Catallaxy Files

Australia's leading libertarian and centre-right blog

Open Forum: October 20, 2012

949 comments

Written by Sinclair Davidson

October 20th, 2012 at 12:01 am

Posted in Open Forum

949 Responses to 'Open Forum: October 20, 2012'

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  1. Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 12:01 am

  2. there’s the quick and the dead

    looks like I’m dead

    time for bed

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 12:03 am

  3. Lazy gallery fed misogyny beat-up.

    Not so:

    LAST week, the entire Canberra press gallery was scooped by a freelance business writer from Melbourne.

    As social media gushed over Julia Gillard’s “I will not be lectured by that man” speech and political correspondents held forth on how it would play in the marginals, Derek Parker did what journalists are supposed to do. He checked the facts and proved the charge of misogyny levelled against Tony Abbott was absurd.

    Great speeches are based on fact. Not so great theatre. But the spell cast by the Prime Minister’s words – not to mention the efforts afterwards of her master of the dark arts, communications director John McTernan – were enough to leave the gallery at least a little bewitched. We kept discussing the charge. Parker disproved it.

    With just a few minutes of Googling, he discovered that Abbott had raised $148,000 for the Manly Women’s Shelter…

    In fact, I decided – on a hunch – to look at Abbott’s charity page and posted the women’s shelter story here at the Cat.

    Check your facts, Christian Kerr. ;)

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 12:05 am

  4. TAXPAYERS may be exposed to millions of dollars in compensation after the decision to ban the Abel Tasman super-trawler for two years.

    Brilliant.

    I bet those moronic protesters won’t be paying for any of it.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/trawler-ban-may-cost-taxpayers-millions/story-fn59niix-1226499668032

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 12:06 am

  5. For some weird reason, the US political roundsmen for The Australian frequently swing left – buying in to packaged Democrat talking points and Nutroots spin.

    No longer possible, evidently – and ominously:

    Sense of panic builds around Barack Obama.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 12:09 am

  6. TAXPAYERS may Members of the disgraced dullard grubment will be liable for millions of dollars in compensation after the decision to ban the Abel Tasman super-trawler for two years.

    This, along with multiple other self inflicted indignities.

    They are not getting away with what they’ve done.

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 12:12 am

  7. Awww… you start a new thread just coz the old one descended into arguments about grammar

    Your despicable ;)

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 12:29 am

  8. Potemkin’s Village

    Sorry but I’m not responsible for your choice in men… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    20 Oct 12 at 12:34 am

  9. O HAI, NU FRED. Shiny!

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 12:48 am

  10. This book on Affirmative Action is a fantastic read, for those of us who share the intentions of the attempt to help make life better for disadvantaged people. The actual results of affirmative action all over the world are a very different story, especially in Sri Lanka.

    Thumbnail

    20 Oct 12 at 12:48 am

  11. Did somebody fucking mention fucking grammar?

    /trololololo

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 12:49 am

  12. I likes all this descriptivist grammar stuff. If theyd had it sooner I wouldnt of had to study all they bleedin rules what they bin learning me.

    DrBeauGan

    20 Oct 12 at 12:52 am

  13. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 12:54 am

  14. And the macquarry dic can declaire that hyperbowl is RIGHT so tuff luck all you prescriptivists.

    DrBeauGan

    20 Oct 12 at 1:04 am

  15. I hear you, sdog. This particular grammar lesson brought (not bought) to you by Weird Al Yankovic.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 1:08 am

  16. Spelin is opshonal four libertarians.

    DrBeauGan

    20 Oct 12 at 1:09 am

  17. Spelin is opshonal four libertarians.

    This reminds me of an old satirical essay about phonetic spelling, but I can’t seem to find t he original.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 1:21 am

  18. There was an old essay by GBShaw on the idiocies of English where he suggested the spelling ghoti for fish. Gh as in tough, o as in women and ti as in ammunition. It’s the sort of thing that makes fonetic spelling luk kwait atraktiv.

    DrBeauGan

    20 Oct 12 at 1:34 am

  19. Next stop Daytona… in a minivan with baby sis, her hubby, and their five beautiful kids. I don’t do well with crowds these days, so wish me well. Eep.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 1:35 am

  20. With just a few minutes of Googling, he discovered that Abbott had raised $148,000 for the Manly Women’s Shelter…

    Thus limiting his hatred to womanly women?

    perturbed

    20 Oct 12 at 1:43 am

  21. I hate it when normal people go to bed… why can’t you all be insomniac night-owls, like me?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 2:04 am

  22. That’s what American blogs are for, Fleeced.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 2:06 am

  23. Obama’s not campaigning in N.C. because ‘this is a big country’

    Ah ha ha ha ha ha! IOW, “we acknowledge that we’ve already lost NC.”

    Floriduh, next state to be added to Romney’s column in the RCP electoral map, here we come!

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 2:14 am

  24. Just arrived at home in Melbourne – regular scheduling should resume shortly.

    Sinclair Davidson

    20 Oct 12 at 4:05 am

  25. sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 6:06 am

  26. Welcome home Sinc!

    Hope you had a great time.

    pete m

    20 Oct 12 at 6:09 am

  27. Saying someone’s dad died of shame is the treated like the most horrific insult ever uttered. The man who said it is vilified and destroyed.

    Saying someone hates women and therefore hates his own wife and daughters is ok.

    In my opinion the latter comment is much worse than the former.

    John Comnenus

    20 Oct 12 at 6:09 am

  28. In fact, I decided – on a hunch – to look at Abbott’s charity page and posted the women’s shelter story here at the Cat.

    Check your facts, Christian Kerr. ;)

    Well, congrats to you, CL.

    To give Parker his due, even if he was sparked by your comment, he nonetheless took the ball and ran with it, and he got a lot of mileage. Although if it did start with your comment, a bit of credit would be nice.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 6:17 am

  29. Saying someone hates women and therefore hates his own wife and daughters is ok.

    No, it doesn’t mean “hates women” any more; the meaning of the word has been retrospectively changed, to make Gillard’s charge seem less ridiculous. Yep, they actually changed the fucking dictionary to protect Gillard from her own excess.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 6:21 am

  30. US Libertarian Party advert skewers the logic of the Occupy WS skanks

    Token

    20 Oct 12 at 6:40 am

  31. Too funny. The ALP’s Emily’s List bitches are actually a bunch of sexist piglets:

    FORMER high-profile Labor MP Maxine McKew has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office and her backers of an “offensive and sexist” smear campaign against her following allegations that her upcoming book on the ALP had been ghost-written by Kevin Rudd.
    Ms McKew has also accused the government of leaking confidential correspondence between her and the PM as part of a slur on her professional reputation.
    “The suggestions that my book, Tales From The Political Trenches, is anything but my own work, and that I have had to rely on Kevin Rudd or anyone else to write it for me, is offensive and demeaning and, dare I say, sexist,” Ms McKew told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
    “I am also disturbed that confidential correspondence between myself and the PM’s office – in effect, a host of questions I put to the PM for comment back in August, in the same way I put detailed questions to other members of the government – had apparently been released,” she said.
    Ms Gillard’s office would not comment last night but sources close to her denied her office was the source involved in any leaks or “backgrounding” against the former MP for the Sydney seat of Bennelong, who beat John Howard to win it in 2007. She lost the seat in the 2010 election.
    The Daily Telegraph revealed last month that Ms McKew’s book, due for release within weeks, would lift the lid on Ms Gillard’s involvement in a well-planned operation to remove Mr Rudd from the leadership in 2010.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 6:47 am

  32. FORMER high-profile Labor MP Maxine McKew has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office and her backers of an “offensive and sexist” smear campaign against her

    I bet McKew and Kernot could swap a few stories on how the ALP really treat women.

    Splatacrobat

    20 Oct 12 at 7:03 am

  33. Not everything Mundine said was bullshit.

    He could only accuse the white nine of being bludgers in a ridiculous, disjointed tirade. The more outlandish he is, the more money he makes.

    He is smarter than people think.

    .

    20 Oct 12 at 7:15 am

  34. Thumbnail at 12.48 put up a link to the whole of Thomas Sowell’s survey of the disasters of affirmative action around the world. This is a review of the book.

    Poor Old Rafe

    20 Oct 12 at 7:15 am

  35. Labor has no intention of leaving the Libs with a surplus: its latest strategy is to push through an increase in the $245 p.w. dole allowance to lock in the votes of the low-income tax eaters and saddle the Coalition with a bigger welfare bill:

    EMPLOYMENT Minister Bill Shorten has backed a growing push from Labor MPs, business and welfare advocates for an increase in payments for the nation’s jobless, declaring it “must be diabolically difficult” for the unemployed to make ends meet.
    Amid a backlash from an increasing number of groups about the inadequacy of the Newstart Allowance, Mr Shorten said that, while the Gillard government had to consider the impact on the federal budget, it did not have a “tin ear to heartfelt concerns”.
    “Since becoming Employment Minister 10 months ago I have always been open to views about Newstart’s adequacy and the effect and distribution of the supplementary payments,” he told The Weekend Australian. “The budget bottom line always has to be an important consideration, but the Gillard government knows it’s about people’s lives, it’s about those who are doing it the toughest in our community.”
    Mr Shorten’s comments mark a significant shift from his previous public position, in which he backed his department’s assertion that the dole should be kept low to encourage the unemployed to take low-paid jobs.

    His position acknowledges any rise in welfare payments would be difficult in the current fiscal climate, but it is understood he will argue to fellow cabinet ministers that Labor should address growing concerns about poverty. The government is under intense pressure to maintain its forecast of a budget surplus, with a mid-year economic and fiscal outlook statement to be released soon.
    Mr Shorten is backed by left-wing Families Minister Jenny Macklin, who this week admitted the issue of the adequacy of Newstart was “a question a lot of people are talking about”.
    A Senate inquiry into the adequacy of the Newstart Allowance, dominated by Greens and Labor, will report on November 29 and is expected to call for an increase in the benefit.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 7:19 am

  36. Fairfax at COB 19 October. Down, down and down!!

    Fairfax Media Ltd. (FXJ.AX)
    -ASX

    0.36 0.02(4.00%) 19 Oct 16:10

    Mike of Marion

    20 Oct 12 at 7:32 am

  37. Peter Harcher’s latest stream of consciousness appears to be a homage to John Howard. But it’s a surreal attempt first to slime Mitt Romney and then the familiar Fairfax AbbottAbbottAbbott seance:

    The question for Abbott is not whether he is too much like Howard but perhaps that he is not alike enough.

    Howard, in a closed-door speech in August that soon found its way out the door, critiqued Abbott on three key areas. He pointed out that Abbott’s policy of repealing the carbon tax meant that business had no certainty in making investment decisions.

    He also urged more deregulation in the labour market – it is possible to have more flexibility without returning to Work Choices but this is an argument Abbott does not have the stomach to have.

    Howard also called for more openness to Chinese investment. In all three areas, Howard is more pro-market and pro-business than his protege.

    Where George W. Bush is a dead cat in US politics today, Howard more closely resembles a purring lion.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 7:41 am

  38. Howard suggested it was not worthwhile repealing the carbon ( so called) tax!? I had missed that. Awesome. I told you lot before, it’s the right that moved away from me, not me going to the Left.

    And while I am at it, I look forward to CL commenting on Prof Parkinson’s submissions that the Catholic Church in Australia has had more child abuse cases than all the other churches. I look forward to his pathetic attempts at hand waving about how it’s all da gays fault, and celibacy has nothin’ to do with it.

    Steve from Brisbane

    20 Oct 12 at 7:52 am

  39. The most unintelligent man in the Australian blogosphere thinks he’s not an extreme left fruitcake lunatic. Fuck off or we’ll have you committed.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 8:04 am

  40. Ms McKew seemed smart, savvy and very knowledgeable when she was on the ABC, i reckon she’s capable of writing her own book easily. Sounds like the j.Gillard’s staff are mean and petty and make up lies.

    candy

    20 Oct 12 at 8:07 am

  41. Saturday is screwed!! SOB has been rostered on for a day of unmitigated dribble!!!!

    Mike of Marion

    20 Oct 12 at 8:07 am

  42. You’re a dim and unpleasant man, Tom.

    By the way, Judith Sloan has supported increases in Newstart allowance. I’m not sure I have ever seen it mentioned here though; my impression is that people have treated it as if we’re merely an outbreak of Tourette’s, or some such, that they can just ignore as too embarrassing.

    Or, maybe I have missed a thread about it? In which case, my apologies are offered already.

    Steve from Brisbane

    20 Oct 12 at 8:09 am

  43. You’re more than unpleasant, Dogshit. You’re a troll who’s only here to pick fights and you’re despised here. But what is most offensive is just how catatonically stupid you are. Fuck off and get an education.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 8:13 am

  44. I used to like Maxine on the ABC as an interviewer. But I thought it was wrong for a journalist with such a long history of contact with Coalition politicians, who likely said things to her off air which they never would have if they knew she would one day be a pollie herself, to go into politics.

    And as a politician, she simply appeared to be merely a Rudd fan girl, with no real independent value or political intelligence at all. Funny how things work out….

    Steve from Brisbane

    20 Oct 12 at 8:16 am

  45. Wash the car stevieliar QC

    Tiny Dancer

    20 Oct 12 at 8:23 am

  46. Ms McKew was also very charming on TV. I thought she combined intelligence and ability and femininity as a TV presenter really nicely.

    candy

    20 Oct 12 at 8:24 am

  47. US military imposes curfew on all personnel in Japan after local woman raped.

    A not uncommon occurance on Okinawa.

    It is why US marines should not be stationed in Darwin.

    Will

    20 Oct 12 at 8:24 am

  48. If McKew was intelligent why did she join the ALP?

    Woolfe

    20 Oct 12 at 8:28 am

  49. Tom, I have adopted the habit of scan-and-skip. if a post is by Shitfr, I simply skip it.

    He only has three memes, so it’s not like he has anything interesting to say. it’s just endless recycling of three sad and tatty old memes.

    I mean, I suppose it’s OK to have a pet like Shitfer. I guess there’s a sort of mild amusement in his antics as he gambols about the place.

    Mk50 of Brisbane

    20 Oct 12 at 8:28 am

  50. Good sessions lined up today: Craig Groeschel; Carly Fiorana; Pranitha Timothy; Patrick Lencioni and Bill Hybels to finish up.

    You guys enjoy the Steve’s.

    Driftforge

    20 Oct 12 at 8:33 am

  51. As I said in another thread, the Benghazi exchange between Candy Crowley, Obama and Romney appears to have been an organised and scripted set up to make Mitt look stupid.

    I am not the only one.

    Will

    20 Oct 12 at 8:34 am

  52. FORMER high-profile Labor MP Maxine McKew has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s office and her backers of an “offensive and sexist” smear campaign against her…

    If collectively the Stenographer had a couple of brain cells to rub together they’d realise that this is what the sharks will do to them when they their use has been consumed.

    Token

    20 Oct 12 at 8:40 am

  53. …appears to have been an organised and scripted set up to make Mittens look stupid.

    Worked out well, didn’t it?

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 8:42 am

  54. The Age of digital media, and the death of the dead tree media.

    It also charts the rise of the individual blogger over the media corporations.

    Will

    20 Oct 12 at 8:47 am

  55. OK, I’m off to participate in an absolute sham exercise in democracy, where you have your choice of gubberment, as long as it’s dominated by marxist greenfilth.

    What a joke.

    Thanks hawke, you ridiculous dork!

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 8:50 am

  56. Rabz, I have to participate in this farce as well. Inflicting Hare-Clark has brought us the mendicant State of Tasmania, and given the Greens a permanent power of veto in the ACT.

    I sometimes wish that there was a voting system which allowed us to register a negative vote – i.e. count my vote as one off the Greens’ total. That would be very satisfying.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 8:56 am

  57. George Megaiamagenius strays from economic commentary, in which he is usually wrong, into political observation, in which he is always wrong. Channelling his inner 15yo Jezebel.com tweeting self, Megaiamagenius launches into an orgy of wrongheadedness here.

    To all those people who laud the power of social media – Kony 2012. For every failed advertising executive on morning TV as a social media consultant think of this African despot quietly going about his business doing whatever it is despots do to fill in their day.

    Megaiamagenius also fails to acknowledge the complete hypocrisy of Gillard’s defence of the Musselman, unknown to any Youtube viewer, coupled with the complete loss of political face when he resigned less than 2 hours after Gillard and her government died in the gutter defending him.

    Gillard’s speech will be seen for what it was, a 15 minute rant by a failed and failing Prime Minister devoid of any political judgment, promoted beyond her abilities and desperately clinging to a divisive political strategy. Sorry George, Youtube is for LOL cats and honey badgers.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 9:02 am

  58. Sorry George, Youtube is for LOL cats and honey badgers.

    And Fail compilations.

    Keith

    20 Oct 12 at 9:13 am

  59. Humphrey, I can’t even get past the factual idiocy of the meglomaniac’s headline: “Online sensation exposes Abbott’s gender card play to millions”. My thesis is that the Lying Slapper’s rant in parliament marked the moment that the ALP’s primary vote began a long-term decline back into the 20s, much like the Fairfax stock price.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:16 am

  60. Hare Clarke is about the only thing keeping Tasmania viable. The opportunity – regularly taken mind you – for the people go vote out the dregs of all parties is a huge benefit. As is always having a local member who represents your thoughts.

    Driftforge

    20 Oct 12 at 9:17 am

  61. Tasmania is viable?

    It is Greece without the sunshine.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 9:43 am

  62. Sure it’s viable. I suspect that it may need to go its own way to really reestablish itself, but like any place it is viable in its own way.

    We as a state, and to a degree as a nation, are still suffering the after effects of federal imposition in the 80′s.

    Big changes that have to occur though.

    Driftforge

    20 Oct 12 at 10:03 am

  63. Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:05 am

  64. Re Tasmania: “like any place it is viable in its own way.”

    lol

    Tasmania has been a drain on the rest of the Commonwealth for many decades – not just since the 1980s. It has the lowest incomes for working people anywhere, the highest proportion on welfare (adjusting for remote Aboriginal communities in NT, which Tasmania does not have) and is continually bailed out and bribed by politicians because it carries utterly disproportionate weight in the Senate. It gets the same number of senators as NSW with one fourteenth of the population.

