitt Romney ridicules Obama: video.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 12:38 am

  441. Agreed, we do miss Big Kev out there. With Sharpie being about 300 years old, we’re going to need someone to replace him. Timani might be that guy. I thought he was great tonight in the loose. Cooper and Barnes were terrible, much as it pains me to say it.

    tbh

    26 Aug 12 at 12:40 am

  442. His on fire at the moment, ol’ Mitt.

    dover_beach

    26 Aug 12 at 12:57 am

  443. The general physical tests for most jobs across the military are also being rewritten as part of the push to move women into more roles.

    When they first floated this idea, the federal wymmins’ member for whatever wyminns and equality portfolio, they stipulated the physical tests would not be rewritten. They lied. Again.

    Despite months of intensive publicity over the year since Defence announced it would open frontline roles to women, the military says only three have so far expressed interest – all of them as naval mine clearance diver officers.

    Well golly-eee. Maybe woman aren’t that interested! What’s next? Conscript women into the roles to fulfill some stupid quota.

    Madness.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 12:58 am

  444. His on fire at the moment, ol’ Mitt

    It’s like he flipped a switch when he chose Ryan.

    Not just a an election on Obummer’s jobs recored but an ideological choice including a plan to deal with Medicare.

    Obama planned to run the mediscare later on the campaign butRomney brought it on now with the Ryan selection and is winning.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 1:01 am

  445. Poll: Akin effect nil.

    A new poll from Mason-Dixon in Missouri of 625 likely voters shows what everyone already suspected — that Todd Akin had blown a nine-point lead in Missouri’s US Senate race and now trails by five, 49/44, to Claire McCaskill. But what many didn’t expect was that the crash-and-burn of Akin would not damage Mitt Romney at all.

    And, despite worries that Akin’s remarks could also harm the candidacy of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor leads President Obama, 50 percent to 43 percent. Obama’s favorable-unfavorable split of 38 percent-48 percent is worse than McCaskill’s.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 1:12 am

  446. Yanno that latest “mass shooting” in the States, the one in NYC which has some of the toughest anti-gun laws in the nation?

    Empire State Building shooting victim says NYPD fired ‘randomly’ into street

    Officers injured nine bystanders as they pursued gunman Jeffrey Johnson, who appeared to have just one intended target

    I’ve mentioned this stat before and I will again: Police are 11 times more likely to shoot an innocent civilian than ordinary citizens with carry permits are.

    Bloomberg’s knee-jerk reaction to use this latest shooting incident as an excuse to disarm law-abiding citizens was perhaps a bit premature. Perhaps, in fact, we’d all be safer if we disarmed the cops.

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 1:58 am

  447. There were some 14 muders the same day in Chicago.

    Also stringent gun laws there.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 2:15 am

  448. #TeamObama… The latest lie from the lying liars who lie -

    Caught out there: ‘Republican’ Obama supporter is actually a registered Democrat

    As many as 70 percent of President Obama’s Twitter followers are reportedly fake. But that’s not all Team Obama is manufacturing.

    BuzzFeed reports that one of the women featured in the campaign’s “Republican Women for Obama” ad is … wait for it … a Democrat.

    ~flail~
    ~flail~
    ~flail~

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 2:28 am

  449. James: The NYC shootings happened on Friday morning. And this is what happened in the 12 hours previous, in Obama’s hometown:

    19 people were shot in Chicago between Thursday evening and Friday morning, with 13 of the 19 shot in a span of just 30 minutes. Chicago’s murder rate has gone up 31 percent since 2011 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel was elected.

    Hope, Change and Gun Control. How’s that workin’ out for them then?

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 2:49 am

  450. Republican Women for Obama

    LOL.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 2:51 am

  451. Poll: Akin effect nil.

    You mean aside from handing a seat to the Democrats and possibly costing the Senate majority. That’s not “nil”.

    Fisky

    26 Aug 12 at 2:58 am

  452. Look, if the Republicans need one seat for the Senate under this Marxist catastrophe, I don’t care if they lose. They’ll deserve it.

    But the Akin hysteria was said to have broader, even national, implications.

    No.

    It’s a dead duck.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 3:08 am

  453. You mean aside from handing a seat to the Democrats and possibly costing the Senate majority. That’s not “nil”.

    You’re quite correct, Fisky. While it’s good that it hasn’t splashed back on Mitt, people need to remember that the Executive branch (President) is a completely different animal to the Legislative branch (Congress = House + Senate). You could have the greatest President in the world, but if he’s got a hostile Congress to deal with they may very well stymy him every step of the way. It’s Congress that makes the laws and controls the purse strings – so some people will even argue that in an either/or scenario, they’d rather their party had a supermajority in Congress rather than the Presidency.

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 3:13 am

  454. One thing, though, is that if Romney gets up, and then there’s a tie in Congress, the Vice President gets the deciding vote. So there’s that, anyway.

    Look, I agree that the beatup over the Akin thing has been most unedifying. But it is what it is – it would have been better all around if he had stood down.

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 3:17 am

  455. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Misspelled banner flown over Romney’s rally in Powell, Ohio: “America is better then birtherism” pic.twitter.com/tGdTrRY5

    Trolling fail: MoveOn.org flies ‘America is better then birtherism’ banner in O-I-H-O

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 3:24 am

  456. Look, if the Republicans need one seat for the Senate under this Marxist catastrophe, I don’t care if they lose. They’ll deserve it.

    That’s incredibly fatalistic. The problem is this: Akin is an unelectable extremist who has cost an easy Senate seat. The Republicans were on task to score in the low 50s, and now he has put the Senate in the balance. For this reason, Akin will go down in infamy as a proxy Democrat.

    Fisky

    26 Aug 12 at 3:41 am

  457. Oh, OUCH.

    “Florida is well prepared for the hurricane. Thanks to President Obama’s economic policies most of businesses are already boarded up.”

    Did late-night comedian Jay Leno really say this? Yes he did. Leno’s able to tell the tide is turning.

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 3:56 am

  458. sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 5:18 am

  459. sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 6:06 am

  460. Looks like Febrile Sideshow Bob passed out on the couch at about 10.30.

    Blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 6:43 am

  461. Re: Wallabies

    Cooper and Barnes just aren’t attacking the line. No forward momentum and the opposition just fly up creating pressure, and then they drop the ball or kick it away. Genuine midfield players are required urgently.

    Deans must go, O’Neil must go. And Barnsie, mate, from one Ippy grammar boy to another, lift ya game or fuck off to Japan where your blonde locks will be more appreciated than your on field ability

    Dan

    26 Aug 12 at 7:00 am

  462. An analysis of @KRuddMP’s twitter account shows that 33% of his followers are “fake”, 39% are “inactive”, and just 28% are “good.”

    http://fakers.statuspeople.com/Fakers/Scores

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 7:11 am

  463. all of them as naval mine clearance diver officers.

    I wish them the very best of luck.

    lotocoti

    26 Aug 12 at 7:25 am

  464. Sad about Neil Armstrong, but someone at Slate has a fake comment that is pretty funny:

    Todd Akin
    Neil must have been literally heartbroken as a result of his son’s loss of his seven Tour de France titles.
    41 Minutes Ago from slate.com · Reply

    Steve from brisbane

    26 Aug 12 at 7:26 am

  465. 33% of his followers are “fake”

    Wasn’t that the same percentage of votes he got during the leadership challenge?

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 7:29 am

  466. Hedley Thomas refers to three “clear thinkers” in his otherwise astute article on how the media failed to properly treat this past week’s big story. They were Tony Jones of Lateline, Chris Uhlmann, and Lenore Taylor.
    Did anyone notice what Jones and Taylor did to earn that accolade?
    I don’t usually credit climate alarmists or rusted on ALP supporters with clear thinking.

    Blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 7:39 am

  467. Awaiting Moderation. I must be a very bad man.

    Blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 7:41 am

  468. My dissent has been crushed.

    Blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 7:42 am

  469. When they first floated this idea, the federal wymmins’ member for whatever wyminns and equality portfolio, they stipulated the physical tests would not be rewritten. They lied. Again.

    So the left attempts to march through another institution. This should be neutralised by giving women what they want, not what a bunch of Emily’s Listers thinks they should have. Professional standards must not be compromised. Men’s superior physical strength is an asset, as is their ability to adapt psychologically to war-fighting. And women are an asset in non-combat roles; that has been worked out over centuries. If we mess with a winning formula, we destroy the morale of an organisation built on success. Surprise, surprise, now we find out that women aren’t really interested in combat roles. Of course they’re not! It’s men’s work. The only reason the left wants to remake the military is that it is an institution that the left did not design, just like marriage, which is now also under attack. Traditions are built on success. The left wants to remake society in its own image by destroying traditions. And they must always lie about their true intentions; it’s the only way they can get elected. If they told the truth, no-one would vote for them. The extreme left is in government; that happens only rarely for a reason.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 7:42 am

  470. Vale Neil Armstrong.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 7:57 am

  471. Professional standards must not be compromised.

    That’s exactly what Labor does and will do to the defence force. I can’t help thinking this change will just produce cannon fodder in battle.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 8:09 am

  472. You watch, the luvvie left and commie media will start denouncing NT aboriginals now.

    They’ll probably call them racists.

    twostix : admit it, you saw the headlines before anyone else, didn’t you.

    They are nothing if not predictable.

    The look on that Labor womans face last night when they realised the bush had turned on them. “but we gave them money and stuff”.

    No, no you didn’t. You gave yourself money and told everyone it was for them. See comment earlier about Rudd’s housing program, which spent $600 million but didn’t quite get any houses built.

    brc

    26 Aug 12 at 8:18 am

  473. Anti-Obama Movie Stuns Hollywood For #4; Other Newcomers & Holdovers Weak Friday; Only ‘The Expendables 2′ Can Break $10M

    SATURDAY AM, 3RD UPDATE: Because of Friday’s very weak box office, there was finally clarity for the Top 10 film rankings this morning. As predicted, Millenium/Lionsgate’s holdover The Expendables 2 finished in first place Friday and this weekend. It’s followed by Universal’s 2-week-old The Bourne Legacy in second place. New movies didn’t perform. But the shocker was Rocky Mountain Pictures’ political documentary 2016 Obama’s America which expanded into theaters across America this weekend after a very limited release and wound up in 4th place. That’s stunning because it’s playing in 2/3 fewer theaters across North American than the other wide release actioners.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 8:21 am

  474. Factional rats in Labor’s ranks behind smear campaign

    WHEN Julia Gillard blamed “nut jobs and misogynists” for peddling rumours about her past on the internet she left out the rats in her own ranks.

    So did Stephen Conroy.

    “This is just a dirty, filthy, smear by the Liberals,” the Communications Minister said.

    But everyone in the ALP knows that’s not where this grubby story begins and ends.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 8:21 am

  475. Obama: “We’re Not Where We Need To Be”

    Q: “Put yourself in the shoes of an undecided voter who says: I don’t have a job, I can’t pay my bills, my life isn’t better — my life isn’t better under President Obama. Why should that person vote for you?”

    OBAMA: “Look, I hear from folks all the time who are still struggling. Even if they have a job, they are still having a tough time paying the bills. Their home may be underwater because of the housing bubble burst. They’re still worried about saving for their retirement. And so I’m the first one to say that we’re not where we need to be.”

    LOL

    He’s lost.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 8:27 am

  476. Wash Post Gushed Over ‘Emotional Power’ of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ Slams ‘Fear-Mongering’ ’2016′

    The Washington Post film review of the new conservative documentary 2016 mocked the movie as a “fear-mongering” “infomercial” that is too opinionated. The same paper, however, gushed over the “emotional power” of liberal filmmaker Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, praising it as a “cultural juggernaut.”

    2016 reviewer Michael O’Sullivan knocked the “slick infomercial,” deriding, “As these things go, the movie seems destined to irritate the president’s supporters while mobilizing his detractors, even as it is doomed to win precious few converts. It’s a textbook example of preaching to the choir.” In contrast, Fahrenheit 9/11 critic Desson Thomson defended, “Documentaries aren’t news articles; they’re subjective points of view, which is why Moore has almost endless fun at the president’s expense.”

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 8:33 am

  477. “This is just a dirty, filthy, smear by the Liberals,” the Communications Minister said.

    But everyone in the ALP knows that’s not where this grubby story begins and ends.

    Labor’s warrior for truthiness exempts himself. Of course.

    Ivan Denisovich

    26 Aug 12 at 8:45 am

  478. Sad news about Neil Armstrong. Bet he never knew about Bolt’s publication of the 96.6 FM twitter feed where they announced Neil had been done for drugs then corrected that to Alleged drugs, without ever correcting Neil to Lance, priceless.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 8:57 am

  479. WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 8:58 am

  480. On the appalling Australian Press Council decision on Phillip Adams column on the war time traitor Eric Butler and the “critically relevant fact” of Butler’s “voluntary military service”

    Butler did not voluntarily see war service in the Pacific. The AIF were volunteers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East but after Pearl Harbour those who didn’t volunteer or were not in a reserve occupation were conscripted into the militia which had every bit as hard a war as the AIF.

    The only way that Butler could have avoided war service was to declare himself a traitor in the war against the Japanese as well as the older war against the Nazis.

    No doubt his service as a gun instructor in the Torres Strait, southern Queensland and Victoria was uncomfortable but at least it never got so uncomfortable that he ever had to actually fight any Japanese. Is it churlish to point that out?

    It is ominous that the APC should be a party to an attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of Eric Butler and to rewrite history. Can you imagine a Professor Julian Disney with teeth? Another reason why Finkelstein’s Frankenstein must never come to pass.

    geoffff

    26 Aug 12 at 9:03 am

  481. I burned the midnight oil so to speak, reading Ian Cambridge’s Affidavit
    Result” WOW!
    I guess I have a few candidates for the names on the Association incorporation,eh?
    All those allegedly shonky bank accounts, all those names!
    Memo to Ms Claire Harvey at the Tele :Your sympathy for Ms Gillard is somewhat misplaced, given she has done NOTHING to unravel, punish and prevent corruption in Australia’s unions–she is silent on the ex ALP MP alleged rorter on the cross benches now, she found it expedient to “use” the alleged rorter from the Libs side as her speaker for advantage–need I go on?
    It makes me and all I know think that Ms Gillard regrets only being tainted herself,and found out, and that makes her angry, and that she has always seen slush funds etc as Ok–otherwise where can I find her apology to the hardworking members rorted in the HSU,and the condemnation and pursuit of one C Thomson for the funds?
    The other thought I had is that if Gillard didn’t benefit from the boyfriend’s scam, then either she always paid for the dinners and theatre tickets and weekends away, etc, or else Mr Wilson, quite at odds with everything else alleged against him, scrupulously kept his rorted money separate(he had two trouser pockets after all) away from legitimate money in an uncharacteristic chivalrous gesture to keep pure the woman he unscrupulously USED to further his access to the monies allegedly taken illegally!!

    Jazza

    26 Aug 12 at 9:06 am

  482. Sad about Neil Armstrong, but someone at Slate has a fake comment that is pretty funny

    You are a worthless piece of shit, SfB.

    But then, I think we all knew that already.

    sdog

    26 Aug 12 at 9:09 am


  483. The next time the allegations surfaced was after the Australian Story episode aired in 2006.

    “You might notice she left out one of her boyfriends when she went on Australian Story,” a senior Labor figure told me at the time.

    This week, I rang that individual wondering why he was happy to smear Gillard with the allegation six years ago, but was now publicly decrying the allegations as baseless.

    The reason was simple he said, without a touch of irony: “Julia Gillard was in the Left faction back then,” he replied.

    ha ha. Conroy, one suspects.

    entropy

    26 Aug 12 at 9:10 am

  484. I agree, Jazza. You’d think with all the experience she’s had at being duped by the ex-union officials, and seeing the fraud up front (let’s just say after the fact), you’d think she’d be on the task to reform union corruption. Experience being a valuable teacher, surely if it was so easy to fool her she’d want the union corruption to stop. But then, as she said in her student days “we work with and for the union”. True.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 9:15 am

  485. Insiders this morning is about … AbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbott…

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 9:16 am

  486. In the first few seconds, Tom (I had the show on unintentionally, quickly switched over to another channel) it was Abbott; literally the first word out of that idiot Cassidy’s mouth. Unbelievable. Still, they’re obviously entertaining their select clientèle.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 9:20 am

  487. The saddest thing about the slush fund affair is that despite more than ample evidence of very serious corruption, no one will be charged. The best we can hope for is that Gillard steps down in shame, is forced out by those in the ALP ashamed that she got caught out, or turfed out at the next election.

    She will never see the inside of a police interview room let alone be in the dock. She will never be charged, she will keep her pension, she will be rehabilitated as a feminist icon in years to come.

    Tony Abbott hasn’t got the balls to set up a Royal Commission into Union Corruption. Union corruption will continue unchecked in Australia.

    All police forces, regulators, the ATO, the Electoral Commission will continue to turn a blind eye to Union corruption. Over time the ALP, abetted by gutless regulators, weak LNP politicians and abetted by a complicit media, will succeed in turning Australia into a much more corrupt country.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 9:21 am

  488. Emerson says emphatically the budget will achieve a surplus in the current FY. So let’s play spot the fudge.

    Oh, and born-to-rule AbbottAbottAbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbottAbbott …

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 9:25 am

  489. I am coming to the conclusion that Australia’s institutions are weak because they are led by weak people.

    Why is an otherwise admirable person, like General Hurley, allowing Minister Smith to feminise the ADF? Get some balls and resign in protest Hurley.

    A country with weak institutions becomes a soft country ripe for exploitation by fraudsters and conmen. We are already a long way down that path.

    To prove my point, the RAN water taxi services continues to respond to calls well within Indoensian waters. Why don’t they just pick the illegal immigrants up from a dock and save everyone some money and time?

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 9:29 am

  490. Taking up Jazza’s point from 9.06 I am still waiting for the Steves and other Labor supporters to respond to this invitation of mine yesterday.

    Poor Old Rafe

    26 Aug 12 at 9:34 am

  491. Insiders is not worth watching this AM. Sill on as background noise and all I can her is Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott Abbott and what a bastard Newman is.

    new ALP gibbermeme of the week ‘abbottborntaroolabbottabbott’.

    Now it’s how Juliar has completely answered everything on her Slapper&Gordon theftathon tales.

    Click. Turned it off. Not worth watching.

    Who the crap is Andrew Probyn??

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    26 Aug 12 at 9:39 am

  492. Well golly-eee. Maybe woman aren’t that interested! What’s next? Conscript women into the roles to fulfill some stupid quota.

    Madness.

    Perhaps it’s the seeds of greatness. Assemble a crack team of labor women: Gillard, Roxon, Plibersek, Wong and Stephen Smith. They don’t need any training, they already know everything. They are straight shooters, according to the Canberra press gallery.

    Insert them deep behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, naturally, this needs to be done safely so they need to be kitted out in Fluoro gear. They need support, and the press gallery has always supplied that willingly, they will die in a ditch for Gillard.

    I know what you are thinking, what if they are captured by the taliband? If the are interrogated, the taliband involved will probably self-harm rather than listen to any of them drone on with their bullshit.

    Rob

    26 Aug 12 at 9:45 am

  493. Who the crap is Andrew Probyn??

    A pompous git?

    Yesterday it was best illustrated by the acerbic performance of Andrew Probyn of The West Australian, who berated Hockey for showing poor form by not distributing his speech and detailed spending-cut measures before his appearance at the National Press Club. After a wild rant, Probyn got around to asking a question on e-health…

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 9:47 am

  494. David Marr thinks the TV audience can’t see that he is shaking livid with raging personal hatred of Tony Abbott.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 9:48 am

  495. Australia is currently being destroyed by the ALP, Unions and the media. Our institutions are crumbling in the face of their assault. And Abbott is most likely to be an antipodean Dave Cameron. Australia will be lucky to survive this multi pronged attack.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 9:51 am

  496. Assuming for the sake of argument that ms Gillard was innocent of any and all accusations of partnership in crime and corruption in the union movement 17 years ago, at the very least she became aware of the existence of crime and corruption.

    Assuming that she is a decent and honest person with the best interests of the Australian people at heart, given that knowledge then some time between then and now she should have got started on cleaning up the stables, including, most obviously, the gross over-representation of unions at the ALP national conference.

    The obvious time to get serious about that was when she came into the brand new, reforming Rudd administration where she was a prime mover in most of the major reforms -the paper on asylum seekers, elimination of Workchoices, the education revolution.

    Can some defender or admirer of ms Gillard draw our attention to the moves that she has made in that direction?

    Rafe, this is a specious argument, as you well know. There is corruption in unions, as there is corruption in business. The existence of corruption should no more mean the ALP purge union links than the Libs should purge business links.

    Wilson and Blewitt, who are the presupposed villains here, have not been involved in unions for many years. You don’t abandon an institution just because individuals misuse it.

    m0nty

    26 Aug 12 at 9:52 am

  497. I wonder what David Marr’s hatred of Mr Abbott is all about – and it is hatred. Is it because he’s Catholic – and yet Tony ABbott never mentions his religious beliefs, Mr Marr can’t be that shallow.

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 9:53 am

  498. Hey MK50, did you do the survey in your local APN paper?
    It’s state wide and on Newmans performance thus far.
    The results will be interesting.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 9:57 am

  499. I wonder what David Marr’s hatred of Mr Abbott is all about – and it is hatred. Is it because he’s Catholic – and yet Tony ABbott never mentions his religious beliefs, Mr Marr can’t be that shallow.

    Presumably, his hatred of private schools comes from going to a rich private school himself.

    Rob

    26 Aug 12 at 9:58 am

  500. Monty,

    Union corruption is everywhere, in every Union from top to bottom. Maybe you missed the Willamson – Thomson – Jackson corruption, or that the ETU guy is in court. The thing the Unions are best at is covering their tracks because they formed a political party that does it’s bit to keep the regulators from regulating and the investigators from investigating. In all this one other institution matters – a fearless media willing to pursue things on the Left that need to pursued. Even though we barely have that type of media, the ALP are he’ll bent on shutting that bit down as well.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 10:07 am

  501. I think David Marr has some kind of mental condition that is a mix of arrogant smugness and condescension. He is another self hater who can’t stand the fact, that as a Lefty, he is quite wealthy. Being a Lefty he sees it as the Government’s job to make everyone as well off as him so he no longer feels guilty.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 10:11 am

  502. With Marr it’s an unrequited love thing. Tony didn’t take him on a long romantic walks on the beach like Kevin did.

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 10:20 am

  503. Monty, try to engage with the question.I did not suggest that the links between the trade unions and the ALP should be cut.

    Poor Old Rafe

    26 Aug 12 at 10:30 am

  504. Shorten is on Meet the Press on 10 starting now for those interested.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 10:30 am

  505. The best we can hope for is that Gillard steps down in shame

    That’ll never happen.

    She’s shameless.

    Eddystone

    26 Aug 12 at 10:30 am

  506. Monty, unions don’t pay income tax, businesses do. Not content with that free kick, a great number of union turds take upon themselves to lie and steal money and stand over people.

    Also, businesses must comply with myriad state and federal legislation, unions can write their own rules and regulations and therefore never break laws.

    Dan

    26 Aug 12 at 10:33 am

  507. To start with, I’d say Gillard feels she’s someone who has crafted a life in the union movement, in labour law and in the Labor Party itself, without ever putting her hand in the till.

    She has not been one of those who let power or money besmirch their values. She has made a life within Labor and she’s emerged as one of the good guys. She never used a union credit card to procure hookers.

    She didn’t enrich her family. She has not engaged in the nepotism and dishonour that has so disgracefully tainted the name of unions that should have so much to be proud of. And does she get any credit?

    http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/pm-haters-love-digging-for-dirt-writes-claire-harvey/story-e6frezz0-1226458018401

    Unbelievable. Now we need to give those involved in, and operating around, the union movement for not defrauding the membership???

    I’be never stolen from my employer. I must, therefore deserve an order of Australia medal…or maybe one of those purple cross thingys…

    Skuter

    26 Aug 12 at 10:41 am

  508. Monty, try to engage with the question.I did not suggest that the links between the trade unions and the ALP should be cut.

    she should have got started on cleaning up the stables, including, most obviously, the gross over-representation of unions at the ALP national conference.

    Actually yes, Rafe, you did. If you want to ask a different question, ask it.

    m0nty

    26 Aug 12 at 10:41 am

  509. …give credit to those…

    Skuter

    26 Aug 12 at 10:44 am

  510. Unions are the biggest and most powerful vested interest in this country. No one takes them on, not the Libs, not business, not any of our so called regulators and certainly not the media. They can, and, what they fucking well like. They are a criminal enterprise with a corrupt political arm attached to it.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 10:48 am

  511. I think this deserves a mention. Mathew O’Brien makes the case that a Rawlsian liberal framework, applied to the issue of SSM, forbids the redefinition of civil marriage to include same-sex partnerships. The article, entitled “Why Liberal Neutrality Prohibits Same-Sex Marriage: Rawls, Political Liberalism, and the Family,” published in the British Journal of American Legal Studies, is available here.

    dover_beach

    26 Aug 12 at 10:48 am

  512. I am standing by for Abbott to rule out a royal commission into widespread union corruption.

    Abbott continues to disappoint on IR and unions.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 10:50 am

  513. “And does she get any credit?”

    Ms Harvey somehow forget to mention the stabbing in the back of Kevin Rudd and taking his job overnight, and the two married “boyfriends” and the full support of C.Thomson.

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 10:51 am

  514. I wonder what David Marr’s hatred of Mr Abbott is all about…

    It’s not complicated.

    Abbott is a Rhodes scholar, a former first grade rugby player, a champion boxer, a surf lifesaver, a volunteer fireman, a happily married father of three and a committed Catholic.

    David Marr is a homosxual.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 10:53 am

  515. What Claire meant to say was that she would never support a criminal, but has got no problem supporting someone so stupid that they actually help criminals in their criminality.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 10:54 am

  516. “Abbott is a Rhodes scholar, a former first grade rugby player, a champion boxer, a surf lifesaver, a volunteer fireman, a happily married father of three and a committed Catholic.

    David Marr is a homosxual.”

    i couldn’t help laughing when i read that!

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 10:57 am

  517. Well, that’s just asking for a MK50 in depth account of CL’s psycho-sexual analysis of homosexuality.

  518. While monty continues to display his comprehension difficulties, you question is moot Rafe.
    If Gillard was “decent and honest” she would have reported matters to the police, the IRC, and the Law Society, at which point, she would have been instantly ostracised by the union movement and the liar’s party. Instead she remained silent and thus compromised by the union/liar’s incestuous culture. Attempting to reform such a culture at any later date would have triggered the union/liar’s silencing-payback mechanisms, and she would be in a similar position to Kernohan. Instead she supported the culture that has so richly rewarded her.

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 10:59 am

  519. It is true, Steve, that the most rabid anti-gay trolls in public life are usually closeted homosexuals themselves. CL is giving us an all-too-common insight into his personal life.

    m0nty

    26 Aug 12 at 10:59 am

  520. CL Marr is a drug addict as well

    Tiny Dancer

    26 Aug 12 at 11:01 am

  521. C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 11:01 am

  522. I’be never stolen from my employer. I must, therefore deserve an order of Australia medal…or maybe one of those purple cross thingys…

    I doubt that you will be given an order of Australia for it, but it seems to pretty much rule out labor preselection.

    Rob

    26 Aug 12 at 11:01 am

  523. Keith De Lacy, on The Bolt Report, takes a baseball bat to anti-business media, inner city progressives and politicians who applaud excessive regulation that is making Australia unwelcoming for business investment.

    Calls the carbon tax “insane”.

    Eddystone

    26 Aug 12 at 11:05 am

  524. Rob,

    Skuter is a karate guy. So whilst he has never stolen from his employer, he could still offer himself to do some stand over work for the Unions and steal other employers money and thereby get into the running for ALP preselection. Somehow I think Skuter, unlike Gillard, prefs to earn an honest buck from his own endeavours.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 11:08 am

  525. It is true, Steve, that the most rabid anti-gay trolls in public life are usually closeted homosexuals themselves.

    Ahahahahahaha.