    Thanks to Hare-Clark, it is almost impossible to get a decent government of either persuasion there. Every attempt to improve economic viability is firmly squashed by sectional interests – principally the Greens – who know that other Australians will pay their credit card and mobile phone bill no matter what they do.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 10:17 am

  65. Will, you needn’t worry about the US marines in Darwin, they aren’t allowed out.

    If I was you I’d be more worried about the declining medical care that we are going get as a result of the “Surplus that we have to have”

    Swot

    20 Oct 12 at 10:22 am

  66. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/whistleblowers-turned-on-by-law-firm/story-fn59niix-1226499638121

    LAW firm Slater & Gordon filed a legal action against union officials who blew the whistle on wrongdoing by Australian Workers Union bagman Ralph Blewitt, the controller of a secret “slush fund” that Julia Gillard had helped him establish 18 months earlier.

    Concerns among union officials about financial irregularities and the conduct of the then branch secretary were silenced by Mr Blewitt in the Supreme Court defamation action brought on his instructions in October 1993.

    The action came six months after Mr Blewitt, who now admits to being involved in fraud, transferred about $100,000 from the slush fund to buy a $230,000 Melbourne terrace for the use of Ms Gillard’s then boyfriend, union boss Bruce Wilson.

    read more at the link

    val majkus

    20 Oct 12 at 10:24 am

  67. Saturday is screwed!! SOB has been rostered on for a day of unmitigated dribble!!!!

    Drivel, Mike. The word is “drivel”

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:28 am

  68. LAW firm Slater & Gordon filed a legal action against union officials who blew the whistle on wrongdoing by Australian Workers Union bagman Ralph Blewitt

    What lovely people they are.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 10:31 am

  69. You’re being wordist, Woolly. I like dribble and drivel. And they both have the advantage of traditional definitions recognised by proper English dictionaries that haven’t been hijacked by ill-educated political activists.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:33 am

  70. Tasmania has mostly been turned into a vast network of national parks, with a couple of little population centres down one side.

    It’s legally a state but doesn’t function like like a state economically.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 10:35 am

  71. Tasmania is completely sub-economic. Without the legacy of history, it would have a couple of town councils and be administered by Victoria.

    As johanna notes, it is only the running joke that is the Senate that allows Tasmanian carpet-baggers like Brian Harradine and horizontal fiscal equalisation to keep the flow of Commonwealth money coming.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 10:38 am

  72. Tasmania has mostly been turned into a vast network of national parks, with a couple of little population centres down one side.

    I think we need to start settling a large number of immigrants there.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:39 am

  73. For those joining us late, Steve is a pro-abortion ‘Catholic’ who admires Barack Obama and his support for infanticide.

    I haven’t read the ‘professor’s’ findings except in their lurid Fairfaxian incarnation but the big problem with his police-friendly research is that he has absolutely no statistics on what ‘all the other churches’ in Australia did or experienced since 1956. The Catholic Church is an institution that educates and deals with many thousands more young people than all of the other ‘churches’ combined – always has – so his attempt to leave out the obvious pro rata complexity constitutes a fraud.

    The same story our pro-infanticide ‘Catholic’ Steve cites also points out that nearly 90 percent of sexual abuse was against boys – committed by homosexuals. I have repeatedly pointed this out and I am correct.

    Celibacy has nothing to with a homosexual priest’s decision to abuse a 13 year-old boy.

    As the New York Times reported, protestants have had the same rate of sexual abuse cases as the Catholic Church (despite the latter’s far more massive involvement in childhood and adolescent services). As left-wing New Week admits, Catholic priests commit no more abuse than other males. As CBS found, the worst sexual abuse rates of all are – and always have been – found in atheist state schools.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 10:49 am

  74. Thanks, C.L. All good points.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 10:55 am

  75. Parkinson is a law professor, by the way – not a statistician or a foerensic historian. I doubt, by the way, that Fairfax and the ABC will acknowledge his expertise and judgement more generally – given that he is an anti gay ‘marriage’ fanatic.

    The comment of Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton – engineered for a headline – is also a disgrace, for which he should apologise.

    To wit:

    Savaging the church’s Melbourne Response protocol for dealing with complaints, Mr Ashton said: ”If a stranger were to enter a church and rape a child it would be immediately reported to police. But if the stranger were a member of the clergy, their special process would be wrapped around him. What is different about the clergy? It is the reputation of the church that creates the difference.”

    The idea that a priest (very few of whom are ever to be found in a modern Catholic school, by the way) could literally rape a child in a school and get away with it – as that school’s men and women staffers covered it up and refused to give evidence to police – is a putrid lie. All the evidence suggests it would be far more likely for one of Ashton’s fellow police to be afforded such protection.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 10:57 am

  76. Ah yes, the left’s mindset never fails to reveal their inner totalitarian.

    Tommy Tudehope ‏@TommyTudehope

    @RobertCandelori Alan Jones is a bully and we are going to bully you until you agree with us.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 11:38 am

  77. Finally, coward Commissioner Ashton’s remarks were deliberately made under parliamentary privilege. Outside of those yellow walls, he would be sued for defamation for implying Peter O’Callaghan, QC is not truly independent.

    Mr O’Callaghan replied: ”Much of Mr Ashton’s evidence and the police submission, both made under the cover of parliamentary privilege, are grossly misconceived, damaging and plainly wrong.” He said he would ”correct and refute” police evidence if he was called before the committee.

    Melbourne Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart also came to Mr O’Callaghan’s defence, with a public statement saying for the past 16 years the church had been ”honest and open” in co-operating with police.

    ”Any suggestion of a lack of independence of the independent commissioners is a very serious attack on the professional integrity and competence of senior members of the Victorian bar,” he said. ”I reject any such suggestion.”

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 11:42 am

  78. Bob Carr BA Hons, CWB channels Bert Newton with the Overseas Star at the old Logies:

    IT’S a wonderful, heart-warming endorsement of Australia as a good local citizen. It’s countries saying: “We like Australia. We think Australia’s role is good and positive and we want to see Australia provide leadership.”

    *cringe* :oops:

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 11:44 am

  79. Bowen goes scouting for more Labor voters asylum seekers.
    Because we don’t have enough heading here already.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 11:50 am

  80. I find the ” GMO debate ” fascinating in that there are so many profound positives and negatives on both sides.
    Here’s a blog post on the 5 myths busted (from NPR amazingly ) and pretty good (imho) rebuttal.
    I find myself, not on the fence, but rather arguing for and against both sides.

    jumpnmcar

    20 Oct 12 at 12:03 pm

  81. George Megaiamagenius strays from economic commentary, in which he is usually wrong, into political observation, in which he is always wrong. Channelling his inner 15yo Jezebel.com tweeting self, Megaiamagenius launches into an orgy of wrongheadedness here.

    Mr Bear, when I read megawanker’s article I couldn’t help but reflect on what the press gallery would like if you could put them all in a jar. I presume that megawanker is employed by the Australian to provide balance against accuracy.

    Rob

    20 Oct 12 at 12:12 pm

  82. One for SfB that would rather this girl was abducted.
    ( right at the end is the kicker )
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aqxHDAMvuE&feature=player_embedded

    jumpnmcar

    20 Oct 12 at 12:28 pm

  83. I really don’t think sexual abuse can be “linked” to the Catholic church anymore than can be linked to other religions or atheists, or Star Trek fans. The only constant between all these cases of sex abuse of children is access to children, professions where you get unsupervised access to children are always going to attract people who want to abuse that access. It’s a sad fact of life.

    And yes, the Catholic church should have been better at reporting cases, but until recently, most sex abuse was never reported no matter the perpetrator.

    Quentin George

    20 Oct 12 at 12:32 pm

  84. To see Carr salivating over memborship of this corrupt body makes my stomach revolt. For we plebs it just means we pay more money and get no benefit.

    Mother G

    20 Oct 12 at 12:34 pm

  85. I find discussion of child sexual abuse pretty distasteful but I’ll step in to defend the Catholic Church here.

    I’ve always believed that people with those urges tend towards occupations that provide a supply of young people. The Scouts have had problems, schools (btw my cousin went to Knox Grammer in Sydney where a housemaster was sprung, he told me the guy was 100% creepy) even swimming teachers.

    I feel its just the Catholic church has so many programs that assist young people they attract the wrong element. Id probably be more concerned about lay people – the organist for example – than Priests.

    On a side note god knows what goes on in childrens prisons, it must be an absolute smorgasbord for those people.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 1:02 pm

  86. DaveF, with all due respect to both the churches and gay folks, apparently weeding out the gay and sexually confused has long been an issue for priest recruitment. People are drawn to the priesthood as a means of personally dealing with their sexuality, through being formally ‘authorised’ to not have it as part of their being.

    John Mc

    20 Oct 12 at 1:11 pm

  87. ‘My son is NOT very optimal… he is very dead’ — Mother of killed US diplomat

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220241/Barack-Obama-Benghazi-attack-Mother-diplomat-criticises-Presidents-optimal-comment.html#ixzz29o0Vzkd4

    H/T: Instapundit

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 1:18 pm

  88. The other claim by Parkinson is that the Catholic Church has many more instances of child abuse ‘than the other churches combined’ over the past 65 years.

    Almost everyone of those ‘other churches’ – the Baptist, the Presbyterian, the Methodist, the Wesleyan etc etc – no longer exist and haven’t institutionaly existed for decades. They have no extant authority structures, no records and cannot be sued or held accounatble for anything.

    The comparison is an outlandish, risible fraud.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 1:20 pm

  89. Interesting article from a pro-homosexual site discussing the current pope’s attempts to exclude homosexuals from the priesthood. Notice that Pope John XXIII recognised the problem back in 1961. Nobody listened, unfortunately:

    http://204.2.109.187/gcn_438/gayseminariansface.html

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 1:23 pm

  90. The Cats look prettier! They beat the Pin-Up Girls easy. @sdog 6.06 am

    Merilyn

    20 Oct 12 at 1:30 pm

  91. What’s needed is More Europe

    I’m sure it’s nothing…..

    Myrddin Seren

    20 Oct 12 at 1:44 pm

  92. Ha! CL tries to find a way to turn Parkinson’s conservative-ish views on gay marriage against him.

    “How dare Fairfax, which supports gay marriage, quote a conservative figure who is critical of the Catholic Church on sex abuse.”

    Of course, to any normal or honest person, Parkinson’s conservative social view with respect to marriage makes him a more credible critic of the the Church, not less.

    Parkinson’s July submissions make it clear he is essentially a friend of the Church, who was closely involved in how it decided to respond to this issue. However, he became aware of some outrageous cases of cover up, and has come to the view that the Church was not living up to the principles it said it would. His explanation of what happened with the Salesian priest cases is very damning.

    As for CL’s continual attempt to point at homosexuality as being at the heart of the problem, and dismissing celibacy as relevant: I simply tire of the naivety (and, frankly, dishonesty) of the argument. Take this report on a recent US study into the problem there:

    Homosexuality:

    Terry and her colleagues could not be clearer in their findings, which converge with well-accepted conclusions from other social science fields: There is no correlation between a homosexual identity and the sexual violation of a minor. Sexual abuse is a crime of opportunity, not of sexual identity. In fact, the period of decline in priestly sexual abuse corresponds with both the gaying and graying of the priesthood, although Terry does not make that connection explicitly. In any event, no Catholic pope, bishop, priest or layperson can in good conscience identify gay priests as the primary source of sexual abuse, even of boys.

    and:

    Celibacy:

    The John Jay study indicates that celibacy in and of itself is not correlated with sexual abuse. At the same time, it is of note that 80 percent of priests in residential treatment for any psychological problem, not just abuse, have been sexually active, mostly with adults. Further, most men who abused minors also were sexually active with adults. Combining these data with Richard Sipe’s ethnographic conclusions that, on any given day, only 50 percent of priests are observing celibacy, and with Andrea Celenza’s clinical observations that celibacy is a moving target for most priests, we have increasing reason to believe that celibacy is observed as much in the breach as in the practice.

    Further, the John Jay researchers find correlations in the literature between sexual abuse and social isolation and loneliness, subjective states and vulnerabilities that might be alleviated were celibacy optional. It would be interesting, for example, to compare Catholic priests and married mainstream Protestant clergy on measures of loneliness and isolation.

    Of course celibacy should be optional.

  93. John Mc

    People are drawn to the priesthood as a means of personally dealing with their sexuality, through being formally ‘authorised’ to not have it as part of their being.

    Very interesting point, I hadn’t considered that at all but it makes perfect sense.

    Good grief Myrddin that post is appalling, whatever were they thinking. By my count there are 2 Star’s of David and 5 hammer and sickles. Wow. Best given them a Nobel Peace Prize.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 2:00 pm

  94. Julian, why are you linking to an IP address and not to a domain?
    There’s no way I’m going to click on that.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 2:01 pm

  95. Tasmania is Greece without the sunshine

    And without the ruins, you forgot the ruins.

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 2:05 pm

  96. Oh wait, Tassie’s got Bob Brown, huh?

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 2:05 pm

  97. On the other hand, Tasmania does have “Ellen of Tasmania” a catallaxy reader and commenter, and someone else who visits here as well (can’t remember who).

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 2:09 pm

  98. Well I hope all of the CCC has been out to contribute to what I hope is a suitably misogynistic* result in today’s ACT election??? I seriously hope Katy and her data falsifying mates are literally marched out of town while everyone throws rotten fruit at them. The greens I hope get impaled on unicorn horns…unfortunately, I think the morons who inhabit Canberra will inflict another ALP/green alliance on themselves despite the corrupt behaviour. It is days like this that I am proud that my wife and I chose to live over the border…

    *=redefined to include anything that even hints at criticism of a leftist female

    Skuter

    20 Oct 12 at 2:14 pm

  99. is a suitably misogynistic* result

    Has that insult jumped the shark now or what?

    Token

    20 Oct 12 at 2:17 pm

  100. dd

    I don’t know what you mean by that.

    I can’t find another version.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 2:25 pm

  101. I know others already inked to Rowan Atkinson’s defence of freedom of speech (as did Bolt, in his blog), but I only just got around to watching it today, and it’s very good. Do watch.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 2:27 pm

  102. Are women who hate women entitled to be declared misogynists or can only men be misogynists,you know, like only whites can be racists?

    Lew

    20 Oct 12 at 2:33 pm

  103. dd

    I don’t know what you mean by that.

    I can’t find another version.

    I was referring to the use of a web address that’s just a string of numbers, rather than http://www.example.com/article.html. That’s all. But if that’s the only location then fair enough.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 2:34 pm

  104. Are women who hate women entitled to be declared misogynists or can only men be misogynists,you know, like only whites can be racists?

    Only men, Lew. Conservative catholic white alpha males in particular.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 2:36 pm

  105. Black people can’t be racist, but apparently they can be Oreo’s or Uncle Toms. It’s not racist to call them this, apparently, since they are clearly brainwashed. Not sure what the equivalent insult is for a “brainwashed” woman.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 2:48 pm

  106. Potemkin’s Village

    Democracy is a device that insures we shall be… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    20 Oct 12 at 2:51 pm

  107. With Colorado in play, I hope there are plenty of those South Park Republicans there.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 2:52 pm

  108. Not sure what the equivalent insult is for a “brainwashed” woman.

    Catholic woman, Fleeced; Catholic woman.

    dover_beach

    20 Oct 12 at 3:01 pm

  109. I think the problem TV has is encapsulated in the US program The Walking Dead.

    Foxtel has purchased it and will begin airing it in the near future.

    The trouble is that anyone who was a zombie fan has already seen the first 2 series either purchasing the DVDs from the States or by *cough* alternate means *cough*.

    The third series is due to air in the US round about now. Too late Fox, too late.

    Apart from sport there is not much reason to use TV.

    (it’s a pretty good series if you like zombies, there are some annoying characters but they did a clean up in the second series and killed most of them off)

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 3:04 pm

  110. In fact the first Ep of season 3 is available on torrent sites.

    Too late Fox, too late.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 3:13 pm

  111. Dave,
    It started on Sunday on fox, think it was 36 or so hours after US. I have it recorded.

    Woolfe

    20 Oct 12 at 3:30 pm

  112. Woolfe, that’s not bad but people can usually ‘teleport’ the latest episode of Boardwalk Empire or Sons of Anarchy within 9-24hrs of its broadcasting in the US.

    dover_beach

    20 Oct 12 at 3:34 pm

  113. The real problem is that the way licensing works for tv shows is they effectively create regional monopolies. The net makes that business model largely redundant, and as “Internet-TV” becomes more normal, it will be completely so.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 3:42 pm

  114. Tommy Tudehope

    A leftist plonker who brings great shame upon a proud Catholic family.

    Just stick a cork in it, FFS…

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 4:11 pm

  115. True DB, but i am in the bush with very, very slow internet so have it recorded (hopefully!) Am hanging out for Game of Thrones at the moment!

    Woolfe

    20 Oct 12 at 4:12 pm

  116. Ha! CL tries to find a way to turn Parkinson’s conservative-ish views on gay marriage against him.

    No, Steve. No Ha! for you.

    Here’s what I wrote:

    I doubt, by the way, that Fairfax and the ABC will acknowledge his expertise and judgement more generally – given that he is an anti gay ‘marriage’ fanatic.

    So we see here a small example of the way that pro-abortion ‘Catholic’ Steve wilfilly lies and misrepresents – as if a hundred examples of quote doctoring and fraudulent links hadn’t already convinced everyone here of his clinical mendacity.

    Parkinson’s July submissions make it clear he is essentially a friend of the Church, who was closely involved in how it decided to respond to this issue. However, he became aware of some outrageous cases of cover up, and has come to the view…

    All nonsense. Parkinson admits he is on a mission of revenge because of his dissatisfaction with the behaviour of the Salesian order – which is based overseas and has nothing institutionally to do with Australian diocesan authorities.

    Steve then links to infamously heterodox and far left-wing NPR.

    LOL.

    No. Almost 90 percent of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was committed against boys by homosexuals. The ‘progressive’ argument runs like this: ‘because heterosexual priests in the Latin Rite cannot marry, homosexuals are entering seminaries to homosexually abuse boys.’

    What left-wing extremists want to do is do away with clerical celibacy in the Latin Rite, for ideological reasons. Unfortunately, the sexual abuse scandals don’t help their cause because the perpetrators are almost exclusively homos anyway.

    Incidentally, the troubled Commissioner Ashton is not exactly a go-to guy for moralising about abuse of process and secrecy.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 4:15 pm

  117. The third series is due to air in the US round about now. Too late Fox, too late.

    Dave,

    I lerve “the walking dead” – it’s even made me repudiate my previous opinion of andrew lincoln, who I’ve always hated with a passion.