    The old ‘homophobia’ theory – invented by by the gay lobby back in the 1970s.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 11:11 am

  526. Funny how all these ex ALP types suddenly want business less regulated when they are in business, but they never say boo when they are in Government with the ALP. I am confident he is another ex ALP hypocrite. Very few really cross over to common sense. Peter Walshe was the only ALP politician who I can recall doing it in government.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 11:11 am

  527. The old ‘homophobia’ theory – invented by by the gay lobby back in the 1970s.

    And proven time and time again by clergymen and conservative politicians.

    m0nty

    26 Aug 12 at 11:13 am

  528. She didn’t enrich her family. She has not engaged in the nepotism and dishonour that has so disgracefully tainted the name of unions that should have so much to be proud of. And does she get any credit?

    What family would that be? The one saving grace of gillards leadership is that we will not have to endure the next generartion of Gillards inheriting safe seats. Hopefully, she will manage to abolish the whole concept of a safe labor seat.

    Rob

    26 Aug 12 at 11:14 am

  529. What family would that be?

    Her classy step-daughter.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 11:16 am

  530. CL Marr is a drug addict as well

    Are you going to take his details, Sinclair? He’s bad-mouthing a “mainstream journalist” after all.

    1735099

    26 Aug 12 at 11:19 am

  531. It is true, Steve, that the most rabid anti-gay trolls in public life are usually closeted homosexuals themselves.

    By this ‘logic’, monty must be a closeted conservative and I must be a closeted abortionist, or we could just conclude the ‘logic’ of the above is absurd.

    dover_beach

    26 Aug 12 at 11:20 am

  532. I am actually a closeted conservative, db. I believe in conserving social institutions.

    m0nty

    26 Aug 12 at 11:25 am

  533. It is true, Steve, that the most rabid anti-gay CO2 trolls in public life are usually closeted homosexuals massive CO2 emitters themselves.

    May be something in this logic.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 11:26 am

  534. I believe Marr has said he has enjoyed experimenting with drugs (it was a desperate cry for street cred). He is not a drug addict.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 11:29 am

  535. Also, people who are openly hostile to leftism are actually the biggest leftists. Oh wait.

    big dumb fu

    26 Aug 12 at 11:29 am

  536. I barrack for a football club getting ready to sack its coach because his players are a bunch of overpaid, downhill-skiing girlyboys*. The administration is also a divided, amateur rabble. The only good thing about today is that the Thomastown car thieves** can’t win the premiership because their hubris is acting up again and Doomlord’s heroes*** are a laughing stock (“Easybeats”, Gerard Whateley called them this morning). Alas, the born-to-rule eastern suburbs pretty boys**** are flag favourites.
    *Carlton. **Collingwood. ***Essendon. ****Hawthorn.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 11:30 am

  537. In the gay revision of history, everyone’s gay, dontchaknow? In fact it’s a wonder that they had time for such disgusting activities like breeding.

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 11:30 am

  538. Death penalty maybe, but Wales?

    LOL

    Gillard is like a Sir Richard Rich with the reverse Midas touch.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 11:31 am

  539. Keith

    I think some people aren’t even bisexual, let alone gay.

    They’ll just fuck anything that’s warm, if it’s not warm, they’ll run a hot bath for it.

    Example: The Borgia family.

    “Pansexual” might be a better descriptor.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 11:34 am

  540. And now a musical interlude for your sunday afternoon.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 11:34 am

  541. Abbott is a Rhodes scholar, a former first grade rugby player, a champion boxer, a surf lifesaver, a volunteer fireman, a happily married father of three and a committed Catholic.

    David Marr is a homosxual.

    Brilliant.

    Marr probably just has the screaming hots for Abbott and knows it will forever be unrequited. Poor chap.

    On marr’s drug use, here is what he said himself about it:

    JOURNALIST and author David Marr has advocated illegal drug use, saying taking illicit substances was “marvellous” and a “typical mainstream Australian experience”.

    Marr, a Fairfax writer and former host of ABC TV’s Media Watch, revealed his illegal drug use, adding: “I don’t see what’s wrong with it.

    “I’ve had a lot of fun on drugs,” he told a live audience during filming for the ABC’s TV show Big Ideas.

    “I’ve had a lot of marvellous experiences. I’ve danced a lot. I’ve had a great time, and I’m not ashamed of it and I don’t see what’s wrong with it,”

    The admission came during an interview with Peter Lloyd, who was jailed in Singapore in 2008 for 10 months after being caught with ice.

    He’s a homosexual drug abuser who proselytises for both positions.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    26 Aug 12 at 11:39 am

  542. I’m not recommending ice but 40% of Australian adults have used recreational drugs. Probably more would say so if it weren’t illegal.

    Most of us enjoy a tipple. I am not a drug user but I don’t see the difference. I can tell you from work experience people on weed and ecstasy are no trouble at all. Didn’t Montgomery once advocate bombing towns with ecstacy and LSD before charging in with the grunts?

    Marr is mostly right but some shit you just shouldn’t touch.

    Abbot is much more accomplished than Marr, who is a mere pedestrian compared to Abbot.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 11:44 am

  543. It helps to realise some of the baggage that David Marr is carrying vis a vis the church. He brought out a book on the theme of “how shithouse the church is as a power structure that tries to hold sway over people’s lives”.

    On the way he mentioned that he once wanted to be a minister in the church but somethig went wrong it didn’t happen.

    Think of him as a profoundly tormented soul.

    Poor Old Rafe

    26 Aug 12 at 11:47 am

  544. Alas, the born-to-rule eastern suburbs pretty boys**** are flag favourites.
    *Carlton. **Collingwood. ***Essendon. ****Hawthorn.

    So what went wrong with the Mighty Demons? Apart from peaking too early when they beat the Bombers.

    Captain Blood (Richmond) said there always used to be a pall of cigar smoke in the Members Stand at the MCG. My other Bomber mate told me that Melbourne used to be called the Fuschias.

    Actually i never thought of Hawthorn as pretty boys, they first made a mark in the 1960s when they did commando training. And did anyone ever call Leigh Matthews “pretty boy”?

    Poor Old Rafe

    26 Aug 12 at 11:54 am

  545. Marr is the patron saint of all the leftie trolls.

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 12:09 pm

  546. Big game for the Rabbitohs today as they fight to stay in the top four.

    So big Rusty will be there for the first time this year.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 12:11 pm

  547. Crack-fuelled projection:

    PRESIDENT Barack Obama says Republican rival Mitt Romney has locked himself into “extreme positions” on economic and social issues and would surely impose them if elected.

    In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Obama said Romney lacks serious ideas, refuses to “own up” to the responsibilities of what it takes to be president and deals in factually dishonest arguments that could soon haunt him in face-to-face debates before the November election.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 12:13 pm

  548. C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 12:20 pm

  549. I think you’re right, John Comnenus – TA won’t put the fear of God into the unions – he’ll be another David Cameron.
    And the rot will continue.

    Winston Smith

    26 Aug 12 at 12:20 pm

  550. Massive fisking of Gillard’s presser online at Quadrant:

    A Congenital Lawyer

    areff

    26 Aug 12 at 12:22 pm

  551. “Pansexual” might be a better descriptor.

    That explains some of the throwbacks I’ve seen lately :-)

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 12:35 pm

  552. Rafe,
    Having been known as the Fuschias is nowhere near so damning as taking the field as The Prince Imperials, which is how Footscray presented itself for a couple of years in the 1890s.

    Thought I knew everything about the Dogs until last week, when I read the chapter on the 1954 Grand Final in this new release.

    The real Prince Imperial was stabbed to death by Zulus — a kinder and quicker fate than the poor Dogs have endured this year. Then again, what can you expect when Gillard is the No. 1 ticketholder?

    Bunyip

    26 Aug 12 at 12:45 pm

  553. Nilk @ 11.34am: Hilarious vid! Thanks.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 12:54 pm

  554. Can some defender or admirer of ms Gillard draw our attention to the moves that she has made in that direction?

    So one of them at least steps up to answer, Rafe. give him that, even if it was a Gillardian answer i.e. no answer to the question but lots of deflecting.

    Good boy, monts.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 1:27 pm

  555. Allen West: Obama’s feeding America a ‘crap sandwich’ with a smile

    Responding to Obama’s likability being a factor in this race, Allen West says that Obama is basically feeding America a crap sandwich with a smile and that it’s very important for us to win the images war in the presidential race. Because a crap sandwich with a smile is still a crap sandwich!

    Articulate indictment of Obummer by Col. West. See
    vid.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 1:27 pm

  556. WOW! NYPD Commissioner says bystanders were wounded by police, not shooter

    Turns out that all nine of the victims yesterday were wounded by police, not the shooter. So there was no rampage as was initially reported, other than the shooter killing a single person at the company who fired him

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 1:29 pm

  557. Hey Prof,sorry to hear about your loss

    Tal

    26 Aug 12 at 1:29 pm

  558. The Mars conspiracists get to work:

    “Mars animal”…

    “Possible ancient finger” spotted in Curiosity photos.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 1:32 pm

  559. Tom, I’ve mentioned it before, seems you have trouble understanding the concept [she says, bat in hand]: car borrowers not car thieves.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 1:40 pm

  560. Hubris, Gab. It’s a killer. You know that beer fairy ad? A Pies fairy just exploded your 2012 premiership hopes because your centre half-foward is shopping for a $1 million paycheck. One every 20 years is your ration. It’s just how it is.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 1:51 pm

  561. He’s a homosexual drug abuser who proselytises for both positions.

    Homosexuals are more likely to be drug abusers than heterosexuals. I guess drugs must dull the physical,psychological, and emotional pain of getting jackhammered up the arse by a moustached twink in a village people costume.

    No studies have been published on heteronormatives but I suspect the same applies.

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 1:53 pm

  562. You’re very cruel, Tom. We was robbed and the umpire did it.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 1:56 pm

  563. CL
    Speaking of Mars, the ” Mars Express ” satellite has been measuring all sorts of things including temp since 03.
    Try as i have ( being a shit googler ) i can’t fined a simply graph of of the data/trend.
    (this is NOT a conspiracy gag, just a request for help)

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 2:01 pm

  564. Mars Express observations temporarily suspended.

    Anomalies in the operation of the solid-state mass memory system on board Mars Express have caused science observations to be temporarily halted. A technical work-around is being investigated that will enable the resumption of a number of observations and should evolve into a long-term solution.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 2:06 pm

  565. Bolt points to…

    Chris Kenny ‏@chriskkenny

    BREAKING: #ABC announces #Insiders will be renamed #AboutAbbott

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 2:07 pm

  566. Oh and on the Rabbitos ,I donated $20 on Bunnies v Warriors GF.
    The potential of both sides is amazing.
    Alas filthy Manly look to be running into form at the pointy end of the season, unlike my Broncos.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 2:09 pm

  567. I guess drugs must dull the physical,psychological, and emotional pain of getting jackhammered up the arse by a moustached twink in a village people costume.

    Liberty quote, anyone?

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 2:12 pm

  568. Anomalies in the operation

    Oh,ok,i’ll look into the others, thanks.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 2:17 pm

  569. Rafe@ 11.54

    Since when have Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon (!!!) been in the ‘eastern suburbs’. I mean, bloody hell, Essendon is right next to Footscray. Has Footscray become so yuppy now that you are claiming it to be in the eastern suburbs now. :-)

    Great win by the Eagles last night.

    Here’s hoping they can pull off the upset over Hawthorn next week.

    Has anyone spoken to Judith since the Blues shock loss? Can’t be a nice place to be.

    johno

    26 Aug 12 at 2:19 pm

  570. Quadrant point sout quite accurately the difference between the press conference and the interview about the creation of the Assn. she’s been caught lying about dishonest behaviour. If she did the conveyancing herself then it is even worse.

    Tiny Dancer

    26 Aug 12 at 2:24 pm

  571. Rafe

    Ignore above comment. Just scrolled back further to Tom’s comments and now understand what you were saying.

    Tom and Rafe. If you don’t want the eastern suburbs pretty boys or the Thomastown car borrowers to win the GF, you will have to do what no self respecting Victorian can bring themselves to do. Hope that an non-Vic team wins. (Adelaide or Eagles) Is that worse than the pretty boys winning :-)

    johno

    26 Aug 12 at 2:25 pm

  572. Sure, a sports body can make any rules it likes, but once these rules extend beyond the temporal and spatial bounds of the sport, it’s getting into control-freak territory.

    I take your point, but how do you draw a line? If we allowed drugs in sport to be taken outside of competition, what would happen to the sports? What would happen to our kids aspiring to get into elite sports?

    It’s in the same category as the policing of athlete behaviour in terms of getting drunk and rowdy, etc, which I regard as too authoritarian.

    I do too. But there is no comparison. Getting drunk is bad, poor role models, all this other crap. Performance enhancing drugs are an instrument to gain an unfair advantage over your opponents, and violation of well defined rules. It is cheating in a very literal sense of the word.

    Anyway, it’s not the sports bodies trying to enforce this, its a government agency.

    I don’t think this is relevant to your comment, dd. I am contesting your comment that taking performance enhancing drugs is not cheating. Who and how enforces this, and whether Lance Armstrong ever took them is another matter.

    Boris

    26 Aug 12 at 2:33 pm

  573. Thomastown car borrowers

    And rarely do they have need to ” borrow ” an aeroplane as the hardly ever travel interstate .

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 2:35 pm

  574. Who the crap is Andrew Probyn??

    He’s The West Australian’s federal politics correspondent. A job that is slightly less prestigious than been the chief cushion cleaner at a porno cinema.

    He’s found his right level in life.

    Infidel Tiger

    26 Aug 12 at 2:40 pm

  575. That’ll never happen.

    She’s shameless.

    Yes she is shameless, but more than that she has no self awareness. As Peter Gordon remarked – she has a “robust sense of her own integrity”. All the convolutions she employs to avoid the truth about her dealings in public are the same she employs to prevent shining a light on her actions in the privacy of her own thoughts.

    Many people in top positions are like this unfortunately – their self belief is built on an incapacity for self reflection.

    Viva

    26 Aug 12 at 2:48 pm

  576. febro, every day must be a battle not to kill yourself. Give in to temptation my friend.

    Infidel Tiger

    26 Aug 12 at 2:56 pm

  577. ‘many of my best friends are women’

    Ah yes and I can believe it! He is an inherently masculine man with a wonderful boyishness about him. And you just know there is a lot of real feeling and capacity for empathy there just for the asking. Real women – as opposed to the shrieking ideologues – will always seek out men like him for friendship … and other things lol.

    Viva

    26 Aug 12 at 2:58 pm

  578. How come the only ones accuse AbbottAbbottAbbott of misogyny are beta males or extremely unattractive women. Just an observation.

    It’s certainly nothing to do with jealousy of a successful alpha male with a beautiful family staring down the barrel of the highest office in the land. That’s just soooooo heteronormative…….

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 3:00 pm

  579. Fembro quotes Jacqueline Maley. Good one … oh wait! Fuck you girls on the left truely have lost the plot.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 3:02 pm

  580. Febro as a woman is just miffed that he is not counted as one of Tony’s many female friends.

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 3:05 pm

  581. Why the left hate Abbott. They want to be like him .

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 3:11 pm

  582. As a wise man said earlier today:

    As to trolls, DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

    Inane comments do not need a rejoinder.

    People with different views are welcome, we don’t want to be an echo chamber like the love-ins on the ABC that Gerard Henderson sends up each week.

    Reply to arguments, not inane, pot-stirring comments.

    Plus replying to their stupid comments just boosts their ego and clogs up the thread.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 3:12 pm

  583. Febro as a woman is just miffed because there’s not much good looking talent on her side, none really, dreary bunch.

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 3:13 pm

  584. Yeah, Tony would be a great one night date.

    Not.

    I hate to disappoint you, febro, but I don’t think he’s the sort of guy who’ll give it up in the first 30min. You’re going to have to be charming for the whole evening. A struggle for you, I’m sure.

    Just remember, the best things are worth waiting for. Like when he’s PM in a year or so.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 3:15 pm

  585. Plus replying to their stupid comments just boosts their ego and clogs up the thread.

    C’arn, Gab. It’s Sunday afternoon. If I can’t do that I’m just gong to have to get a martini.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 3:17 pm

  586. Tony Abbott will never be PM.

    And you actually stand a chance of getting in his speedos!!!!

    Hahahahahahha

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 3:20 pm

  587. Fembro –
    Are you twelve?

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 3:24 pm

  588. Like I said earlier, John, this “febro” character is from a Facebook site called “Tony Abbott will never be Prime Minister”.

    A bunch of viscous, low IQ low-lifes and some union organizers (but I repeat myself)to ever inhabit the Internet. They’ve also set up a “sister” FB site called “can this sanitary napkin get more fans than Tony Abbott?” sanitary napkin on display in red, of course.

    So, yeah, go ahead and reply to “febro” moronic and inflammatory statements. He does this knowing full well people will respond and then he goes back to the trashy FB site and reports back to the rest of the grubs and scum there, big noting himself that he can get a reaction. You give his comments credence by replying.

    Or just don’t engage, ignore it and it will go away.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 3:26 pm

  589. viscous as in dense and also vicious.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 3:27 pm

  590. Has anybody else noticed how Coles brand products are slowly crowding out a lot of other brands on their shelves?

    Should I be disturbed by this? A lot of the produce is sourced from foreign countries with the disappearing products from Australian origin.

    Dan

    26 Aug 12 at 3:29 pm

  591. ” They’ve also set up a “sister” FB site called “can this sanitary napkin get more fans than Tony Abbott?” sanitary napkin on display in red, of course.”

    actually that’s disturbing sort of stuff, Febro might be troubled in some way, best to leave alone, you’re right Gab.

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 3:30 pm

  592. Febro might be troubled in some way

    might be? Candy, you have doubts about that?

    Will

    26 Aug 12 at 3:39 pm

  593. Has anybody else noticed how Coles brand products are slowly crowding out a lot of other brands on their shelves?

    Same at Woolies, and really starting to annoy my wife..

    I don’t buy the stuff except by accident. There’s something offensive about it.

    Driftforge

    26 Aug 12 at 3:40 pm

  594. He is another self hater who can’t stand the fact, that as a Lefty, he is quite wealthy.

    John @10.11. There is a fix for that. He could just give it away – nothing wrong with a bit of charity.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 3:44 pm

  595. Tony Abbott will never be PM.

    You read it first here.

    I predict this with almost 100% certainty. And all the signs are that this is a certainty.

    Oh thank you lord, politics just got interesting again.

    Bob, you useless lardball, you predicted that the Liars party would win in NSW before the election.

    You really are a fucking idiot.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 3:48 pm

  596. can this sanitary napkin get more fans than Tony Abbott?

    Fembro is about twelve then.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 3:49 pm

  597. I see Nicola Roxon’s battle with Big Tobacco is to be featured on ‘Australian Story’ tomorrow night.
    If your doctor has prescribed an emetic or enema recently, then viewing this could achieve the required result. Actually an enema might be gentler, so seek medical approval.

    Good grief, you don’t think this hagiography is a prelude to PM Roxon ? (blanch)

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 3:51 pm

  598. Absolutely no chance. If Gillard can’t get them through the next election, Roxon is even less appealing.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 3:54 pm

  599. Good grief, you don’t think this hagiography is a prelude to PM Roxon ?

    Surely the Labor party wouldn’t replace a bad PM with an even worse one? … oh wait …

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 3:55 pm

  600. Surely the Labor party wouldn’t replace a bad PM with an even worse one? … oh wait …

    Quite so.

    Keith

    26 Aug 12 at 3:58 pm

  601. Febro as a woman is just miffed because there’s not much good looking talent on her side, none really, dreary bunch.

    Here’s one that might interest Febro.

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 4:01 pm

  602. I’m just waiting to see how small packets/cans/bottles of things can get before people complain. Already I’m seeing products now being sold in odd sizes with say, 25 – 30 grams less in the packet.
    Biscuits, yoghurt, crisps, drinks.
    How small will they make them?
    Funny thing is that the prices continue to rise.

    kae

    26 Aug 12 at 4:04 pm

  603. Nilk,

    That is another reason wealthy Lefties want the State to get other people out of poverty, because it let’s them keep their money whilst pretending to be charitable. They are always keen to be charitable with the public purse, rarely with their own cash.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 4:05 pm

  604. I love how Nicola Roxon says Abbott has trouble dealing with competent women. What a smear of Mrs Abbott, his daughters and his sisters.

    Roxon is a vile smear merchant.

    John Comnenus

    26 Aug 12 at 4:07 pm

  605. PM Roxon

    Bowl haircuts and cold, lumpy porridge for everyone!

    lotocoti

    26 Aug 12 at 4:07 pm

  606. Insiders this am they played a brief clip fron the forth-coming ABC hagiography of Roxon wherein Nanny Bloomberg sings paeans of awe to Nanny Roxon’s “bravery” .

    I sh1t you not.

    Roxon and Plibersek are two puerile and nasty political correct feminazis who subscribe to low-rent leftism and practice low-rent leftist tactics.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 4:09 pm

  607. Ni-Cola Rocks-On according to Mayor Blofeld

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 4:13 pm

  608. They are always keen to be charitable with the public purse, rarely with their own cash.

    Agreed, and yet there is a lot of satisfaction to helping out where needed, whether by practical, hands-on measures, or putting a few bucks in an anonymous christmas card.

    All the prating in the world won’t fix things; you’ve got to do something other than just yap.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 4:21 pm

  609. Nanny Roxon’s “bravery”

    So what did she do?
    Throw herself in front of a pack of Holiday 50′s meant for some innocent kiddy?
    Burst into a Phillip Morris boardroom wearing her Ellen Ripley costume and let fly
    “Get away from those pretty colours, you bitch?”

    lotocoti

    26 Aug 12 at 4:23 pm

  610. Nanny Roxon’s “bravery”

    Going out in public looking like she does is indeed brave.

    Infidel Tiger

    26 Aug 12 at 4:26 pm

  611. So does this mean Roxon has stopped writing to cigarette companies asking for donations to Labor election fund?

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 4:26 pm

  612. More union thuggery and intimidation.

    I believe missed this week by the msm, amid Slush Fund girl’s imbroglio, has been union bullying tactics that may endanger lives of those publicly targeted by the CFMEU.

    There’s been a circulation of a poster/flyer within the construction industry that has pictures of six people on it with their names added. People named and labelled as scabs. The poster says at the bottom

    Get rid of these scabs out of our industry. They will never be forgotten.

    and the illustration logo next those words entitled “Scab Hunter” shows a person with a double-barrel shotgun pointed out at the page. Pretty nasty stuff and another example of the Left’s new civility. Aggressive language being used to force these people out of the industry, courtesy of the CFMEU.

    There’s also intimidation of workers in order to force them to join the union or else they don’t get work, regardless of the fact that, by law, you don’t have to be a member of the union to work in the industry, by law.

    Audio (around 5mins) of Neil Mitchell speaking with Victorian Attorney General Robert Clark on this despicable act by the CFMEU. Poster visuals included.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 4:28 pm

  613. More union thuggery and intimidation.

    Yep and with Gillards abolition of the ABCC there will be plenty more. And here is the CMFEU saying the ABCC was wasted money.
    Disgusting hypocrites.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 4:39 pm

  614. Gab, you can also buy a scab hunter(pdf) tshirt.

    Stay classy, CFMEU.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 4:40 pm

  615. The first action Yabbott needs to take upon his election is to declare a Royal Commission into the stinking fucking unions.

    Enough.

    I want those vile criminal mafioso scum to suffer, big time.

    Rabz

    26 Aug 12 at 4:43 pm

  616. Gillards abolition of the ABCC

    Quite. Given Gillard’s exposure to what goes on in unions you’d think she’d know better. Bit then again, as she said before, “we work with and for the unions”.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 4:44 pm

  617. Monty, try again to answer the question Monty.

    “The existence of corruption should no more mean the ALP purge union links than the Libs should purge business links.”

    I did not say anything about purging the links, I was on about the gross over-representation of the trade unions at the ALP national convention. That is a matter of concern to sensible people in the ALP, not just me.

    Now go back and see if you can answer the question that I asked.

    Poor Old Rafe

    26 Aug 12 at 4:46 pm

  618. Slush funds ‘r’ us!

    Rabz

    26 Aug 12 at 4:47 pm

  619. He won’t of course, rafe. He won’t because his story can’t end well.

    He also supoorts finkelstein like all the other leftwing douchebags here…even those that pretend they are libertarians.

    Jc

    26 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  620. Ah….the wisdom of the Irish.

    1735099

    26 Aug 12 at 4:56 pm

  621. I notice the CFMEU objects to their stickers being removed from hard hats.
    Unless I’m mistaken, this is an OH&S issue.
    Because some adhesives have the potential to compromise helmet integrity, endangering the safety of union members.

    lotocoti

    26 Aug 12 at 5:01 pm

  622. Funny thing is that the prices continue to rise.

    No they don’t. There has been a massive benefit to consumers from the price war between the two majors, with the independents scrambling to keep up:

    And in the meantime, the massive benefit to consumers is being forgotten.

    ”We estimate Coles’ price deflation of 2 per cent per annum since the start of 2009, and matching competitor price reductions, have saved Australian consumers over $2 billion per annum in total,” says a Coles spokesman.

    Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/its-all-shelf-interest-in-a-price-war-20120420-1xcms.html#ixzz24dLuAg4b

    Will

    26 Aug 12 at 5:10 pm

  623. you can also buy a scab hunter(pdf) tshirt.

    Some of the labels are products made overseas. Nice to see the CFMEU supporting their brothers in the TCFUA .

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 5:17 pm

  624. Funnily enough the prices continue to rise!

    I shop regularly.
    The packs get smaller and the prices continue to rise. Don’t tell me I’m hallucinating.

    kae

    26 Aug 12 at 5:18 pm

  625. The Coles/woollies brands are disturbing Driftforge. Do they pay for shelf space like other brands? I doubt it. I believe the ACCC was looking at the issue, but nothing yet. Seriously, why would you go to the trouble to source and develop a product when these bastards come along and copy your coloured branding and flog off theirownshit for 30% cheaper.

    Dan

    26 Aug 12 at 5:22 pm

  626. Seriously, why would you go to the trouble to source and develop a product when these bastards come along and copy your coloured branding and flog off theirownshit for 30% cheaper.

    It’s not even like they are subtle about it either. They do a close copy of the product and the packaging, place it next to the branded product on the shelf and price it lower. Then a month or two down the track, withdraw the branded product from sale.

    It’s about as insidious a trade practice as I’ve seen.

    Driftforge

    26 Aug 12 at 5:29 pm

  627. They can only get away with that if the brand owners have been charging a premium “rent” for the name. Why pay $1.30 for the branded product when the “house” brand is $0.65 and identical except for the can? Heinz and the rest will just have to go cheaper to keep market share. My heart bleeds (not)

    Cato the Elder

    26 Aug 12 at 5:36 pm

  628. New York Times “bleeds” progressivism, says its public editor

    I still believe that, but also see that the hive on Eighth Avenue is powerfully shaped by a culture of like minds — a phenomenon, I believe, that is more easily recognized from without than from within.

    Across the paper’s many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism — for lack of a better term — that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times.

    As a result, developments like the Occupy movement and gay marriage seem almost to erupt in The Times, overloved and undermanaged, more like causes than news subjects.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 5:37 pm

  629. Buy online, shelf deception avoided.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 5:37 pm

  630. The wisdom of the Irish … now please fuck off Bobby.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 5:46 pm

  631. Nanu,I think fibro is Phil but who knows they are both nuts

    Tal

    26 Aug 12 at 5:54 pm

  632. Are there any newspapers in the US that are balanced? I mean ones with news rather that lefty activism presented as if it is news?

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 5:57 pm

  633. Heinz and the rest will just have to go cheaper to keep market share. My heart bleeds (not)

    Check how many of these plain label products are made in Oz. Its about 60% and decreasing quickly at the moment. The reason the PL products are cheaper is because they don’t have to buy shelf space nor market their products in the same way the branded products do. The only way that manufacturers like Heinz, SPC and the likes can compete is to also go offshore.

    That means less Australian jobs and for that my heart bleeds.