    Watched the first episode of Series 3 last night on my Apple TV, in full HD with surround for the grand total of $3.50.

    It was awesome.

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 4:16 pm

  118. Apple TV

    Tonight I’m watching “Prometheus” for $7…

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 4:19 pm

  119. I was under the impression Fox is starting with the 1st series. If they’d already shown the first 2 series then my previous statement is in tatters..

    If that’s the case I’d like a mod to edit it to just give a shoutout to the show….otherwise I’ll have to flounce off the cat for a couple of days.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 4:21 pm

  120. On 3rd series now Dave…..

    Woolfe

    20 Oct 12 at 4:24 pm

  121. Tonight I’m watching “Prometheus” for $7…

    Wow I never realised it was so cheap. Given that Fox is maybe 100 bucks a month for the full service you can spend $25 a week and break even, but at those prices you’d probably be ahead.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 4:24 pm

  122. On 3rd series now Dave…..

    A big man admits his mistakes.

    I’m a big man.

    Sorry guys.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 4:26 pm

  123. I use (well my son does) that apple TV orgasmatron thingy, really great for downloading (legal) goodies. Saves a trip to video store and fines for forgetting to return the disk!

    Woolfe

    20 Oct 12 at 4:32 pm

  124. Dave,

    That’s a ‘rental’ deal on Prometheus.

    $30 to buy.

    If you rent you basically have two months to watch it – and can do so multiple times.

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 4:39 pm

  125. I think $7 is overpriced, actually (you can own the DVD for $20). But yeah, Foxtel’s even more of a rip off.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 4:41 pm

  126. Went trout fishing with my youngest boy down the Snowy. Very pleasant three trout bag. Barbecued one on the spot – mmmmm.

    Then I came back to vote in the council, I mean Territory, election.

    The choice is between the no hopers – the motorist party and the bullet train for Canberra party, the unknown – ungrouped independents, the insane – the Greens, the corrupt wealth wrecking ball – ALP, and the one step to the right of the ALP – ACT Liberals who don’t believe in smaller government, less regulation or lower taxes.

    They believe in just slightly smaller government, not as much regulatory growth and no new taxes. Pathetic choice for a electorate largely stocked with political ignoramuses who never learn – Canberra Catallaxy Collective exempted.

    My tip is a minority ALP Government supported by the Greens. Why not? It has worked so well at the national Parliament in Canberra.

    John Comnenus

    20 Oct 12 at 4:42 pm

  127. The ACT has gone Liberal. Not this time I suspect.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 4:49 pm

  128. They believe in just slightly smaller government,

    Not really, but they used to have a good social scene.

    John Mc

    20 Oct 12 at 4:50 pm

  129. you can own the DVD for $20

    But if you only view it twice, you come out ahead.

    I’ve bought lots of DVDs I’ve only ever viewed once.

    Renting makes more sense in most instances.

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 4:50 pm

  130. My tip is a minority ALP Gubberment supported by the Greenslime filth. Why not? It has worked so well at the national Parliament in Zombie Parrotville for the last four years.

    Fixed, Johnny.

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 4:52 pm

  131. But if you only view it twice, you come out ahead.

    You could sell it on ebay after watching it :)

    Ideally, I just want to pay a flat monthly fee and be able to watch unlimited stuff on demand. (I watch a lot of shows, so that makes more sense for me)

    If I was paying individually, I’d consider $2 for a tv ep, and $4 for a movie as reasonable… maybe more – depending how long I get to keep it for.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 5:04 pm

  132. @ CL -

    As CBS found, the worst sexual abuse rates of all are – and always have been – found in atheist state schools.

    The article you cited makes no such reference. Link to your source, or I’ll have to conclude that you’re talking crap.
    That, of course, would be nothing new.

    1735099

    20 Oct 12 at 5:10 pm

  133. I have boxes of DVDs and have tried to garage sale them – forget it. They are so cheap new the price people are prepared to pay for good condition 2nd hand is laughable.

    A full season of The Wire (ok US zone 1) a dude offered me 5 bucks! Turns out I should have taken it….

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 5:16 pm

  134. Poor olf Numbers. He really is out of his deoth here isn’t he?

    Rococo Liberal

    20 Oct 12 at 5:26 pm

  135. BTW Mrs Rcoco told me that a few people called me an elitist for the views I expressed on the Ayn Rand thread. Thank you who ever you were for being so kind. Yes, I am an elitist. I believe in the intrinsic value of the best in everything. If there were no elitists there would be no great achievements whatsoever. That was the point that poor old Rand, in her unliterary way, was trying to get across in her novels. Collectivism produces bad art and worse science.

    Rococo Liberal

    20 Oct 12 at 5:31 pm

  136. Deep? Earnest discussions about watching DVDs? You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve heard more riveting conversations from a year nine class on a hot Friday afternoon.

    1735099

    20 Oct 12 at 5:32 pm

  137. Deep? Earnest discussions about watching DVDs? You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve heard more riveting conversations from a year nine class on a hot Friday afternoon.

    Conversation here varies a lot is sometimes very light. If you don’t like the discussion nobody is forcing you to stick around.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 5:40 pm

  138. I think $7 to rent a movie is too much. $4 would be OK. And $1 for a TV show.
    To be fair, I think it is the distributors, not Apple that are trying to preserve their DVD investments, and thus insist on that price. I try to stick with legal downloads, but sometimes it is ridiculous. $30 to buy a digital download is ludicrous. In fact $15 is too much. Should be $10.

    No wonder Channel BT is popular.

    Entropy

    20 Oct 12 at 5:42 pm

  139. That’s a harsh criticism Numbers. It was originally a discussion about market challenges in the media industry.

    If you object to light comments here’s one for you:

    At the Guardian they have an article by

    Clare Kathleen Bogen

    With a surname like that I hope she isn’t planning to migrate to Australia.

    boom tish

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 5:44 pm

  140. Potemkin’s Village

    Dedicated to the memory of Arch Foxley; and for an extra point, what was the name of the dog? … here

    Grigory Potemkin

    20 Oct 12 at 5:44 pm

  141. Yawn, how tedious can you get Numbers?

    What’s a matter bud, did your friends forget to invite you out again today?

    Token

    20 Oct 12 at 5:45 pm

  142. I like to own a movie, even if I know I won’t watch it for a while or very often. I imagine it is how people feel about their wine cellars.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 5:47 pm

  143. First numbers in from the ACT election – Green and ALP down, Libs up. Early days, but the Labor romp-in predicted by the Canberra Times seems – quelle surprise – to be a tad optimistic.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 5:47 pm

  144. I thought that Canberra Times front page a couple of days ago was pretty disgraceful.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 5:54 pm

  145. I wish I’d kept a copy of that edition of the Canberra Times, just in case the Libs get in.
    “Labor will Win” they proclaimed on their front page. Don’t count on it.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 6:07 pm

  146. It seems unlikely that the Libs will win outright – under Hare-Clark it is very difficult to get a clear majority. But, ALP/Greens look like losing two seats on the current numbers.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 6:16 pm

  147. There’s some quiet optimism in Lib ranks. Of course, there’s a massive voting bloc known as the APS to get past so it’s still an uphill battle.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 6:19 pm

  148. ACT looks like another minority ALP government propped up by the Greens. The good news is that on these results the seat of Canberra could be in play for the federal election.

    John Comnenus

    20 Oct 12 at 6:27 pm

  149. Is my memory correct in thinking the Libs had government there for a while?

    The one after that Lab woman who killed a kid when they blew up the hospital.

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 6:37 pm

  150. DaveF – the “Lab woman” was actually Kate Carnell, who was a Liberal First Minister.

    ACT was governed by the Liberals from 1995 until 2001.

    The ALP being reduced to minority government in the ACT after tonight is not good news to them…

    Quentin George

    20 Oct 12 at 6:42 pm

  151. Of course, there’s a massive voting bloc known as the APS to get past so it’s still an uphill battle.

    There’s plenty of APS (notably, the entirety of DHS) in Brindabella where the Libs are doing excellently…

    Quentin George

    20 Oct 12 at 6:44 pm

  152. She was the Chief Minister. It was poor judgement turning the hospital implosion into a spectacle, but the demolition people were ultimately blamed.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 6:46 pm

  153. The good news is that, consistent with recent elections everywhere, the Greens are on the decline.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 6:50 pm

  154. I’m getting everything wrong today.

    mea culpa

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 6:56 pm

  155. It was poor judgement turning the hospital implosion into a spectacle, but the demolition people were ultimately blamed.

    The demolition people WERE to blame. There was a Simpson’s episode aired shortly after that incident where Burns’ old casino was being demolished, and as they begin countdown to implosion, one of the engineers says, “Wait… im-plosion?”, followed by townsfolk running for their lives. Many a true work spoken in jest…

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 7:02 pm

  156. true word, not work

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 7:04 pm

  157. Apple TV

    Tonight I’m watching “Prometheus” for $7…

    At 8.30 tonight on ABC2 you can watch ‘Marathon Man’ for free . . . .

    Septimus

    20 Oct 12 at 7:24 pm

  158. BTW, how does one include emoticons (eg. smiley face) in a comment?

    Septimus

    20 Oct 12 at 7:26 pm

  159. I’m switching over to Inspector Morse at 8.30 (huge John Thaw fan). Also free.

    ACT election – unless there is a dramatic change, the result will be ALP 7, Libs 8 and Greens 2. So, another minority Labor government dependent on the Greens. That’s gone so well for their Federal counterparts, no?

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 7:28 pm

  160. BTW, how does one include emoticons (eg. smiley face) in a comment?

    One doesn’t.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 7:36 pm

  161. how does one include emoticons

    Septimus,

    They are codes.

    None of which I can remember

    :)

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:37 pm

  162. Oops – I can remember one at least

    :X

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:38 pm

  163. But no more, evidently…

    :(

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:39 pm

  164. Oh, bleep!

    :\

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:39 pm

  165. I’ve heard more riveting conversations from a year nine class on a hot Friday afternoon.

    Then fuck off, you insufferable narcissist arsehole!

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:41 pm

  166. ACT council elections are not going too well are they? Greens are obviously on the slide without that lovable old mad homo from Tasmania at the helm. Milne has the electoral appeal of a dose of the clap. Hopefully this will knock a few of them out at the next half Senate election. ALPBC live blog:

    8:25pm AEDT: With more than 30 per cent of votes counted, the swing away from the Greens is at 5 per cent with only 10.6 per cent of the vote. The Canberra Liberals have more than 39 per cent of the vote, with a positive swing of 7.7 per cent. Labor is steady, with 38 per cent of the vote.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 7:43 pm

  167. I thought that canberra times front page a couple of days ago was pretty disgraceful.

    FFS, I thought you were clueless, but really – teh fucking zombie parrotville times?!?!?

    Do you ever leave your dwelling?

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:44 pm

  168. I can’t remember the code thingies either.

    I hate them and think they should be banned.

    Too many people say insulting things then think it’s OK if they whack in a silly emoticon. Either you mean it, or you don’t.

    ;)

    (colon close parenthesis)

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 7:45 pm

  169. With more than 30 per cent of votes counted, the swing away from the greenfilth is at 5 per cent with only 10.6 per cent of the vote. The Canberra Gliberals have more than 39 per cent of the vote, with a positive swing of 7.7 per cent. Laybore is steady, with 38 per cent of the vote.

    Great – just as I thought – laybore greenfilth minority grubment.

    More taxes, more edicts about how people should live, more hell for motorists, more overpaid mendicant grublic servants.

    FFS.

    Thanks again hawkie, you paralytic, syphlitic ol’ goose!

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 7:49 pm

  170. 8) :P

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 7:49 pm

  171. Oh, the 8) one doesn’t work anymore? What about B)

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 7:50 pm

  172. Thank you folks. Perhaps it is better to not include emoticons :)

    Septimus

    20 Oct 12 at 7:50 pm

  173. I’ve heard more riveting conversations from a year nine class on a hot Friday afternoon.

    Does emoticon discussion improve things, champ?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 7:51 pm

  174. Septimus, google “text based emoticons” click on first link.

    (For some reason Cat is blocking me when I try to provide the link.)

    Rudiau

    20 Oct 12 at 7:57 pm

  175. Haha green vote down 3.6%

    Splatacrobat

    20 Oct 12 at 8:01 pm

  176. Del Piero!

    :)

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 8:01 pm

  177. Thanks Rudiau. I wasn’t intending a pun at 7.50pm – just fluked a smiley face by typing colon + right bracket.

    Septimus

    20 Oct 12 at 8:02 pm

  178. :) :)

    Heh heh. Rugby time now. Go the All Blacks.

    Septimus

    20 Oct 12 at 8:10 pm

  179. Do all of those work here Rudiau?

    DaveF

    20 Oct 12 at 8:11 pm

  180. DaveF,
    I have seen smiley, frown and winky work here not sure of the rest. They are text based so the rest should work.

    Rudiau

    20 Oct 12 at 8:15 pm

  181. Rugby time now. Go the all sheep.

    Tops, eh bro?!?!

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 8:18 pm

  182. What’s with the fucking advertising on the all sheep jerseys???

    Only just noticed…

    Rabz

    20 Oct 12 at 8:20 pm

  183. (.V.) Alien
    :_( Crying
    :O) Dog

    Rudiau

    20 Oct 12 at 8:22 pm

  184. Do all of those work here Rudiau?

    Doesn’t look like it. :(

    Rudiau

    20 Oct 12 at 8:25 pm

  185. One to balance out the unfortunate gun story we heard out of the US recently:

    http://www.newson6.com/story/19858704/12-year-old-girl-shoots-intruder-during-home-invasion

    John Mc

    20 Oct 12 at 8:26 pm

  186. The article you cited makes no such reference. Link to your source, or I’ll have to conclude that you’re talking crap.
    That, of course, would be nothing new.

    I did link to the source, you lying moron.

    Consider the statistics: In accordance with a requirement of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, in 2002 the Department of Education carried out a study of sexual abuse in the school system.

    Hofstra University researcher Charol Shakeshaft looked into the problem, and the first thing that came to her mind when Education Week reported on the study were the daily headlines about the Catholic Church.

    “[T]hink the Catholic Church has a problem?” she said. “The physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.”

    So, in order to better protect children, did media outlets start hounding the worse menace of the school systems, with headlines about a “Nationwide Teacher Molestation Cover-up” and by asking “Are Ed Schools Producing Pedophiles?”

    No, they didn’t. That treatment was reserved for the Catholic Church, while the greater problem in the schools was ignored altogether.

    As the National Catholic Register’s reporter Wayne Laugesen points out, the federal report said 422,000 California public-school students would be victims before graduation — a number that dwarfs the state’s entire Catholic-school enrollment of 143,000.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 8:40 pm

  187. I’ve had the Greens Propaganda Network (ABC) on for half an hour and still can’t get accurate election-wide figures for the ACT. This is the ABC public service covering the public service; it’s billious. The ALP female anchor has just sympathised with the female Greens member in Brindabella over the “heartbreaking” news that she has lost her seat. The Liberal commentator on the panel was talked over when he said the Canberra Times poll this week was disgracefully inaccurate. How do you run a business in Canberra-Queanbeyan having to suck up up to these disconnected arseholes? State of the parties: Lab 7; Lib 7; Green 1; in doubt: 2.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 8:41 pm

  188. Tops, eh bro?!?!

    Dunno Rabz. Not an En Zedder. Just think they are better at the game. Like Queensland in the Rugby League State of Origin.

    advertising on the all sheep jerseys

    Septimus

    20 Oct 12 at 8:41 pm

  189. CL

    Numbers was childishly pointing out that your CBS link was the same as your Daily Beast link, i.e. not a link to CBS at all.

    Don’t be concerned. Numbers is a childish twat.

    Rococo Liberal

    20 Oct 12 at 8:49 pm

  190. If losing your seat on the Labor-Green ACT city council is “heartbreaking news” then someone better reassign Mal Wishy-Washy from Thommo suicide watch.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 8:50 pm

  191. Tom

    Mrs Rococo and I were also watching the ABC and marvelling at the complete ineptitude of the coverage. The problem is that they expect that the public servants in the ACT will vote straight ALP/Greens. When the script is different, the poor old ALPBC can’t cope.

    Rococo Liberal

    20 Oct 12 at 8:53 pm

  192. how are the Libs going in the ACT – I’m watching Morse but want to keep up with the ACT as well
    Go the Libs

    val majkus

    20 Oct 12 at 8:55 pm

  193. C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 9:02 pm

  194. The ACT Libs leader Seb Seselja (??) is saying they are ready to govern and the election was a rejection of Labor and the Greens. (The Libs have now won 8 out of 17 seats). The ABC Greens are now discussing whether it was a victory speech. The Lib talking head is being talked over again.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:03 pm

  195. Dead Green Walking SHY now claiming Lib leader Zed Seselja (ok) was arrogant to claim victory. This is very close-run. Thank you, Antony Green, who’s busy apologising for the Greens because “they were always going to lose votes”. It has taken him only an hour and a quarter to update me: Labor up 1.5%; Libs up 6.3%; Greens down 4.6%.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:15 pm

  196. Just saw Zed Seselja, claiming victory although the Libs haven’t won a majority. Katy Gallagher is about to speak. Here’s hoping an independent gets up. Great to see the greens got walloped…

    Skuter

    20 Oct 12 at 9:16 pm

  197. Ol’ Crazy Eyes days are numbered.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 9:18 pm

  198. Key points:
    Nine seats needed for majority in 17-seat ACT Legislative Assembly
    Seats won: 7 Labor, 7 Liberals and 1 Greens
    Likely result: 7 Labor, 8 Liberal and 2 Greens
    Minority Labor-Greens government most likely scenario.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:19 pm

  199. The ABC coverage of the ACT election is woeful. Poor bloody Gary Humphries, stuck on the end of that inane conversation, his opinion barely sought.

    “It looks like the women are polling well.”

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 9:20 pm

  200. thanks Tom, has there been a big swing to the Libs, heard there had been a swing

    what was the make up of the previous Govt

    val majkus

    20 Oct 12 at 9:22 pm

  201. It would be good if Corbell lost his seat.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 9:23 pm

  202. :cool:

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:23 pm

  203. According to the Lib talking head (Gary Humphries, Lib ACT senator) the kamikaze Libs will discuss a government coalition with the Greens.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:28 pm

  204. I haven’t heard this in like forever.

    Thanks for the reminder, Tintarella di Luna.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:28 pm

  205. Katy Gallagher
    “The Labor Party and the party I lead will never campaign on a lie.”

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 9:32 pm

  206. Well that’s a lie right there, Miss katy.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:33 pm

  207. Has there ever been a bigger mistake than Canberra?

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 9:33 pm

  208. Yes. Gillard.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:33 pm

  209. It’s worth noting that while the ACT government covers State and local govt functions with 17 members, Tasmania (which only has about 200,000 more residents) has a complete State Government apparatus plus several local governments. Not to mention 12 Senators and 5 MPs (as opposed to 2 senators and 2 MPs for the ACT).

    Tasmania is a carbuncle on the body politic.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 9:34 pm

  210. Labor’s Katie Gallagher accusing the Libs of a deceitful scare campaign. “Over 50% voted for progressive government”. Progressive, of course, meaning the exact opposite.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:35 pm

  211. Four years ago today, Obama was up 1.3 in NC. This year he’s gonna lose it.
    Four years ago today, Obama was up 3.2 in FL. This year he’s gonna lose it.

    From having claimed that the GOP had made a huge mistake in nominating Romney, whom I recall describing at the time as “Bob Dole Mk. II”, I’ve gone to thinking he could actually win this thing after all. I have never been so happy to have been so spectacularly wrong.

    Thus spake the Dawg. You’re welcome.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 9:42 pm

  212. Some interesting political flirting going on between Libs and Greens.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 9:43 pm

  213. I suspect a Greens-Liberal coalition would be unpopular with supporters of both parties and will not happen for that reason.

    Quentin George

    20 Oct 12 at 9:45 pm

  214. Some interesting political flirting going on between Libs and Greens.

    No, the acrimony is palpable.

    btw I quite like Antony Green.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 9:45 pm

  215. Have the Libs learned nothing from their feral Federal counterparts? You lie with dogs, you wake up with fleas. (No offense, Spot. I’m certain you are flea-free).

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:45 pm

  216. Some women find Romney attractive. Cf. McCain.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 9:46 pm

  217. I love the warmer weather, but seriously, 3 spiders and 2 cockroaches today. I hate bugs.

    The spiders were small, which is good. Alas, so were the cockroaches (babies), which means they’re breeding, dammit. Have to buy some new baits – but left it too late I think :-(

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 9:47 pm

  218. 3 spiders and 2 cockroaches today.

    Sounds like you live in Sydney, Fleeced. I remember the summers there and the B-52 sized cockroaches that could fly (yuk).

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:49 pm

  219. btw I quite like Antony Green.

    Antony Green is a national treasure.

    Dangph

    20 Oct 12 at 9:50 pm

  220. From having claimed that the GOP had made a huge mistake in nominating Romney, whom I recall describing at the time as “Bob Dole Mk. II”…

    Oh wow, you did what? LOL

    I wasn’t enthused by him in the early days (not by any of them, in fact), but seriously. Bob Dole? LOL. Hypabowl, much?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 9:51 pm

  221. Compared with Odumbo, Mittley is a chick magnet, I’d have thought.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 9:52 pm

  222. Canberra will have a ALP-Green coalition government, despite the Liberals holding a plurality of seats. This new coalition will stumble on for one or two more terms (depending on what happens Federally) until it implodes, and the Liberals gain another seat.

    Well, that’s how I see it.

    One thing to take from this is that the ALP have not won an election with a majority of seats and votes since 2009.

    Quentin George

    20 Oct 12 at 9:54 pm

  223. Labor’s Katie Gallagher accusing the Libs of a deceitful scare campaign.

    The Lib’s campaign was “Labor and Greens will triple your rates.” This was based on Labor-Green policies, although Labor and Greens denied it and called it a lie. About a week before the election an economist from the University of Canberra came out and said it was not true.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 9:54 pm

  224. Women find Obama attractive, but some women (different type probably) apparently find Romney attractive. McCain was too old and like a potty granddad.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 9:55 pm

  225. Then fuck off, you insufferable narcissist arsehole!

    Precisely, Rabz. See what the numbers person did? He made an arrogant comment that everyone ignored. So the only thing he could think of doing was barge uninvited into a conversation and deliver a measly insult to get attention. Something to remember for next time. Apparently he can’t stand it! when no one responds to his trolling.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 9:55 pm

  226. It’s worth noting that while the ACT government covers State and local govt functions with 17 members, Tasmania (which only has about 200,000 more residents) has a complete State Government apparatus plus several local governments. Not to mention 12 Senators and 5 MPs (as opposed to 2 senators and 2 MPs for the ACT).

    Like I said: Flood it with immigrants. Give them early resident status and right to vote and an accelerated path to citizenship, as long as they’ve had private-sector employment. This will counter the industry-busting twats that presently dominate down there.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 9:56 pm

  227. Sounds like you live in Sydney, Fleeced. I remember the summers there and the B-52 sized cockroaches that could fly (yuk).

    Yeah, Sydney it is… Oh, I hate the flying cockroaches. They’re usually around Christmas. I hate them. Hate, hate, vomit. Someone should blow cockroaches up!

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 9:59 pm

  228. Have the Libs learned nothing from their feral Federal counterparts? You lie with dogs, you wake up with fleas. (No offense, Spot. I’m certain you are flea-free).

    Gab, people are misinterpreting some of the exchanges on the ABC tonight. The Greens and Labor hate the ACT Liberals. They say, through clenched teeth, “of course we will talk to all parties,” but as Humphries pointed out, somehow the negotiations never seem to work out well for the Liberals.

    But if the Liberals have a plurality of seats, of course they’d prefer to enter some kind of agreement than sit around on the sidelines for another term. They’d like to pressure the Greens to do a deal, but realistically it won’t happen.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 10:00 pm

  229. ABC TV News headline: “The Greens are again likely to hold the balance of power in the ACT”. The major trend, the 6.3% swing to the Libs, not even mentioned. Extensive live audio of the Labor leader; a one-paragraph summary of the Libs’ ambition to govern. Denationalise the ABC now.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:01 pm

  230. Compared with Odumbo, Mittley is a chick magnet, I’d have thought.

    true, true. Mitt looks manly for starters and has nice eyes however his biggest asset over Obama, apart from not looking like a scrawny moppet, is his voice. Mitt sounds smoother with a deeper timbre than Obama.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:01 pm

  231. Thanks, DD. Still, I feel it better for the Libs to steer clear of the Greens, a winning long-term strategy I think.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:05 pm

  232. I hate cockroaches more than spiders. The big spiders I try to catch and release (huntsman spiders eat redbacks), but the smaller ones I terminate. 2 of the three I got today where white-tails. Not sure about the third.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:07 pm

  233. I hate them. Hate, hate, vomit.

    I hate them more; and it doesn’t matter how clean the place those disgusting creatures invade.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:07 pm

  234. That’s very humane of you, Fleeced. The rule in my house is if it crawls, flies, spins: it’s dead. My house, my territory, I rule.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:10 pm

  235. When you bear in mind that around 50% of the ACT electorate depends on government, local and Federal, for their jobs, and the Libs have have said that cutbacks are needed, the magnitude of the swing is very significant.

    Since in most jurisdictions the directly govt dependent employees are more like 20-25%, the result indicates that nothing has changed – Labor is on the nose and the Greens are finally being seen for what they are.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 10:10 pm

  236. Oh wow, you did what? LOL

    Yes.

    If Romney does win, as is looking increasingly likely, I really belong on http://dog-shaming.com/ with that comment tied around my neck :-/

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 10:12 pm

  237. How Katy Gallagher can show her face in public is beyond me. She was up to her neck in the Canberra hospital data falsification shambles…that she has the nerve to accuse the Libs of deceit is breathtaking.

    Skuter

    20 Oct 12 at 10:12 pm

  238. What a weekend to come and visit the crumbling, overgrown decript old APS company town.

    8 seats for the Liberals what a magnificent victory, two days ago it was a sure thing that they’d be flogged and now fucking whooshka out they come.

    Poor old Federal Labor are sitting in Labor headquarters tonight pissing their pants – if even Canberra doesn’t want them, if they can’t even beat the libs in Canberra they.are.fucked.

    twostix

    20 Oct 12 at 10:14 pm

  239. I like Huntsman spider. Actually, I don’t, I hate creep-crawlies of all kind – but they’re useful, and squishing something that size is harder to do, unless it’s in a panic (I know, I sound like a total Steve!)

    However, I once had one in my bedroom – which seemed extra big – and it escaped behind my bed. I didn’t sleep entirely well that night – kept imagining every disturbance as a spider.

    Anyway, I awoke, to find all these spots on the ceiling. Babies. I ended up squishing around 25 in all. Yuk. Where do you live now Gab, to be free of this stuff? Please don’t say Melbourne.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:17 pm

  240. I think I would riot if I was subject to that Hare-Clarke system. However Canberra probably deserves it.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 10:17 pm

  241. There are rich parts of Inner South Canberra which tend to vote Liberal. Fraser is safe Labor. But not the seat of Canberra (south of the Lake).

    Some public servants vote Liberal.

    Beware of stereotypes.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 10:18 pm

  242. Fleeced, white-tails eat other spiders. You don’t want them in the house (my rules are exactly the same as Gab’s) but if you see one anywhere else, smile.

    I lived in cockroach-infested terrace houses in Sydney in my youth, and agree that they are disgusting. One place I rented took three visits from the pest controllers to get rid of a single year’s hatching. Yuk. Oh, and the PC was a mate of my Dad’s, so no skimping there. He worked mainly in the suburbs, and said he had never seen anything like it.

    The urban myth is that they came from the old Colgate Palmolive factory in Balmain. Palmolive refers to palm oil, and they say that the shipments from Pacific islands brought the buggers along in droves. Don’t know how true it is.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 10:19 pm

  243. There are a hella lotta giant cockroaches in the F-state, but they call them palmetto bugs.

    “Palmetto! Such a beautiful name. It sounds like dancing, doesn’t it?”

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 10:19 pm

  244. THE Liberals are on track to win more seats than Labor in the ACT Legislative Assembly but may not be able to form government.

    With more than half the vote counted, the Liberals have won 38.6 per cent, gaining a swing of 7 per cent.

    Labor’s vote has held steady, also at 38.6 per cent while the Greens have garnered 10.8 per cent.

    If that trend continues the Liberals could win eight seats – up two – Labor seven and the Greens two – down two.

    However the Greens leader Meredith Hunter is in a tight race with Summernats car festival founder Chic Henry, running for the Australian Motorists Party, which could leave the minor party with just one seat.

    Across the territory, the Greens have suffered a 4.8 per cent rebuff from the 2008 election.
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/act-election-hinges-on-minor-parties/story-e6frg6n6-1226499953691
    how about the Libs and the Bullet Train

    val majkus

    20 Oct 12 at 10:25 pm

  245. The Wallabies have ended the All Blacks winning streak with a draw, 18: 18. It’s not quite a win, but it ends the chance of the NZ team setting a new record of 17 straight wins. Real heart in mouth stuff in the six minutes of play after the siren- it could have gone either way.

    Cold-Hands

    20 Oct 12 at 10:25 pm

  246. Fleeced

    “Squish”? Heavens no. Baygon sprayed onto the offending bug, watch it until it’s death throes settle then place the can of Baygon over the top of it until it’s good and dead. (That way i know where it is!). Next day, wearing dispoable gloves, remove can, wipe bottom of can with sanitized wipes, pick up bug with paper towel and dispose of thoughtfully into rubbish bin. Clean surface where dead bug reposed for a bit.

    Yes, one time had massive spider (eek) that ran behind bed head. Fine, you dastard, I’ll get you yet. Out comes the vacuum cleaner, spider vacuumed and a quick spritz of Baygon down the vacuum tube. Done.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:26 pm

  247. Hey, Dawg, you weren’t to know Odumbo was a socialist and that Mittens would spend 25 years dreaming of saving America. Neither of them told us anything.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:26 pm

  248. But if the Liberals have a plurality of seats, of course they’d prefer to enter some kind of agreement than sit around on the sidelines for another term. They’d like to pressure the Greens to do a deal, but realistically it won’t happen.

    Zed’s playing this beautifully.

    1. Locally he’s setting up a narrative of betrayal. He, having won 8 seats, a mammoth effort for the ACT libs, has a mandate to lead. Is this government simply going to go back to work on Monday pretending that the election never even happened? He’s not buying the shit being shoveled out that he should just accept that Canberra is a Labor town, he’s going to make Labor and The Greens explain loud and clear why they’re sidelining the majority party.

    2. Federally he’s sowing the sends of a beautiful narrative for Abbott. Once Labor and the Greens do their little deal to secure power again, it will then be unqestionable that a vote for Labor is a vote for The Greens. That Labor can no longer in this country form government without the Greens and that Labor and The Greens are in fact a formal coalition.

    And that all the “tough talk” from Labor about The Greens is just unadulterated bullshit.

    twostix

    20 Oct 12 at 10:27 pm

  249. Fleeced, white-tails eat other spiders. You don’t want them in the house (my rules are exactly the same as Gab’s) but if you see one anywhere else, smile

    Never seen them outside – get LOTS of them inside, and always kill, kill, kill the whitetails. Outside, it’s only redbacks. LOTS of redbacks. That’s why I release the hunstman spiders – they’re a natural predator.

    Is there a warm climate on the planet that isn’t ruined with bugs? My sister lived in Maroochydore for a while, and while I don’t remember cockroaches, they had big spiders, HUGE moths (harmless, but icky) and of coarse, cane toads.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:28 pm

  250. GOOD LORD, SPOT! A little warning next time please. A page full of cockroaches YUK!!!!

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:29 pm

  251. I learned to cohabit with cockroaches living in Darwin for three years. They’re not my favourite bugs, but you shouldn’t kill a critter unless you need to eat it is my philosophy.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:29 pm

  252. johanna, I think you find a lot of cockroaches in all the old waterfront suburbs, including parts of Mosman.

    Poor Old Rafe

    20 Oct 12 at 10:30 pm

  253. HUGE moths eeeeek! I run screaming from them. They’re evil.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:30 pm

  254. “Squish”? Heavens no. Baygon sprayed onto the offending bug,

    For baby Huntman, squishing is optimal. For adults, spraying doesn’t kill them quickly – it’s too long, and I can’t do it.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:32 pm

  255. It would be hilarious if Andrew Barr lost his seat.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 10:33 pm

  256. This is for Gab. We lived in an old unit for months and never saw a cockroach until one night I went to the kitchen for a drink (of water) and the floor was crowded. Did not attempt hand to hand combat (they had the numbers) but we embarked on chemical warfare bigtime.

    Had an attack of bed bugs in Surry Hills as well. Shifty bastards, you don’t see them in daytime either, they hide in the bedsprings.

    Poor Old Rafe

    20 Oct 12 at 10:34 pm

  257. I note the value of the Huntsman but I just cannot bring myself to pick one up – not even with a broom – and move it outside. *shiver*. Oh I’m going to have nightmares tonight for sure!

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:35 pm

  258. Anyone called Zed should definitely be a winner.

    candy

    20 Oct 12 at 10:35 pm

  259. Gab, a few years back, there was a bogong(?) moth plague in Canberra. There were a couple of restaurants that were stir frying them and making pizzas with them on it. I kid you not.

    Skuter

    20 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  260. place the can of Baygon over the top of it until it’s good and dead.

    Uhm.. have you ever seen a huntsman? Placing the can on top is not an option – even once it’s shriveled.

    Yes, one time had massive spider (eek) that ran behind bed head. Fine, you dastard, I’ll get you yet. Out comes the vacuum cleaner, spider vacuumed and a quick spritz of Baygon down the vacuum tube. Done.

    Believe me, I tried all that – but I couldn’t find the damn thing.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  261. I had fleas in Chippendale! Beastly!
    for bed bugs you have to put your matress in the sun, they don’t like light

    val majkus

    20 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  262. Defence suggests that people opposed to women serving in active combat positions are on “one extreme”.

    Defence “in-confidence” documents also list pregnancies on deployments from “inappropriate relationships” and women being killed in combat, captured by the enemy or men protecting females on the battlefield as sensitive issues requiring its management.“The community is divided on the issue with strong views opposing the move at one extreme and firm support with caveats at the opposite extreme,” the brief concluded.

    These people are quite out of touch.

    http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/defence-afraid-of-women-warriors/story-fndo317g-1226499912329

    twostix

    20 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  263. Oh my, oh my, Rafe. Nightmare now ensured!

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  264. huntsmen are lovely, keep your mosquito population down too

    val majkus

    20 Oct 12 at 10:38 pm

  265. HUGE moths eeeeek! I run screaming from them. They’re evil.

    Oestrogen is an hysterically funny hormone.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:39 pm

  266. Skuter, I’ve been in Canberra when the bogong were plentiful! Perhaps you heard my screams, yes?

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:39 pm

  267. huntsmen are lovely, keep your mosquito population down too

    And your redbacks – of which I have LOADS (though only outside)

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:41 pm

  268. “huntsmen are lovely, keep your mosquito population down too”

    true, they’re quite majestic in their spidery way.

    candy

    20 Oct 12 at 10:41 pm

  269. A page full of cockroaches YUK!!!!

    They’re not cockroaches, Miss Gab — they’re Palmetto bugs.

    Which is a MUCH less disgusting-sounding critter to have your home infested by. As I’m sure you’ll agree.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 10:42 pm

  270. Rafe, cockies travel. The Colgate Palmolive factory was established at least 80 years ago.

    BTW, since spraying insecticide is often yukky (yellow stains, smells) I have discovered that spraying Spray N Wipe has the same effect on most bugs, if you do it directly. It definitely works on cockroaches. I think it is the ammonia component, which in the case of cockies causes them to inhale it through the breathing holes along their sides. Anyway, it works, and makes cleanup much easier. Also, it kills them in a minute or two at most, unlike some slower acting conventional sprays.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 10:43 pm

  271. Bogongs used to be eaten by Aborigines of course. See Josephine Flood, The Moth Hunters. I once read that early white settlers used to make a sauce from them, but I cannot find that reference any more.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 10:43 pm

  272. You say potato, I say potarto, Spot. :)

    Oestrogen is an hysterically funny hormone.

    That’s a very funny line, Tom. :lol:

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:43 pm

  273. The cowardly Wallabies deserved to lose tonight. Playing for a penalty rather than taking a shot.

    What a bunch of yellow losers.

    C.L.

    20 Oct 12 at 10:44 pm

  274. Spray N Wipe

    Good tip, Johanna.
    I’m using Nifti now, much more effective than SnW I find. Will trial the Nifti on bugs – but will have the Baygon handy just in case.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:46 pm

  275. We had a water cooler at work which seemed to be squirting at funny angles… then a baby cockroach squirted out. We took the cooler apart, and it turned out they were nesting in the damn thing. The combination of water and warmth from the motor (to chill the water) attracted the buggers. I have never drank from a water cooler since.