    Old Fridgie

    26 Aug 12 at 5:59 pm

  634. They can only get away with that if the brand owners have been charging a premium “rent” for the name. Why pay $1.30 for the branded product when the “house” brand is $0.65 and identical except for the can? Heinz and the rest will just have to go cheaper to keep market share. My heart bleeds (not)

    I agree. Sometimes, when I care about the price, I buy the home brand. When I don’t trust it, I buy a branded product. For instance, I bottled water is the same. why pay more? However, I tried Coles chocholate, and it sucks. I see no problem for the consumer here. If you don’t like it, don’t shop at Coles. Or open your own supermarket chain.

    I am happy with the choice on the shelves.

    Boris

    26 Aug 12 at 6:04 pm

  635. I guess drugs must dull the physical,psychological, and emotional pain of getting jackhammered up the arse by a moustached twink in a village people costume.

    That’s a superior piece of word imagery right there.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    26 Aug 12 at 6:06 pm

  636. That means less Australian jobs and for that my heart bleeds.

    If you care about it, then buy Australian products. But don’t force it on me please.

    Boris

    26 Aug 12 at 6:06 pm

  637. Nanu,I think fibro is Phil but who knows they are both nuts

    Dunno Tal. I think Phil killed himself from heart failure on one of those bike rides in the Tuscan sun searching for the olive oil.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 6:09 pm

  638. I have read up on the Assange thing and it seems like a gee up.

    Could you not put a new ‘Swedish consulate’ wholly enclosed within the Ecuadorian one?

    Might be a solution.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 6:09 pm

  639. That means less Australian jobs and for that my heart bleeds.

    Old Fridgie must have missed his class on the Law of Comparative Advantage.

    Jobs come, jobs go, it is all part of increasing wealth and prosperity.

    Would you like to go back 80 years when almost all manufacturing was domestic? You like poverty?

    Will

    26 Aug 12 at 6:10 pm

  640. LOL

    NSW owns 227 vessels.

    In other news, NSW gives ultimatum to NZ to surrender before a sea borne invasion.

    Money well spent, ALP.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 6:14 pm

  641. It’s not even like they are subtle about it either. They do a close copy of the product and the packaging, place it next to the branded product on the shelf and price it lower. Then a month or two down the track, withdraw the branded product from sale.

    It’s about as insidious a trade practice as I’ve seen.

    and consumers benefit from lower prices – great init?

    As an aside, business is all about gaining an unfair competitive advantage, otherwise it is not worth being in business. If what you do is no different, and offers no advantage to shareholder wealth or consumer market share, they why bother? You are just another marginal commercial enterprise.

    Will

    26 Aug 12 at 6:14 pm

  642. Go the RabbitOHHHHHHs!

    The big news in sport last week, incidentally, was that the NRL is now Australia’s top football code.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 6:21 pm

  643. As an aside, business is all about gaining an unfair competitive advantage, otherwise it is not worth being in business.

    No it’s not.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 6:21 pm

  644. You know what Joe,all these Nutters from the left sound the same.I can’t tell em apart.Fisk Doctrine NOW

    Tal

    26 Aug 12 at 6:22 pm

  645. I am happy with the choice on the shelves.

    What I’m unhappy with is that choice doesn’t remain on the shelves. Once you see the knockoff crap on the shelves, there’s about two months before the original product is removed.

    As an aside, business is all about gaining an unfair competitive advantage, otherwise it is not worth being in business. If what you do is no different, and offers no advantage to shareholder wealth or consumer market share, they why bother? You are just another marginal commercial enterprise.

    Fixed that. You gain an unfair advantage, you’re just a different form of parasite.

    Here, Coles and Woolworth’s are pulling a Samsung. Legal or not, it’s poor form.

    Driftforge

    26 Aug 12 at 6:23 pm

  646. and consumers benefit from lower prices – great init?

    Same argument can be made for a five finger discount.

    Driftforge

    26 Aug 12 at 6:25 pm

  647. Yea I know, Tal. It’s like they think we’re somehow interested in what they have to say. lol. ….Like they are breaking new ground.

    Sinc knows my opinion about the whole fucking lot of them.

    Ban’em all and show no mercy.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 6:25 pm

  648. What I’m unhappy with is that choice doesn’t remain on the shelves. Once you see the knockoff crap on the shelves, there’s about two months before the original product is removed.

    Drift,

    I haven’t been to a supermarket in years. However I can attest that wifey never comes home with storebrand crap from what I can see. The returns the big firms are making is not hitting the ball out of the park either.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 6:28 pm

  649. The trolls are starting to behave like the birdlife before a bushfire.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 6:31 pm

  650. It’s more than cheaper prices, some of my preferred brands are no longer stocked and I’m left with the choice of Coles brand Bangladesh sourced consumables. My right to chose a brand is being eroded and ei down’t lieke et.

    Dan

    26 Aug 12 at 6:32 pm

  651. You know what Joe,all these Nutters from the left sound the same.I can’t tell em apart.Fisk Doctrine NOW

    It saddens me that this [in particular Bobby "PTSD" Whittaker who posts as 1735099] is the best the left has to offer. Defeating their arguments is easier than shooting fish in a barrel.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 6:32 pm

  652. Trouble is Will, our Govt has legislated away alot of Australia producers advantages.
    That’s the shame of it.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 6:32 pm

  653. Go the RabbitOHHHHHHs!
    The big news in sport last week, incidentally, was that the NRL is now Australia’s top football code.

    C.L.
    26 Aug 12 at 6:21 pm

    Seriously? On what basis? Can’t be attendances, participation or TV ratings. It certainly can’t be membership or the diversity of locations in which it played at the top level, so what are you talking about?
    Normally you are very insightful and offer intelligent comment, however on this occasion you are either taking the piss or you are very, very wrong.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    26 Aug 12 at 6:33 pm

  654. Btw Joe how are your folks doing?

    Tal

    26 Aug 12 at 6:33 pm

  655. Once you see the knockoff crap on the shelves, there’s about two months before the original product is removed.

    Just so you understand, companies pay supermarkets for shelf space. If the turnover drops they just reduce the amount of space they pay for.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 6:35 pm

  656. Branded products are a different class of product to generics. If the supermarkets see an opportunity to copy, and legally can, then they will and the innovators will need to move on. If they cannot recover the cost of the innovation, often quite large, in pharmaceuticals particularly, before the copies then innovation dries up and we all lose out. There has to be some balance. And this is what the ACCC or whatever it is now named, is supposed to oversee. Commoditisation can be good and bad depending on how it is managed. I do not see that copying new rasberry flavoured coco pops is either here or there. But the iPhone was perhaps a justifiable case at it did take a lot of sweat risk and innovation. Balance is what is needed.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 6:40 pm

  657. “Has anybody else noticed how Coles brand products are slowly crowding out a lot of other brands on their shelves?

    Should I be disturbed by this?”

    Probably not. The UK started this process earlier than we did, and the home-brand stuff stabilised at about 30%.

    Jarrah

    26 Aug 12 at 6:43 pm

  658. In supermarket news, I was in an Aldi yesterday which baked its own bread. The one I usually go to doesn’t.

    The “rustic Bagettes” I bought were OK-ish, but I think the dough needed a little bit more salt.

  659. Just so you understand, companies pay supermarkets for shelf space. If the turnover drops they just reduce the amount of space they pay for.

    Exactly. The big two put their own stuff on the shelves around 30% cheaper, customer “decides” and competitor recedes into history because the big two have the advantage of not paying for said shelf space.

    Dan

    26 Aug 12 at 6:45 pm

  660. Because some adhesives have the potential to compromise helmet integrity, endangering the safety of union members.

    Correct – and the rusted on unionistas also don’t like the fact that a hard hat only has a shelf life of 3 years.

    I love hearing them bitch about that, when they have to replace their bruvvers helmet.

    Carpe Jugulum

    26 Aug 12 at 6:45 pm

  661. I could tell you a lot of information about canned tuna at Aldi, too. But I’ll save that for my own blog.

  662. In supermarket news [...]

    SfB aka. The Good Wife ;)

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 6:48 pm

  663. All good Tal. Still irritating and annoying.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 6:50 pm

  664. AFL v AFL TV ratings, NRL win.

    That’s without Internationals coz AFL don’t av em.
    (Please don’t mention irish soccer)

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 6:50 pm

  665. ….because the big two have the advantage of not paying for said shelf space.

    I’m sure they impute that in the rate of return or expected rate of return.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 6:51 pm

  666. I could tell you a lot of information about canned tuna at Aldi, too. But I’ll save that for my own blog.

    Sounds awesome. I’ll make a special effort to get over there for that one.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 6:51 pm

  667. irish soccer

    ping pong?

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 6:52 pm

  668. Supermarket prices are always going up, and there’s nothing you can do to shop cheaper, cos it’s not cheaper anywhere. I don’t know if it’s different overseas, I’ve never been overseas but seems to me Aust
    has terribly expensive food, perhaps it’s the carbon tax kicking in too.

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 6:54 pm

  669. ping pong?

    Pretty much.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 6:54 pm

  670. The ABC is running a poll:

    Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 6:55 pm

  671. Huckleberry, as of last week, the NRL is the most financially valued sporting commodity in the country.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 6:58 pm

  672. Supermarket bread is an abomination. It is filth. The crust has the crustiness of soggy saos. The filler has the consistency of goat fecal matter. It smells, at best, like a slightly wet sock. It has the mouthfeel of wet tissue paper. It is a pox on our way of life. It is an indictment of our society.

    However, since we prefer convenience to flavour, crust and mouthfeel, we buy it buy the truckload. I can make great bread out of the cheapest, nastiest flour. However, the whole process takes a good 3 hours end to end, and involves at least 10-15 minutes of solid kneading by hand to get the best result.

    Outcome – I buy soggy, goat fecal matter on a daily basis.

    boy on a bike

    26 Aug 12 at 6:59 pm

  673. What a cabal of eejiots.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-26/emerson-says-mining-boom-still-alive-and-well/4223606

    Federal Trade Minister Craig Emerson has hit back at claims the mining boom is grinding to a halt, saying Australia is “not even halfway through” investment or production.

    There have been mixed comments coming from Labor on the issue, with Senator Penny Wong last week contradicting Resources Minister Martin Ferguson’s earlier assertion that “the mining boom is over”.

    It would be funny if I wasn’t an Australian citizen and didn’t live here.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 7:01 pm

  674. Errr … ping pong

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 7:01 pm

  675. Did someone say ping pong?

    Check out this amazing baby!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s1yQoqdqM4

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 7:01 pm

  676. BoaB
    I buy Woolies bread here, I have to travel 20ks round trip, but it’s bread that tastes like it should (and smells like it should, too!). The local bakeries which are closer have awful bread. And the two small supermarkets near me IGA and Foodworks, are awful – very dear, and I buy only specialist things there and some specials, otherwise I go to the big two, or Aldi! (Aldi and Coles are a 40k round trip!)

    kae

    26 Aug 12 at 7:02 pm

  677. Boy

    There are plenty of places to buy bread. You don’t have to buy stuff from the supermarket.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 7:03 pm

  678. This place has the best bread in Melbourne.

    http://www.frenchfantasies.com.au/

    Nothing comes close to their baguettes.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 7:06 pm

  679. the whole process takes a good 3 hours end to end, and involves at least 10-15 minutes of solid kneading by hand to get the best result.

    buy a bread maker instead.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 7:06 pm

  680. Lordy CL let it go,Ping Pong baby ooohhhh please :)

    Tal

    26 Aug 12 at 7:10 pm

  681. Would you like to go back 80 years when almost all manufacturing was domestic? You like poverty?

    Fuck me I never realised that 80 years ago everyone lived in poverty? Thanks for the enlightenment.

    So Will, by your reckoning it is all fine to eventually have no manufacturing or food processing in Oz? That is the way we are heading with food processing and manufacturing in Oz.

    Old Fridgie

    26 Aug 12 at 7:16 pm

  682. Federal Trade Minister Craig Emerson has hit back at claims the mining boom is grinding to a halt, saying Australia is “not even halfway through” investment or production.

    There have been mixed comments coming from Labor on the issue, with Senator Penny Wong last week contradicting Resources Minister Martin Ferguson’s earlier assertion that “the mining boom is over”.

    I heard the singing clown bring that up on TV this morning. I took it as a sign of tension in Cabinet between Gillard’s sycophants and the rest. Of course the marxist government is killing the mining boom (see Keith DeLacy on this morning’s Bolt Report). The game is to pretend that hostile anti-business federal policy is having no impact on the economy.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 7:17 pm

  683. Very good Bolt Report today.

    After a shakey start, he’s actually becoming a very good television presenter.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 7:20 pm

  684. CL, , by this reckoning, it seems to me that they are about $200m short.
    And Jump, WTF? What is that link supposed to show? It looks to me like it is a survey, not an actual ratings result.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    26 Aug 12 at 7:21 pm

  685. Chorleywood bread is the industrialised death of bread

    You must have read the same book as me. Can’t remember what it’s called though.

    We have some first class bakeries out this way – trouble is, they are on main streets where there is no parking, and they’re well away from where we normally do our shopping. The Bowan Island Bakery is one of the better ones.

    There are some excellent French/Vietnamese bakeries too. They tend to make the best vanilla slices in the area too.

    boy on a bike

    26 Aug 12 at 7:25 pm

  686. Just visited the Insiders website:

    The topic headings were as follows

    - Abbott scrutinised over Olympic Dam comments

    - Carbon tax scare campaign a risk for Abbott

    - Female politicians scathing of Abbott

    - Abbott grilled over education comments

    - Abbott under fire over BHP comments

    - Gillard impresses over impropriety accusations

    How the hell do they get away with it?

    Viva

    26 Aug 12 at 7:35 pm

  687. How the hell do they get away with it?

    Not being dependent on voluntary payments from the broader community?

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 7:36 pm

  688. The gay and lesbian channel for those who want to be educated on the gay perspective.

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 7:41 pm

  689. What a cabal of eejiots.

    Just so. Emerson also said “That’s why we are Labor.”

    Ha. We are us.

    Septimus

    26 Aug 12 at 7:43 pm

  690. That’s just not funny, Pickering.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 7:47 pm

  691. The best bread you can get is from Flinders Bakey;

    http://www.goodmanfielder.com.au/index.php?q=node/17

    They have a vanilla slice you would kill for.

    Carpe Jugulum

    26 Aug 12 at 7:50 pm

  692. Dr Emerson conceded that the Gillard government’s continuation of the intervention may have hurt Labor in the Territory.

    may have hurt Labor? What about ‘may have hurt the Aborigines’? Ever thought of them, Emerson? Course not. It’s all about Labor. Nothing and no one else matters. Whatever it takes etc etc

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 7:52 pm

  693. My mum made The Best vanilla slice in the whole world.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 7:53 pm

  694. Save it all for your own blog SfB.

    blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 8:01 pm

  695. Ah a snot box gab….God bless your Mum

    Tal

    26 Aug 12 at 8:02 pm

  696. And Jump, WTF? What is that link supposed to show? It looks to me like it is a survey, not an actual ratings result.

    Sorry Huck.
    It’s Roy Morgan.

    Jumpnmcar

    26 Aug 12 at 8:04 pm

  697. Remember the matchstick?
    That confection of puff pastry, mock cream and the red flavoured by-product of the Castle Bravo nuclear test programme.

    lotocoti

    26 Aug 12 at 8:04 pm

  698. The Council amalgamations hurt Labor. I have a Brother who works on one of the Aboriginal communities (dry at that) and he said before amalgamation they run the town efficiently and had money to run a number of training and employment programs. After amalgamation the Council head office reduced staff (mostly the trade trained local aboriginal’s), removed capital equipment like a grader used to repair the roads after the wet, and replaced them with sub contractors from Darwin.
    They took away the last vestige of community decision making power from the very people they were supposed to be helping.

    Splatacrobat

    26 Aug 12 at 8:06 pm

  699. Wow. Got a comment through.
    I’ve had three in moderation since early this morning. Apart from the troll issue, this is a disincentive to participation which one has to think seriously about.

    blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 8:07 pm

  700. Exactly. The big two put their own stuff on the shelves around 30% cheaper, customer “decides” and competitor recedes into history because the big two have the advantage of not paying for said shelf space.

    You do realise how capitalism works and what this blog is all about don’t you?

    Coles don’t pay for shelf space, they pay for the entire store. Remember? It’s their store and they alone take on the entire risk of owning it, not Mcain or Ingham, but Coles.

    So if Mcain want to setup their own retail stores they can do so at any time, instead Coles offers them space on their shelves in their stores for a fee. If coles then decide to get into the food game and put their own cans on their shelves then that’s entirely their business. There’s no “right” to force a shop to stock your items and there’s no “right” to force a shop to stock items you want them to.

    And I like the way you put “decides” in scare quotes. As though us stupid people who prefer to buy 80c tins of shitty Coles Baked Beans are being “duped” instead of paying $2.30 a tin for the equally shithouse “gourmet” brand baked beans complete with the 50 cent full colour label on the tin and the $1′s worth of marketing inside it.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 8:12 pm

  701. Don’t ban ciggies. I’m not so loopy to say smoke 2 packs a day.

    http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn769-nicotine-fix.html

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 8:15 pm

  702. The gay and lesbian channel

    Hurt my sides laughing, Splat. Ta.

    Tom

    26 Aug 12 at 8:17 pm

  703. VDH on a subject not so far from our own commentary politics:
    “Over-the-top and crude Ward Churchill at least bought the buckskin and beads to play out his con as an American Indian activist with various other associated academic frauds. But Elizabeth Warren’s “Cherokee”-constructed pedigree was far more subtle — and the sort of lie that Harvard could handle. She more wisely kept to the fast lane of tasteful liberal one-percenters, as she parlayed a false claim of Indian ancestry [1] into a Harvard professorship. So whereas Churchill is now a much-lampooned figure, Warren may be headed to the US Senate. To say that Elizabeth Warren is and was untruthful, and yet was a law professor who was supposed to inculcate respect for our jurisprudence, is to incur the charge of being a right-wing bigot. But reflect: how can someone who faked an entire identity — and one aimed at providing an edge in hiring to the disadvantage of others — not be completely ostracized? Again, Warren was successful precisely because she wore no beads or headband and did not affect a tribal name — the sort of hocus-pocus that makes faculty lounge liberals uncomfortable. It was precisely because she looked exactly like a blond, pink Harvard progressive that Warren’s constructed minority fraud was so effective.”

    blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 8:18 pm

  704. More Leftist hate speech, as if we didn’t have enough:

    A filmmaker who posted inflammatory comments online about a dead (New Zealand) woman soldier has received a barrage of death threats to her and her family.

    Writing on Facebook, Academy Award-shortlisted documentary producer Barbara Sumner Burstyn accused Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker of “killing innocent people”.

    “Oh, so fallen soldier Jacinda Baker liked boxing and baking – did they forget she also liked invading countries we are not at war with, killing innocent people and had no moral compass,” Burstyn wrote.

    “She 100 per cent does not deserve our respect for her flawed choices. We are not at war. We are helping America invade another country for their oil. No more than that.

    “Go to war, expect to be killed. You can’t have it both ways – oh nice little career with the military and shock horror when you get blown up.”

    There is no doubt at all that the worst abusers of “free speech” are the Left. Indeed some would argue there would be no Leftism at all without hate speech.

    Fisky

    26 Aug 12 at 8:18 pm

  705. You do realise how capitalism works

    Whilst I understand exactly what you are saying with regards to capitalism and so on, if the suppliers were able to make known to the general public what some of the “trading terms” are with regards to getting shelf space at the major two, it would be a shock to most. Unfortunately no-one has yet had the balls to expose the tactics that they employ.

    A previous employer of mine – a large privately owned manufacturer of FMCGs looked into the exact scenario of setting up a different route to market, to bypass the two major supermarkets it wasn’t feasible 10 years ago, but I am sure something will develop sooner or later.

    One particular supplier did hold off with one of the supermarkets demands on trading terms and lost shelf space, this particular supplier’s products are big sellers. The supermarket actually lost sales across the board and subsequently had to eat humble pie to get this supplier back on board.

    It is a shame that all suppliers don’t show this level of gumption.

    Old Fridgie

    26 Aug 12 at 8:25 pm

  706. I’m really angry about the misinformation about tobacco.

    Don’t get me wrong – I am certainly not on the payroll and my neighbour/pseudo uncle died of lung cancer – he was a pack of day smoker and I don’t recommend it to anyone.

    Different curing methods can reduced carcinogens dramatically, actually burning the tobacco could nearly eliminate them totally.

    Nicotine is being researched as an antibiotic/antimicrobial, yet official literature insists that it inhibits the action of other antibiotics (yes, I know this could make sense).

    I’m not making any huge leaps in logic. Sure, smoking kills, and it has killed a lot through cancer, and other illnesses.

    It is the missing information that makes me angry – deliberately withheld by Governments because they think we’re collectively too dumb to make our own choices as individuals.

    There is a statistically safe, but very low level of consumption of current retail quality tobacco.

    Nicotine is a potential antibiotic drug against resistance TB.

    The cheap manufacturing methods give nicotine derivatives their carcinogenic qualities.

    The role of obesity in most smoking related cancers isn’t mentioned.

    The fact that someone starting smoking now is unlikely to contract cancer for another 30 years – whilst the Chk1 inhibitor gene mutation recently found means we’ve got a virtual cure for cancer.

    The failure to admit that whilst nicotine works against relaxation physiologically, the psychological effect is ignored and the fact that most people who respond to those surveys are self selected – they started smoking because they were in a stressful job in the first place.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 8:28 pm

  707. Remember the matchstick?

    Sure do. Our local Vietnamese/French bakers do them, and do them well. I just have to sample them once and a while to see if they are as good as I remember them from my childhood.

    boy on a bike

    26 Aug 12 at 8:36 pm

  708. Whilst I understand exactly what you are saying with regards to capitalism and so on, if the suppliers were able to make known to the general public what some of the “trading terms” are with regards to getting shelf space at the major two, it would be a shock to most.

    The general public don’t care one whit about the suppliers problems.

    They just want cheap reasonably tasty food.

    If in any particular area the Coles brand offers that over the Mcain or Ingham or other brands then the Coles brand wins. If Coles stops stocking food that the public wants then the public will go to Woolworths, IGA, Aldi, the butchers or the Green Groces to buy the products at a level of quality they demand.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 8:37 pm

  709. Coles have quite acceptable ciabatta rolls.

    blogstrop

    26 Aug 12 at 8:39 pm

  710. The general public don’t care one whit about the suppliers problems.

    Does the same sentiment exist for union stand over tactics and the way the mafia used to control the fruit markets?

    Old Fridgie

    26 Aug 12 at 8:43 pm

  711. Socialised health systems always end up this way:

    Busy bank holiday: ‘Don’t go to A&E[accident & emergency] unless you are dying’ say NHS Suffolk

    Health chiefs have told patients not to visit hospital Accident and Emergency departments over the Bank Holiday weekend unless they are dying.

    NHS Suffolk said on its website: ‘Do you seriously think you’re dying? If the answer is no, then it’s likely you shouldn’t be at A&E.

    Or in other words, The NHS: We don’t want to see you.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193695/Dont-A-E-unless-dying-say-NHS-Suffolk.html

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 8:46 pm

  712. Ah a snot box

    lol haven’t heard that in years, Tal.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 8:47 pm

  713. Fridgie

    The problem comes in many parts.

    A few off hand – in toto the problem is the illusion of capitalism but underneath is a mash of Soviet style planning and mercantilism.

    1. The aggressive territorial approach to liquor licences the major stores have. Some other FMCG stuff is strongly tied to or complimentary to booze.

    2. The FIRB rules – why we don’t have a major US chain operating here is puzzling. We’re the size of Cali, aren’t we?

    3. The unfair, arbitrary and easily politicised and manipulated local and state level planning rules.

    I’m sure there is more.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 8:49 pm

  714. McCain (aka french fries does it again)

    says

    Coles don’t pay for shelf space, they pay for the entire store. Remember? It’s their store and they alone take on the entire risk of owning it, not Mcain or Ingham, but Coles.

    Oh great – Id really like to know how my freedom of choice gets or got stuffed up here?
    Wasnt I supposed to get freedom of choice in the new free market OR am I supposed to prostrate my buying choices (or loss thereof) to the great god Coles?

    Wait for the pathetic excuse…”its because they own the store”.

    My goodness, I give up my choices and bow down before “they who own the store”

    There is something wrong with this picture.

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 8:51 pm

  715. Does the same sentiment exist for union stand over tactics and the way the mafia used to control the fruit markets?

    Lol Coles…just like the mafia.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 8:51 pm

  716. There is something wrong with this picture.

    Yes, it starts with your bizarre and deranged “thinking”.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 8:53 pm

  717. The failure to admit that whilst nicotine works against relaxation physiologically

    I know it’s a stimulant but I find this strange. A good smoke helps you get your head together and makes your problems fall into perspective.

    What is overlooked is that just as alcohol in moderation has a perfectly sensible place in life’s course – to celebrate, to relax, to release creativity, to get over a difficult event – so does tobacco. Both are dangerous and need to be managed.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 8:54 pm

  718. yeah it does twostix….I dont like unions standover tactics or Coles standover tactics

    help!! I dont know what tribe to join!!

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 8:54 pm

  719. Wait for the pathetic excuse…”its because they own the store”.

    Jesus Fucking Dingo Riding Christ…

    This is a libertarian blog.

    Rule #1

    Libertarians believe in self ownership.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 8:55 pm

  720. Start your own bloody store Alice. You can sell crazy by the pallet.

    Infidel Tiger

    26 Aug 12 at 8:55 pm

  721. IT she’s certainly got plenty of it!

    kae

    26 Aug 12 at 8:56 pm

  722. Alice’s brain is living nextdoor to Alice.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 8:58 pm

  723. Yeah I know John Mc.

    Dead Soul might say some more, but maybe it stimulates what is out of whack so you think more quickly – as you know a tired person can’t keep up with anyone – if your synapses can “go” quicker, then your tasks seem easier?

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 8:59 pm

  724. I want Coles to sell john Deere tractors.

    Where’s my freedom of choice?! Government! Force Coles to sell John Deere Tractors at once.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 8:59 pm

  725. At least Alice attempts an argument, unlike the trolls that just make stupid inflammatory statements. And she appears to keep Dot entertained.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 9:00 pm

  726. Oh I am being insulted now by twostix
    “Yes, it starts with your bizarre and deranged “thinking”.

    Guess he cant handle my thinking.

    When you get to my age twostix you think (I think) however you (I) god damn please.

    Get used to it without insults. I think how I like and I dont much like thinking in tribes. Some good ideas here and some good there. Join no tribe unless you want to sign up for policy (and thats whats wrong with our government – they ALL ie BOTH SIDES spend do much time toeing the party line they forget to be HONEST as people which is why the people dont like them – total catch 22).

    We vote for them, they betray us, we wonder why, we vote again, they betray again

    All of them.

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:01 pm

  727. Lol Coles…just like the mafia.

    I wasn’t calling them the mafia just simply asking if the average Joe new what went on if they would care or not…

    So tell me what would you call a demand of a one off $15M payment above normal trading terms made by one of the two to a large supplier?

    Old Fridgie

    26 Aug 12 at 9:01 pm

  728. *knew

    Old Fridgie

    26 Aug 12 at 9:01 pm

  729. Coles and Woolies have people by the short and curlies, methinks.

    many people can only afford the “faeces bread” from the supermarket, as someone above termed it.

    It’s all they can afford – no going to specialist bakery, honestly, many people can only afford the cheapest bread and bread is a necessity.

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 9:02 pm

  730. Rule #1

    Libertarians Liberals believe in self shelf ownership.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 9:02 pm

  731. If I entertain Dot thats enough..
    If you cant laugh in life you have nothing (nuffink)!
    Life is only that.

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:04 pm

  732. Aldi was also selling what appeared to be an electric pressure cooker. Never heard of such a thing before. And given my experience with Aldi electrical goods is not all that good, I’m not sure I would want to risk a high pressure, potential bomb-like, device from them.

  733. The fact that someone starting smoking now is unlikely to contract cancer for another 30 years – whilst the Chk1 inhibitor gene mutation recently found means we’ve got a virtual cure for cancer.

    What is never articulated in the thousands of hours of anti-tobacco lobby propoganda is how “easily” does one contract cancer from smoking?

    As in, is it a single ciggie that causes you to get it? Or is it a build up of X amounts of ciggies?

    If you smoke a single ciggie can you get cancer? Or does it require smoking non stop for years?

    If it requires a build up, what is that build up? Is it possible to stay under the threshold?

    And I wonder how it is that after the deluge of anti smoking propoganda that we suffer through every year and have done for two decades, this fundamental question has never been addressed.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 9:06 pm

  734. I am pretty sure that, like most of your trash talking, is actionable, Steve.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 9:06 pm

  735. All alcohol is carcinogenic.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 9:07 pm

  736. As in, is it a single ciggie that causes you to get it? Or is it a build up of X amounts of ciggies?

    If you smoke a single ciggie can you get cancer? Or does it require smoking non stop for years?

    If it requires a build up, what is that build up? Is it possible to stay under the threshold?

    If you look at pack of branded ciggies apparently you can catch cancer. Just ask roxon.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 9:08 pm

  737. “That’s just not funny, Pickering.”

    one of his best, I think. that one will really get under her skin!

    candy

    26 Aug 12 at 9:09 pm

  738. I should at this point out that the aldi, coles and woolies premium branded goods are actually manufactured by the same people you lot are lamenting that they no longer have shelf space. Woolies cheeses for example, are made by bega, and the breakfast wheat biscuits (or whatever they are called) are made by Sanitarium etc.

    So it is not a total loss for the local manufacturer. I don’t like it though, as it is harder to pick the product I particularly like without a lot of experimentation.

    entropy

    26 Aug 12 at 9:11 pm

  739. Oh Nanue that is such a baaaad pun its funny!
    Candy you atre right on that one. Coles do have people by the short and curlies – my choices are shrinking by the day

    Oh I remember well when I filled the trolley back in the mid nineties (those were the good years), chucked everything in with nary a thought and shopped every three weeks or so!!!!

    Now I am reduced to inspecting their stupid price labels and constantly sound like an old lady OMG does nothing here cost under five bucks?

    please dont get me started on washing powder prices…
    Anyone got any competition (like home made washing powders or cleaners) out there to Unilever or Procter and gamble?

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:11 pm

  740. There is a statistically safe, but very low level of consumption of current retail quality tobacco.

    That may not be true for cardiovascular disease. Supposedly there is a non-linear dose-response curve for cigarettes and CVD. That is, there is a rapid rise in the bad effects even with just a few cigarettes per day.

    After smoking for 15 years, I managed eventually to give it up after maybe 5 attempts. And then after a while after I’d given it up I started to have one cigarette per week with the smokers at work. That worked fine. There was no problem there. It seems it’s possible to “chip” cigarettes. (But please don’t try that unless you are well and truly over the addiction.)

    Anyway, that nonlinear dose-response thing worried me sufficiently to give up that one cigarette too.

    I did a quick search just now and found this: See “Myth #3″.

    Dangph

    26 Aug 12 at 9:13 pm

  741. Gab if thats the case I should already have cancer….I have been smoking just about forever but I still can exercise like most people cant…

    I have the script tho – the bloody things have got too expensive.

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:14 pm

  742. Ah….the wisdom of the Irish.

    I’m Irish and I knew Michael D. Higgins a public figure reasonably well.

    I knew George Hook from my rugby days as a private citizen very well and he was an absolute gentleman. I didn’t even know he has gone into radio.

    Boston conservative talk show host Michael Graham has a very good reputation as well. He always treats his guests well and his voice is gentle.

    Michal Higgins disgraced himself and the nation of my birth there.

    I’m actually quite shocked.

    Not by numbers1735099 who’s a pig-ignorant creep but by the ceremonial head of the Republic.

    That was an utter disgrace.

    He was always a lefty but generally regarded as very polite gentleman who was the working poor’s champion.

    His tirade apart from being woefully ignorant was very bad manners.

    Why do the leftists love that which disgusts decent people and apparently without insight?

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 9:15 pm

  743. Bless you, Alice. Just think of all that lovely money you are donating to the government every time you buy a pack. We thank you for your contribution :)

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 9:15 pm

  744. Coles and Woolies have people by the short and curlies, methinks.

    many people can only afford the “faeces bread” from the supermarket, as someone above termed it.

    There’s an IGA on every other corner. People can still buy their expensive name brand bread at will, just like they used to have to.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 9:19 pm

  745. Steve from Brisbane

    Nah – i dont think Id go for the ALDI pressure cooker after what happened with our twenty nine dollar ninety five DVD player…

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:19 pm

  746. what is faceces bread?

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:21 pm

  747. Dangph,

    Don’t worry about it.

    Living in a metropolitan area is probably worse for you, wrt CVD and cancer.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 9:26 pm

  748. JamesK -
    Michael D has always been a tool. Those comments were made by him prior to entering the state paid retirement home however.

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 9:28 pm

  749. what is faceces bread?

    I believe the common vernacular is a “shit sandwich”.

    As in “Crikey, the Gillard government is a bit crook, but I suppose it’s better than a shit sandwich, eh?”

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 9:29 pm

  750. I did a quick search just now and found this: See “Myth #3″.

    We all like to think we are creatures of complete free will. However, free will in the case of tobacco is subverted by advertising and addiction. In 2002, the tobacco industry spent $12.5 billion in the United States on advertising, marketing, and promotion—more than double the amount spent in 1997, and 18 times the amount spent on tobacco control

    Marketing “subverts” free will.

    Another case of pedestrian, paternal, pop-leftist bullshit hiding in ostensibly peer reviewed literature.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 9:31 pm

  751. Marketing “subverts” free will.

    Should ban electoral advertising?

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 9:32 pm

  752. twostix – that is why anything which truly is for my own good is hard to swallow. It is tainted.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 9:34 pm

  753. So supermarket (like Coles) brand bread cooked on site is shit?

    I dont buy that brand actually. It always looks pretty boring. No goodies in it BUT bread is a disaster at my age. Cant eat that much – stick to Burgen for breakfast only. It isnt ruined by the freezer.

    Alice

    26 Aug 12 at 9:37 pm

  754. It’s better to die of a smoking related disease and probably cheaper on the health system than Alzheimers or Dementia, if you’ve ever been in a nursing home, that’s not somewhere I wanna go.

    somebody – Marketing “subverts” free will.

    Twostix – Another case of pedestrian, paternal, pop-leftist bullshit hiding in ostensibly peer reviewed literature.

    If advertising didn’t work, no one would use it, people are highly suspeptible to advertising and marketing, they just flatter themselves they’re not.

    coz

    26 Aug 12 at 9:40 pm

  755. susceptible, haven’t had to spell that for years.

    coz

    26 Aug 12 at 9:41 pm

  756. coz

    26 Aug 12 at 9:42 pm

  757. Part of that is because people are highly susceptible to products they need and want. i.e. some of the reason advertising works is that it tells people about products they don’t know exist, before you get into the subliminal voodoo that advertising supposedly wields over everybody.

    John Mc

    26 Aug 12 at 9:43 pm

  758. Michael D has always been a tool. Those comments were made by him prior to entering the state paid retirement home however.

    Ah so although reported in HuffPo recently, the radio tirade was 2010.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 9:44 pm

  759. Coz, I had hope there for a few seconds until I read this:

    If we dispense with that definition of Aboriginal people and treat Aboriginal people as First Peoples – that is our status derives from us being here before settlement – not on the basis of race but an historical argument, then Aboriginal people become citizens with an attribute that is political, not racial.

    Professor Marcia Langton

    Okay, it won’t be racist then. But it will still be wrong unless it’s on the basis of need, not ancestry.

    kae

    26 Aug 12 at 9:46 pm

  760. Poll: most Akin supporters want unelectable extremist to stand down; most Democrats want him in.

    There were indications that the poll respondents who identify with one of the two major parties understand the upside-down dynamics of the race. Among Democrats, more say Akin should stay in the race than say he should leave; among Republicans, more want him gone.

    Akin is now the official Democratic-endorsed Republican candidate for the now solidly Democratic Senate seat of Missouri. Moral of the story: don’t nominate extremist cranks for important Senate races.

    Fisky

    26 Aug 12 at 9:49 pm

  761. if the suppliers were able to make known to the general public what some of the “trading terms” are with regards to getting shelf space at the major two, it would be a shock to most.

    the truth is, no one cares. The only issue here is if coles is getting an unfair advantage by copying branded products, and imitating the labels. If this is the case, they the brands should fight this in court.

    BTW I read about home brands in a book about Australia (for foreigners) published 15 years ago. Somehow they have not become dominant on the shelves. Also, it would be foolish for Coles to remove the branded product because the consumer would just go to woolies.

    Boris

    26 Aug 12 at 9:51 pm

  762. JamesK -
    When you listen to the whole thing you can see how fucking dumb and ignorant Michael D is:

    http://media.newstalk.ie/extra/1602/popup

    Nanuestalker

    26 Aug 12 at 9:53 pm

  763. God, she’s going to name it a benefit of being a First Peoples…

    There’s a growing Aboriginal middle class who pay for their children to go to private school, for instance, and they don’t accept government benefits, and that section of Aboriginal society is ignored by the media and by the public and by government policy.

    Professor Marcia Langton

    Ms Langton, I’m middle class and white and I’m generally ignored. I pay my taxes and receive no benefits because I don’t need them.

    kae

    26 Aug 12 at 9:53 pm

  764. If advertising didn’t work, no one would use it, people are highly suspeptible to advertising and marketing, they just flatter themselves they’re not.

    If by “works” you mean lets people know that a product exists then sure.

    If by “works” you mean magically causes thinking people to become hypnotised automatons unable to control their faculties.

    Then no.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 9:54 pm

  765. Extremist crank backs Akin, wants to hand seat to Democrats.

    Huckabee’s “wounded soldier” analogy is false. Akin is objectively fighting for the other side, as both Republican and Democratic voters understand.

    Fisky

    26 Aug 12 at 9:55 pm

  766. Living in a metropolitan area is probably worse for you, wrt CVD and cancer.

    Dot, is that a considered opinion, or is it just your intuition. My intuition is that it could go either way. That is, one cigarette could be harmful.

    I do miss hanging out with the smokers. Maybe I will go out for a passive smoke sometimes. Take some fruit with me. LOL.

    Dangph

    26 Aug 12 at 9:59 pm

  767. Also, it would be foolish for Coles to remove the branded product because the consumer would just go to woolies.

    Woolies is doing the same thing. Competition at its finest.

    Driftforge

    26 Aug 12 at 10:02 pm

  768. I did a quick search just now and found this: See “Myth #3″.

    I’m more interested in myth #1:We all like to think we are creatures of complete free will. However, free will in the case of tobacco is subverted by advertising and addiction. In 2002, the tobacco industry spent $12.5 billion in the United States on advertising, marketing, and promotion—more than double the amount spent in 1997, and 18 times the amount spent on tobacco control.8 Advertising and marketing encourage people to smoke, particularly when they are targeted at youth and other demographic subgroups.9–22

    So exposure to any sort of visuals on cigarettes is bad for you and can induce people to smoke, yet violent games and pornographic images in films and music don’t desensitise us to brutality and immorality?

    Spot the furphy there. If I object to over-sexualised images of people then I’m a prude, but if I object to images of cancer sticks then I’m doing a Good Thing.

    As a non-smoker who grew up with smoking parents, the anti-smoking nutters can get out of my life. I have friends who smoke and some who don’t.

    I think I’ll stick with Joe. He’s not a scientist, nor any sort of expert, but he has done a lot of serious thinking on the subject.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:03 pm

  769. Dot, is that a considered opinion, or is it just your intuition. My intuition is that it could go either way. That is, one cigarette could be harmful.

    Dead soul has never steered me wrong.

    Everyone ought to consider a sea/tree change.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 10:06 pm

  770. …and did yous see this?

    Oh, coz, that is sooo bogan.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:06 pm

  771. Isn’t Marcia Langton one of the Mordy Litijus tribe?

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:10 pm

  772. Advertising and marketing encourage people to smoke, particularly when they are targeted at youth and other demographic subgroups.

    It’s true. The government anti-smoking ads used to make me smoke with more gusto.

    Dangph

    26 Aug 12 at 10:10 pm

  773. Da Hairy Ape watching Kerry Packer, but as a non-sporting person I don’t find it very gripping. I guess all of this change to cricket was a pretty big deal in the 70′s? I do not think I’ll ask him to explain, because there would be a detailed and enthusiastic response, well worth avoiding (if you are me, that is).

    I once went with him to another of these Very Important Dinners his work entails and was stuck on the corner of the table in a grand old dining room, with great art on the walls, with the old guy at the end and old guy next to me talking cricket for all of the evening, right across me. Every half hour they would stop and explain some arcane point to me just to be polite and I’d try unsuccessfully to turn the conversation to something else even remotely interesting to me and acceptable to them (highway building, for instance, from the Geoffrey Smart on the wall). They were an object lesson in how to be tedious.

    These people were supposed to be some of the cream of Australia’s movers and shakers. I’ve rarely had a more boring evening. Yet a couple of weeks ago I had to sit next to quite an old guy, previously a top politician (won’t say more), who was an absolute doll. We giggled our way together through the function.

    Last night was fine Gab and thanks for your kinds thoughts, good food and excellent wine and the company of a nice Irish couple who will I think become friends of us both. I shook a lot of hands saying ‘how do you do’ and ‘how lovely to meet you at last, Ape has told me so much about your x and y etc’ and Da Ape said he was very proud of me (I am not new to this sort of thing btw as my first husband was also a bit feted and during the inter-regnum until the arrival of Da Ape I moved and shook a bit myself in a more limited fashion, without needing a male consort. ;)

    Sorry this is a bit long; it all started with me and cricket, n’est-ce pas? Getting more interesting now as der tele seems to be doing some Packer Dad-Son (Frank/Kerry) psychoanalysis; breakdown coming up.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    26 Aug 12 at 10:12 pm

  774. Moral of the story: don’t nominate extremist cranks for important Senate races.

    He’s not an extremist.

    He is stupid.

    He’s also selfish and self-centred.

    He won the Primary fairly.

    He may well not have won if the Primary wasn’t open.

    Mo is lost even if he stood down before the Sept deadline but he won’t.

    The GOP have to endeavour to get to 51 some other way.

    A write-in just won’t work in a state the size of Mo even if they could find a popular state-wide-known Republican politician to try.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 10:14 pm

  775. Oh, coz, that is sooo bogan.

    I’m probably one of the very few non middle-class people here. :)

    @Kae – The Langton stuff, well they got a class structure now, just like white people and it’s not as though white people have every been able to eradicate it, so it’ll still be a never ending income stream for the ‘poverty’ industry academics, CEOs and organisations.

    coz

    26 Aug 12 at 10:18 pm

  776. Check out the latest “poll” over at The Drum.

    I thought it was a pisstake when a mate posted it on facebook.

    Looks legit.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:19 pm

  777. Ah, so you’re one of my tribe then, coz. I don’t see myself as middle-class. Insofar as we have classes here in Oz.

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:20 pm

  778. Lizzie, I guess this is a bad male thing. Not their obsession with sports, but inability to pay attention to the interests of the person next to them. Sad but true. Includes myself, I regret to say.

    Boris

    26 Aug 12 at 10:21 pm

  779. I tried to watch that Packer/cricket show streaming (cos I don’t have tv), but I just get a message from the Channel 9 website saying only Australian residents can watch their channel, seems to only apply on that show as most of the others run. I was interested cos I don’t mind cricket (before it was all match fixing) and went to the first world series, so I watched the trailer at youtube and it seemed kinda camp to me.

    coz

    26 Aug 12 at 10:25 pm

  780. He’s not an extremist.

    He is a fanatical, turban-wearing zealot. He might as well take out one of his eyes and call himself “Mullah Omar”, he’s that crazy. His position on abortion, banning it in all cases including rape, along with his crank pseudo-science, together make him an unelectable extremist.

    Fisky

    26 Aug 12 at 10:26 pm

  781. Bolt has to showcase that ABC poll with only one option on his show.

    Shown the ALPBC as a genuinely totalitarian institution and 95% of Australians will revile it.

    .

    26 Aug 12 at 10:32 pm

  782. Recent polls by the government media arm:

    Do you think News Corp should split into two separate businesses?
    Yes 70%
    No 30%

    Should wealthy media moguls have to pass a public interest test?
    Yes 72%
    No 28%

    Do you think public discussion has been hijacked by the ignorant?
    Yes 87%
    No 13%

    In the current big miner/treasurer smack down, whose side are you on?
    Wayne Swan 68%
    Clive Palmer 17%
    Neither, it’s ridiculous 15%

    The ABC really has become a malevolent force.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 10:36 pm

  783. nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:40 pm

  784. If wealthy media moguls should have to pass a public interest test, why not welfare recipients? Or wealthy media personalities such as, say, David Marr?

    nilk

    26 Aug 12 at 10:42 pm

  785. No breakdown happened, all deal making and man talk mainly, Ape fascinated, natch. Clever, he says, that was very clever. Beats me what was going on.

    Coz, I think I’m pretty middle class now but it’s not where I came from. For those like me, in your heart you know what it feels like to be on the outside looking in, and that is always with you. From what I have read, and experienced, being socially mobile is true of a lot of people everywhere, given the sort of wealth and growth and educational development that Australia has enjoyed since WW2, so that feeling of being ‘different’ is probably quite widely felt. I find it helps for me to bear this in mind.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    26 Aug 12 at 10:45 pm

  786. Judging by those questions, they’re not very bright over at the drum. Sneaky, but not bright.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 10:46 pm

  787. He is a fanatical, turban-wearing zealot. He might as well take out one of his eyes and call himself “Mullah Omar”, he’s that crazy. His position on abortion, banning it in all cases including rape, along with his crank pseudo-science, together make him an unelectable extremist.

    You are wrong Fisky.

    You need to make an argument in a debate.

    Just a tip.

    20% of th electorate are opposed to abortion in all cases and/or except the mother’s life is threatened.

    In Mo that % is significantly higher.

    And and it’s not because of Catholicism.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 10:46 pm

  788. Akin got ambused with a stupid question and answered it – partly – with a bizarre clanger. The preponderance of what he said, the quiddity of the response, was not extreme at all. It was true.

    Once again we’re seeing RINO surrenderists and the Meghan McCain wing of the GOP flaggelating themselves far more than they need to.

    C.L.

    26 Aug 12 at 10:53 pm

  789. Fisky, sorry to say, but your now almost daily rants about Akin only assist the Dems. But, yes, his principled, not extremist, view on abortion was idiotically put forward and on this alone he should withdraw from the race.

    dover_beach

    26 Aug 12 at 10:59 pm

  790. Nielsen 54-46

    So much for predictions Labor would be ahead….

    MDMConnell

    26 Aug 12 at 11:01 pm

  791. Oh, that’s nice. Pollbludger has a one line post:

    GhostWhoVotes tweets Nielsen has the Coalition leading 54-46, down from 56-44 last month.

    Things going in the right direction across a couple of polls, then.

  792. Stepford,

    Go get things around the house ready for the fucking week work and school and stop worrying about the polls.

    It makes no difference to you are you don’t fucking work. Your spouse does.
    Fuck off.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:05 pm

  793. Do you think public discussion has been hijacked by the ignorant?
    Yes 87%
    No 13%

    As an ABC consumer, do you have a bloated sense of self-regard?
    Yes 0%
    No 100%

    lotocoti

    26 Aug 12 at 11:05 pm

  794. That’s great, SFB. What’s even better is your children and their children will be paying off all the money borrowed + interest that your government has borrowed since 2007.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 11:06 pm

  795. Poor trolls, talking up Labor storming to the lead, have to console themselves with being 8 points behind…

    MDMConnell

    26 Aug 12 at 11:07 pm

  796. No, it only needs 4.5% to get Labor over the line, MDM.

  797. Do you think public discussion has been hijacked by the ignorant?
    Yes 87%
    No 13%

    As an ABC consumer, do you have a bloated sense of self-regard?
    Yes 0%
    No 100%

    Do you live 3 miles withing the GPO of a major metropolitan city?

    Yes 97.8%

    No 2.2 %

    Do you think Tubbsie Milne is the smartest person in the senate?

    Yes 99.7%

    No .3%

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:10 pm

  798. I hasten to add, if Abbott gets dumped before the next election and Turnbull takes his place, comes up with a plan to leave carbon pricing in place but perhaps with some modification, dumps Abbott’s parental leave plan, and has a purge of the climate change deniers; then I would have to consider voting for the Coalition.

  799. then I would have to consider voting for the Coalition.

    Well there’s a first for everything.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 11:13 pm

  800. then I would have to consider voting for the Coalition.

    LOL

    And then tick Greens/Labor on your ballot paper, you dishonest twerp.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 11:14 pm

  801. No, it only needs 4.5% to get Labor over the line, MDM.

    What are the betting markets saying for a labor win, Stepford?

    Oh Hang

    Sports bet has the Liars Party at 6 and the coalition at 1.1

    So I’m guessing you’d be flooding the betting markets, right stepford. At 6′s not only can’t you lose, but you’ll become a billionairess.

    Moron.

    The betting markets haven’t shifted in dime, you fucking moron.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:16 pm

  802. I suggest Pickering continue his scumbag campaign as hard as he can. It might result in another point or two for Gillard by the next poll.

    And Tony should keep his interview preparation routine going just as it is.

  803. Which reminds me… The Kenyan started last week at 57.1 and is now down to 56.1 probability. Moven’ in the right direction.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:18 pm

  804. And as for the Rabz informer’s grand Rudd return strategy – a complete fizzer.

  805. Gee, I got my maracas out but nobody’s dancing.

  806. Gee, I got my maracas out but nobody’s dancing.

    You’re a tool, liar.

    JamesK

    26 Aug 12 at 11:26 pm

  807. And as for the Rabz informer’s grand Rudd return strategy – a complete fizzer.

    Why dickhead? It would actually be a great time to change the leadership if the scum in the caucus are thinking of changing leaders.

    Face facts. The Lying Slapper is considered electorally toxic. She glows in the dark as far as the punters go. We fucking despise her and the caucus knows this.

    So why not change leaders when the polls are moving your way instead of waiting next time the toxic lardarse fucks up again and they swing back to 58/60% 2PP?

    It’s not as though she’d be missed by the punters.

    You really have no strategic understanding of anything, do you, Stepford, which is why you’ve never amounted to anything.

    This is the most dangerous time for her. The Slapper’s personal standing has barely moved for the simple reason that we can’t stand the political troll.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:26 pm

  808. “When my baby, when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio…”

  809. then I would have to consider voting for the Coalition.

    You really do take condescension and pomposity to a new level. I can just imagine you as some fat, red cheecked aristocratic regency fool.

    Lazlo

    26 Aug 12 at 11:26 pm

  810. I hasten to add, if Abbott gets dumped before the next election and Turnbull takes his place, comes up with a plan to leave carbon pricing in place but perhaps with some modification, dumps Abbott’s parental leave plan, and has a purge of the climate change deniers; then I would have to consider voting for the Coalition.

    Lol… So what you’re really hankering for is a Rudd led Liars Party. Keep dreaming doucheballs.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:29 pm

  811. No, it only needs 4.5% to get Labor over the line, MDM.

    No Steve Labor must hold all seats from last election + gain two to make up for the loss of New England and Lyne.

    Not get 50.1% in the Nielson poll.

    And that’s just to get them back to the shitty position that they’re in now.

    You fail.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 11:31 pm

  812. Sorry that I responded to the vermin – moment of weakness.

    Lazlo

    26 Aug 12 at 11:38 pm

  813. Some stupid Coalition member (or two or three) will lose their seat somewhere, twostix. (Well, this is the plan, anyway.)

  814. then I would have to consider voting for the Coalition.

    Perhaps that is why Liberals did not run in Kenneallys by-election.

    They did not want to run the risk of the shame of having you voting for them

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 11:40 pm

  815. By the way, SFB, your arctic ice graph is unconvincing.. The ice graph goes back 30 odd years when the major cyclicity is known to be 60 years.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 11:44 pm

  816. Some stupid Coalition member (or two or three) will lose their seat somewhere, twostix. (Well, this is the plan, anyway.)

    One or two isn’t enough.

    It’ll have to be 3 Liberal losses and 0 ALP losses.

    Good luck with that, especially with Gillard running her campaign from prison.

    twostix

    26 Aug 12 at 11:46 pm

  817. Some stupid Coalition member (or two or three) will lose their seat somewhere

    Fair enough. But what is it with the federal coalition. What are they all in bed by 9 at night. Fairfax and so on have had no dirt spray in retaliation for Mr Pickering exposing unpleasantness. Very odd behaviour for the lefty cheer squad.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    26 Aug 12 at 11:51 pm

  818. The loathsome sfb carries on around here as if it were some debating club. It isn’t. If he was carrying on in his pompous ways in my house, was asked to leave and refused, I would physically escort him to the door.

    Lazlo

    26 Aug 12 at 11:51 pm

  819. I would physically escort him to the door.

    by the scruff of the neck and boot up the rear.

    JC

    26 Aug 12 at 11:53 pm

  820. Your “major cyclicity” hasn’t done anything like the current situation for thousands of years, Whale.

    Furthermore, as ice free summers look more and more likely given the trend with the next couple of decades, the planet hasn’t seen that for (it seems) 100′s of thousands of years.

  821. …the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012″

    sez Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the government’s snow and ice data center in Boulder, Colorado.

    Gab

    26 Aug 12 at 11:58 pm

  822. So we have McTernan’s flatulence around here in the shape of sfb. If it was someone from LNP central, parotting a party line, it would get banned right?

    Lazlo

    27 Aug 12 at 12:00 am

  823. We’ve dealt with that before, Gab. One scientist getting ahead of himself does not mean everything ever said about this is wrong.

  824. Wonder why neither Romney nor Obama are talking up the glowball warming issues. Not a word, keeping right away from the subject.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:05 am

  825. FEDERAL government departments and agencies are spending more than $10.3 million a year checking what is said about them in the media.

    The hefty monitoring bill from external companies would pay for more than 100 full-time staff each earning $100,000 a year.

    It’s all about them, innit.

    Paranoid assholes.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:07 am

  826. The breakdown in the Neilsen polling is interesting.

    Primary vote for Labor still only 32% – must do better.

    Coalition vote is particularly strong amongst older men.

    I don’t think they are handling having a female leader well…

    Greens vote is surprisingly equal in rural and city.

  827. Abbott’s female vote is a little soft too, I should have noted.

  828. Abbott’s female vote is a little soft too, I should have noted.

    Labor
    male 30 female 34 4 points

    but the male gender gap supporting the coalition is of no consequence?

    Coalition
    Male 48 female 42. 6 points

    You really are fucking useless as an analyst, stepford. Just absolutely useless in every possible way.

    Moron, the problem is that liar’s party has a gender gap… the male gender gap.

    You’re a fucking waste of space.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 12:18 am

  829. Step

    You talk about glimate change 24/7. However this area of science is absolutely laden with math and statistics which is something you obviously have no strength in whatsoever. You can’t even read a poll to draw the right conclusions when the fucking numbers are there in front given to you on a sliver platter.

    As I said, you’re a total waste of space and ought to be booted off the site permanently.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 12:24 am

  830. Sinc

    Please get rid of Stepford. He brings down the site’s IQ and the stupidity just reaches out.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 12:28 am

  831. Abbo 12 points in front.

    LOL.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 12:31 am

  832. So if it hasn’t shown the current ice levels in a long time past, SFB, then put the data in the graph. Whether the contention is right or wrong is not able to be deduced from the data set shown. No point asserting something and implying the graph supports the data when the period is shorter than a couple cycles. Surely they must have recorded ice extents before 1980.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    27 Aug 12 at 12:35 am

  833. Oops. Already discussed above.

    And 8, I meant.

    Well, there is a drop being registered in two polls.

    Probably time for Abbott to run wholly positive.

    People think the carbon dioxide tax is stupid, based on a lie, a lie itself and that it must be axed.

    It’s a given and it will pay dividends.

    But people are tired of the discussion – both of warmening loons and CO2 polemics.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 12:38 am

  834. C.L. this site was warned yesterday about racist terms like ABBO. Please do not set Hammy off again. It takes ages to calm him.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    27 Aug 12 at 12:40 am

  835. FEDERAL government departments and agencies are spending more than $10.3 million a year checking what is said about them in the media.

    The hefty monitoring bill from external companies would pay for more than 100 full-time staff each earning $100,000 a year.