    A colleague laughed at me at the time, since I’d been drinking the cooler water, and he’d been sticking to tea. Then we found an adult cockroach in the kettle… he’d been drinking cockroach stew!

    We brought in pest control, but I stucj to bottled water after that (we’ve since moved offices). I think this beats any horror story the rest of you care to dish up regarding cockroaches.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:47 pm

  276. Hehe, no I didn’t Gab. For mine, moths don’t bother me as they don’t bite or sting. I do a weird Peter Garrett impression when I see bees, wasps, etc. though…

    Skuter

    20 Oct 12 at 10:49 pm

  277. Julian – please, please, no moth recipes!

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:49 pm

  278. will have the Baygon handy just in case.

    I used to have a beautiful under-and-over .410/.22 shotgun/sports rifle. Would you like me to buy you one just in case?

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:51 pm

  279. Yes, you win, Fleeced, you win.

    (No more horrendous stories, I beg you)

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:51 pm

  280. The Labor-Green alliance was cemented with that creepy photo – the Addams Family with wattle. Probably enough to ensure it won’t be seen outside APSLand and welfare/economic basket States like Tasmania and possibly SA any time soon.

    Gotta hand it to the Greens really, for a lunatic fringe party that picks up roughly one vote in ten they are leading Labor around by the nose.

    H B Bear

    20 Oct 12 at 10:51 pm

  281. That’s going a bit overboard, Tom and would damage the furniture. But it will do nicely for the possums. Does the rifle come with a silencer?

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 10:52 pm

  282. You want a silencer you’ll have to speak to the dealer (MK50).

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:55 pm

  283. Andrew Barr might have discovered that being a homosexual pushing that agenda in his Education portfolio was, as Obama would say, not optimal.

    Julian O'Dea

    20 Oct 12 at 10:56 pm

  284. I do a weird Peter Garrett impression when I see bees, wasps, etc. though…

    Haha… I remember as a kid, I had a gap in the window frame of my bedroom, and, unfortunately, a beehive formed in the tree just outside. EVERY morning at least one bee would make it’s way inside and be buzzing against the glass to get back out. I used to have to open the window to shoo them out, but this one time, the littler bugger didn’t want to leave, so I closed the window and sprayed it. It wasn’t dying, so I kept spraying. Despite the window being closed, and the gap being small, they started swarming to get in.

    Moral to the story: If you need to kill a bee, do NOT spray it. :)

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:56 pm

  285. Federally he’s sowing the sends of a beautiful narrative for Abbott. Once Labor and the Greens do their little deal to secure power again, it will then be unqestionable that a vote for Labor is a vote for The Greens.

    That’s a good point. Another Labor Greens alliance in the ACT right now would be very bad timing, at the Federal level.

    dd

    20 Oct 12 at 10:58 pm

  286. Yes, you win, Fleeced, you win.

    (No more horrendous stories, I beg you)

    I do have worse I could share, but I won’t… at least, not today :)

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 10:59 pm

  287. You’re kidding, JO’D! The ACT education minister was a homosexual??? That would be enough for me to send my kids to boarding school.

    Tom

    20 Oct 12 at 10:59 pm

  288. Yes, you win, Fleeced, you win

    Also, I’m not sure “win” is quite the right word :/

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:02 pm

  289. I must admit, I’m sorry I mentioned bugs, I now keep jumping and over-reacting.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:03 pm

  290. I can’t kill bees, Fleeced, they are nature’s good guys.

    True story, I found a bee in the house, on the kitchen window sill. I couldn’t bring myself to kill it, the Baygon stayed where it was in the cupboard. So I got an empty plastic container, tentatively – and bravely, I might add – approached the bee with stealth and quick as lightning placed the container over the bee.

    Then I raced next door and got the neighbour to remove the bee and release it safely to the world. See? I’m not all bad.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 11:03 pm

  291. I couldn’t bring myself to kill it, the Baygon stayed where it was in the cupboard

    I repeat. Never use Baygon on a bee… they have friends, and those friends DO try to help. It’s not an urban myth – the bastards look out for each other.

    Then I raced next door and got the neighbour to remove the bee and release it safely to the world.

    LOL. A neighbour? Really?

    How many times you been stung?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:06 pm

  292. Never been stung but have heard lots of stories about people who have…that’s enough for me.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 11:07 pm

  293. I have MONSTER cockroaches at my place, it’s Queensland. Opened the back door this evening and one of the big buggers flew in! He’s been sprayed, and the general direction he flew and scuttled off in has also been sprayed.

    *****

    Thirty-something supervisor/manager at work freaked out about an itty-bitty teeny-weeny “money” spider on her computer screen.

    Freaked. Out.

    She was going to squish it, but couldn’t do it with her shoe. I put it in my cupped hands and took it outside.

    Where do these girly-skirts come from?

    ***

    Snakes are another matter entirely!

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 11:11 pm

  294. That’s a good point. Another Labor Greens alliance in the ACT right now would be very bad timing, at the Federal level.

    It will signal that 2010 wasn’t just a quirk but is the new political order in Australia. To vote ALP in the nation means having the Greens in power too.

    Also Canberra Labor are going to have a hell of a time explaining why they – a party with 7 seats are putting a party with only 2 seats in ministry positions but the ascendent party with 8 seats is denied any power at all.

    The ALP are going to end up looking grubby, duplicitious and frankly undemocratic. Zed’s prepping a narrative that will to poison the government as a betrayer before it even forms.

    twostix

    20 Oct 12 at 11:13 pm

  295. Never been stung but have heard lots of stories about people who have…that’s enough for me.

    Ah… I’ve only been stung twice – but both as a kid, and both prior to the silly spraying incident (also as a kid). I wouldn’t kill them now either – I do like them., though I have an irrational fear from watching a killer bee movie (again, as a kid). If you have a hive on your property, a bee guy will remove it for $50 or so.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:13 pm

  296. Got together the makings of a cuppa one night. Pushed the button on the kettle. Walked away for a while.

    When I went back to pour the water over the teabag I didn’t notice anything.

    A little later I went back to remove the teabag and add the milk.

    Removing the teabag brought an enormous, cooked and partially dismembered cockroach.

    That cuppa was a sinker, and I started again – and I kept watch for any bugs wanting to hide in the cup under the teabag.

    Yuk!

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 11:17 pm

  297. Thirty-something supervisor/manager at work freaked out about an itty-bitty teeny-weeny “money” spider on her computer screen.

    Money spiders are good luck, aren’t they? They never bothered me. As a little kid, I was more freaked out by Daddy Longlegs, LOL.

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:18 pm

  298. I have to leave. I cannot read anymore horror bug stories.

    Gab

    20 Oct 12 at 11:19 pm

  299. kae, after the office incident, I empty and refill the kettle a lot more than I used to… You?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:20 pm

  300. Ah, fleeced. The cockie was at home in my cup.
    It had snuck in there to hide under the teabag, then I added the boiling water and didn’t see him there…
    Kettle has a filter on the spout so the blighters (and geckos) can’t get in there.
    God, I hate bugs and geckos.
    Just ‘cos they’re messy.

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 11:23 pm

  301. (and geckos)

    Have a Wld friend with that problem. They like Geckos, but stilll…

    To my earlier question? Where in the world for warm weather without pests/rodents/vermin?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:26 pm

  302. Wld = Qld

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:27 pm

  303. I must say, I haven’t really had any snake problems (touch wood), though I know many who have.

    But seriously: Where for the perfect bug/pest-free summer holiday?

    Fleeced

    20 Oct 12 at 11:30 pm

  304. Where in the world?

    I don’t know, Fleeced.

    But the entomologist at work said that the cool nights and cold mornings we’ve been having up here (west of Bris) will keep the moths and bugs down this season.

    kae

    20 Oct 12 at 11:30 pm

  305. You’re kidding, JO’D! The ACT education minister was a homosexual??? That would be enough for me to send my kids to boarding school. (said Tom)
    ————————-
    You are a moron. They would be much more at risk at boarding school.

    I have no brief for Barr, but he is no more or less of a threat to children than anyone else. As a Minister, he has practically no direct contact with schoolkids, unlike their teachers, or sports coaches, or family, friends and neighbours.

    Re the ACT election, it would be stupid for the Libs to do a deal with the putrid Greens. We all know how that ends.

    Let Labor undergo the torture and self-destruction, to an audience that will vote in the next Federal election.

    johanna

    20 Oct 12 at 11:39 pm

  306. Hahaha Gaffe of the night :
    Meredith Hunter, greens leader – “We’ve campaigned positively, we’ve campaigned for a healthier, more liberal … Canberra”
    Yep, you sure have. LOL

    Keith

    20 Oct 12 at 11:45 pm

  307. When I lived in FNQ, a female visitor sat on and squashed a green frog in the middle of the night (it was hanging out between the plastic toilet seat thingy and the ceramic ring).

    I imagine they heard the screams in PNG.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 11:47 pm

  308. From having claimed that the GOP had made a huge mistake in nominating Romney, whom I recall describing at the time as “Bob Dole Mk. II”, I’ve gone to thinking he could actually win this thing after all. I have never been so happy to have been so spectacularly wrong.

    Thus spake the Dawg. You’re welcome.

    Sdog – I hated Romney is the Primaries. I’m still not cool with all his policies but the more I find out about him the more I like him.

    He has the potential to be the best or the worst President in a century.

    Infidel Tiger

    20 Oct 12 at 11:48 pm

  309. I spent part of a summer in Norway, which being so cool you wouldn’t finger for pests.

    RATS. Fucking rats. It was a wet summer and they were coming up out of the fucking DRAINS. I’ll take cockroaches/palmetto bugs or huntsman spiders over rats any day.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 11:52 pm

  310. He can’t be worse than Obama, IT.

    sdog

    20 Oct 12 at 11:56 pm

  311. He can’t be worse than Obama, IT.

    That’s a very low base! Obama is the worst since Wilson.

    He’ll do just fine. He may even be great.

    Infidel Tiger

    21 Oct 12 at 12:01 am

  312. I spent part of a summer in Norway, which being so cool you wouldn’t finger for pests.

    Even without rats… I want WARM.

    I have a friend who visits Italy every July. He insists they have no flies. Anyone confirm? Seriously, I just want to know how to travel in such a way as to perpetually avoid winter and pests… Too much to ask?

    Fleeced

    21 Oct 12 at 12:10 am

  313. Stay in a plane.

    I might have suggested cruising, but most ships have rats and cockroaches.

    I do get your loathing of bugs, though. It’s one of the reasons I could never live in the tropics.

    Sadly, summer in the northern latitudes is accompanied with massive swarms of flies, mosquitoes and midges, which breed in the meltwaters. The good side of living in a dry continent is that there are less of them.

    johanna

    21 Oct 12 at 12:42 am

  314. How sad… and how very apt:

    RNC up $83 million, DNC taking out loans.

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 1:39 am

  315. CL,

    Who would have thought Obama would spend and be reliant on loans? It’s not like this is how they have run the country over the last four years.

    Who would have thought that the ALP will shed votes in the ACT election and be reliant on the Greens to form Govenment? It’s not like this is how they have run the country over the last two years.

    John Comnenus

    21 Oct 12 at 4:30 am

  316. oops
    NBN spends 25 times more on salaries than it earns from broadband
    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/
    that went well

    val majkus

    21 Oct 12 at 4:49 am

  317. and from Maxine McKew

    JULIA Gillard is a control freak who manufactured a leadership crisis to become PM in a “classic stitch-up” of Kevin Rudd, according to a new political memoir.

    Former star Labor recruit and ABC broadcaster Maxine McKew has delivered the blistering assessment in a new book, Tales From The Political Trenches.

    Party chiefs are furious the book’s release has been timed to reignite Labor’s leadership wars in the traditional leadership “killing zone”, the final parliamentary sitting week of the year.

    The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the book accuses Ms Gillard’s supporters of cooking up a false story to trigger the leadership crisis.

    The Prime Minister had long maintained her decision to challenge Mr Rudd for the leadership was only made on the day, a view Ms McKew dismisses as a fiction.

    according to McKew the PM’s version is not correct – would it be mysogynist to say ‘a lie’

    val majkus

    21 Oct 12 at 4:54 am

  318. Check out the ACT election results.

    If in that most Labor-friendly state the ACT, the Liberals have had a 6.4 swing in favour of them, then what does that say for the rest of Australia who are less forgiving of the ALP.

    The next Federal election will be, I predict, a doozy.

    A Lurker

    21 Oct 12 at 5:26 am

  319. didn’t Gillard assist with the ACT elections
    It’s all Abbott’s fault
    he’s so damn mysogynistic and sexist as well

    val majkus

    21 Oct 12 at 5:30 am

  320. On bugs: in a shared house in Sydney off Taylor Square in the late 70s, a free-loading hippy from Melbourne turned up to “spend a night” and was still on the couch a month later. Being bright, shiny people no one actually told him to go, but resentment was building. One night one of the housemates offers the freeloader a cup Milo, which is very crunchy on top.

    Well a roach fell off the roof, landed in the cup and got a thorough chewing before the bludger realised there were frantic little legs writhing in his mouth.

    He left the next day so bugs do have their purposes.

    areff

    21 Oct 12 at 5:39 am

  321. didn’t Swannie say ‘who do you trust’

    THIS week the Gillard Government is going to unveil a “mini-horror mini-budget”.

    The only reason it’s doing it this week is to avoid having to do a full-on horror mini-budget, if it delayed until it – and even more, its Treasury advisers – really knew what was happening to the economy.

    This captures the two fundamental characteristics of the Gillard Government. First, everything it does is political. If what it sees as necessary to boost its political fortunes happens to coincide with what’s good for the country, well, good.

    If it doesn’t, well, stuff the country.

    and

    The wake-up call is that the world continues to teeter on a series of cliff edges. What we need is a government that will put governing ahead of politics and a competent Treasury to advise it.

    We have neither.

    val majkus

    21 Oct 12 at 5:42 am

  322. Glenn Reynolds needs to take his “Don’t get c*cky” spiel and stow it. Once a day max, but it is now appearing every time he mentions a poll or opinion on the race.

    pete m

    21 Oct 12 at 6:18 am

  323. Looks like we’ll see a Labor-Green alliance in the ACT…..
    More tantrums and dummy spits ahead.
    More “we wuz robbed” and “the voters are stupid”.
    Isn’t democracy wonderful?

    1735099

    21 Oct 12 at 6:36 am

  324. If they’re still whinging about it 40+ years hence, Patio Boy, you might have a point.

    sdog

    21 Oct 12 at 6:38 am

  325. You’re almost as dumb as Dogshit, Numbers. I’d suggest you read back up this thread for a very astute analysis by Twostix of the effect a new Labor-Greens alliance in the ACT will have on national politics:

    It will signal that 2010 wasn’t just a quirk but is the new political order in Australia. To vote ALP in the nation means having the Greens in power too.

    Also Canberra Labor are going to have a hell of a time explaining why they – a party with 7 seats are putting a party with only 2 seats in ministry positions but the ascendent party with 8 seats is denied any power at all.

    The ALP are going to end up looking grubby, duplicitious and frankly undemocratic. Zed’s prepping a narrative that will to poison the government as a betrayer before it even forms.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 6:50 am

  326. You’re almost as dumb as Dogshit, Numbers.

    Woops. Fixed.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 6:59 am

  327. Tom – don’t get numbers angry, he is a battle hardened veteran from the Sailor Moon cosplay group.

    Carpe Jugulum

    21 Oct 12 at 7:17 am

  328. This graph tells an interesting tale.

    It shows that the increases in productivity over the last 30 years in the US economy has not been shared with production and non-supervisory employees.

    It presumably has been shared with other, more skilled, employees.

    This would indicate the increasing importance of marketable skills for those in the workforce.

    It probably also signals the decline of union influence (not that there was ever much of that in the US economy) and the shrinkage of the union base to public sector employees. The impact of unions back prior to the 1980′s was to ‘look after” the blue collar manufacturing workforce. It probably did this reasonably well, at least until globalisation opened up markets and wrought significant change to industrial organisations and the site of manufacturing.

    An interesting aside is the price and incomes accord in the first Hawke government. The wages share of GDP was reduced with union agreement, and the profit share increased. It was certainly a time when living standards for most of the workforce was stagnant. Whether the increase in profits led to increased investment that allowed business to adjust structurally to globalisation is arguable.

    Will

    21 Oct 12 at 7:19 am

  329. The impact of Obama’s policies are here and here.

    I suspect the same applies to Aust.

    It is clear that big government socialism does not work.

    Will

    21 Oct 12 at 7:21 am

  330. The Fairfax Canberra Times did itself considerable damage by failing to foresee the closeness of the ACT election:

    The result, which defied a Canberra Times opinion poll published last week, is a triumph for the Liberals’ ”triple rates” campaign and the decision to move leader Zed Seselja from the Molonglo electorate to Brindabella where he was poised last night to net more than 28 per cent of the vote.

    Patterson Research Group has also made itself virtually unemployable as a political pollster. From Wednesday’s Canberra Times:

    The Canberra Liberals’ ”triple rates” campaign and Labor’s attacks on its opponents over public sector jobs have both failed to make an impact with voters in Saturday’s territory election, an exclusive Canberra Times poll shows.
    And less than a quarter of the electorate would be greatly influenced by federal politics when they cast their votes in three days, according to the poll by Patterson Research Group.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 7:28 am

  331. @ CL

    the federal report said 422,000 California public-school students would be victims before graduation — a number that dwarfs the state’s entire Catholic-school enrollment of 143,000.

    More crap.
    Compare the enrolments of kids in public schools with those in Catholic schools in the USA.
    You’re talking about a public school enrolment of about 50 million, compared to the Catholics with about 2 million.
    Therefore, if the rates were similar, there would be about 25 times the number of offences in public schools.
    You’re also projecting state statistics (California) on the national situation – totally invalid.
    You may not like atheists, but your particular religion (the High Church of Leaping Delusionists) is probably more dangerous.

    1735099

    21 Oct 12 at 7:50 am

  332. How does Parkinson’s claim against the Catholic church compare when based on the total number of children in the care of the Catholic church?

    Catholic schools in Australia have over 700,000 students, or about 31% of the total. One would there for expect, ceteris parabus, that Catholic school students would account for 31% of child abuse cases.

    No other religion in Australia comes even remotely close to the Catholics in terms of number of children educated, which educates a significant number of children of other religions as well as its own. The comparison to other religions seems unjustified.

    2dogs

    21 Oct 12 at 7:52 am

  333. I was thinking of watching insiders but I will save myself the trouble. My tip is that Barry and the couch will agree that the ACT election was fought on local issues and has no federal consequences, that Lib success was built on a scare campaign much like Abbott’s carbon tax claims, that the results show that the Libs can succeed by calling a female leader a liar – hence misogyny works in politics, but that the people are still happy to elect minority left of centre governments. And of course more Abbott Abbott Abbott.

    John Comnenus

    21 Oct 12 at 7:53 am

  334. Rasmussen Swing State Poll: Romney over Obama 50% — 46%

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 7:54 am

  335. JohnC, I’ll fact-check for you, but I suspect your accuracy will be about 98%.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:00 am

  336. Judith is getting rave reviews on twitter for her efforts against Wong and the lefty barbarians on Australian Agenda on Sky.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 8:02 am

  337. Advert from the Campaign to defeat the Spring Break President

    It hits the issue of the Vegas trip after the 9/11 attack well.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 8:06 am

  338. Malala, the young girl shot in the head by the Taliban, is recovering well and has been able to stand up.

    BUt the misogynistic slime are now targeting reporters over the incident:

    Meanwhile, the Taliban have been ordered to target journalists covering the shooting because Hakeemullah Mehsud, head of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is upset about the bad press.

    The Taliban’s “justification” for shooting a schoolgirl in the head? “We did not attack her for raising voice for education. We targeted her for opposing mujahideen and their war. Sharia says that even a child can be killed if he is propagating against Islam.”

    Gillard, as you will remember, stood in the UN defending this absurd “religion”. Seems some misogynists are worth defending according to the coven leader in government.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:07 am

  339. Insiders zombies — Bawwie, David Marr and one I can’t yet identify. Rest of Australia represented by Nikki Savva. Today’s government promotion features Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:11 am

  340. Marr on Insiders, FFS. Oh well, only 20 minutes til Horrible Histories.

    tylos

    21 Oct 12 at 8:15 am

  341. NBN spends 25 times more on salaries than it earns from broadband

    It never was about the technology. All about giving high paid jobs to cronies.

    Remember the original quote was $4 Billion yet after reviewing some # on the back of an envelope Krudd & Benito Conroy decided to make it $40 Billion.

    Odds on the # was the calculation of the union dues which would flood back to the Liars Party from this grand plan to gouge of the taxpayers.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 8:18 am

  342. Insiders:

    Rudd, control freak – bad.

    Gillard, control freak – good. “well she does have a country to run” and “gillard is a strong lady”.

    Unbelievable and not only because they referred to gillard as a “lady”.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:20 am

  343. Today’s government promotion features Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten.

    The Minister for Oprah handouts?

    I could swear that announcement to pay people more to do nothing sounded like he’d stepped off the an Oprah set.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 8:20 am

  344. Mark Kenny – the Channel 7/News dipshit that ambushed Abbott

    Mike of Marion

    21 Oct 12 at 8:20 am

  345. That was Mark Riley, wasn’t it?

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:21 am

  346. Shorten is promoting Bawwie’s new book. Hard-hitting interview.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:22 am

  347. Gab, yes you are correct

    Mike of Marion

    21 Oct 12 at 8:22 am

  348. Meanwhile, the Taliban have been ordered to target journalists covering the shooting because Hakeemullah Mehsud, head of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is upset about the bad press.

    Sounds like Bolta better crank out the video of the BBC saying we need to present more happy stories about the Taliban(d)*.

    * I hear the Macquarie Dictionary is spelling the word with a d now.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 8:23 am

  349. Looks like we’ll see a Labor-Green alliance…

    So, do you consider yourself a nihilist or a dystopian?

    lotocoti

    21 Oct 12 at 8:24 am

  350. Absolutely hilarious hearing Shorten talk about productivity.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:25 am

  351. How sad… and how very apt:

    RNC up $83 million, DNC taking out loans.

    From CL’s link, a lesson in socialist v free-market economics:

    How did the DNC get caught so short? Team Romney agreed to a significant amount of revenue sharing in late April when they partnered officially with the RNC. Team Obama, on the other hand, has refused to share revenue beyond what the DNC gets in large donations that are ineligible for the presidential campaign, and telling Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi that the campaign wouldn’t send cash to the DSCC and DCCC, either.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 8:25 am

  352. Shorten: govt will change Fair Work Australia to the Fair Work Commission to address its image problem. Another revolution to be thankful for.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:28 am

  353. If Bill Shorten is Liebore’s future they really rooly are f*cked

    JamesK

    21 Oct 12 at 8:28 am

  354. Shorten: the government created 800,000 jobs over the last five years.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:29 am

  355. President Barack Obama and his supporters continue to slash at Gov. Mitt Romney for keeping some of his private-sector wealth overseas, even though the president’s Illinois pension is also invested in Chinese companies and a fund in the Cayman Islands.

    “When he talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind that Gov. Romney invested in companies that were pioneers of outsourcing to China, and is currently investing in countries — in companies that are building surveillance equipment for China to spy on its own folks,” Obama insisted during the Oct. 16 presidential debate at Hofstra University.

    http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/20/obamas-pension-includes-chinese-and-cayman-investments/#ixzz29shiMDcQ

    .

    Lovely photo of Obama bowing to China’s President Hu Jintao.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:37 am

  356. David Marr has his own language where words mean what he wants them to mean. No wonder three lesbians and a dog read his writing.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:37 am

  357. Bawwie and Favey are getting angry with Mark Kenny of the Adelaide Advertiser that he doesn’t appreciate Julia’s misogyny rant.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:39 am

  358. Bawwie and Davey.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:40 am

  359. Marr says that what it cost to get Australia a two-year term on the UN Security Council “wasn’t a great deal of money”.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:42 am

  360. God Marr is up him self, talking over the top of Nicki, elevating Gillard misogyny speech to Catoesque levels, sorry about spelling – ipad.

    Helen Armstrong

    21 Oct 12 at 8:46 am

  361. Marr: media set out to humiliate Gillard with extensive coverage of her fall.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:46 am

  362. Gillard’s arse over tit in India is a plot by Abbott to discredit her.

    Helen Armstrong

    21 Oct 12 at 8:47 am

  363. Marr is sexist talking over Nicki

    Helen Armstrong

    21 Oct 12 at 8:49 am

  364. Then he’s doing an excellent job, Helen.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 8:49 am

  365. Marr and Kenny: AbbottAbbottAbbott dogged it by “refusing” to raise towbacks with SBY.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:50 am

  366. Marr -coalition need to understand I (Marr) will make stacks of money in the courts out of illegal economic immigrants

    Helen Armstrong

    21 Oct 12 at 8:53 am

  367. Floyd, my dog, is acting weird. He’s been standing over in the “shadehouse” section of the pergola and staring through the slats…

    SNAKE!

    That’s why there’s no plants in the shadehouse section, it’s just rocks.

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 8:55 am

  368. Marr is sexist talking over Nicki

    It’s crucial for the left to always control the conversation.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 8:57 am

  369. Shorten: the government created 800,000 jobs over the last five years.

    Judging from the ALP’s record of creating jobs in Queensland, that’s a lot of public servants!

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 8:58 am

  370. I’m soooo disappointed that I can’t get ABC.

    (not really)

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 9:00 am

  371. Tommy Tudehope

    A leftist plonker who brings great shame upon a proud Catholic family.

    And a former Turnbull staffer.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 9:16 am

  372. Cassandra Wilkinson looks and talks like a younger version of Nikki Savva.

    Septimus

    21 Oct 12 at 9:18 am

  373. Kae, did you get the snake? My youngest boy had one slither over his ankle and foot yesterday!

    John Comnenus

    21 Oct 12 at 9:19 am

  374. This is disturbing. He is not well and should be nowhere near the nuclear football:

    Biden Interrupts Woman’s Story With Squatting Charades.

    At a campaign event Friday afternoon in Florida, Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bill Nelson took the stage to a cheering crowd. They were being introduced by a Florida resident named Barbra who began by telling a story about her struggle with breast cancer. She was in the middle of describing her fear of relapse when Biden went over to Sen. Nelson, whispered something, and then eventually started doing squatting charades in an effort to get the crowd to sit down. The Vice President also gave thumbs up to the crowd and broke into laughter while the woman was telling her story.

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 9:24 am

  375. Geez Tom get with the progrom,only whites can be racist and only heteros. can be sexist.

    Lew

    21 Oct 12 at 9:25 am

  376. Lots of people here took far too long to realise that Romney was the only decent candidate on offer. The others were just too kooky, particularly Santorum, who would have lost the female vote by 20 points.

    Fisky

    21 Oct 12 at 9:26 am

  377. C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 9:31 am

  378. Noooooooo! Enough with the creepy crawly bugs!!!

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 9:33 am

  379. Gab, is it true you Mortein possums? :?

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 9:35 am

  380. LOL.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 9:35 am

  381. No longer talking to CL. Humpff!

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 9:36 am

  382. I can hear the girly shrieks from here. I’ll see if I can find some more cockroach videos.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 9:36 am

  383. You do that, Tom but I won’t be clicking on the links, you big meany!!

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 9:37 am

  384. Biden Interrupts Woman’s Story With Squatting Charades.

    He visited St Augustine today, a planned appearance, they held it in a high school gym because there was so little interest, and they couldn’t even fill that. Click, click.

    sdog

    21 Oct 12 at 9:37 am

  385. My favourite town in the USA, Dawg!

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 9:40 am

  386. sdog

    21 Oct 12 at 9:41 am

  387. No. Not clicking.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 9:42 am

  388. Marr’s performance on Insiders was hysterical. He should charge Abbott rent for living inside his head.

    Steve of Ferny Hills

    21 Oct 12 at 9:52 am

  389. C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 10:13 am

  390. “Kae, did you get the snake?”

    kae has only given herself half a chance of doing that John Commenus. She’s stationed Floyd in the wrong place, last seen cavorting about on the Lotsa Candy Chubby Crowley thread. :)

    Mick Gold Coast QLD

    21 Oct 12 at 10:25 am

  391. So, did the ACT election get any mention at all on Asswiders? Or has it been airbrushed out of history already?

    Thanks in advance to those who take one for the team by watching.

    johanna

    21 Oct 12 at 10:39 am

  392. On Background Briefing this morning on ABC Radio National, they were taking a very critical look at Nicola Roxon’s proposed new surveillance laws. Well done, Background Briefing. It’s refreshing to see a bit of independence from the ALP.

    Dangph

    21 Oct 12 at 11:11 am

  393. Oooops – kae’s

    “stationed Floyd in the wrong place …”

    wandering about the Benghazi thread. Woof!

    Mick Gold Coast QLD

    21 Oct 12 at 11:11 am

  394. sdog

    21 Oct 12 at 11:30 am

  395. LOL:

    University of Michigan Hosts ‘Non-Partisan’ Event: ‘The Republican War On Women’.

    Via Instapundit.

    We need Macquarie to redefine “non-partisan.” Because it actually means “left-wing.”

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 11:33 am

  396. Starbucks van with sliding door.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 11:40 am

  397. A couple of hot birds.

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 11:52 am

  398. I was looking forward to hearing Nikki Savva’s contribution on Insiders – if only she had been allowed by David Marr to make one.

    Viva

    21 Oct 12 at 11:52 am

  399. On reflection I think Marr was scared of Nikki’s ability to make incisive comments that cut through their bullshit – hence the strategy of almost shouting her down.

    Viva

    21 Oct 12 at 11:59 am

  400. “Snarky, Condescending, Peevish and Small.”

    That’s either a law firm or an apt description of Obama’s campaign thus far.

    sdog

    21 Oct 12 at 12:16 pm

  401. No. Not clicking. Gab.
    :-P

    sdog

    21 Oct 12 at 12:19 pm

  402. The Canberra Times headline the day before the election is possibly an infringement of electoral rules. This might not ordinarily matter, but in this case there is a close result. It’s hard to say the how the impact of that headline influenced the vote, but I think the case can be made. For example, talking to a labor voter this morning, and they said that they actually voted for the bullet train party, because in their words “labor had it sewn up, so I used my vote to push an issue that the incoming labor government should look at”. Kind of a perverse effect in the sense that the leftist propaganda rag possibly caused some votes to bleed away from labor into special interest parties.
    In Ginninderra, Hunter(greens) has a lead of 51 over Henry(motorists). That seat could be headed for the court of disputed returns, and the Canberra Times could be implicated in having boosted Henry’s vote (say).

    Keith

    21 Oct 12 at 12:31 pm

  403. 12 year old, alone at home, shoots a man that broke in and was hunting through the house looking for her.

    According to the 911 recording, the intruder was inside the house for about six minutes while Kendra was told by the dispatcher to stay on the phone and keep it on speaker.

    “The bathroom light switch makes a noise when you turn it on and Kendra heard it,” St. Clair said.

    As Kendra saw the door knob turn slowly, she fired the gun, her mother said.

    Jones was hit in the chest, Undersheriff Ken Golden said.

    In Australia, this news story could not happen. It would simply be, “12 year old child disappears, mother appeals for witnesses.”

    dd

    21 Oct 12 at 12:35 pm

  404. “No. Not clicking. Gab.
    :-P

    She’s a sook, eh sdog!?!?

    Mick Gold Coast QLD

    21 Oct 12 at 12:46 pm

  405. For Gab:

    There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
    I don’t know why she swallowed a fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
    It wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
    I don’t know why she swallowed the fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a bird.
    How absurd, to swallow a bird!
    She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
    I don’t know why she swallowed the fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
    Imagine that, she swallowed a cat!
    She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    Swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
    I don’t know why she swallowed the fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
    My, what a hog to swallow a dog!
    She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
    Swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    Swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
    I don’t know why she swallowed a fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a goat.
    She just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
    She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
    Swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
    Swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    Swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    They wiggled and riggled and giggled inside her,
    She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
    I don’t know why she swallowed the fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a cow,
    I don’t know how, but she swallowed a cow,
    She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
    Swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
    Swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
    Swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
    Swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
    that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
    She swallowed a spider to catch the fly.
    I don’t know why she swallowed a fly -
    Perhaps she’ll die.

    There was an old lady who swallowed a horse…
    She died, of course.

    Fleeced

    21 Oct 12 at 1:17 pm

  406. Canberra elections were on “local issues” – just like all the other apologisits for state elections and “bucked the trend” in ALP had won thus stopping the slide and for which the Feds should take heart.

    Helen Armstrong

    21 Oct 12 at 1:20 pm

  407. Sorry the above was on asswinders.

    Helen Armstrong

    21 Oct 12 at 1:21 pm

  408. Totally OT
    Watching a movie Will any gentleman? on GEM.

    It features two of the actors who went on to play The Doctor, William Hartnell, the first doctor, and Jon Pertwee.

    I knew those faces were familiar.

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 1:22 pm

  409. John
    No, didn’t get the snake. They’re protected you know. I think it was a tree snake.
    Anyhoo, neighbour and I cleared the low branches of the tree near the pergola and perhaps that will keep the snakes away…
    I worry about Floyd, no other reason to be concerned about snakes – I stay away from them.

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 1:26 pm

  410. There was an old lady who lived in a shoe,
    She had so many children her uterus fell out.
    The end.

    Splatacrobat

    21 Oct 12 at 1:26 pm

  411. The Canberra liberals ran a fantastic campaign and have been optimistic about their chances for some time. It wasn’t just about Federal stuff, the ACT Labor-Greens alliance has been shocking.

    dd

    21 Oct 12 at 1:26 pm

  412. “In Australia, this news story could not happen. It would simply be, “12 year old child disappears, mother appeals for witnesses.””

    Well dd, that story contains everything you’d wish for!

    An alert child and a mother with a cool head, who has taught her well:

    “Kendra … called her mother … to say a man was ringing the doorbell and banging on the door, St. Clair said.

    St. Clair told her daughter to get her .40-caliber Glock pistol and go into the bathroom closet, which has reinforced locks on the door.”

    Not so smart, I say, unless you want to give yourself away in hide and seek:

    “According to the 911 recording … Kendra was told by the dispatcher to stay on the phone and keep it on speaker.”

    911 can have as much protective value as a marked pedestrian crossing – of the accused in court, six months later, during apportionment of contributory negligence against the victim.

    … a child who remains focused rather than falling about screeching for a social worker to feel her pain and rescue the perpetrator:

    “As Kendra saw the door knob turn slowly, she fired the gun, her mother said.

    Kendra said even though she was terrified, “I kept my head on straight.”

    A disobedient child who first relied on what her mother taught her about self reliance, rather than on commands from an authority with personal legal liability foremost in her mind:

    “When the dispatcher told Kendra to lay the gun down after she shot it, she didn’t want to because she heard more people in the house, her mother said. The dispatcher assured her the police were there.”

    He’s in hospital with a .40 calibre in his guts and she’s unhurt. The correct order of things is maintained.

    Hang on, the intruder has been pinged 12 months ago for abducting Breanne McQuigg, 17, a mentally disabled girl – he was free to offend again so I suppose it’s true, sadly the usual order of things is maintained.

    I imagine the Boy God King will shortly opine from the White House about the young lady’s need for intensive anger management training.

    Mick Gold Coast QLD

    21 Oct 12 at 1:27 pm

  413. I watched Get The Gringo last night.

    Very good.

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 1:27 pm

  414. …a mother with a cool head…

    … who leaves a 12 year-old girl home alone at night.

    Mmm.

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 1:29 pm

  415. Fleeced, I have that There Was An Old Lady book, it’s a little pop-up book and I love it!

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 1:30 pm

  416. Thanks, Helen.

    Funny how every election on ‘local issues’ for the last few years has had much the same result …

    johanna

    21 Oct 12 at 1:31 pm

  417. Very good.

    You are pushing my leg, no?

    Gab

    21 Oct 12 at 1:37 pm

  418. ” …a mother with a cool head…

    … who leaves a 12 year-old girl home alone at night.

    Mmm.”

    Fair go C.L.:

    “Kendra … was home on fall break. Her mother had shown her how to shoot it, she said.

    “Normally I do not leave my kids at home alone,” Debra St. Clair said. “But being a single mother of two with a full-time job, I had to that day.”