    Wow. I can see why some key agencies might need some media monitoring to address certain issues, but that is criminal.

    Abu Chowdah

    27 Aug 12 at 12:43 am

  836. But people are tired of the discussion – both of warmening loons and CO2 polemic

    True but what has been missing is a discussion of what we are going to demand the at risk poor nations pay us as a bribe to convince us to stop making with the CO2. Whether AGW is true or not, if they want us to stop emitting they can pay or suffer. Show us the money. Bloddy tight these third world governments.

    WhaleHunt Fun

    27 Aug 12 at 12:45 am

  837. Coalition vote is particularly strong amongst older men.

    I don’t think they are handling having an incompetent female leader and a criminal government well…

    FTFY you fuckwit (FTFY,YFW)

    Abu Chowdah

    27 Aug 12 at 12:46 am

  838. Ramadan: Islam’s ‘Holy Month’ of Christian Oppression

    “The month of Ramadan, which ended earlier this week, proved to be a month of renewed Muslim piety on the one hand, and renewed oppression of non-Muslim minorities on the other. In Nigeria, for example, Islamic militants are living up to the assertion that “Ramadan is a month of jihad and death for Allah,” proving that killing Christians is not only reserved for Christian holidays—like Christmas and Easter, when militants bombed churches killing dozens—but is especially applicable during Islam’s Ramadan.

    hough water is not forbidden to him, this infidel Christian openly violated a principle of Islamic Ramadan, which was deemed a great affront and punished accordingly. This idea that non-Muslims must show respect for Islamic observances is commonplace. Around the same time this story took place, a Christian Lebanese singer was taken to police while in Algeria for smoking in public, and “failing to show due respect to Muslims.” She was released after police warned her that “she was not allowed to smoke in public during Ramadan in Muslim Algeria, even though she was a Christian.”

    The second story from Egypt concerns a young Christian doctor, Maher Rizkalla Ghali (pictured above) [warning:graphic photo], who was shot by riotous Muslims, including easily-identified Salafis, resulting in the loss of one eye and the likely loss of the other….”

    No msm reporting, of course. No lefty human rights activists speak out against this, of course.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:49 am

  839. Where’s Nicola Roxon when we need her?

    Egg yolk consumption and carotid plaque

    Time for olive green eggs & ham!

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 1:18 am

  840. Our data suggest a strong association between egg consumption and carotid plaque burden. The exponential nature of the increase in TPA by quintiles of egg consumption follows a similar pattern to that of cigarette smoking. The effect of the upper quintile of egg consumption was equivalent in terms of atheroma development to 2/3 of the effect of the upper quintile of smoking. In view of the almost unanimous agreement on the damage caused by smoking, we believe our study makes it imperative to reassess the role of egg yolks, and dietary cholesterol in general, as a risk factor for CHD

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 1:21 am

  841. Did she refuse to help because of the police investigations that were afoot at the time? If this is the case it is not a good look to say the least.

    At the press conference on Thursday Julia Gillard was asked:

    JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, do you have any information which you are prevented from giving by lawyer-client privilege that could assist the authorities in relation to the funds, you know, that Mr Wilson-

    PM: No

    Then why did she not give a statement to the police.

    The reason there is no lawyer-client privilege stopping her is because of what is called the fraud exception or also known as the crime exception. Lawyer-client privilege means that a lawyer does not have to disclose any communication with the client and they are protected by the law. But if a lawyer helps a client commit a crime then they can and have to disclose the communication which is covered by the fraud exception

    I believe that her admission that there is no ”information which you are prevented from giving by lawyer-client privilege” says she knew there was a crime and her communication with Bruce Wilson and Ralph Blewitt was not covered by the lawyer-client privilege. It also asks the question why Julia Gillard did not give any statements to the police or if she did why she has not released them.

    Further:

    Showing Gillard was a party to the crime will be hard to prove unless at least two people spill the beans on Julia Gillard and that is unlikely to happen anytime soon. But what can be proved now is his her involvement in the concealment of the crime unless she has some brilliant answers to the issues and questions that I have raised above.

    http://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2012/08/26/prima-facie-case-to-charge-julia-gillard-with-concealing-a-serious-indictable-offence-in-awu-scandal/

    Ivan Denisovich

    27 Aug 12 at 2:20 am

  842. He brings down the site’s IQ and the stupidity just reaches out.

    The site’s owners believe it’s important to be seen as compassionate towards the intellectually handicapped – in this case, that means importing the contents of a blog that no-one reads.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 2:30 am

  843. Is the Prime Minister a crook? Part VIII
    Peeling back the putrid layers

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 2:46 am

  844. Fisky, sorry to say, but your now almost daily rants about Akin only assist the Dems. But, yes, his principled, not extremist, view on abortion was idiotically put forward and on this alone he should withdraw from the race.

    No, the Dems are doing just fine with their Republican pin-up boy, Akin. They love him, you see, and support his candidacy much more fervently than Republicans do.

    Fisky

    27 Aug 12 at 2:46 am

  845. Aborigines take the lead in sweeping the left from power:

    The dramatic shift in the Top End’s political landscape will see decision-making power handed back to local indigenous people, including through a strong presence in parliament and regular, full-cabinet meetings held four times a year with panels of traditional leaders.

    It will also increase outstation funding but tie it to education and employment outcomes, return control of local government to local communities, and introduce measures to allow remote schools to separate from the state system if they wish.

    The radical change in approach to indigenous affairs seeks to reinvigorate the traditional structures of Aboriginal authority, and attempt to combat welfare dependency and paternalism by putting responsibility back on the shoulders of individuals.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 2:50 am

  846. 20% of th electorate are opposed to abortion in all cases and/or except the mother’s life is threatened.

    No, there is no “and/or except”. Tell me the percentage of voters that share Akin’s exact views on abortion, which are:

    …that under no circumstances, including rape or incest, may a woman have an abortion (also she doesn’t need one because if she is “legitimately raped” her body will reject the sperm).

    Let’s have his full views run by the polls please – you are not allowed to lump him into a more mainstream and generic body of anti-abortion opinion that would be and is appalled by his extremism.

    Fisky

    27 Aug 12 at 2:51 am

  847. Tell me the percentage of voters that share Akin’s exact views on abortion

    His position is a ban on abortion except for a threat to save the life of the mother.

    So 20%.

    That’s his position.

    Obama’s position includes partial birth abortions and not resuscitating alive birth following an induced abortion.

    10% or less support this.

    You should really come to terms with being wrong Fisky as you’re wrong a lot and it seems to drive you so crazy that you then readily deny reality in attempting to defend the indefensible.

    Just sayin’

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 3:09 am

  848. a threat to save the life

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 3:11 am

  849. Of course as i said earlier the 20% is nationally.

    It’s certainly higher in his home state

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 3:12 am

  850. This cartoon sums up Gillard’s tactics beautifully. Meantime, everyone interested in the union money scandal should read JamesK’s link. A snippet:

    WA newspaper archives show Bruce Wilson travelled to Boulder/Kalgoorlie in 1992 to attempt to allay union members’ concerns about his decision to transfer the management of large sums of union members’ money to a new AWU account in Northbridge, Perth.

    The money resided at the time in a separate account called, “The Goldfields Fatal Accident and Death Fund”. This money, donated from union members themselves, was to financially assist bereaved families of deceased union members.

    Wilson wanted management of the account shifted to the AWU’s head office in Perth. Wilson was the then WA boss of the AWU. He and Ralph Blewitt were to be sole signatories on the account and union members were justifiably apprehensive.

    They were wary of Wilson’s alleged fraudulent activities and demanded a meeting. It was set down for 8pm in the Boulder Town Hall.

    Wilson knew he would never convince members of the legitimacy of the proposed move himself. So he introduced to the stage a person of high legal authority to assure union members there was no need for concern.

    The person he introduced was Julia Gillard. Members were unaware Gillard was his lover. She was presented as an important Industrial Lawyer from Victoria and an official representative of the Labor stalwart law firm, Slater & Gordon.

    Gillard addressed union members at length explaining why the money should be moved and that there was nothing to worry about. She insisted the members were in the good hands of Slater & Gordon and their best interests would at all times be protected.

    Gillard must have done an excellent job because the account containing approximately $1 million was shifted to a private Northbridge, Perth account. The address for all correspondence was nominated as Northbridge Post Office, Box 253.

    Three years later, police were asked by incoming AWU State Secretary, Tim Daly, to investigate one amount of $145,000 withdrawn from “The Goldfields Fatal Accident and Death Fund” to buy two holiday units in Kalbarri.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 3:25 am

  851. His position is a ban on abortion except for a threat to save the life of the mother.

    So 20%.

    There is nothing in the Gallup tracking that reflects the full opinion of Akin. There is one very extreme option asking if you agree that abortion should be “illegal in all circumstances”, and that is presumably where you got the 20% figure from. But it makes no provision for the life of the mother.

    In any case, Akin’s stated opinion is that we don’t have to worry about aborting after a rape, because in cases of “legitimate rape”, the woman’s natural spermacides are activated.

    You should really come to terms with being wrong Fisky as you’re wrong a lot and it seems to drive you so crazy that you then readily deny reality in attempting to defend the indefensible.

    Defend what doofus? The only thing I’ve been advocating on this thread has been the necessity of Akin pulling out, to which I’ve achieved the furious agreement of the Micks (even though it is clear that they would dearly love to double down on Akin, they know they can’t AND retain any credibility).

    By the way, weren’t you the guy who as late as April had Santorum down as the Great White Hope who would storm Romney at the Convention?

    Fisky

    27 Aug 12 at 3:32 am

  852. The zombies are running rampant at the Brisbane Courier-Mail, playing up the big hit on premier Campbell Newman’s popularity as a result of public service cuts. But hiding well down in today’s story is the shock horror bottom line:

    On a two-party preferred basis, the LNP fell to 60 per cent to Labor’s 40, a 7 per cent swing to the Opposition in three months.

    A majority of Queenslanders still believe Mr Newman is a strong leader with a vision who “gets things done”.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 3:55 am

  853. On a two-party preferred basis, the LNP fell to 60 per cent to Labor’s 40, a 7 per cent swing to the Opposition in three months.

    Bwahahaha! Just a serious pummelling then.

    Fisky

    27 Aug 12 at 3:57 am

  854. Labor’s primary vote is still hovering around 30% and Gillard is still very unpopular, but the zombies are wishing up the cause. Check out the numbers.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 4:32 am

  855. Even so, for Newman, some measured compassion, some “I feel your pain” comments, might go down a treat.

    At the moment, comments like “every morning I have to bring out the pooper scooper” in the context of job cuts isn’t likely to win him any awards or improve morale/productivity.

    Entropy

    27 Aug 12 at 6:14 am

  856. You do realise how capitalism works and what this blog is all about don’t you?

    I have a vague understanding. I was hoping to tap into the collected intelligence of those on this site to put a case. If, for example, Coles cheese is just rebranded Bega, then maybe I won’t fret so much. It does, however, seem to this observer to be a bit suss.

    Then SoB stepped in with his Laborlove poll shit….

    Dan

    27 Aug 12 at 7:02 am

  857. Kellmeyer (yes, he’s a catholic – just ignore that and you’ll be fine) has a look at what Akin actually said.

    Republican Todd Akins is in trouble for saying that a woman is less likely to get pregnant as a result of rape then she is at other times of her life.

    Everyone is jumping on Akins because he said something wrong. Nobody has really demonstrated exactly what his error is. Either what he said is true or it is not. That is, either raped women get pregnant at lower rates than the general population of sexually active women or they do not.

    If he is wrong, then he should apologize.
    If he is not, there is no need.

    I’ve heard lots of pro-lifers say the kind of thing Akin just said, but I’ve never seen the studies that backed it up. So, I thought I would take a look around.

    Here’s an abstract of a study by the NIMH that indicates “The national rape-related pregnancy rate is 5.0% per rape among victims of reproductive age (aged 12 to 45); among adult women an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year. Among 34 cases of rape-related pregnancy, the majority occurred among adolescents and resulted from assault by a known, often related perpetrator.”

    Read the whole thing. It’s quite interesting, and then his follow up post.

    nilk

    27 Aug 12 at 7:58 am

  858. Mitchell: Abbott will be “like a rabbit in the headlights” today over Howard’s leaked speech that Work Choices should be re-introduced — with safeguards — in areas like unfair dismissal and individual contracts (which Mitchell says he supports). Abbott, of course, said Work Choices was “dead, buried and cremated” and is running a small target strategy with as little policy detail as possible. Releasing policy detail takes the focus off negative campaigning; it’s time, I reckon.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 8:49 am

  859. Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 8:51 am

  860. Labor’s primary vote is still hovering around 30% and Gillard is still very unpopular, but the zombies are wishing up the cause. Check out the numbers.

    The numbers reinforce the fact that the power cost increases are hurting Austrlians and small businesses.

    It is fascinating how hard the Media Class is working to protect a government which directly lied about a policy to the public days before an election.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 8:54 am

  861. Mitchell: Abbott will be “like a rabbit in the headlights” today over Howard’s leaked speech…

    Seems Mitchell is deperate to toady up to the ALP after he went hard trying to keep the PM to account for what she did in the days when she was providing advice to trade union reps on how to set up SLUSH funds in ways that contravene state laws.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 8:56 am

  862. Egg yolk consumption and carotid plaque

    Nanuestalker, the study appears to be a bogus analysis of garbage data. See for instance Chris Masterjohn. (I trust Masterjohn. He appears to know what he is talking about, and he is a scientist for whom cholesterol and blood lipids is a special area of interest.)

    IMO eggs are one of the very best foods that people can be eating.

    Dangph

    27 Aug 12 at 8:56 am

  863. Fauxfacts Deathwatch:

    Will the “great plummeting” continue?

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 8:59 am

  864. John Howard was the best PM we’ve had but Work Choices killed him and he’s got to let it go before it damages Tony Abbott.

    Work Choices is so totally hated in the community. J.Howard never got that, Mr Abbott knows it but.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 9:29 am

  865. Found the following exchange on the blog of the SMH columnist who had a tanty about a truck driver blocking her bike path whilst he single handedly unloaded a matress.

    Phil of Sydney on August 26, 2012 at 10:45 am said:
    I’ve read your writing love, and you really are struggling.

    Reply ↓

    hesfb
    on August 26, 2012 at 11:45 am said:
    Unlike yourself who resorts to condescending phrases such as ‘love’ because of the wide intellectual expanse with which he can engage.

    Reply ↓

    Phil of Sydney
    on August 26, 2012 at 12:06 pm said:
    “Love” is a word, not a phrase, Hemmingway.

    Reply ↓

    hesfb
    on August 26, 2012 at 1:52 pm said:
    It was used as term (or phrase) of condescension.

    Or did you mean it as a noun? i.e. a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
    b : an assurance of affection

    because, to be honest, that’s both unexpected and kind of weird..

    Reply ↓

    Phil of Sydney
    on August 26, 2012 at 4:59 pm said:
    “In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words” The only thing that’s weird here is your grasp of English. By the way, the first word in a sentence should start with a capital, as in “Because”. It must grate to have a working man correct your grammar sweetie.

    H/T Blair

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 9:31 am

  866. There is nothing in the Gallup tracking that reflects the full opinion of Akin. There is one very extreme option asking if you agree that abortion should be “illegal in all circumstances”, and that is presumably where you got the 20% figure from

    You never stop Fisky trotting out crap.

    I posted the poll the day before yesterday and you saw it. The 20% covers all circumstances +/- excepting life of mother.

    70% wanted tighter controls on the availability of abortion.

    And grow up. 4 years from now and 8 years from now abortion will be available in the US.

    Hopefully not after 3 month though but that’s up to each state.

    There will never be a constitutional amendment on the issue and the only hope is for SCOTUS to vote RoevWade down and the individual state law will then be operative.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 9:37 am

  867. @Tom your linked article says that Howard is recomending Abbott return to the IR system in place between 1996 and 2005.

    The luvvies will try and spin this as ‘OMG!! Return to Workchoices!11!’

    Anyone confronted with an outbreak of work-shy paranoia should point out that Howard is recommending a return to the individual work contracts that Keating started and he finished. Specifically he speaks about a period up to, and before the Workchoices legislation was introduced.

    Stil, unemployment was lower and productivity was higher under Workchoices.

    brc

    27 Aug 12 at 9:38 am

  868. You know, it occurred to me that the Lance Armstrong thing has a lot in common with the AGW paranoia industry.

    In Armstrongs case, a government body set up and paid to find problems with athletes has found a problem with an athlete. To do this, they have had to ignore the direct evidence, and instead rely on a consensus that he must have been doing something wrong.

    In short, government department paid to find problems has found problem, overcoming minor issues like a lack of evidence. No doubt a request for further and increased funding was stapled to the back of the report ‘so we can catch them sooner next time’. No doubt part of the recommendations will be an expanded presence of the government department.

    Government departments really are insidious things. I’ll change my mind on this when one department – any department, anywhere on earth – decides that it is no longer fulfilling a useful role, and asks the government of the day to close it.

    brc

    27 Aug 12 at 9:42 am

  869. Micks and their anti-pope, always wanting a bigger army of apostates. It’s no different from islam’s breeding high numbers strategy and no less heinous. Has nothing to do with the alleged sanctity of life, everything to do with a numbers game and owning and controlling the means of (re)production.

    Disgusting the way these people hide behind a mask of morality.

    Dominionists, ugh.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-45xL7QLXc&feature=related

    coz

    27 Aug 12 at 9:50 am

  870. Work Choices is so totally hated in the community.

    That’s true Candy and they hated it without knowing what it was or what it meant for them.

    The issue was demagogued by union advertising money in a classic scare campaign.

    What Howard did wrong was to ineptly introduce it without the guarantee and poorly sell it.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 9:53 am

  871. What Howard did wrong was to ineptly introduce it without the guarantee and poorly sell it.

    Candy is correct the poor “no disadvantage” test fed into all the fears of the working poor, and the unions used it to best of their ability.

    That said, the flexibility of Workchoices with the corrected “no disadvantage” test was one of the pillars that got Australia through the GFC.

    It was amazing to see the # of workplaces where the workers worked hand in hand with the management to reduce production/overtime/capacity and thus limiting un-employment.

    That has all been removed and unemployment is rising as a result. Unfortunately, Labor has been working with the APS to cook the stats and re-classify people as having disabilities to keep the # down.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 10:01 am

  872. The unions are at it again advertising in qld that newman has broken election promises by alluding that he is cutting jobs that he said he wouldn’t cut.

    He needs to escalate against the unions, and hard. Call a press conference and ask them to produce the bodies, as it were. The liberals seem determined not to learn the lessons of 2007, which wre that they need to answer the union BS hard and fast, before it metastasis into a ‘oh, he’s mean’ feeling. The unions produce ads where the let accusations hang in the air, without actually saying them. They need to be called out.

    Brc

    27 Aug 12 at 10:07 am

  873. coz at 9:50 am is off his meds again.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 10:10 am

  874. Attacking the person, JamesK, not the argument, is that because you have no rebuttal?

    coz

    27 Aug 12 at 10:19 am

  875. ” The unions produce ads where the let accusations hang in the air, without actually saying them. They need to be called out.”

    Give it six months and the loss of jobs has not affected the quality of government services provided and it’ll be like, well they must have been a useless bunch of jobs anyway.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 10:21 am

  876. Newman could easily sub-contract union rebuttal amongst his prodigiously large back bench. If Newman or his cabinet did all the rebutting, the vendetta meme (however false) would be given oxygen.

    Keith

    27 Aug 12 at 10:34 am

  877. Interesting study on papal handshake techniques

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yOjjqqOtmA&

    coz

    27 Aug 12 at 10:38 am

  878. The ABC’s Wendy Carlisle just fell for a very fake “Hurricane Isaac” [not!] pic which is acctually some other storm altogether and has actually been circulating around the internet for at least 4 years. “Watch out Romney” indeed. LOL.

    (screencap of her tweet, in case she deletes it)

    #TooGoodToCheck #TheirABC #HAHAHAHAHAHA

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 10:46 am

  879. Debt deflation and demand destruction in southern Europe is now staring into the abyss:

    Coffee imports by Spain fell by 6.6 per cent and Italy imported 2.9 per cent less.

    In all seriousness though, this is a pretty good illustration of the toxic impact of rising unemployment and crashing consumer confidence.

    Myrrdin Seren

    27 Aug 12 at 10:55 am

  880. jtfsoon

    27 Aug 12 at 10:57 am

  881. The ABC’s Wendy Carlisle

    …is a Glow-Ball warming crank. Good to see she is staying consistent and not letting her journal rise above the tabloid trashy level she is famous for.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 10:59 am

  882. Attacking the person, JamesK, not the argument

    LOL

    What argument?

    You didn’t make one coz.

    And on past form, I’d doubt you are capable of that.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 11:02 am

  883. Harry Clarke:

    Time to permanently extinguish fags

    What’s he got against gays?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:04 am

  884. Time to permanently extinguish fags

    Why’s he hating on the david marr’s of this world?

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 11:05 am

  885. Snap, Gab!

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 11:06 am

  886. Interesting study on papal handshake techniques

    LOL

    coz, you are such a low rent fuckwit.

    Anybody who follows your un-described hyperlinks without even the facsimile of support for an argument advanced has a vacuous space between their ears where grey matter would normally reside.

    Vacuous and empty-headed like coz the puerile himself.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 11:07 am

  887. I know Fisky posted about this one last night, but it is so bloody foul it is worth repeating for posterity.

    This is Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker – a NZ army medic killed by the Taliban earlier this month. Remember – a medic.

    Read the tribute from her school and tell me if you wouldn’t be proud to count this girl as a member of your family.

    To the public intellectual though – she was:

    …she also liked invading countries we are not at war with, killing innocent people and had no moral compass,” she wrote.

    “She 100 per cent does not deserve our respect for her flawed choices. Go to war expect to be killed. You can’t have it both ways – oh nice little career with the military and shock horror when you get blown up.”

    The NZ public seemed strangely unmoved by the superior moral and intellectual worldview of the public intellectual.

    She has since apologised for her comments, saying she had had a difficult few days.

    I am not endorsing the venom and incivility Ms Sumner-Burstyn’s little exercise in moral relativity provoked in reply.

    I just note – three NZ families are mourning the tragic loss of their loved ones who were trying to do the right thing in the Afghan stabilisation mission.

    And the public intellectual has had a difficult few days.

    You cannot make this shit up.

    Myrrdin Seren

    27 Aug 12 at 11:10 am

  888. Time to permanently extinguish fags

    Interestingly, Hitler was a fanatical anti-smoker. The first thing the inner circle did after he shot himself in the bunker was light up.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 11:19 am

  889. JamesK LOL

    What argument?
    You didn’t make one coz.
    And on past form, I’d doubt you are capable of that.

    Full of guile.

    coz

    27 Aug 12 at 11:27 am

  890. A majority of Queenslanders still believe Mr Newman is a strong leader with a vision who “gets things done”.

    That’s the important bit.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:34 am

  891. Interesting study on papal handshake techniques

    coz
    I am hardly a fanboy of the dogma of the Catholic church but I have always thought you were a nut and this proves it.

    jtfsoon

    27 Aug 12 at 11:38 am

  892. “Full of guile” isn’t an argument either.

    coz, you are an airhead.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 11:38 am

  893. coz
    I am hardly a fanboy of the dogma of the Catholic church but I have always thought you were a nut and this proves it.

    Yes.

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 11:39 am

  894. A dog who’s afraid of Richard Simmons.

    Well. Who wouldn’t be?

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 11:41 am

  895. On the trail of fraudsters…

    NSW police have gained possession of disputed documents that former Health Services Union East general secretary Michael Williamson allegedly tried to spirit out of a basement carpark during a raid.

    The development could lead within weeks to the first criminal prosecution in the scandal, which has engulfed the union and one of its former officials, Labor-turned-independent MP Craig Thomson.

    Detective Superintendent Col Dyson, overseeing Strike Force Carnarvon, yesterday reaffirmed his belief that the documents could be of relevance to his investigation, and said he expected a “resolution” of the issue within about a month.

    Legal sources have said that removing relevant documents could constitute the crime of interfering with a police investigation or the course of justice.

    Mr Dyson also told The Australian that Mr Thomson had not been excluded from the overall Carnarvon investigation, which is probing claims of systemic corruption in HSU East, where the MP was assistant general secretary between 1999 and 2002.

    Officers from the strike force raided the HSU East offices in downtown Sydney in May, seizing many boxes of documents and computer records.

    During the raid, police found Mr Williamson allegedly preparing to drive out of the basement carpark with a suitcase of papers.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:42 am

  896. Richard Simmons

    Ahem – there’s a name I haven’t had the misfortune of hearing for many a decade, thanks Dogue…

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 11:44 am

  897. Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:44 am

  898. sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 11:45 am

  899. said he expected a “resolution” of the issue within about a month.

    Yeah, right…

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 11:45 am

  900. sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 11:48 am

  901. It’s probably interesting to a sociologist or behaviourist, the way people reinforce their social bonds through attacking an outsider, but it’s also boring and obvious. It’s most noticeable with JamesK in the sad way he desperately curries favour here and will change his colours to suit whoever he wants to suck up to on the day.

    Now, unbeknownst to me, in my absence, apparently the anti-abortion nuts and the filthy whoooorists have been running rampant at this site, so if you want me to go away again, you’ll need to drop that nonsense.

    coz

    27 Aug 12 at 11:48 am

  902. SDog
    11:45am

    You’re so subtle!

    kae

    27 Aug 12 at 11:48 am

  903. Yeah, but … yeah, but… yeah, but … AbbottAbbottAbbott … News Ltd’s new anti-business business unit admits the Libs cut government debt … yeah, but Howard oversaw a big increase in private debt.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 11:51 am

  904. Ahem – there’s a name I haven’t had the misfortune of hearing for many a decade, thanks Dogue…

    He’s doing in-flight videos for Air New Zealand these days, Rabz.

    Seriously.

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 11:51 am

  905. You’re so subtle!

    I want to be one a them headline-writer guys when I grow up, Kae.

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 11:53 am

  906. Why can’t the “progressives” just let go of the 1950s?

    Fat: AUSTRALIAN children should be weighed and measured regularly at school to tackle childhood obesity, experts say.

    Government has no business in this and neither do schools. Parent have the responsibility to manage what goes into a kid’s mouth and how much they exercise. Sadly a lot of progressive “parents” just want to be friends with their kids. It’s just too hard for them to parent.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:54 am

  907. It’s probably interesting to a sociologist or behaviourist, the way people reinforce their social bonds through attacking an outsider, but it’s also boring and obvious. It’s most noticeable with JamesK in the sad way he desperately curries favour here and will change his colours to suit whoever he wants to suck up to on the day.

    LOL

    JamesK is one of the most obnoxious, ‘robust’ commenters here. The idea that he might be a ‘suck up’ is simply beyond belief.

    Whereas you are madder than a cuckoo clock

    jtfsoon

    27 Aug 12 at 11:57 am

  908. I want to be one a them headline-writer guys when I grow up, Kae.

    You need to go to TomSkool, Dogue. It’s the best fun you can have with your pants on.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 11:57 am

  909. Yeah, but … yeah, but… yeah, but … AbbottAbbottAbbott … News Ltd’s new anti-business business unit admits the Libs cut government debt … yeah, but Howard oversaw a big increase in private debt.

    Seeing we are on an economics blog, I’d love to understand (except for the possible FOREX risks & government policy created bubbles), WHY is this a bad thing?

    Is this just another canard about the Howard years, or is there a real concern about private individuals increasing their debt?

    Doesn’t that indicate that statistically more private businesses & individuals were able to assess risk and on an informed basis saw a positive ROI by leveraging debt?

    Am I missing something here?

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 11:59 am

  910. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman summoned Cabinet ministers and top-ranking public servants to a secret meeting in a Brisbane ballet school today as a Galaxy poll showed his popularity with voters plunging.

    The Galaxy poll of 800 voters across Queensland says Mr Newman’s dissatisfaction rating is now standing at 49 per cent, up from 19 per cent in May.

    His satisfaction rating fell from 64 per cent to 44 per cent in the same period.

    Probably not surprising if you refer to a large number of your electors as dog shit.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 12:00 pm

  911. Probably not surprising if you refer to a large number of your electors as dog shit.

    You have a link to prove your stupid assertion?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:01 pm

  912. jtfgoon – JamesK is one of the most obnoxious, ‘robust’ commenters here. The idea that he might be a ‘suck up’ is simply beyond belief.

    -218

    coz

    27 Aug 12 at 12:02 pm

  913. Why can’t the “progressives” just let go of the 1950s?

    Fat: AUSTRALIAN children should be weighed and measured regularly at school to tackle childhood obesity, experts say.

    So, who thinks that children who have been brought up in the “no one is ever a loser” environment of the modern schooling system will take it well being identified as being Fat?

    You can bet the next step will be demands for public funding of self-esteem councillors to deal with the mental health epidemic that emerges when children in schools across the country are told they are overweight.

    Big government rolls on – adding layer after layer in predictable way.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 12:04 pm

  914. Gab: google newman pooper-scooper

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 12:06 pm

  915. Gab: google newman pooper-scooper

    Well aren’t you just a disgusting little stupid troll? Rhetorical question, dummy.

    In order words, you can’t substantiate your slur. I’m shocked. i tells ya, shocked.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:08 pm

  916. It’s the best fun you can have with your pants on.

    You have to wear pants?

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 12:15 pm

  917. Steve,

    I think its quite clear that the pooper scooper comment referred to cleaning up Labor’s mess, not the public servants he is sacking. He said that sacking public servants weighs heavily on him but tough decisions need to be made.

    Nearly every incoming Coalition government finds a mass of public debt and a bloated public service when he ALP departs.

    I would have thought you would have been down on Nicola Roxon saying that Mrs Abbott isnt competent when she said Tony Abbott isn’t comfortable around competent women.

    John Comnenus

    27 Aug 12 at 12:16 pm

  918. Perhaps they should weigh the teachers too, probably some of them are overweight.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 12:17 pm

  919. Or weigh themselves. They could probably lose ten pounds of ugly fat by removing their own brains – which obviously could be resold with the label “Only one owner; never used!”

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 12:18 pm

  920. Good idea, Candy. They should lead by example.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:19 pm

  921. He’s a partisan troll Gab; but you knew that.

    Newman referred in Parliament to “getting out the pooper scooper” as a reference to cleaning up the Lobotomee Pardee’s fiscal mess; and the response was the usual confected outrage of said pardee, the unions and the Courier Mail (which has really hit the bottom of the swamp since it went to tabloid format) immediately misinterpreted him as referring to the pubic serpents put out of work.

    Only someone like SfB could read it that way, ’nuff said.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 12:19 pm

  922. On the internet, nobody knows whether you’re wearing pants.

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 12:19 pm

  923. TMI dawg

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 12:20 pm

  924. Lobotomee Pardee’s fiscal mess;

    $65 billion in debt is QLD. How would those criticizing Newman deal with the debt? Borrow more?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:23 pm

  925. He’s doing in-flight videos for Air New Zealand these days

    Oh, how the mighty are fallen…

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 12:23 pm

  926. Julius

    So you know the agenda of this secret crisis cabinet meeting? Wow, you sure are well connected. Or else you’re making it up . . . . .

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 12:25 pm

  927. “summoned top-ranking public servants to a secret meeting in a Brisbane ballet school today”

    ballet school?

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 12:28 pm

  928. TMI dawg

    What. I was just suggesting a Liberty Quote.
    o_0

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 12:29 pm

  929. The Greens hold all their meetings in secret. Gillard holds secret cabinet meetings, the labor party has secret get togethers. But when the Libs hold a “secret” meeting all hell breaks loose among the outraged hypocrites.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:30 pm

  930. I love this quote from Neil Armstrong:

    “I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer, born under the second law of thermodynamics, steeped in steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by Laplace and propelled by compressible flow.”

    CLICK

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 12:39 pm

  931. Science: sex with condoms bad for women.

    http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/149463/

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 12:41 pm

  932. I still find it hard to believe he’s gone. Armstrong was supposed die after I did, not before even if it meant he lived to be 100. That’s been my rule since I was a kid. I’m very sad about him leaving us. *sigh*

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 12:42 pm

  933. Probably not surprising if you refer to a large number of your electors as dog shit.

    Which qld public service schlep voted LNP

    Name him her, dickhead

    Jc 

    27 Aug 12 at 12:43 pm

  934. I read this yesterday:

    “Neil Armstrong was the world’s greatest fly in fly out worker.”

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 12:44 pm

  935. On the internet, nobody knows whether you’re wearing pants.

    sdog

    Two words

    Anthony Weiner

    Myrrdin Seren

    27 Aug 12 at 12:45 pm

  936. Don’t forget that if Armstrong never joined the space programme he still would have been one of the ballsiest men of his generation.

    He flew 69 combat missions in Korea.

    His nerve was simply incredible.

    NASA: ‘Hey, we’ve got a tin can and we want you to land it on the moon.’

    Armstrong: ‘No problemo.’

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 12:45 pm

  937. Armstrong was part of a generation where men were men…

    A member of the crybaby generation finds this out:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wcrkxOgzhU

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 12:51 pm

  938. So what if Newman take a relatively minor, short-term hit in the polls, it is absolutely the right thing to do & the majority of people appreciate that. More people will appreciate it in the longer term.
    I just wish that the NSW Libs would take note (They could start with the NSW Planning Dept)

    Richard D

    27 Aug 12 at 12:56 pm

  939. To walk on the moon and then come back to Earth and be so psychologically normal for the rest of his life like Armstrong did is pretty amazing.
    perhaps that’s why NASA chose him to be the one in the first place.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 12:56 pm

  940. Now, unbeknownst to me, in my absence, apparently the anti-abortion nuts and the filthy whoooorists have been running rampant at this site, so if you want me to go away again, you’ll need to drop that nonsense.

    That’ll be me, I guess. LOL And I’ve had hardly any time to read the blog, let alone post and run rampant.

    Never been called a filthy whoooorist before, so that’s a novel start to my afternoon! :D

    nilk

    27 Aug 12 at 12:58 pm

  941. Great hook, Buzz.

    dover_beach

    27 Aug 12 at 1:00 pm

  942. Last week someone asked how the vetting of Obama is going.

    The answer is great, there is a couple of movies coming out with the info that came to light during that process and the first of them is doing great business at the box office (even though it was limited release).

    Box office shocker. 2016 Obama’s America at #3?

    The producer is Dinesh D’Souza – you know the guy who paid for the operation to Barack Obama’s nephew when Barack would not stump up a cent for family in Kenya.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 1:12 pm

  943. “Which qld public service schlep voted LNP”

    Sigh.
    I confess JC – it was me.

    Winston SMITH

    27 Aug 12 at 1:37 pm

  944. No disability pensions in East Timor – where a holocaust of 500,000 deaths occurred with Whitlam’s enthusiastic aproval.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 1:39 pm

  945. Ms PALASZCZUK: My question is to the Premier. He likes talking about Clive Palmer and now
    he has an opportunity to keep talking about him. Is the Premier aware that Clive Palmer, a life member
    of his own party, is so concerned about the Premier’s job-slashing program that he is considering
    providing funding for counselling services for those 20,000 public sector workers facing the sack?

    Mr NEWMAN: Madam Speaker, they asked the question. The people who are the victims at the
    moment are public servants who have been employed by the people opposite when there was not
    money to pay their salaries. Unfortunately we are the ones who are cleaning up Anna Bligh’s mess. It is
    Anna Bligh’s legacy. We get the pooper scooper out every day of the week. We have to make these
    tough decisions. We know there is fear and anxiety and we are sorry about that. It will end as soon as
    possible.

    John C – you are probably correct, Newman was referring to a general mess, but the answer was to a question specificically about counselling for sacked public servants. As we know, politics is often more about perception than reality. Even Gab could see that if she took off her Newman coloured glasses for a moment.

    JC – look up the definition of elector.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 1:41 pm

  946. Two words

    Anthony Weiner

    LOL

    The surname would have been sufficient Myrrdin

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 1:41 pm

  947. Wrong thread.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 1:42 pm

  948. he is considering providing funding for counselling services for those 20,000 public sector workers facing the sack?

    As noted by Gab, the ‘counselling services’ provided by barking mad palmer work out at $12.50 per sackee.

    About all they’re worth.

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 1:43 pm

  949. Palmer is a fat socialist tic who thought the good times were going to roll when Newman got in and laid on a banquet of personal goodies for him, personally.

    Newman told him to go and get fucked.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 1:47 pm

  950. Unfortunately we are the ones who are cleaning up Anna Bligh’s mess. It is
    Anna Bligh’s legacy. We get the pooper scooper out every day of the week.

    The pooper scooper comment by Newman was referring to Bligh’s mess.

    If you can’t comprehend that, Steve C, I’m not surprised you are a defender of the idiots in the ALP.

    kae

    27 Aug 12 at 1:49 pm

  951. Palletchick is a good opposition leader.

    Her every statement annoys the hell out of me.

    kae

    27 Aug 12 at 1:50 pm

  952. Obama supporter arrested at RNC convention with machete.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 1:50 pm

  953. FFS they’re not all public sector workers. A lot of them are contractors contracted to the public service on ridiculously high contracts, fixing messes that an incompetent Labor government created.

    I personally know some people in the QPS. Are they scared? No. They are all chatting like conspirators, trading notes on how to maximise their voluntary redundancy.

    It’s time for the unions to produce the bodies or shut the hell up. I dare them to find 500 aggrieved, sacked workers, let alone 20,000.

    brc

    27 Aug 12 at 1:55 pm

  954. Even Gab could see that if she took off her Newman coloured glasses for a moment.

    Well aren’t you the busy little troll today.

    What you fail to release, you little dense troll, is if Newman was an ALP premier and did what he is doing today, and what he has done since being elected into office, I’d still applaud him.

    Now, you little partisan troll, answer my question from before:

    $65 billion in debt is QLD. How would those criticizing Newman deal with the debt? Borrow more?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 1:55 pm

  955. Bolt has put up a screenshot of the ABC Insiders vodcast menu that was mentioned here yesterday. As Bolt comments: “That, friends, from the allegedly impartial and taxpayer-funded ABC, is absolutely astonishing.” I hope it gets many thousands of eyeballs. Are there really people out there, apart from the Green zombie Occupy left, who think the ABC represents good value for the $1 billion-plus taxpayer dollars?

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 2:15 pm

  956. “That, friends, from the allegedly impartial and taxpayer-funded ABC, is absolutely astonishing.”

    AbbottAbbottAbbott!!!

    ⊂(º⊥º)⊃

    ⊂(º⊥º)⊃

    ⊂(º⊥º)⊃

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 2:24 pm

  957. Ol leatherface – redefining impartiality and objectivity!

    Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 2:25 pm

  958. Moderators, a recent new visitor is now trolling.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 2:26 pm

  959. Bolta notes Mike Smith is starting a document dump. Intersting.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 2:44 pm

  960. I see that Michael Smith has his site up and running now and is posting on the AWU scandal.

    http://www.michaelsmithnews.com

    Andreas

    27 Aug 12 at 2:47 pm

  961. Even so, for Newman, some measured compassion, some “I feel your pain” comments, might go down a treat.

    Agreed. Apparent lack of empathy was Maggie T’s Achilles heel as well.

    PS I vaguely rememeber a researcher recently saying in a radio interview that power and winning power results in a surge of testosterone (I presume even in women)- hardly an empathy-inducing hormone at the best of times. If Campbell can at least fake a bit empathy he should be OK.

    Viva

    27 Aug 12 at 2:53 pm

  962. The AWU Scandal – WA Associations Incorporation Act – The sham “Australian Workers’ Union Workplace Reform Association”

    The truth is that Julia Gillard’s role went beyond advice. There are 9 pages of rules entitled Objects of the Association” that were appended to the application.

    Importantly, the name “Australian Workers’ Union – Workplace Reform Association” is in Julia Gillard’s handwriting on the 2 forms that form part of the application. Thus we can link Ms Gillard to specific advice about the name of the association – that it included the words “Australian Workers’ Union”. That she did that without any explanatory note, minute or other permission from the owner of that name, the AWU is beyond explanation.

    After this blog I will explain how Ms Gillard’s boyfriend used the sham association to pass itself off as being a subsidiary entity of the AWU and how he used that passing-off to rip-off money

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 2:58 pm

  963. Obama supporter arrested at RNC convention with machete.

    That’s in fact a Gurkha knife, otherwise called a Khukuri.

    dover_beach

    27 Aug 12 at 3:08 pm

  964. The Bush Lawyer picnic continues, I see.

  965. I like to see how many run lists for Bolt’s show are all GillardGillardGillard.

  966. Obama supporter arrested at RNC convention with machete.

    Obama told him to a gun. Why he no risten to obama?!

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 3:16 pm

  967. to take a gun

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 3:16 pm

  968. The Bush Lawyer picnic continues, I see.

    No need for you to be here then.
    We’ll let you when we’ve finished. bye.

    Keith

    27 Aug 12 at 3:19 pm

  969. As soon as they get either Thomson or Michael Williams in the dock the dam wall will break.

    Fatty Howes and Little Bill Shorten will run out of fingers within a day.

    H B Bear

    27 Aug 12 at 3:22 pm

  970. I see Herman Cain is not speaking at the Republican
    Convention. But he’s in town talking to the Tea Party troops:

    …he said he wasn’t at all concerned about not getting a speaking role at the Republican National Convention.

    “It’s not about me, it’s about the grandkids,” he said, repeating a line he often used on the campaign trail during the primaries. “That’s what a lot of people don’t understand about what Herman is up to.

    Certainly true for his wife.

  971. I like to see how many run lists for Bolt’s show are all GillardGillardGillard.

    The difference, ‘conservative’ Steve, is that Bolt routinely invites the government’s biggest names to come and put their case but all of them are too frightened of being asked actual questions.

    Gillard prefers Leigh Sales asking, “prime minister, a nation demands to know: what is your favourite colour?”

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 3:25 pm

  972. I assume Smith has had the handwriting checked by an expert.
    I see that signer’s identities and signatures are redacted. Is this part of the normal FOI procedures?

    And why did it take three attempts to get the lodgement number right? Three attempts to lodge, or confusion by the clerical staff, because they kept thinking is was the actual AWU?

    The Objects of Association is entitled with “DRAFT CERTIFICATE”. Does this have any significance?

    Keith

    27 Aug 12 at 3:27 pm

  973. I see Julia Gillard didn’t speak at the ALP’s Northern Territory campaign launch.

    “That’s what a lot of people don’t understand about what Julia is up to,” she said.

    Certainly true for the wives.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 3:31 pm

  974. I assume Smith has had the handwriting checked by an expert.

    yes, by a forensic handwriting analyst, Paul Westward.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 3:32 pm

  975. oops!

    Romney 47:46 Obama

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 3:35 pm

  976. Is anyone other than me having trouble with Bolt’s blog today. I sent him this e mail which basically explains my problem

    With desolation I have to report your blog is not working today, only parts of it load and those parts take a long time. I haven’t managed to get down to the comments all day.

    I suspect the photos (say of Bess Price) and the Abbott, Abbott ABC picture are adding to the problem. Every picture you add increases down load time and for those of your fans who don’t have broadband it must be an interminable wait. I do have broadband but even with that the download today is beyond my little computer which groans and wheezes like an Austin 7 going up Bulli Pass but today just can’t make it.

    It may be some other problem with your blog today but in any event if you could minimise the graphics that would be great for all the home computers out there, especially those without broadband.

    val majkus

    27 Aug 12 at 3:35 pm

  977. The Bush Lawyer picnic continues, I see.

    After not posting all day within ten minutes of a comment being posted about it you’re here again.

    Pretty nervous about the whole thing aren’t you?

    twostix

    27 Aug 12 at 3:36 pm

  978. JamesK – I think Coz is a gurl, a female type of person. Just fyi.

    Maybe she has up and down times of the month and we cop them in her mode of religious obsession? Hate to be so biologically determinist though. Da Ape says I am very unfair to get nervous about female airline pilots etc. He thinks they are cute; I can’t get past the pre-menstrual. Projection, says Da Hairy sufferer.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    27 Aug 12 at 3:36 pm

  979. Never ending story … sorry Julia you might have to answer some more questions!

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 3:37 pm

  980. Smith: Yes, a large number of accounts were set up. Wilson was given the flick from the AWU when the accounts that were established in Melbourne were discovered and he was allowed to leave the union, and in fact got redundancy payments. The money was paid back to the organisations that had paid the money into those accounts, in Melbourne. Julia Gillard was questioned in Melbourne and said: I have done nothing wrong. At that point the account she had set up in 1992 in Perth had not been discovered. It was discovered later, after he had left the union and after she had made the public protestation that she did nothing wrong. She had a duty as a lawyer acting for the AWU, upon a report to her law firm that fraud had been discovered, she had a duty to assist her client to find the location of any further monies that might be owing to it, including her knowledge, the fact that a cheque drawn on the association she had set up, had been used to buy a house for a person, not for the union, and she said nothing.

    Why didn’t see mention the fraudulent account set-up in 1992 in WA once the Vic accounts were found to be fraudulent in 1995?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 3:38 pm

  981. Steve, you said

    I like to see how many run lists for Bolt’s show are all GillardGillardGillard.

    .
    As your comprehension skills are clearly lacking, I will type very slowly in the hope that you will understand.
    Andrew Bolt is a commentator who hosts a program on a free to air network that relies on advertisers to pay the bills. It is quite a simple formula really, if people are interested they will watch. When people watch, the advertisers will pay to have their products featured in order that they can increase awareness of their brand/offer, and as such grow their business.
    Conversely, if people don’t watch, the advertisers leave, there is no-one to pay the bills and the show will be cancelled. Clear so far?
    Cassidy and his troupe of fellow travelling rent seekers on the other hand, are not subject to the same commercial pressures. In fact their show is on a publicly owned network that has as part of its charter, the responsibility to act in a fair and balanced manner and to provide a balance of opinion.
    By any measure, Cassidy et al have failed miserably in this regard and it is entirely irrelevant what Bolt has on his show. Bolt could change the title of his show to “Gillard must go!” and it still would not change the fact that we as taxpayers are funding a party political circle jerk that is acting way outside of its charter.
    Is this clear enough for you?

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 3:38 pm

  982. Stix, he continues to provide evidence that being here is not a love job.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 3:46 pm

  983. looks to me like the NT election and some dodgy lawyering by Ms Gillard is the final nail in the coffin for her particular Government.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 3:46 pm

  984. Isn’t it a crime for a lawyer to deliberately cover up a fraud?

    Why is Julia Gillard even in Parliament?

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 3:46 pm

  985. Chunkwart, I haven’t watched Bolt lately, so I don’t know what advertisers he’s attracting. Incontinent pads? Hearing aids? Retirement living?

    Insiders features the humourless Henderson fairly often. Piers doesn’t get a run much lately, but really, he doesn’t strike anyone as a very in depth commentator, does he?

    The problem is that commentators who I would consider simply centrist (eg Crabb, Atkins, Mega) are all considered by you to be horrendous Lefties.

    That’s your problem, not there’s.

  986. Isn’t it a crime for a lawyer to deliberately cover up a fraud?

    Why is Julia Gillard even in Parliament?

    But, ol Leatherface Bawie Cassidy reckons she did a superb job of fielding questions, so I guess that okay then.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 3:49 pm

  987. Huck, please don’t imagine for a minute that SoB has an open mind. The man is just doing the job.

    He is here to laugh at, poke with pointy sticks and to prove to us all what a clueless troll is.

    For example, ask him which whether faux conservatives believed Howard/Reith or the Labor line in 2001 with regards to the Tampa when he was “allegedly” voting conservative.
    _______________

    After not posting all day within ten minutes of a comment being posted about it you’re here again.

    Pretty nervous about the whole thing aren’t you?

    The man has so many of what they call in cards – “tells”.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 3:51 pm

  988. “theirs” SfB you illiterate, “theirs”

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 3:52 pm

  989. After not posting all day within ten minutes of a comment being posted about it you’re here again.

    Pretty nervous about the whole thing aren’t you?

    Well spotted twostix.
    ten minutes – that’s a bit slow. His paymasters won’t be pleased.

    Keith

    27 Aug 12 at 3:53 pm

  990. SFB is big on “incontinence pads” maybe he should send Barry Cassidy a box.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 3:56 pm

  991. Looks like Smith is going to do the drip feed of documents. I wonder when Sunrise will mention the issue again. That seemed to be the trigger point for Gillard to respond last time. She could of course be taken out of the game before that point.

    Keith

    27 Aug 12 at 3:59 pm

  992. The problem is that commentators who I would consider simply centrist (eg Crabb, Atkins, Mega) are all considered by you to be horrendous Lefties.

    Centrists? John Howard was a centrist. They’re all far left dirt bags.

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 3:59 pm

  993. there’s

    You illiterate piece of gutter dwelling shit Steve.
    Which part of impartial, fair or balanced do you not understand?
    Whatever the political persuasions of the guests, the subject matter is controlled by the despicably partisan Cassidy. This parasite has suckled at the public teat for far too long and his clear breaches of the ABC charter need to be dealt with.
    I can only hope that I am in the crowd when Cassidy is paraded before the public executions that IT is so fond of talking about*.
    *not a death threat

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:00 pm

  994. Snap Cato.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:01 pm

  995. Huck

    No punishment is enough for ol’ Leatherface. As you point out, that partisan sack of old turd has been sucking on the public teat his entire adult like.

    The rack for a month in the public square would be just about enough.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:06 pm

  996. Ms Gillard may be very clever/devious and thrill some people with her “performances” but it doesn’t equate to public affection for her.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 4:08 pm

  997. Four drawn and quartered seems a vile way to go.

    Dan

    27 Aug 12 at 4:08 pm

  998. Incontinent pads?

    Steve, I doubt that too many pads are incontinent. I reckon that you meant to say incontinence and deliberately got it wrong so as to not let people onto the fact that you wear nappies for grown-ups.
    That probably explains the smell of overripe cheese that hovers around you.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:12 pm

  999. Oh shit, I got my medieval punishments confused. I meant the stock , not the rack. The stock, so the kids and some adults (me) could have fun tossing rotten eggs and tomatoes and his fat useless head.

    I find him totally despicable possibly because he’s such a passive aggressive douchebag.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:14 pm

  1000. Chunkwart, I haven’t watched Bolt lately, so I don’t know what advertisers he’s attracting. Incontinent pads? Hearing aids? Retirement living?

    Insiders features the humourless Henderson fairly often. Piers doesn’t get a run much lately, but really, he doesn’t strike anyone as a very in depth commentator, does he?

    The problem is that commentators who I would consider simply centrist (eg Crabb, Atkins, Mega) are all considered by you to be horrendous Lefties.

    That’s your problem, not there’s.

    More dishonesty from liar-steve® who doesn’t even attempt to answer Huckleberry Chunkwot’s points.

    Moreover what advertisers are on Channel 10 during The Bolt Report is irrelevant to the leftist circle jerk that is Barry Cassidy’s Insiders.

    Confusion is liar’s friend when he’s cornered which is daily.

    Since liar has a dishonest confused mind the tactic and strawmen are his go-to refuge given his limited capabilities.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 4:15 pm

  1001. because he’s such a passive aggressive douchebag.

    you referring to SFB or Cassidy?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 4:17 pm

  1002. Potential fine $4000 for loud sex.

    An unrepentant Mr MacKenzie, 45, conceded they were noisy during sex, but said their neighbours could easily have knocked on the door themselves instead of calling police.

    “It is mostly Jessie,” he said. “Our average sex goes anywhere from four, six, seven hours, basically five nights a week.

    “That’s pretty much why I am asleep at six o’clock in the afternoon. I will probably die of a heart attack, she is almost killing me as it is.”

    Keith

    27 Aug 12 at 4:19 pm

  1003. SfB. Leatherface is an overt aggressive, nothing passive about him.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 4:19 pm

  1004. Good news today from the fabulous flaming Green tiger taming rugby parrot sans Randwick on 2UE.

    Turns out the papers Michael Williamson (shithead) tried to carry away with him (and destroy) when he was arrested by the NSW Police Fraud Squad have been nearly all cleared to be used as evidence in any criminal indictment against him.

    I suppose Stepford Stephanie from the Jeff Dahlmer Foundation would find that objectionable. Perhaps she/he thinks North shore Supreme Court justices with LLMs and Ph Ds are bush laywers as well.

    Ricky Roma puts his two cents in about Williamson (shithead)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac6cOJb2FvI&feature=related

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 4:24 pm

  1005. The Bush Lawyer picnic continues, I see.

    SfB, I am a real lawyer, not a bush lawyer. Take my word for it, what Gillard did as a 35 year old salaried partner would not be acceptable in a 21 year old graduate. There may not be (probably isn’t) enough evidence for a prosecution; but her behaviour in:

    * setting up the association “off the books”;

    * using the name of the AWU for the association without the consent of the AWU;

    * misrepresenting the objects of the association to the WA Corporate Affairs Commission;

    * knowingly assisting to establish an “off the books” “slush fund”;

    is collectively shonky enough to be “unprofessional conduct” (good for a reprimand and/or a fine or suspension) or on a bad day might amount to “professional misconduct” (which would see her disqualified from practising law); even though the may not have “known” about the fraud.

    There is no doubt that she was asked to leave S & G; and if even those amoral sharks couldn’t stomach her, why on earth should we?

    To pretend that her behaviour was anything other than shonky is puerile, or partisan to the point of insanity.

    For you, maybe both.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 4:28 pm

  1006. Sorry I am commenting quickly and making more mistakes than usual…

    Chunkwart you seem a bit obsessed with what I smell like. If you want, I can do one of those scientific tests where they get people to wear a cotton pad under their arm for several hours and then get other people to sniff them and see what they can tell. You will then know that my scent is innocent of your charges.

    Just provide a home address, or PO Box, where I can send them. There’s a good chap.

  1007. Jones: That was when Cambridge, the then national secretary of the AWU, swore an affidavit that he was unable to understand how Slater & Gordon who were then acting for the Victorian branch of the union, could have permitted use of the funds, which were obviously taken from the union in the purchase of private property of this nature, without seeking and obtaining proper authority from the union.

    Smith: Absolutely. And when his Melbourne frauds were discovered in 1995 she said nothing about the existence of the Perth accounts; she said nothing about acting for him and his offsider for purchase of the house in Melbourne, an asset the union could then have realized to try to get its money back. And weeks after that she had left the law firm Slater & Gordon and never again practiced law.

    Why didn’t the hapless red-headed canary sing about the as yet undiscovered WA account?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 4:31 pm

  1008. Cato

    Nothing overtly aggressive about Bawie. He’s a passive aggressive prick. He has all the hallmarks.

    *FEAR OF DEPENDENCY – Unsure of his autonomy & afraid of being alone, he fights his dependency needs – usually by trying to control you. Tick. He’s blood sucked the taxpayer all his adult life.

    *FEAR OF INTIMACY – Guarded & often mistrusful, he is reluctant to show his emotional fragility. He’s often out of touch with his feelings, reflexively denying feelings he thinks will “trap” or reveal him, like love. He picks fights to create distance.
    Dunno

    *FEAR OF COMPETITION – Feeling inadequate, he is unable to compete with other men in work and love. He may operate either as a self-sabotaging wimp with a pattern of failure, or he’ll be the tyrant, setting himself up as unassailable and perfect, needing to eliminate any threat to his power.

    Tick

    *OBSTRUCTIONISM – Just tell a p/a man what you want, no matter how small, and he may promise to get it for you. But he won’t say when, and he”ll do it deliberately slowly just to frustrate you. Maybe he won’t comply at all. He blocks any real progress he sees to your getting your way.

    Tick

    *FOSTERING CHAOS – The p/a man prefers to leave the puzzle incomplete, the job undone.

    Tick

    *FEELING VICTIMIZED – The p/a man protests that others unfairly accuse him rather than owning up to his own misdeeds. To remain above reporach, he sets himself up as the apparently hapless, innocent victim of your excessive demands and tirades.

    Tick

    *MAKING EXCUSES & LYING – The p/a man reaches as far as he can to fabricate excuses for not fulfilling promises. As a way of withholding information, affirmation or love – to have power over you – the p/a man may choose to make up a story rather than give you a straight answer.

    Tick

    *PROCRASTINATION – The p/a man has an odd sense of time – he believes that deadlines don’t exist for him.