    Kendra … called her mother about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday”

    Mick Gold Coast QLD

    21 Oct 12 at 1:38 pm

  419. Fleeced, I have that There Was An Old Lady book, it’s a little pop-up book and I love it!

    It was a favourite as as little kid – I used to think it was hilarious.

    Fleeced

    21 Oct 12 at 1:41 pm

  420. Oh my Lord.

    Sandra Fluke takes centre stage on the campaign trail in Reno.

    Sandra Fluke, the woman at the center of a media firestorm earlier this year after Rush Limbaugh called her a ‘slut,’ spoke Saturday in front of about 10 people at the Sak ‘N Save in north Reno.

    C.L.

    21 Oct 12 at 1:41 pm

  421. Potemkin’s Village

    Susan Butler, Editor of the Macquarie Dictionary, This is (Now) Your Life… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    21 Oct 12 at 3:38 pm

  422. Lefties tweet against “Nick Romney

    These people vote.

    Fleeced

    21 Oct 12 at 4:07 pm

  423. “Lefties tweet against “Nick Romney””

    What idiots. His name is Willard.

    Jarrah

    21 Oct 12 at 4:10 pm

  424. Jarrah, very good. LOL

    Grigory Potemkin

    21 Oct 12 at 4:12 pm

  425. LOL

    A bus carrying Australian tourists has run off a road near the Grand Canyon in the US.

    Apparently it ran off the road and into a ray-vine.

    (Aussie talking head voice over.)

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 5:34 pm

  426. Hunter – Henry gap now narrowed to 32 votes. This could get funny.
    Hunter on the news tonight : “there’s been a settling of the greens vote, but we’ve performed well”.
    Yep, losing two out of four seats, and a third under a cloud – that’s called performing well.
    Christine Milne however is quoted as being disappointed.

    Keith

    21 Oct 12 at 6:28 pm

  427. Combined greens/labor vote is now 49.7%, so Gallagher’s earlier claim (repeated on their ABC tonight) of progressives having over 50% is wrong.

    Keith

    21 Oct 12 at 6:32 pm

  428. Keith, where did you source that updated number?

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 6:42 pm

  429. Here is the Summary page Tom. Individual electorates can be accessed on the side menu or clicking the electorate names in the column headings.

    Keith

    21 Oct 12 at 6:49 pm

  430. Combined greenslime/laybore vote is now 49.7%

    :)

    Rabz

    21 Oct 12 at 6:58 pm

  431. Thanks, Keith. People are still assuming a result based on the one they want. It would be very enjoyable if they were wrong.

    Tom

    21 Oct 12 at 7:00 pm

  432. I am interested to see how few people voted for Marion Le’s illegal immigration free for all party.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 7:06 pm

  433. Rabz

    21 Oct 12 at 7:08 pm

  434. Just in case you thought PC wasn’t a danger to the west, a US Army counter-terrorism course has been cancelled for less than savoury reasons.
    Stop PC before it stops you.

    blogstrop

    21 Oct 12 at 7:27 pm

  435. Huge storm to the north of me here.
    A little rain on me, lots of lightning and thunder in the distance.

    The ozone smell is wonderful. It’s been a stinker today, 37 degrees. Nine above average!

    kae

    21 Oct 12 at 8:06 pm

  436. Grocerwatch, Fuelwatch, MyChild…

    Once again big government delivers again…

    THE federal government website that alerts parents to vacancies in their local childcare centres is often publishing misleading information, prompting complaints from those who have chased places that do not exist.

    The information on the MyChild site has caused confusion because centres are not required to say whether they have waiting lists.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 9:14 pm

  437. Good article by Chris Berg about the failure of telecommunications policy:

    Ministers’ total control over broadcasters has been disastrous.

    Token

    21 Oct 12 at 9:17 pm

  438. Just wanted to pass on my thanks to whoever made the recommendation here to read Mark Tier’s “Trust Your Enemies”. It’s a political thriller set here in good old OZ. Good stuff it was too and at the bargain price of a couple of bucks from the Kindle store.

    I can’t remember who it was, but thanks all the same.

    tbh

    21 Oct 12 at 10:52 pm

  439. I should also add that there are some themes in the book that will resonate with the libertarians among us.

    tbh

    21 Oct 12 at 10:53 pm

  440. Gallop likely national:

    R 51%
    O 45%

    This is the fifth day in a row on which Romney’s been at 50 or above, and the fourth day in a row he’s been ahead of Obama by six points or more.

    JamesK

    21 Oct 12 at 11:01 pm

  441. Rasmussen Daily tracking likely voters national:

    R 49%
    O 48%

    Before the first presidential debate, Obama was up by two, 49% to 47%. Following that debate, Romney was up 49% to 47%. Now it’s a one-point race with two days to go before the final debate. Romney leads by six among unaffiliated voters. Republicans remain more interested in the campaign than Democrats.

    JamesK

    21 Oct 12 at 11:03 pm

  442. Rasmussen: Daily Swing State Tracking Poll
    Swing State Tracking: Romney 50%, Obama 46%

    n the 11 swing states, Mitt Romney earns 50% of the vote to Obama’s 46%. One percent (1%) likes another candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided.

    This marks the first time that Romney has hit the 50% mark in the combined swing states. Obama reached the 50% mark again on Wednesday, but Romney bounced back as responses since Tuesday’s presidential debate entered the mix. Because this survey is conducted on a rolling seven-day basis, just over half the responses in today’s update still come from before that debate. Tomorrow’s update will be the first in which the majority of the responses follow the most recent debate.

    In 2008, Obama won these states by a combined margin of 53% to 46%, virtually identical to his national margin.

    JamesK

    21 Oct 12 at 11:07 pm

  443. LABOR’S two-party vote has risen for the fourth consecutive month and Julia Gillard’s approval has leapt 5 points in an Age/Nielsen poll carrying bad news for Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd.

    Ms Gillard has opened a 10-point margin over Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister – she is up 3 points to 50 per cent, while he has fallen 4 points to 40 per cent. This is her biggest lead since February 2011.

    The Coalition is still ahead of Labor on the two-party vote but has fallen a point in five weeks to 52 per cent; the government is up 1 point to 48 per cent.

    m0nty

    21 Oct 12 at 11:14 pm

  444. Ms Gillard has opened a 10-point margin over Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister – she is up 3 points to 50 per cent, while he has fallen 4 points to 40 per cent. This is her biggest lead since February 2011.

    You know, it’s getting tiresome having to explain to you after every poll that ‘preferred prime minister’ is a meaningless number.

    dd

    21 Oct 12 at 11:16 pm

  445. Tell the pollsters that dd.

    m0nty

    21 Oct 12 at 11:20 pm

  446. Shock! The Oz has an EXCLUSIVE!! report on the IPS calling for APS cuts! What a gun investigative journo that Adam Creighton fellow must be to uncover such a scoop!

    The report, called Razor Cuts, Not Paper Cuts, calls for privatisation of the ABC, SBS, Australia Post and Medibank Private, cutting more than 44,000 jobs from the public sector.

    m0nty

    21 Oct 12 at 11:33 pm

  447. Ms Gillard has opened a 10-point margin over Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister – she is up 3 points to 50 per cent, while he has fallen 4 points to 40 per cent. This is her biggest lead since February 2011.

    The Coalition is still ahead of Labor on the two-party vote but has fallen a point in five weeks to 52 per cent; the government is up 1 point to 48 per cent.

    Wait wait wait.

    Just a few weeks ago you were celebrating Gillard at 50/50

    Now you’re celebrating her at 48/52?

    And whatever happened to Newmann being the most hated premier eva?

    Fortunately here in cold hard reality just yesterday Labor got their clocks cleaned by the Liberals in Canberra.

    twostix

    21 Oct 12 at 11:46 pm

  448. mOron you gutless turd. You made a complete cock of yourself on the Crowley thread, ran away and had a cry. Spoke to Stevieliar QC no doubt.

    Now your over here claiming another disaster for the whore is a victory. You are pathetic. Poor hopeless c$$t.

    Any doughnuts left lard arse?

    Tiny Dancer

    22 Oct 12 at 12:03 am

  449. Potemkin’s Village

    Gosh, it’s fortunate that The Honourable Chief Justice Diana Bryant AO QC is not the Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy. Excuses will be made but nothing will happen because… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    22 Oct 12 at 1:12 am

  450. Only one spider today… I guess that’s an improvement

    Fleeced

    22 Oct 12 at 2:26 am

  451. After a fortnight of continuous attacks on AbbottAbbottAbbott, who refuses to respond, Nielsen (full figures here) says Labor has narrowed its 2PP deficit from 47-53 to 48-52, Abbott’s rating as preferred PM has fallen slightly from 44 to 40% with 9% uncommitted, while Gillard now has 50%, Abbott’s approval and disapproval as opposition leader have both risen slightly, while more people still disapprove of Gillard than approve (48-47%). So McTernan’s howler monkey strategy would appear to work, at least in short bursts, while Abbott’s small target strategy would appear to be the major reason for his poor public rating. That’s why there has been no rumbling among the Libs about Turnbull: they all understand the party’s strategy will hurt Abbott while helping the 2PP. At what point do the Libs switch from defence to attack? I don’t think the opposition can go all the way to the election in defensive mode.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 6:25 am

  452. Picture from the Sandra Fluke rally.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 7:00 am

  453. For those who are a little slow, the timeline of the announcements of the Obama admin on the Benghazi attack in pictures.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 7:11 am

  454. The truth comes out (in the legacy media) about the left’s Occupy rape movement:

    Graduate student Helen Cox, 27, … said she never occupied overnight.

    ‘’I never felt safe enough,’’ she wrote. ‘’From those women who did occupy overnight, I heard endless stories of how they experienced harassment.’’

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 7:17 am

  455. Fortunately here in cold hard reality just yesterday Labor got their clocks cleaned by the Liberals in Canberra.

    There seems to be a bit of weirdness/disconnect between the polls & election results – a “Bradley” effect?

    In past few months when a real poll occurs Labor & the Greens vote drops & Libs go up 5-10% (NT, NSW Councils, People Republic of ACT), yet the polls indicate everything is close.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 7:22 am

  456. At what point do the Libs switch from defence to attack? I don’t think the opposition can go all the way to the election in defensive mode.

    Interesting observation, Tom.

    No matter what strategy the Libs adopt, expect the “Yabbott’s unrelenting negativity and misogyny” meme to continue to get a run.

    It’s not as if the lobodomee pardee and the greenfilth have any kind of record they can run on.

    It’ll be the cap’n blight Qld strategy all over again, dragging political campaigning down to previously uncharted, even more subterranean depths…

    That syphilitic, lobotomised scottish git, will of course, be in his element.

    Losers.

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 7:33 am

  457. Someone tried to trap me into agreeing with the “everyone hates Julia” meme the other day. No, it’s overall government performance, I said.
    I think that transfers into survey design and the poll results for preferred PM and satisfaction ratings. People are reticent to say something negative about a person. This probably impacts on voting preference too because people probably don’t want to look silly by saying they are satisfied with government performance, but won’t vote for them. Come election time, they drop the pretense.

    Keith

    22 Oct 12 at 7:35 am

  458. At what point do the Libs switch from defence to attack? I don’t think the opposition can go all the way to the election in defensive mode.

    Why do you assume they have not been on the attack?

    Whether it is Slipper, Thomson, Pink Batts, the tide of Illegal Immigration, the almost 1000 deaths at sea of the illegal immagrants, granting TV Aus to ABC against all process, AG hitting Ministers pork barrelling, Roxon screwing up Ashby, etc.

    I note it is hard to keep constant attack as there are so many fronts.

    I also note all these serious issues get drowned about by the M0nty clones who regurgitate what they are fed by the ALP spinners at the ABC, SBS, FauxFacts, Newscorp, Channels 7, 9 & 10.

    I know you are experienced so I’d like to hear what more can be done?

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 7:43 am

  459. It’s not as if the lobodomee pardee and the greenfilth have any kind of record they can run on.

    But Rabz, they just got a small chair at the big table at the UN. That’s why they’ve been flogging it as a huge success. It’s the only one they’ve got. Unfortunately, there’s nothing like this up for grabs over the next year, so no more “bounces” in the polls.
    Consider, their ace up the sleeve is Krudd. LOL.
    Abbott must be cacking himself. Laughing that is.

    Keith

    22 Oct 12 at 7:43 am

  460. Someone tried to trap me into agreeing with the “everyone hates Julia” meme the other day. No, it’s overall government performance, I said.

    I know the conversation.

    It is important to say that every tax payer is concerned about an inept and incompetent government with damaging policies.

    I follow up and note the frustration is the fact the leader, male or female, is not being held accountable which breaks every standard of decency Australians live by.

    Come election time, they drop the pretense.

    I agree. This reminds me a lot like the period before the ’96 election with the stoking of fear and hatred.

    Labor & the Stenographers were surprised by size of the swing as the polls did not reflect the true anger.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 7:47 am

  461. Even the Love Media like FauxFacts can’t hide the way the Obama inspired Arab Nuclear Winter is descending on Egypt:

    Ashraf Khalil, a colleague who works with France 24′s English language service, said the crowd was closing in on him and Dridi while they were doing live reports on a side street off Tahrir.

    “The crowd surged in and then it went crazy. It was basically me keeping her in a bear hug, both arms around her and face-to-face,” he told The Associated Press, estimating that at least 30 men were involved.

    “It was hard to tell who was helping and who was groping her.”

    Khalil said they retreated into a fast food restaurant called Hardee’s, which had a metal door, to keep her out of the reach of the attackers.

    He told The Guardian: “What was depressing is that the employees inside Hardee’s knew exactly what to do because this seems to happen all the time.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 7:53 am

  462. their ace up the sleeve is Krudd. LOL.

    Is lardarse just about gone?

    If they’re going to resurrect ruff, time is running out.

    The traditional assassination time draws ever nearer…

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 7:57 am

  463. There seems to be a bit of weirdness/disconnect between the polls & election results

    Tokes, One of the disconnects is that, in this morning’s Nielsen poll, for instance, with similar results in other polls, 12% of voters are nominating “other” preferences outside of Coalition, Labor and Greens, compared with just 6.7% at the 2010 election. In a highly polarised electorate, almost all these undecideds will break towards the opposition at a real poll, making 52-48 2PP turn out to be 58-42 or better for the opposition at an election. That is what happened in Queensland: when people finally made up their minds in the last week, the Bligh government’s support collapsed. Intensely personal and vitriolic campaigning against Newman, like we’re seeing now against Abbott, backfired spectacularly. McTernan is merely increasing the volcanic force of the “retribution vote” that Labor will ultimately face: the ALP will be lucky to escape annihilation. The backbench sheep think they’re having a win this morning and the sun shines out of McTernan’s arse.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 8:12 am

  464. Bill Leak’s cartoon today is a cracker. (Link is on the free side of the paywall, probably for today only.)

    Steve D

    22 Oct 12 at 8:51 am

  465. kae 21 Oct 12 at 5:34 pm:

    A bus carrying Australian tourists has run off a road near the Grand Canyon in the US.

    Apparently it ran off the road and into a ray-vine.

    (Aussie talking head voice over.)

    Obviously, he should have been wearing his…

    Ray-Bans.

    Steve D

    22 Oct 12 at 8:55 am

  466. Just wanted to pass on my thanks to whoever made the recommendation here to read Mark Tier’s “Trust Your Enemies”. It’s a political thriller set here in good old OZ. Good stuff it was too and at the bargain price of a couple of bucks from the Kindle store.

    I think I once posted a link to that book, but that was a while ago, I’d recommend itbfor some holiday reading, a political thriller set in oz is a rare beast indeed.

    brc

    22 Oct 12 at 9:01 am

  467. One of the disconnects is that, in this morning’s Nielsen poll, for instance, with similar results in other polls, 12% of voters are nominating “other” preferences outside of Coalition, Labor and Greens, compared with just 6.7% at the 2010 election. In a highly polarised electorate, almost all these undecideds will break towards the opposition at a real poll, making 52-48 2PP turn out to be 58-42 or better for the opposition at an election.

    Thanks Tom. That margin reflects the results in swing in all the elections since the QLD poll as well.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 9:02 am

  468. The denial from you lot is delicious. The Newspoll 50/50 was an outlier, but the consensus will get there eventually. Have you noticed that there has only been one Newspoll in the six weeks since that 50/50 one? Given they usually come out every fortnight, that’s dodgy.

    As Token rightly points out, the problem for the Libs is not turning defence into attack, since they have been on the attack all term. Their problem is turning attack into policy. They have no policy responses to challenges that have arisen since Howard got voted out. Howard’s policies worked for him in his time. Where is Sinodinos with his tablets full of policy prescriptions transcribed from Mount Sinai? I doubt they even exist. All the Libs have is opposition. That’s all they will continue to have.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 9:04 am

  469. Where is Sinodinos with his tablets full of policy prescriptions transcribed from Mount Sinai?

    Here.

    Gabrielle

    22 Oct 12 at 9:14 am

  470. C.L.

    That Sandra Fluke picture is a classic.

    I suppose Reno has enough sluts already.

    Julian O'Dea

    22 Oct 12 at 9:23 am

  471. Wayne Swan ‏@SwannyDPM
    Mid-year review will show surplus of around $1 billion this year, rising to over $6 billion by the end of the forward estimates #MYEFO

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 9:36 am

  472. Oh, no! Julian has just conjured sfb.

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 9:38 am

  473. Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 9:54 am

  474. Anyone else having connection/slow loading issues with the site?

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 10:01 am

  475. Monty’s last predictions were that:

    - Obama would lead all the way to victory.

    - Campbell Newman’s government would collapse.

    - Peter Slipper would resume the speakership.

    Monty the preferred leader enthusiast has also previously argued that Australians don’t vote for the prime minister.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 10:03 am

  476. Govt revenue down $4B this year, $22B over the next four years, due to shortfalls in company, mining and petroleum taxes. Budget savings of $16.4B over the next four years.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 10:04 am

  477. The Nielsen poll would show ‘the speech’ was a big success. personally i’m aghast at it, not the least because it trashes the Australian parliament around the world, but if a big swathe of people think it’s feisty and appropriate then their opinions must be respected. The polls exist to show the lay of the land, i guess.

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 10:04 am

  478. Oh, no! Julian has just conjured sfb.

    Yeah, I would have been faster too if it weren’t that it seems to me Ozbrokenstan is not working properly. (But I have been having continual problems when accessing it from one ISP for what seems a good few months now, so maybe it’s me.)

    Anyhoo, isn’t it odd how one thing conservative, latin mass loving Catholics can agree on is that it’s OK to call a woman a “slut” if she argues in favour of a policy that would increase access to contraception.