    Tick

    *CHRONIC LATENESS & FORGETFULNESS – One of the most infuriating & inconsiderate of all p/a traits is his inability to arrive on time. By keeping you waiting, he sets the ground rules of the relationship. And his selective forgetting – used only when he wants to avoid an obligation.

    Dunno

    *AMBIGUITY – He is master of mixed messages and sitting on fences. When he tells you something, you may still walk away wondering if he actually said yes or no.


    Tick

    *SULKING – Feeling put upon when he is unable to live up to his promises or obligations, the p/a man retreats from pressures around him and sulks, pouts and withdraws.

    Tick

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:32 pm

  1009. Steve, just fuck right off you perverted douche. I am surprised that Sinc hasn’t passed on your IP address to the police as you seem to have all of the traits of a serial sex offender.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:33 pm

  1010. SfB. Leatherface is an overt aggressive, nothing passive about him.

    Was Milne on an employment contract / agreement?

    Leatherface has opened the ABC up to loss of earnings by what he said about Milne last week.

    1. He gets the reason wrong
    2. When his lefty favourites Atkins & Coorey get the boot for material mistatement of the facts?

    Who cares if ex-Labor hacks leave the ABC open for litigation, it is not as if its their money?

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 4:34 pm

  1011. Cato, I do not trust your judgement.

    And don’t take it personally: lawyers are always capable of making wrong calls, especially in Queensland, it seems.

  1012. Oh, OK JC, I’ll take your word for it. He seems pretty bloody obvious to me.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 4:35 pm

  1013. Duck and weave SfB, will get you nowhere.

    You can run as far as you like and duck answering as long as you like and throw as many turd-balls as you can crap; but eventually the election day will come.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 4:35 pm

  1014. Stepford

    Even the newbies despise you. It’s a talent.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:39 pm

  1015. …but eventually the election day will come.

    He thinks the Liars Party will win. No kidding.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:40 pm

  1016. Good to see the Grammar Natzis out in force again today.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:45 pm

  1017. SteveC

    What did you and Kimberly do on the weekend? Did you go for a drive?

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:46 pm

  1018. I’m sure that most of the legal community shares Cato’s opinion on the slapper.

    Some from that community would have attended dinner parties or barbecues over the weekend and would have shared their views with non-legal friends. This will continue, as the wider community becomes more appraised of the slapper’s crooked behaviour.

    More wriggle-proof documents will be released.

    Drip, drip, drip goes the waterboard..

    Lazlo

    27 Aug 12 at 4:47 pm

  1019. Good to see the Grammar Natzis Nazis out in force again today.

    Nah, not grammar, just spelling.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:48 pm

  1020. Or would that be the Speeling Natzis?

    Lazlo

    27 Aug 12 at 4:48 pm

  1021. I believe him. Don’t you?

    Obama Says Next Term He Will Work Across Party Lines

    Lol.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:48 pm

  1022. Kimberley is such a pretty name.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 4:51 pm

  1023. Endlessly amusing watching the Downs Syndrome zombies making fools of themselves.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 4:51 pm

  1024. Hi SteveC

    I am multi-talented. I am also spelling Nazi, you illiterate clown

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  1025. I have a cousin, Rudi Zarzoff who is a member of the Grammar Police. His brother, Bluey Zarzoff (also my cousin)is a member of the secret Apostrophe Police.
    Only the elite can sit the entrance exam for the Apostrophe Police.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  1026. snap

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 4:52 pm

  1027. Kimberley is such a pretty name.

    LOL, Candy.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 4:53 pm

  1028. You really don’t get it, do you Chuckleberry?
    Fair call, Lazlo.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:53 pm

  1029. The Essential poll is still 57/43 this week again, but Mr Hammygar told me it’s meaningless, who’s a girl to believe?

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 4:54 pm

  1030. The ALP remains as popular as a night at Steve from B’s house and a herpes milkshake:

    http://essentialvision.com.au/category/essentialreport

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 4:54 pm

  1031. Mining investment boom ongoing despite lower prices, says Clyne

    NATIONAL Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne said that he had seen no signs that the mining investment boom was petering out as commodity prices cool.

    “There’s no suggestion we’ve seen people are going to stop that investment because they still see the obvious growth and expansion in Asian markets,” the boss of the nation’s largest lender to small and medium-sized firms told a business lunch today.

    “Commodity prices would appear to have peaked and are coming off but are still actually quite high.”

    But the glass is surely still at least one third empty?

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 4:56 pm

  1032. SteveC, were you being ironic?
    I obviously missed that as irony, wit and humour are generally not things that I associate with Lefty Zombie trolls such as yourself.
    If so, well played.
    Now fuck off and don’t do it again.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 4:58 pm

  1033. Rabz

    27 Aug 12 at 5:00 pm

  1034. Unreal.

    Preshizzle (PACO™) Hussein O’Dumbugger released a photo-comment about the death of Neil Armstrong.

    It’s a picture of The Preshizzle, of course, looking at a sky containing a crescent moon and a single star – the classic symbols of islam.

    Unbelievable.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 5:00 pm

  1035. But the glass is surely still at least one third empty?

    No.

    Wong said it was over, not that resource taxes could kill energy intensive projects. That’s why Olympic Dam closed down. Senator Wong, who knows as much about economics or mining as the next inner city luuvie, said it was over.

    Senator Wong gets angry when she is corrected. Perhaps you could email her through: [email protected] but I say be prepared for some monotonic whining and condescension.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 5:03 pm

  1036. cohenite is a lawyer too, isn’t he?

    So is Jeremy Sear.

    It’s no guarantee per se of having good judgement, even in matters legal.

  1037. NATIONAL Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne said that he had seen no signs that the mining investment boom was petering out as commodity prices cool.

    Lol.. this is the Cameron Clyne who sponsors greenslime sites under the National Bank banner?

    Let’s looksee at what a stock analyst report said about Australian banks today (actually)

    Asia Pacific Financials Strategy. Downgrading Australia and Taiwan banks

    Downgrading Australia and Taiwan in the Asian financials context. We downgrade Australia and Taiwan to UNDERWEIGHT from Market Weight.

    Australian banks have surged lately. Benefiting from a move into dividend yield stocks, Australian banks have rallied 22% in the past three months, aided partly by currency. But we find earnings have been revised down consistently over the past 1/3/6 months, and 2012E-13E earnings growth is in lacklustre, low-single digits (anaemic loan growth, margins under pressure, asset quality deteriorating). Valuations are no longer attractive

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:04 pm

  1038. Why on Earth is anyone still reading anything Shitfer and his freckle-licking toady febro are posting?

    Let alone commenting in response?

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 5:05 pm

  1039. You are right Steve, Sear seems to have a poor record as a lawyer. That poor dentist.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 5:05 pm

  1040. He thinks the Liars Party will win. No kidding.

    Then why is he not safely locked up in a home for the terminally delusional?

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 5:05 pm

  1041. The Essential poll is still 57/43 this week again, but Mr Hammygar told me it’s meaningless, who’s a girl to believe?

    Put all your trust in kero boy, Candy. I do.

    Stepford the househusband will be noticeably quiet about this poll. Watch. He gets so excited otherwise. He can’t contain himself.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:08 pm

  1042. Mark, some people are simply reacting the way normal people do barking mad fruitcakery. It’ll take them a while to realise that these human fuckups come here to fill a gap in their personal lives … or to punch a timeclock necessary on payday.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 5:10 pm

  1043. Unreal.

    Preshizzle (PACO™) Hussein O’Dumbugger released a photo-comment about the death of Neil Armstrong.

    It’s a picture of The Preshizzle, of course, looking at a sky containing a crescent moon and a single star – the classic symbols of islam.

    Unbelievable.

    Somebody in Bambi’s press/media unit seriously hates him.

    There’ve just been too many of these epic fails for it to be anything else.

    I’ll have to find out if we have an undercover VRWC minion in there. It’s really the only feasible explanation.

    sdog

    27 Aug 12 at 5:11 pm

  1044. Huckleberry

    I have a cousin, Rudi Zarzoff who is a member of the Grammar Police. His brother, Bluey Zarzoff (also my cousin)is a member of the secret Apostrophe Police.

    LOL, there is a car in the Variety Bash runs called ” the Zarzoff brothers ” and the way they play up, i’m told, there’s NO way their police.

    Jumpnmcar

    27 Aug 12 at 5:12 pm

  1045. Then why is he not safely locked up in a home for the terminally delusional?

    Who says he’s not? They have internet access there too.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 5:12 pm

  1046. It’s no guarantee per se of having good judgement, even in matters legal.

    Of course not. After all, Gillard is also a lawyer and look how fucked up her judgement is.

    But you can no longer dismiss this as bush-lawyering; and that was my point.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 5:12 pm

  1047. Narcissim:

    To Honor Neil Armstrong, Obama Posts Photo of Himself

    ____________________

    I believe him. Don’t you?

    Obama Says Next Term He Will Work Across Party Lines

    This discussion won’t go away, will it:

    Obama tells Russia’s Medvedev more flexibility after election

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 5:13 pm

  1048. Who says he’s not? They have internet access there too.

    Oh.

    OK, then.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 5:13 pm

  1049. I gotta fucking laugh about Cameron Clyne. He’s in charge of a bank with serious issues over asset quality, deteriorating interest earnings spread, shitty loan growth, over-hiring and the fucker is making predictions about another industry sector totally unaligned to his own. What a fucking clown.

    SteveC,

    Kimberly, your plastic sex doll is calling. She sounds anxious. Fuck off.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:14 pm

  1050. JC

    The 2010 election calculator from the Green Ant tips 111 coalition seats and just 38 ALP seats if that is the 2PP split. I have added the assumption the independents are gone and Bandt will be marginalised to boot.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 5:14 pm

  1051. Dot

    That sounds about right to me although anything less than 120 coalition seats and it’s a loss in my mind. I want the most severe punishment allotted we’ve ever seen in the political sphere. having said that, if Abbott strays and goes all big government, I want to see the same happening to the coalition.

    I’m an equal “opportunist” that way.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:26 pm

  1052. Narcissim:

    To Honor Neil Armstrong, Obama Posts Photo of Himself

    My bet….. an outside bet is that he suffers a nervous breakdown before the election. He’s had one before when things didn’t work out to his liking and I reckon he;ll have one again.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:29 pm

  1053. @Jump,
    I didn’t talk about the black sheep of the family, Shaggy Zarzoff.
    He is an outcast as he is of the zombie left and is fairly high up in the Thought Police. No-one likes him.
    His sister Scammer Zarzoff is also of the left. People like her even less although she didn’t join a police force. She became a lawyer at Scammer & Grogan before she left under a cloud.
    After Scammer Zarzoff got the zarzoff from her law firm, someone told me she joined the ALP and has progressed quite well. No-one likes her either.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 5:29 pm

  1054. What’s all this bullshit about Campbell Newman needing to show “humility”? He should be driving around in an open top Mercedes limousine with a loud haler shouting “you’re fired” at random moochers.

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 5:30 pm

  1055. Romney’s odds have blown out from $2.50 to $2.90.

    Doesn’t make sense to me.

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 5:31 pm

  1056. He should be driving around in an open top Mercedes limousine with a loud haler shouting “you’re fired” at random moochers.

    His big mistake was not hiring me for nothing to do that job. In fact I would have paid good money.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:32 pm

  1057. What’s all this bullshit about Campbell Newman needing to show “humility”?

    Perhaps he needs to shed a tear or two a la Bligh. That seemed to work for her among the mewling lefty mob, and for those not in media too.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 5:32 pm

  1058. Romney’s odds have blown out from $2.50 to $2.90.

    Doesn’t make sense to me.

    Last evening when I checked Intrade had the Kenyan at 56.1. I looked now and it’s 55.7% probability. It’s been steadily coming down for the Ken.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 5:35 pm

  1059. Huck
    I guess Terry Zarzoff is like Pyne, only more masculine.
    And Bernie Zarzoff is into ” intelligence gathering ” for the CIA.

    Jumpnmcar

    27 Aug 12 at 5:40 pm

  1060. The Bush Lawyer picnic continues, I see.

    referring to what Cato the Elder says above I am a retired lawyer. I have not been an industrial lawyer during my career but I have in the past worked in a ‘labor firm’ in Sydney

    I am appalled at what Gillard did at Slater & Gordon

    I agree with Cato but S & G also had its own commercial interests to protect

    The published interview between S & G & Gillard seems to be about whether Gillard benefited from the funds defrauded from AWU. That is also why Gillard is so keen to rebut the allegation she lived in the Fitzroy St house with Wilson which was the additional evidence in the Milne Oz column for which he was terminated.

    Whether or not she did benefit in a monetary sense to me is not so relevant. What horrifies me is that she does not deny providing advice for a sham association to be formed; sham in the sense its stated purpose was not its purpose and she knew that. From the registration of that association the other results flowed including the defrauding of one of her firm’s major clients.

    And yet she continues to say ‘I did nothing wrong’.

    I’m sorry PM but you did and you should admit it

    val majkus

    27 Aug 12 at 5:40 pm

  1061. Romney’s odds have blown out from $2.50 to $2.90.

    Doesn’t make sense to me.

    Inconceivable. He’s on the right track.

    Romney’s Energy Plan Ignores the Success of Solar and Wind”

    “I like wind and solar like the next person,” Romney said in his speech Thursday. Listeners would be forgiven for thinking that the next person doesn’t like them much at all.

    The comments are funny.

    Jumpnmcar

    27 Aug 12 at 5:45 pm

  1062. Rudi Zarzoff

    LOL – i remeber the band the Zarshoff Brothers from the early 80′s.

    I had one of their 45′s, the classic “Dicks don’t grow on trees”

    Carpe Jugulum

    27 Aug 12 at 5:50 pm

  1063. Jump,
    are you sure that Bernie Zarzoff isn’t the bloke being referred to by Splatacrobat when he said this,

    Homosexuals are more likely to be drug abusers than heterosexuals. I guess drugs must dull the physical,psychological, and emotional pain of getting jackhammered up the arse by a moustached twink in a village people costume.

    Alas, I have now run out of Zarzoff gags.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 5:54 pm

  1064. Val

    I have met people like Gillard. They think shonky is normal and “nothing wrong” and are surprised and offended when/if called on it. It’s not limited to “labor law firms” but is rife in them.

    The profession needs a purgative.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 6:01 pm

  1065. agree Cato, the amazing if you say ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ often enough you’re believed – well by some sections of the media
    BTW there’s a post above ‘the Michael Smith papers’ – your comments would be good there
    I’m going to copy and paste my comment there

    as for the purgative well it’s amazing S & G didn’t report the event to the Law Society (Vict) but (assuming it did not) it had its own interests to protect

    val majkus

    27 Aug 12 at 6:07 pm

  1066. You forgot Bugri Zarzoff, one of David Marr’s ‘special friends’.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 6:09 pm

  1067. Ladys and Gentlemen the Zarsoff Brothers;

    http://www.zarsoffbros.com/

    Carpe Jugulum

    27 Aug 12 at 6:11 pm

  1068. Mk50, you aren’t about to cause legal problems for Sinclair again, are you?

    Chunkwart seems unusually sensitive to scientific offers.

    The divergence between Essential and Newspoll is interesting. Newspoll seems to have the runs on the board though, as to how they do this, so my mood remains mildly elevated.

  1069. I think it is just getting worse and worse for her.
    She, of course, will hold firm to the belief that she has answered all questions and put it to bed.

    What’s that ‘children’s’ book that the luvvie mummies are so fond of?
    “Shut the fuck up and go to sleep”.

    No way, mummy Julia. This little ankle-biter is coming out for more.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    27 Aug 12 at 6:20 pm

  1070. That him! That’s Bugri! Y’can tell by the look on his dial.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 6:20 pm

  1071. You forgot Bugri Zarzoff

    I believe he may have been in publishing.

    lotocoti

    27 Aug 12 at 6:24 pm

  1072. so my mood remains mildly elevated.

    Steve

    So instead of the alp corruptocrats suffering a scorched earth defeat, you are ok with them just being demolished?

    Carpe Jugulum

    27 Aug 12 at 6:25 pm

  1073. They think shonky is normal and “nothing wrong” and are surprised and offended when/if called on it. It’s not limited to “labor law firms” but is rife in them.

    Cato I was surprised to see someone like Grace Collier (who is usually quite critical of union goings on) shrug off concerns about slush funds as quite normal in union politics saying that secret funds were needed if you wanted to challenge the existing hierarchy in an election without threatening your own position in advance. See her interview with Chris Kenny here:

    http://www.skynews.com.au/video/?vId=3483099&cId=Programs&play=true

    Viva

    27 Aug 12 at 6:25 pm

  1074. I think it is just getting worse and worse for her.

    Actually, it’s looking more and more “birther”. No evidence to go on, just endless speculation and theories.

  1075. Her inappropriate and unprofessional conduct as a “lawyer” is is just the template for her actions as a prime minister and yet another stink that will follow Gillard to her inevitable demise.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 6:30 pm

  1076. Actually, it’s looking more and more “birther”. No evidence to go on, just endless speculation and theories.

    More evidence is being released, and the former AWU State Secretary for WA, Tim Daly is pushing that Blewitt, Wilson, Gillard and Trio be charged.

    http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/14584414/push-to-relaunch-fraud-probe/

    You cannot be serious Steve. You are starting to look more and more like the Iraqi Information Minister, Muhammad Saeed al Salaf.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s27Oq5ot0ZI

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 6:32 pm

  1077. No Steve, I am not unusually sensitive to scientific offers.
    I have been lurking at this site for some time, however I have only recently started posting.
    I have been here long enough to work out that on the balance of probability you are a depraved sinister predator who should be avoided at all costs. Does your real name appear on a sex offenders register by chance? Would you be eligible to apply for a working with children check?
    You come across as a sexually aggressive deviant.
    Do not ever ask me for my address again freak.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    27 Aug 12 at 6:33 pm

  1078. You cannot be serious Steve. You are starting to look more and more like the Iraqi Information Minister, Muhammad Saeed al Salaf.

    Lol He is , isn’t he. (Baghdad Steve).

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 6:34 pm

  1079. Thanks for that Viva. Confirmation of what Marr said on Insiders, really.

    Gillard’s explanation of the purpose of using an association for them sounded entirely reasonable – to reduce fights over who controls and owns it.

    That WA guy on Insiders said he asked the WA commissioner if they would have a problem with the Association being used this way, and they said (in paraphrase) “probably not – it’s drafted so wide”.

    Val and Cato are off beam, due to lack of knowledge in area, I would say. (As well as being Gillard haters rendering objectivity impossible.)

  1080. Gillard’s explanation of the purpose of using an association for them sounded entirely reasonable – to reduce fights over who controls and owns it.

    What a load of nonsense. 1. That is what elections are for. 2. The members own it.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 6:37 pm

  1081. Gillard’s explanation of the purpose of using an association for them sounded entirely reasonable – to reduce fights over who controls and owns it.

    And that’s why one would set up a trust fund and not a slush fund as Gillard said it was. oops.

    And why didn’t the real AWU know about this Gillard slush fund?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 6:37 pm

  1082. Cressida Bonas split from Prince Harry.

    Seems like all she wanted out of him was a free car.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 6:39 pm

  1083. Ms Gillard drew up the power of attorney for Blewitt to give to Wilson, if he didn’t have a severe illess afraid of mental illness or something, she must have wondered why she was doing that. Blewitt was walking around good as gold apparently.

    so shonky.

    candy

    27 Aug 12 at 6:48 pm

  1084. Harry must be devastated. However will a young Royal with a career in the military find another piece of trim?

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 6:49 pm

  1085. SfB is Emmerson.

    Dan

    27 Aug 12 at 6:52 pm

  1086. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has distanced himself from former Liberal prime minister John Howard’s call for the coalition to “go back” to individual contracts, which operated under the Work Choices regime.

    “Let’s face it – John Howard is two prime ministers ago. John Howard is three Liberal leaders ago,” Mr Abbott told reporters in Mackay, Queensland on Monday.

    “That was then, this is now.”

    Really?

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 6:55 pm

  1087. Steve, can you answer the question that Monty ducked yesterday. Do you see any sign that PM Gillard is moving the clean up the corruption in the trade union movement that she became aware of all those years ago when she was young and naive? Or don’t you think it matters?

    Poor Old Rafe

    27 Aug 12 at 6:57 pm

  1088. “Let’s face it – John Howard is two prime ministers ago. John Howard is three Liberal leaders ago,” Mr Abbott told reporters in Mackay, Queensland on Monday.

    “That was then, this is now.

    John Howard was a left wing whacko. Hopefully Abbott governs from a centre right perspective.

    Infidel Tiger

    27 Aug 12 at 6:58 pm

  1089. Reporter: Mz Gillard you promised before the eleciton you would not implement a carbon tax. What happened?

    Mz Gillard: oh, lol, that was then, this is now.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 7:00 pm

  1090. Ms Gillard drew up the power of attorney for Blewitt to give to Wilson, if he didn’t have a severe illess afraid of mental illness or something, she must have wondered why she was doing that. Blewitt was walking around good as gold apparently.

    so shonky.

    Wow.

    Sounds like Vincent “The Chin” Gigante. Very dodgy indeed!

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 7:04 pm

  1091. Val and Cato are off beam, due to lack of knowledge in area, I would say. (As well as being Gillard haters rendering objectivity impossible.)

    SfB you have no idea of what experience either Val or I have. You just don’t want to believe we may be right. More fool you. Your grip on legal ethics is even worse than your grip on reality, or statistics.

    And I don’t hate Gillard, I reserve that emotion for paedophiles and other pond scum. I despise Gillard as a shonky unethical lawyer; and I loathe her policies.

    By the way, have I mentioned lately that the Greens must be utterly destroyed?

    Factio Virides delenda est!!

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 7:10 pm

  1092. LOl

    Fairfax Media Ltd (FXJ.AX)
    Alert: FY12 Results – First Take
     Structural Destruction – FXJ reported FY12 results came in slightly ahead of the
    guidance provided in June 2012. It’s the outlook statement that concerns us, with
    management citing group revenues down -10% YTD in FY13, that’s an acceleration
    of revenue declines from 2H12 and well below consensus revenue forecasts of -2%
    in FY13. In short, the operational backdrop is deteriorating, we expect to see
    material downgrades to consensus forecasts on the outlook statement.

     FY12 Numbers – Total revenues at $2,328m, down -6% yoy (cons at $2,310, +1%
    above; Citi at $2,316m, +1% above). Underlying EBITDA at $506m, down -17% yoy,
    (cons at $502m, +1% above; Citi at $500m, +1% above). Underlying NPAT was
    $205m, down -26% yoy, (cons at $200m, +3% above; Citi at $192m, +7% above).
    EPS was 8.7cps, down -25% yoy (cons at 8.4cps, Citi at 8.3cps), with final dividend
    of 1cps, in line with Citi, and bringing full year dividend to 3cps.
     Operational Highlights – 1) Metro division revenues at $1,133m, down -7% yoy,
    vs. Citi at $1,130m, down -7.5% yoy; 2) Metro Online revenues at $254m, up
    +%yoy, vs. Citi at $250m (+21% yoy growth); 3) Regional Newspapers revenues
    down -2.4% yoy to $574m, vs. Citi at $561m ; 4) New Zealand Media revenues
    declined -5.8% yoy in local currency terms (vs. Citi at -7.4% yoy) ; 5) TradeMe
    revenues at NZ$142.5m, up +14% yoy, but -3.7% below Citi at NZ$148m.
     One-Off Charges: Fairfax reported ‘significant’ items of $2.9bn of losses, including
    $2.8bn of impairment charges on the assets.
     REVENUES DOWN -10% YTD in FY13 – In the outlook statement management
    indicated YTD group revenues are down -10% yoy in FY13. This compares to
    consensus revenue declines of -2% forecast for FY13. This represents a significant
    deterioration in the revenue declines, from -5% in 1H12, -7% in 2H12 and now -10%

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:15 pm

  1093. Caught in mod. probably the “p” word. Maybe this will get through

    Val and Cato are off beam, due to lack of knowledge in area, I would say. (As well as being Gillard haters rendering objectivity impossible.)

    SfB you have no idea of what experience either Val or I have. You just don’t want to believe we may be right. More fool you. Your grip on legal ethics is even worse than your grip on reality, or statistics.

    And I don’t hate Gillard, I reserve that emotion for p***doph**es and other pond scum. I despise Gillard as a shonky unethical lawyer; and I loathe her policies.

    By the way, have I mentioned lately that the Greens must be utterly destroyed?

    Factio Virides delenda est!!

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 7:16 pm

  1094. There’s more… Morgan Stanley asks, is Fairfax is the logical owner of the AFR going forward. IT seems they are also fucking around with valuations too.

    When News Ltd acquired AIBM/Business Spectator last month for 3x EV/Sales it provided an interesting valuation benchmark for FXJ’s AFR of A$313-383m or 13-16c/share. That’s a big number … almost 2x our own assessed value of A$200m or 9c/share. Raising a logical question – what is the AFR worth?
    There is a lot of debate about the future business
    model/profitability of FXJ’s Metro newspapers (e.g.
    SMH, Age) … but, there is one FXJ masthead for
    which the future appears relatively clear and bright
    – the Australian Financial Review (AFR). Why? The
    key difference is that the AFR is not a mass-circulation newspaper. It is a specialist business publication and almost B2B in nature. That means: 1) its news content is unique and harder to replicate; 2) paywalls are already in place and accepted by users (the cost often tax-deductible); and 3) it delivers advertisers a unique
    and hard-to-reach audience.

    In this report we explore the evolution of peer the
    Financial Times (FT) as a benchmark for the AFR.
    The FT’s migration online has been one of the success
    stories of the newspaper world. It recently reached a key inflection point … to have more paying digital subs (300k) than print subs (297k). We estimate the AFR is 2-3 years behind the FT in digital conversion. But, if it follows the same trajectory to reach 40-50k digital subs by 2015 and assuming the same 50/50 sub/ad revenue mix as the FT,
    this would position the AFR as a highly profitable digital media business, with an outlook for positive structural growth. For our standalone AFR earnings/valuation – see pages 14-17.

    At a time when a FXJ break-up has been speculated (The Australian June, 2012) M&A interest in the AFR cannot be ruled out. FXJ has made no comment.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:20 pm

  1095. Mz Gillard: oh, lol, that was then, this is now.

    I was Young and Naive.

    Ha ha ha ha.

    Septimus

    27 Aug 12 at 7:23 pm

  1096. Oh goodie

    The makings of a another possible right tilting newspaper away from the clutches of the Fairfax loons.

    The consensus view is that zero value should be ascribed to FXJ’s Metro Media division1 … we disagree. Investor debate has heightened since the
    announced restructure in June 2012. As we’ve written
    previously, we agree the SMH and Age newspapers are
    facing profound structural challenges. The print editions of these mastheads are clearly in decline and based on their existing cost structure and negligible earnings, they could be valued at zero. But, we also believe there are a number of assets/businesses co-located within FXJ’s
    Metro Media division which are structurally sound and
    growing strongly and have a future regardless of the
    future of the print editions of the SMH and Age. One of these examples, is the AFR – which we see as having a bright digital future, following the path of its UK peer, the Financial Times/FT.com (see pages 8-9).

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:25 pm

  1097. How long before the receivers are called in, JC?
    This week?
    Tomorrow?
    Midnight?

    Winston Smith

    27 Aug 12 at 7:32 pm

  1098. Ut mihi in crudelem, sed meretricula etiam rufa videre vivum ferventi oleo frixa comedunt deos malo animo. Maloch forte, vel unus ex his hircum cicapitatus deorum Aegypti.

    Etiam, examina, insani viridi cacas sufficeret faceremus esca ignis ut calefacit oleum ad ferventis.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 7:36 pm

  1099. Gillard’s explanation of the purpose of using an association for them sounded entirely reasonable

    SfB – If it was so kosher why did she misrepresent its purpose to the WA authorities? If it was all so routine to do this in the union world why did she keep it a secret from her partners who lived and worked in that world? And when her boyriend and his mate started investing in real estate did she not ever wonder where is the money coming from? Perhaps she was getting a few cash and in kind sweeteners from her fancy man (for all that off the record “advice) which discouraged her from asking awkward questions.

    Viva

    27 Aug 12 at 7:37 pm

  1100. JC, what is your opinion of the use of underlying earnings vs statutory results? I have never seen statutory earnings better than underlying. Seems to me underlying is the spin-doctors’ bullshit version of reality.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 7:38 pm

  1101. Rafe, you appear to misunderstand the difference between the ACTU and the ALP. The ALP has no power to “clean up” unions. The government could certainly chnage the governance laws if that would be useful. I remember reading that was being discussed presently.

    The ALP could also change it’s rules so that unions did not have 50% of the vote at their conference. That was a major recommendation of the Bracks/Faulkner review. I recall the last conference knocked that back. I imagine it will come up again at this years conference.

    Either way that’s a decision for the ALP conference, not the leader of the parliamentary party.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:39 pm

  1102. Steve you are saying that the PM/Government has no power to initiate a Royal Commission to investigate the governance and financial management of the trade unions, starting with the most obvious suspects?

    How young and naive are you?

    Poor Old Rafe

    27 Aug 12 at 7:44 pm

  1103. PS I wonder how come the conference knocked back the suggestion that the unions should have less than 50% of the vote? I wonder which way the PM voted?

    Poor Old Rafe

    27 Aug 12 at 7:46 pm

  1104. Viva, the two facts, taken together, that don’t pass the sniff test are (i) her creation of an association that was intended from its inception to be a ‘slush fund’ and (ii) her keeping this ‘association’ out of sight of both S&G and AWU while a partner of S&G.

    dover_beach

    27 Aug 12 at 7:47 pm

  1105. FXJ still doing way better than TEN, Gina Rinehart’s other foray into media. Maybe she’s working out media companies aren’t like holes in the ground.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:50 pm

  1106. Mk50

    I’m fine with that, so long as you don’t use extra-virgin cold pressed olive oil, which would be a waste of the good oil.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 7:50 pm

  1107. FXJ still doing way better than TEN, Gina Rinehart’s other foray into media.

    FFS, this is how you rationalize the Fairfax clusterfuck. That it’s doing better than Ten?

    You’re a fucking idiot SteveC. A complete fucking moron.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:53 pm

  1108. What Rafe is getting at, Steve, is that he won’t satisfied with Gillard until she sets up a royal commission to bust the union movement completely. He is one of the Internet nut jobs that Gillard referred to, who won’t accept any explanation and will never stop raking the muck.. Don’t think that just because he has OP posting privileges here that he is any less trolly than the usual trolls.

    m0nty

    27 Aug 12 at 7:53 pm

  1109. SteveC proves he is stupid.

    Who writes laws? What is a government?

    Rafe, you appear to misunderstand the difference between the ACTU and the ALP. The ALP has no powerdesire to “clean up” unions.

    Fixed for you.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 7:54 pm

  1110. JC, what is your opinion of the use of underlying earnings vs statutory results? I have never seen statutory earnings better than underlying. Seems to me underlying is the spin-doctors’ bullshit version of reality.

    I always go with statuary when looking at the results, Tom. I will look at both, but I always use US SEC 10Qs and Australian equivalent. For one thing the format is standardized as much as possible, which allows more familiarly.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:55 pm

  1111. I wish they would give Gina a seat or two on the board of Fairfax. That would fix it. She has the runs on the board.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 7:56 pm

  1112. I was thinking rancid olive oil.

    Apropos, no?

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 7:56 pm

  1113. C’mon Monty you love a fight

    Tal

    27 Aug 12 at 7:57 pm

  1114. who won’t accept any explanation

    Yep, we won’t accept just any explanation. It’s called being judicious.

    dover_beach

    27 Aug 12 at 7:57 pm

  1115. What Rafe is getting at, Steve, is that he won’t satisfied with Gillard until she sets up a royal commission to bust purge corruption from the union movement completely.

    TFIFY

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 7:59 pm

  1116. SteveC proves he is stupid.

    If you go by his many remarks, yes. I’m still at a loss, given all his remarks like the ones above, that he could write something coherent [allegedly his own words] such as this. It remains a mystery.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 7:59 pm

  1117. Mk 50

    Rancid is good. Very appropriate; and cost effective,too.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 8:00 pm

  1118. Have to admit that only the following absolute minimum would please me: a Royal Commission with a broad ToR and lots of charges being laid against union heavies and ALP members and appropriate ‘time with Bubba’ in the slammer, plus placing Union leadership under the same regulatory regime as the Boards of major companies.

    Applied retrospectively from 1970.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 8:01 pm

  1119. plus placing Union leadership under the same regulatory regime as the Boards of major companies.

    Good old boy Shorten put the kybosh on that in parliament this year despite McClelland + Libs pushing it.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 8:04 pm

  1120. How long before the receivers are called in, JC?
    This week?
    Tomorrow?
    Midnight?

    I don’t think they are, Winston. However, I think there will be asset sales and other shit.’

    Here’s my hunch… and some rumors I’m picking up. The management and the board’s interest are no longer aligned with the shareholder, as they are looking for breakup value now and perhaps the very negative guidance was to force current shareholder into the realization that they have to sell to a bidder if one appears at a very low price. I wouldn’t put it past those scumrats.

    I wouldn’t trust the scumbag management or board as far as I could throw those arseholes. On an optimistic note there is value there with a deep pocket investor. There’s maybe as much as 1.3 in net asset valuation.

    The entire place is a shark pool of swine and snakes swiming around in a sewer.. from the newsroom to the management and board.

    They are all disgusting lowrent fuckers with no regard for shareholders. Their interests come first.

    I’m almost tempted to buy some here, but I won’t as I simply can’t trust any of them.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 8:05 pm

  1121. We’d have to build some new prisons, couldn’t we just use the approach you mentioned above?

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 8:06 pm

  1122. We’d have to build some new prisons, couldn’t we just use the approach you mentioned above?

    If you do make room for Fairfax newsroom, management and board. The whole lot deserve maddof’s sentencing.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 8:10 pm

  1123. Except for horrorem ruber flavaque meretrix, no, I guess not. We’d run out of oil.

    I think that landing them on Bouvet Island for self-incarceration would be fine. We could dress them appropriately (a gimp suit each), and leave them to become one with Gaia. Plenty of ice to chip off the glacier for water, and ample supplies of soylent green feedstock.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 8:13 pm

  1124. ALP shiteater and ethics genius, StevieLiar QC, demonstrates again the pompous, dishonest fart that he truly is.

    Stop playing with the adults and make your husband his tea. Have you filed your diary with Centrelink yet?

    Tiny Dancer

    27 Aug 12 at 8:16 pm

  1125. How about the low-carbon alternative of crucifixion; which also has the benefit that it lasts longer than boiling in oil?

    We could let JC have the popcorn franchise for say 10% of the gross.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 8:18 pm

  1126. What Rafe is getting at, Steve, is that he won’t satisfied with Gillard until she sets up a royal commission to bust the union movement completely. He is one of the Internet nut jobs that Gillard referred to, who won’t accept any explanation and will never stop raking the muck.. Don’t think that just because he has OP posting privileges here that he is any less trolly than the usual trolls.

    Yeah, just like the fmr Sec. of the WA branch of the AWU…let me guess, he is an unhinged right wing troll?

    Of course not, you are full of shit, and a troll to society.

    Gillard will go to gaol. Get yourself a new hero, fatso.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 8:22 pm

  1127. IT is in charge of prisoners,we won’t need any new buildings

    Tal

    27 Aug 12 at 8:23 pm

  1128. 10% of gross is a rip off

    Dan

    27 Aug 12 at 8:27 pm

  1129. Monty failed the test Steve, can you do better?

    Poor Old Rafe

    27 Aug 12 at 8:28 pm

  1130. Oh, all right, 5% since it’ll be high volume.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 8:30 pm

  1131. Dennis Dotto, please approach the bench.

    Is that your star witness, really? Some failed minor functionary from the sticks? Is he related to you, by any chance? Come back when you have something substantial.

    m0nty

    27 Aug 12 at 8:31 pm

  1132. IT is in charge of prisoners,we won’t need any new buildings.

    ROFL.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 8:33 pm

  1133. Oooh! That’s a real Appian Way flavour to proceedings, I like it.

    So yes, but no nails, that was the merciful way, with nails. And they can have all they want to drink, too.

    The TAB can run bets on how long people… well, left-wing scum, last.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    27 Aug 12 at 8:33 pm

  1134. Plenty of ice to chip off the glacier for water, and ample supplies of soylent green feedstock.

    Strange you mention soylent green. Harry Harrison, the author, died on the 15/8/12.

    Daisy

    27 Aug 12 at 8:36 pm

  1135. I mean’t you were ripping off JC

    Dan

    27 Aug 12 at 8:36 pm

  1136. Some failed minor functionary …

    …with a literal shed load of ulcer inducing potential.

    lotocoti

    27 Aug 12 at 8:39 pm

  1137. this “febro” character is from a Facebook site called “Tony Abbott will never be Prime Minister”.

    A bunch of vicious, low IQ low-lifes and some union organizers (but I repeat myself)to ever inhabit the Internet. They’ve also set up a “sister” FB site called “can this sanitary napkin get more fans than Tony Abbott?” sanitary napkin on display in red, of course.

    So, yeah, go ahead and reply to “febro’s” moronic and inflammatory statements. He does this knowing full well people will respond and then he goes back to the trashy FB site and reports back to the rest of the grubs and scum there, big noting himself that he can get a reaction. You give his comments credence by replying.

    Or just don’t engage, ignore it and it will go away.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 8:41 pm

  1138. Is that your star witness, really? Some failed minor functionary from the sticks? Is he related to you, by any chance? Come back when you have something substantial.

    Douche,

    He is the fmr State Secretary of the union Gillard ripped off.

    Both he and I have succeeded more than you ever will.

    Well played, partisan ALP troll. You’ve peaked.

    This is the funniest, cruellest thing I’ve done in my life. mutny and Steve the Creep won’t know what him them. Their denials of ever supporting Gillard will be implosive hilarity.

    Gillard is going gaol. Get a new hero, fatso.

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 8:49 pm

  1139. Yeah, just like the fmr Sec. of the WA branch of the AWU…let me guess, he is an unhinged right wing troll?

    Of course not, you are full of shit, and a troll to society.

    As expected, there are many people with real integrity and a desire for reform in the union movement, but in comes M0nty to explain what the true cultural values of the union movement is…power.

    Is that your star witness, really? Some failed minor functionary from the sticks? Is he related to you, by any chance? Come back when you have something substantial.

    …explaining why there has to be a royal commission to expose the core values to the public.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 8:59 pm

  1140. I’m still at a loss, given all his remarks like the ones above, that he could write something coherent [allegedly his own words] such as this. It remains a mystery.

    Very impressive SteveC.

    I wish you applied similar rigour on all topics. That post on the ALP Up or Down thread was a stinker.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 9:02 pm

  1141. febro, are you interested in policies which solve problems like high levels of debt and low productivity or do you just support the ALP regardless?

    Poor Old Rafe

    27 Aug 12 at 9:13 pm

  1142. Don’t bother with Q&A tonight. Its full of luvvies from a writers festival, however any bets on how many minutes it takes for one of them to:
    a. Mention Tony Abbott is sexist and hates women.
    b. Believe Julia has no more questions to answer and should be left to continue her great work in providing stable government.
    c. State gay marriage is the most important issue facing this generation next to climate change and asylum seekers.
    Betting closes when we have a winner or Germaine Greer complains about Gillard’s fat arse again.

    Splatacrobat

    27 Aug 12 at 9:17 pm

  1143. Splat, with that many luvvies they could explore a real dangerous idea like supporting climate change or how racist/intolerant the rednecks that pay for the ABC really are.

    Token

    27 Aug 12 at 9:19 pm

  1144. this “febro” character is from a Facebook site called “Tony Abbott will never be Prime Minister”.
    You definitely have too much time on your hands, Gab.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 9:26 pm

  1145. Derryn Hinch talks with Buzz Adlrin today.

    Audio.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 9:26 pm

  1146. oops…Aldrin.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 9:27 pm

  1147. splat – all 3 done and dusted by the 15 minute mark

    pete m

    27 Aug 12 at 9:28 pm

  1148. Nonsense Token, the concept that business won’t actually start paying or passing on the cost of the Carbon price until June next year is totally non-sensical, and shows no understanding of how the price works.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 9:29 pm

  1149. Wonder what the big stories on Q&A will be? Will it be Tony Abbott’s problem with women? Abbott and work choices? Why doesn’t Abbott like gay marriage? When will Tony Abbott stop talking down the economy? Or maybe leadership rumblings behind Tony’s slip in the polls? Maybe Mal will be floated as an alternative?

    big dumb fu

    27 Aug 12 at 9:37 pm

  1150. I reckon Mal will be put forward as alternative opposition leader by the 20 minute mark.

    big dumb fu

    27 Aug 12 at 9:39 pm

  1151. Steve, don’t forget the question that I asked.

    “Steve you are saying that the PM/Government has no power to initiate a Royal Commission to investigate the governance and financial management of the trade unions, starting with the most obvious suspects?”

    And another one: Are you unconcerned about the corruption in the trade union movement and the use of violence and standover tactics by some unions?

    Poor Old Rafe

    27 Aug 12 at 9:47 pm

  1152. Sweet Jesus, Germaine is full of crazy this evening

    Tal

    27 Aug 12 at 9:48 pm

  1153. Sweet Jesus, Germaine is full of crazy this evening

    LOL … thats why I’m back online, I couldn’t take it anymore.

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 9:53 pm

  1154. Make them stop talking about genitals. Lalalalalala not listening to Germaine…. They also did it on Can Of Worms.

    m0nty

    27 Aug 12 at 10:00 pm

  1155. Well, at least Germaine is sound on tattoos.

  1156. and shows no understanding of how the price works.

    Tax, not “price” TAX. Your lying is offensive and damaging to your mental state.

    twostix

    27 Aug 12 at 10:05 pm

  1157. That last question by the bloke who tried a genitalia joke was all over the shop…

  1158. I only got as far as that moustachioed old hag talking about the limiting factor to space exploration being stomach bacteria. This know-nothing nimrod is now an expert on space exploration. How does this waste of space have so many opportunities to rear her ugly vacuous head and voice her brainless fucking opinions?

    big dumb fu

    27 Aug 12 at 10:09 pm

  1159. Oh Dear. The ALPBC going full throttle this evening, without shame, the left is feeling the need to fight them on the beaches.

    On 7.30 which, for a while, seemed like it could engage with real journalism:

    The focus was on Kathy Jackson being shafted by the HSU leadership. Craig Thomson got a mention as being ‘under pressure’ with a full recall of his pathetic performance in Parliament. Very brief mention of spending lowly paid workers’ hard-earned on prostitutes. An apparent justification of why FWA is not cooperating with Victorian Police.

    Let’s shoot the messenger Jackson, courtesy of the ALPBC as the PR arm for filth Shorten.

    Then it was huge PR for jihadist greens opposing the Broome LNG development. The ALPBC reporter even tried to discredit a WA EPA board member by noting that his super fund had shares in Woodside.

    This green/left slime need to be eradicated.

    Lazlo

    27 Aug 12 at 10:11 pm

  1160. StevieLiar QC. You do love talking about genitals. Pity they’re not talking about your favourite kind, Tony’s.

    Tiny Dancer

    27 Aug 12 at 10:12 pm

  1161. Germaine Greer is a complete imbecile and Jones keeps enabling her by inviting the idiot on that stupid panel. I blame him.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 10:12 pm

  1162. I only got as far as that moustachioed old hag talking about the limiting factor to space exploration being stomach bacteria.

    Lol what?

    Any further explanation as to why?

    twostix

    27 Aug 12 at 10:13 pm

  1163. That’s funny Tiny. Keep it coming as Baghdad stevie deserves it.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 10:14 pm

  1164. I only got as far as that moustachioed old hag talking about the limiting factor to space exploration being stomach bacteria.

    Lol what?

    Any further explanation as to why?

    It’s true. She started off by saying that we’re now about to pollute another planet by having sent that mobile SUV to Mars.

    She then got onto deeper space travel and was worried we would sending bacteria of the gut to the new worlds. No kidding.

    The three other panelists are not bad value actually.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 10:19 pm

  1165. Lazlo

    Why the fuck do you watch the ABC? And why do you care what rubbish they show there? it has no influence whatsoever out in voter land. Only the sad lefties watch it to keep their spirits up because they know in their heart of hearts that hey are always wrong on every topic, but are too stupid to see that being right wing is the defaul position for all humans.

    I know it’s sad. there was a time when one could proudly say one watched the ABC. Now it is only good when its shows BBC drama or comedy.

    What the incoming Abbott government needs to do is privatise only the news and current affairs area of the ABC. Surely some rich lefties will club together and buy 7.30 and all those other dreary programs full of letist wankers?

    Rococo Liberal

    27 Aug 12 at 10:21 pm

  1166. Catherine Deveny and Germaine Greer on Your ALPBC in the one day?

    I’ve certainly got my 8c today. Thanks Mark Scott and thank you taxpayers.

    H B Bear

    27 Aug 12 at 10:23 pm

  1167. Deveny and Germs

    Was it a laxative or an emetic you needed today?

    kae

    27 Aug 12 at 10:24 pm

  1168. Lol what?

    Any further explanation as to why?

    I don’t know why. Your guess is as good as mine what she was talking about!

    big dumb fu

    27 Aug 12 at 10:27 pm

  1169. Cato

    As I am famous for saying:

    Sinistra delenda est

    Rococo Liberal

    27 Aug 12 at 10:29 pm

  1170. The Preshizzle, of course, looking at a sky containing a crescent moon and a single star – the classic symbols of islam.

    Unbelievable.

    I think the Secret Muslim business is bullshit, but he doesn’t help his cause at all when he does stupid things like this. And that’s quite apart from him being enough of a narcissistic jerk to make it all about him somehow. Hey, Barack – if you really honoured what Armstrong stood for, you wouldn’t have buried US manned space exploration the way you did, you fucking hypocrite.

    perturbed

    27 Aug 12 at 10:33 pm

  1171. It’s true. She started off by saying that we’re now about to pollute another planet by having sent that mobile SUV to Mars.

    Is she aware that much like her Mars is great barren emptiness?

    twostix

    27 Aug 12 at 10:34 pm

  1172. RL: Mea Culpa

    Lazlo

    27 Aug 12 at 10:34 pm

  1173. I have to admit I did keep glancing at the TV as wifey kept watching. Greer’s weird comments were entertaining if nothing else.

    Sefi Atta was quite good and straight to the point.

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 10:40 pm

  1174. Quite.

    I think I’ve managed to parcel out the popcorn franchise to Dan for 5% of the gross.

    Cato the Elder

    27 Aug 12 at 10:44 pm

  1175. Is she aware that much like her Mars is great barren emptiness?

    Send her up there next time without oxygen. It wouldn’t make any difference as she’s stolen enough of it.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 10:44 pm

  1176. Bligh Government spent $700,000 on rock art in a remote Qld location.

    Opposition (Labor) arts spokesman Jackie Trad could not say how many people had viewed the monument.

    “This is just a diversionary tactic by the LNP Government which is experiencing a loss of public confidence because of their cuts to frontline services and the sacking of thousands of workers,” she said.

    Fucking unbelievable!

    Splatacrobat

    27 Aug 12 at 10:45 pm

  1177. It’s an egg-shaped pile of ricks. Let’s put aside the horrendous cost, why is that art?

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 10:49 pm

  1178. rocks..!

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 10:49 pm

  1179. Sefi Atta was quite good and straight to the point.

    I thought she was a flake.

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 11:02 pm

  1180. It’s in a national park…tear it down I say and stop offending the spirits of the forest!

    .

    27 Aug 12 at 11:03 pm

  1181. Oh I reckon it’s near enough to art.

    But putting it 4 days trek in the middle of a National Park is a bit special.

    Half the cost seems to be helicoptering fees lol

    DaveF

    27 Aug 12 at 11:07 pm

  1182. I thought she was a flake.

    She seemed stage struck. But I like how she handled that leftwing loon telling her American want guns to kill other Americans.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 11:08 pm

  1183. Human headline Derryn Hinch’s broadcasting career appears to be over after he was sacked from his drivetime shift this evening without warning by Melbourne talk station 3AW.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 11:09 pm

  1184. The Eagle Dad debate:

    What did Eagle Dad do next?

    C.L.

    27 Aug 12 at 11:10 pm

  1185. It’s an egg-shaped pile of ricks. Let’s put aside the horrendous cost, why is that art?

    What is it with ALP governments and the need to foist god awful “public art” on the population?

    There’s random roads in Canberra that look like building contractors have dumped their commercial waste on the side of them.

    Apparently it’s “art”.

    twostix

    27 Aug 12 at 11:12 pm

  1186. CL – She just wasn’t an oxygen thief.

    Nanuestalker

    27 Aug 12 at 11:13 pm

  1187. Newman will have a file full of $6m ski ramps, $700k piles of rock and God knows what else. Expect one of these every couple of months to remind people of life under the socialists.

    Newman should be publishing the interest bill on Queensland’s debt so they don’t forget how shithouse their public finances are too.

    H B Bear

    27 Aug 12 at 11:14 pm

  1188. after he was sacked from his drivetime shift this evening without warning by Melbourne talk station 3AW.

    probably because he interviewed Pickering about the Gillard scandal. 3AW is owned and operated by Fairfax Media after all.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:16 pm

  1189. Strangler Cairn, made from granite and slate from a local quarry, will eventually “blend into its environment” when a strangler fig grows over it.

    So a twisted root will eventually destroy it. Is this a metaphor for the modern Labor condition?

    Splatacrobat

    27 Aug 12 at 11:17 pm

  1190. It’s in a national park

    why oh why there? Was the surrounding flora just not appealing enough? Talk about crazy or maybe the artist had compromising photos of a prominent Labor MP and a goat and blackmailed them. Honestly, what a waste of money.

    Gab

    27 Aug 12 at 11:20 pm

  1191. She then got onto deeper space travel and was worried we would sending bacteria of the gut to the new worlds. No kidding.

    It’s like a said before – the lefty self-loathing mindset means every achievement must be recast as a testament to our “miserable existence”

    It’s quite sad, really.

    Fleeced

    27 Aug 12 at 11:26 pm

  1192. No one is asking.

    So I will: Did Hinch get dropped because of the Larry Pickering interview?

    And after the poor bastard recently had a liver tx.

    JamesK

    27 Aug 12 at 11:28 pm

  1193. The Cat’s resident shemale will obviously feature in a new Australian drama series premiering at 8.30pm next Sunday night: House Husbands.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 11:41 pm

  1194. Did Hinch get dropped because of the Larry Pickering interview?

    If he did, The Age will begin lying about it in 15 minutes’ time.

    Tom

    27 Aug 12 at 11:46 pm

  1195. The ALPBC going full throttle this evening,

    Contrary to my expectation, Media Watch agreed that The Australian responsibly reported new material on the AWU scandal and that Gillard wrongly conflated its reporting with Pickering’s posts as well as blowing out of proportion the one-word error “trust” instead of “slush”. Holmes concluded that the Australian was doing what it should be doing in publishing Hedley Thomas investigations.

    Credit where it is due.

    Viva

    27 Aug 12 at 11:48 pm

  1196. Tax, not “price” TAX. Your lying is offensive and damaging to your mental state.

    The correct term is actually price, if you want to talk specifics of the legislation, which Rafe was (on the other thread). The first three years is a fixed price, so it behaves like a tax. But after that it reverts to a floating price, with a capped number of units available, which is more usually referred to as a carbon price (or cap and trade scheme) to ditinguish it from the other form of pricing carbon,usually referrred to as a a carbon tax.

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 11:52 pm

  1197. Viva

    Hardly. Holmes neglected to mention that the Lying slapper DID call the OZ management to complain whereas he made a huge song and dance that contrary to what had being said, the slapper didn’t phone Fairfax to complain. Big deal. He left out the part where the Slapper called the OZ. Why? Why did the smug bastard leave that very pertinent part out?

    Holmes also made a huge song and dance about the difference between trust fund and slush fund.. as though it killed the story. Bullshit.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 11:52 pm

  1198. But after that it reverts to a floating price,

    You Kimberly (plastic sex doll) loving lying moron. It’s an entirely different mechanism. The differences could not be starker.

    Reverting! Reverting indeed. I wish you’d revert some where else as we’ve had enough of yours lies and stupidity.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 11:55 pm

  1199. Totally wrong JC, you need to clean your ears. Holmes praised Hedleys article. Holmes specifically said if Higgins had correctly quoted Hedley and written “slush fund” Gillard would have had no comeback.

    But Hedley Thomas’s articles were for the most part sober and meticulous – and for the first time, perhaps, showed how much of the ranting in the blogosphere had substance, and how much did not.

    And then a careless mistake was made by a colleague writing an incidental colour piece about Bruce Wilson in Thursday’s paper… If Ean Higgins had written ‘slush fund’ – and put it in inverted commas – the Prime Minister could not have complained – they were the words she’d used to describe the Workplace Reform Association to her colleagues in 1995.

    As it was, she was able to imply that thousands of words of largely accurate reporting were false and defamatory. But it was too late to do what she did last year, and use the mistake to gag The Australian. Instead, she did the opposite…

    SteveC

    27 Aug 12 at 11:58 pm

  1200. SteveC , Doucheballs… if it was “reverting” from a fixed to floating price they would issue credits right now. Instead it just a tax.

    Julius.

    Says who the story is not worth knowing? You? Fuck right off. We the public will decide when it is no longer a story, you leftist creep.

    For a newbie you really became unlikeable very early in the piece. You didn’t even go through the honey period.

    JC

    27 Aug 12 at 11:59 pm

  1201. She [Gillard} was yesterday also forced to again clarify whether the carbon tax was a tax and not some other mechanism that worked “effectively” like a tax. Ms Gillard conceded it was, in fact, a tax.

    Also, almost forgotten now is that 10% of the tax collected will be handed over to the UN…to stop the climate from changing or something.

    Gab

    28 Aug 12 at 12:00 am

  1202. The correct term is actually price, if you want to talk specifics of the legislation, which Rafe was (on the other thread). The first three years is a fixed price, so it behaves like a tax. But after that it reverts to a floating price, with a capped number of units available, which is more usually referred to as a carbon price (or cap and trade scheme) to ditinguish it from the other form of pricing carbon,usually referrred to as a a carbon tax.

    LOL what a wanker.

    “Three years after it’s a tax, it’s sort of not a tax, so don’t call it a tax now.”

    Here’s a hint: It’s never going to get to the “price” stage so it will always be known as the Carbon TAX.

    twostix

    28 Aug 12 at 12:00 am

  1203. Totally wrong JC, you need to clean your ears. Holmes praised Hedleys article. Holmes specifically said if Higgins had correctly quoted Hedley and written “slush fund” Gillard would have had no comeback.

    I’m not totally wrong, doucheballs. I’m 100% right.

    Everyone knows the trust fund, vs slush fund crapola is just sand in your eye bullshit. Holmes made a song and dance about that as though it wrecked the story. No way it has.

    Oh if only they used the right technical term instead of the slightly wrong technical one they would have got her.

    oh FFS. Spin another one.

    JC

    28 Aug 12 at 12:03 am

  1204. Why are the zombie trolls here? Do they think it’s important to fly the flag in enemy territory? Do they think they will save some souls even though Cats laugh at their dumbass naivety and hold them in contempt?

    Tom

    28 Aug 12 at 12:05 am

  1205. And Holmes wrecks his own argument too. If the Hedley Thomas root canal work is central to the story line why is the sideshow that Higgins wrote play in the remotest importance in Holmes’ devious eye.

    He should have called it a deflection because that’s what it was.

    JC

    28 Aug 12 at 12:07 am

  1206. Gab, how did you derive a figure of 10% for the Green Climate Fund?

    SteveC

    28 Aug 12 at 12:08 am

  1207. Fuck off Julius before you end up getting booted, you retarded maggot.

    JC

    28 Aug 12 at 12:08 am

  1208. Oops …why is the sideshow that Higgins wrote play even remotely important in Holmes’ devious eye?

    JC

    28 Aug 12 at 12:10 am

  1209. JC, clean your ears, again. Holmes clearly stated a careless mistake by a different writer managed to distract from the otherwise execleent reporting of Hedley. I quoted the transacript above for you, so maybe you should just clean your glasses instead.