    Julian remains a more reasonable person than CL, but joining in with “slut” calling women on the ‘net is a mark down.

    The Macquarie dictionary may be prepared to alter the meaning of misogyny due to (what I think) is a legitimate change in its use; but it’s not any time going to be changing “slut” to mean “a woman arguing for access to contraception”.

  479. The denial from you lot is delicious. The Newspoll 50/50 was an outlier, but the consensus will get there eventually. Have you noticed that there has only been one Newspoll in the six weeks since that 50/50 one? Given they usually come out every fortnight, that’s dodgy.

    Hahahaha so the Newspoll poll that you and ever leftist loser and the MSM hailed as the new dawn is now an “outlier” (as we were saying at the time but never let reality et in the way of leftist self delusion) but this particular poll is absolutely correct and the wrong poll will eventually be right because m0nty wishes it were so.

    Yet on the weekend here in the land of reality the ALP were beaten in Canberra with a 10% swing against the ALP in Brindabella. A month ago the ALP were thumped in the NT, six months ago slaughtered in QLD and two years ago wiped out NSW and flogged Federally.

    But yeah, you hang onto those polls because you’re losing, no, not just losing, but finished.

    M0nty on November 7: ” But the polls say that Obama won! You’re all deluding yourselves – the votes mean nothing!”

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 10:17 am

  480. “Catholic” SFB, supporter of infanticide, needs to get with the times, the old cardigan-wearing fogey.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:28 am

  481. mOnty also argued that Abbott was a terrible opposition leader because he had passed no pieces of his own legislation.

    Infidel Tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 11:37 am

  482. The Latin Mass was abolished before I was born, Steve, and I’ve never attended one.

    More interesting is how a pretend ‘Catholic’ nearing 60 spends a fortnight on the computer calling Mrs Santorum a slut without a peep of protest from his alleged wife.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 11:41 am

  483. Mrs from Brisbane was at work.

    Infidel Tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 11:42 am

  484. Ha. Gab now can’t even write without sounding like CL. The mind meld is nearly complete.

  485. The mind meld is nearly complete.

    LOL says the old numpty fool who agrees with everything gillard sprouts forth.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:46 am

  486. That’s easy: never called her a “slut”. Never ever.

    A person who (in the absence of an explanation as to how her views have changed) looks hypocritical in the eyes of young adults: yes.

  487. So: has the blog been breaking for everyone this morning?

  488. Dogshit shows up with the single intention of picking fights and annoying people. Your family would be embarrassed if you ever told them the truth about why you come here. But you lie to them like you lie to everyone else in your life.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 11:51 am

  489. mOnty also argued that Abbott was a terrible opposition leader because he had passed no pieces of his own legislation.

    No IT, because he hadn’t stopped any of the minority government’s legislation. A completely ineffectual opposition leader in the House. Windsor and Oakeshott have done more for the Libs’ cause on the floor than Abbott has.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 11:58 am

  490. I find the word slut is like the C-word, but seeing the lefty women use it as a badge of ironic honour in campaigns like slut-walk I am becoming accustomed to see it in text.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 11:58 am

  491. A completely ineffectual opposition leader in the House. Windsor and Oakeshott have done more for the Libs’ cause on the floor than Abbott has.

    I do find the way you stir amusing.

    According to your logic the Labor opposition between 2004 & 2007 was equally “ineffectual”, yet at the 2007 election the voters chose to make the “ineffectual” party the government. LOL

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 12:01 pm

  492. m0ron – any doughnuts left from breakfast?

    Stevieliar QC – have you put the washing on?

    Tiny Dancer

    22 Oct 12 at 12:08 pm

  493. Token, the difference is that Labor wasn’t facing a minority government in 2004 and 2007.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 12:16 pm

  494. Windsor and Oakeshott have done more for the Libs’ cause on the floor than Abbott has.

    M0nty is right for once. Windsor and Oakeshott have ensured the ALP will be wiped out for a generation. If they had of followed their communities wishes and installed Abbott in 2010 as 2/3′s of New Englanders wanted, Abbott would be PM now and a generation of Australia would never have gotten to see how totally morally bankrupt, rudderless and pointless the ALP left and its followers like M0nty truly are. Surely QLD can thank, in part, the Northern NSW rednecks for the total annihilation of QLD Labor.

    And again next year when Windsor (24% approval) and Oakeshott (44% after prefs) lose their seats to a couple of fine Nationals the ALP will have to pickup two more seats over the last election elsewhere to win- meaning that they’ll need to be on roughly 56/44 to be in the game.

    So again Windsor and Oakeshotte have helped the forces of good. Like Gillard they are the best thing that ever happened to the Libs.

    I do believe that history will vindicate Windsor and Oakeshotte. One day statues will be erected in their honour: the men who sacrificed their reputations, their seats and their electorates to ensure the total destruction of the ALP.

    Well done men, well done.

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 12:21 pm

  495. Campbell Newman drops uranium mining ban, going back on his pre-election word. Will probably ship the stuff to India.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 12:25 pm

  496. Campbell Newman drops uranium mining ban, going back on his pre-election word.

    Good.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 12:30 pm

  497. “Foreign Policy”

    Classic DRUDGE image up at the mo.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 12:33 pm

  498. Infidel Tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 12:34 pm

  499. Will probably ship the stuff to India.

    That’ll make gillard happy, she announced in India last week that she had “changed her policy of not supplying uranium to India”.

    What’s good for the policy goose and her backflip on election promises, is good for the gander.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 12:41 pm

  500. Some good news at last for Obama’s flagging campaign:

    DRUDGE:

    Chavez, Castro, Putin endorse Obama.

    Not to mention Rusty, Wayne Swan and Big Bird.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 12:41 pm

  501. Crowe has a beard for a movie about Noah, written and directed by the director of Black Swan.

    I wonder if it manages to fit in lesbian sex scenes with a mad woman. Even so, it seems a very odd idea for a modern movie.

  502. Saw Prometheus last night.

    What a pile of crud.

    Nice ship, though. One of the best.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 1:44 pm

  503. That’ll make gillard happy, she announced in India last week that she had “changed her policy of not supplying uranium to India”.

    What’s good for the policy goose and her backflip on election promises, is good for the gander.

    Oh dear, Gab. You obviously forgot the big song and dance at last year’s ALP national conference where the party changed its policy in full public view.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 1:48 pm

  504. Yeah, Prometheus was disappointing. You must see Savages. Very enjoyable.

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 1:49 pm

  505. … but it’s not any time going to be changing “slut” to mean “a woman arguing for access to contraception”.

    The fluke wasn’t “arguing for access to contraception”.

    FFS, you’re brazenly dishonest mongrel.

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 1:49 pm

  506. What monty is saying: it’s okay for Labor to “change it’s policy” after an election promise has been made, but not for Liberals.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 1:50 pm

  507. I wonder if it manages to fit in lesbian sex scenes with a mad woman

    The only reason people saw Black Swan was because Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman shared a bowl of clam chowder. One of the worst movies I’ve seen.

    Infidel Tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 1:50 pm

  508. Because it’s different when they do it.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 1:50 pm

  509. Preacher Phil Snider gives interesting gay rights speech.

    m0nty

    22 Oct 12 at 1:50 pm

  510. Saw Prometheus last night.

    What a pile of crud.

    Agreed – I couldn’t watch it all, it was so preposterous.

    At least I’m only down $7 rather than the cost of a DVD.

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 1:52 pm

  511. I wonder if it manages to fit in lesbian sex scenes with a mad woman. Even so, it seems a very odd idea for a modern movie.

    The story of Noah has enough weird sex in it already.

    AJ

    22 Oct 12 at 1:53 pm

  512. BTW, loved rusty’s reference to “villagers”.

    Nice touch.

    Might have to break out another village people video!

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 1:53 pm

  513. There was a lipstick lezo scene in Boardwalk Empire the other night.

    A genuine lesbian sighting, as George Costanza would say.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 1:53 pm

  514. Rabz, it’s really hard getting access to contraception in the US. Some people are unable to locate their nearest PP office to obtain them for free. Fluke offered to personally drive them there; God bless her cotton socks.

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 1:53 pm

  515. I couldn’t watch it all

    I couldn’t even watch the trailer in full.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 1:55 pm

  516. Indeed, Dover!

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 1:56 pm

  517. Rabz, Ridley Scott is obviously – oafishly – looking to re-boot the Alien franchise in a George Lucas way.

    That annoying Scottish heroine aint no Ripley.

    The movie was stupid. If I understand it correctly, primordial humanoids were wiped out by octopi and eals right after they flew here to create us, before deciding they hated us or something.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 1:58 pm

  518. If I understand it correctly, primordial humanoids were wiped out by octopi and eals right after they flew here to create us, before deciding they hated us or something.

    CL – I’ll take your word for it!

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 2:03 pm

  519. What’s needed is a good movie about the Earth becoming Gaia and having a Michael Bay style fight in the clouds with the returning Jesus.

    I don’t know why Hollywood never returns my emails.

  520. Speaking of Alien, leaked footage from Obama’s campaign headquarters…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsx2vdn7gpY

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 2:06 pm

  521. The Professor reveals the joke

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 2:06 pm

  522. Laz,

    That joke is so bad, so staggeringly unfunny, that I was rendered speechless for 28 seconds…

    P.S. Interesting hypothesis in the comments about the identity of the two ‘comediennes’ at the fabulous family court shindig in Hobart.

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 2:12 pm

  523. CFMEU ought to use ITiger at their functions. He’s funny and has a better class of jokes.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 2:13 pm

  524. That joke is so bad, so staggeringly unfunny,

    Swan et al thought it was hilarious.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 2:22 pm

  525. Did anyone read mOntys link about Newmans change of heart about uranium mining?
    A classic example of mOnty penchant for misdirection, lying by omission, and evasion.

    Winston Smith

    22 Oct 12 at 2:27 pm

  526. Swan et al thought it was hilarious.

    The ALP male is nothing but an oversized highschool loser.

    I mean the entire union world revolves around strippers, prostitutes, juvenile “brotherhood” thuggery and institutionalized violent rhetoric.

    Be thankful they didn’t get a stripper dressed as Credlin to actually perform the act…like they did at the ALP organised 80th birthday for Hawke.

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 2:35 pm

  527. Posted this on “Destroy the Joints” Facebook page:

    Wow, love your description:

    “This page is for people who are sick of the sexism dished out to women in public roles in Australia, whether they be our Prime Minister or any other woman”.

    So what are we going to do about Swan and the other
    Labor MPs like Roxon who thought the joke at the CFMEU event was funny? You know, this joke:

    “Tony Abbott’s chief of staff Peta Credlin does a good Head job. Come Clean. Abbott calls her the Vacuum Cleaner she cleans up his messes.”

    So any outrageous outrage forth coming anytime soon? Or is that only reserved for conservatives?
    http://bunyipitude.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/no-laughing-matter.html

    Naturally it lasted about two minutes before it was removed.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 2:38 pm

  528. And I’ve been blocked from commenting.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 2:38 pm

  529. I can’t believe the Sandra Fluke discussion has rered it’s ugly head again.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 2:40 pm

  530. CFMEU ought to use ITiger at their functions. He’s funny and has a better class of jokes.

    Speaking of Hawks 80th lets have a wee little trip down memory lane.

    At an event attended by at least:

    Greg Combet
    Kim Beazley
    Bob Hawke
    Simon Crean
    Kevin Rudd
    And their wives.

    This was the entertainment.

    The News Coverage at the time?

    The Sydney Morning Herald:

    Little Johnnie’ strips for Hawke’s birthday bash
    10 Dec 2009 – Watch an excerpt from the raunchy striptease act hired to help celebrate Bob Hawke’s 80th birthday.

    Oh ho ho ho those cheeky, grotty, creepy old Labor “men”, such characters.

    Is it normal for the ultra “feminist” ALP women to attend ALP do’s where there are masked strippers on stage and ugly misogynist slurs as the entertainment??

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 2:45 pm

  531. Ace has another picture of the Sandra Fluke rally:

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/334098.php

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 2:49 pm

  532. This is really funny:

    The rise of passive-aggressive wi-fi names

    Some wireless internet users have been setting their network names to send snide messages to their neighbours. Why?

    Predominantly, it’s about noise. And sex. Well, noisy sex. That, and “stealing” broadband.

    …Anybody who has house- or flat-shared has dealt with Post-it notes left on fridges. “Please throw away the box after eating my food” or “The dishwasher is the white thing with buttons” are typical

    “Stop Stealing My Paper!” begins one exchange, to which the reply taunts: “FYI, I Don’t Read It I Just Throw It Away!”

    “You’re music is annoying!” is followed by “Your grammar is more annoying!”

    “Meat is Murder” alongside “Meat is delicious!!!” is another antagonistic exchange uploaded to image-hosting site Flickr.

    “We can hear you having sex” apparently appears with a degree of regularity across Britain and Ireland, according to OpenSignalMaps.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 2:51 pm

  533. Sandra Fluke has more sex partners at her nightly orgies than attendees at her political rallies.

    Infidel Tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 2:52 pm

  534. The movie was stupid. If I understand it correctly, primordial humanoids were wiped out by octopi and eals right after they flew here to create us, before deciding they hated us or something.

    Haven’t watched it yet, though I downloaded a copy. Isn’t the story that the studio cut it badly to reduce the length – to the point where it didn’t actually make sense? Although why Scott would have to go along with that isn’t clear to me.

    Tim Quilty

    22 Oct 12 at 2:53 pm

  535. I can’t believe the Sandra Fluke discussion has rered it’s ugly head again.

    Why? If you read the lazy spin-fed Stenographers today the poll result is due to the PM’s speech where she redefined mysogyny.

    Strangely enough they ignored the real long term trend which many people have commented on. When Gillard goes out of the country=ALP 2PP goes up & her negatives go down.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 2:55 pm

  536. I’ve been blocked from commenting.

    The government goons for which these totalitarian thugs are the shock troops are apparently planning a going-away present via Finkelstein, although they’re now wavering because of the wall-to-wall opposition.

    The 2010 Labor amendments to the commercial broadcasting codes, under which Alan Jones was prosecuted, also mandate fascist thought control measures for privately-owned TV and radio stations that don’t apply to the ABC.

    The Libs deserve buggery if they don’t quickly undo the damage done to basic freedoms by these zombies.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 3:02 pm

  537. CFMEU ought to use ITiger at their functions. He’s funny and has a better class of jokes.

    I hear they are a tough crowd.

    To soften them up put up images of police horses being punched you can bet they’ll be rolling in the aisles and sharing stories of similar good times in a heartbeat.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 3:04 pm

  538. Isn’t slashing the baby bonus a terribly misogynistic act?

    Infidel Tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 3:20 pm

  539. Winston, that article shows just how dishonest mOron is.

    Tiny Dancer

    22 Oct 12 at 3:24 pm

  540. That annoying Scottish heroine aint no Ripley.

    She’s actually Swedish (playing an annoying Scottish heroine).

    Isn’t the story that the studio cut it badly to reduce the length – to the point where it didn’t actually make sense?

    Judging by some of the alternate scenes they filmed that’s probably part of the problem (the other part being no clear idea of what the film was meant to do on its own or for the Alien universe). The climactic fight with the engineer was cut from a prolonged one-on-one pursuit & battle to be little more than “please press the dispose of alien button”.

    badm0f0

    22 Oct 12 at 3:39 pm

  541. At present, unclaimed super accounts are transferred to the tax office only if they hold less than $200 and have been inactive for five years.

    But from January, all super accounts of less than $2000 that have been inactive for one year or more will be transferred.

    Swan is stealing Super to shore up his fabled surplus. Also he is raiding unclaimed bank accounts. What a lair.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 3:39 pm

  542. “Isn’t the story that the studio cut it badly to reduce the length – to the point where it didn’t actually make sense?”

    That sounds about right, but an incoherent plot was the least of the film’s worries. I don’t know if sense could have been made out of its disparate elements. At least it looked nice.

    Jarrah

    22 Oct 12 at 3:40 pm

  543. Scott always has his films cut mercilessly by the studios (Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, even Gladiator). He should probably start planning for it.

    Quentin George

    22 Oct 12 at 3:41 pm

  544. Naturally it lasted about two minutes before it was removed.

    And I’ve been blocked from commenting.

    That’ll learn you, Gab!

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 3:44 pm

  545. Swan stealing Super really is despicable. These accounts are a little nest egg for poor and itinerant people in and out of work, who have yet to ‘find’ the accounts or who hope they will just trundle along without any further thought until they want the money and someone tells them there might be a bit of super to claim.

    Thief!! THIEVING is forbidden in this shop and the police WILL be called.

    Except when Swan does it.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    22 Oct 12 at 3:47 pm

  546. The super policy is probably a case of misandry.

    Scapula

    22 Oct 12 at 3:48 pm

  547. Swan stealing Super really is despicable.

    They aren’t claiming the super as their own, they’re holding it in trust but paying interest only at the rate of CPI. People with lost accounts can still claim the money owed them. In practice this may be better than leaving small amounts in funds to be whittled away by annual fees and charges.

    badm0f0

    22 Oct 12 at 3:57 pm

  548. THE Upper House MP who called a woman a “porn star” on Facebook has apologised for the post.

    Labor MP Amanda Fazio updated her Facebook at a parliamentary ball last week and said Nationals MP Geoff Provest’s partner looked like a “retired B-grade porn star”.

    No outrage from the usual Labor acolytes in the meeja. That;s because it’s different when they do it.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 4:09 pm

  549. Speaking of which witch is – did anyone notice the wart on Fazio’s chinny chin chin?

    Oh to be thought of as a porn star instead of someone possibly luring children to the gingerbread house!

    pot kettle black

    Helen Armstrong

    22 Oct 12 at 4:25 pm

  550. Pickles

    22 Oct 12 at 4:29 pm

  551. Oh to be thought of as a porn star instead of someone possibly luring children to the gingerbread house!

    LMAO

    Nic

    22 Oct 12 at 4:31 pm

  552. It’s hard to believe an elderly woman like Amanda Fazio in pulic life wouldn’t have known better in the first place. perhaps she was inebriated when she posted it?

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 4:31 pm

  553. Oh to be thought of as a porn star instead of someone possibly luring children to the gingerbread house!

    LOL.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 4:38 pm

  554. Potemkin’s Village

    Spin this Ms McTernan… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    22 Oct 12 at 4:45 pm

  555. Swan ‘jerking’ all over the place on Sky. No shame.
    Look for the Macquarie Dictionary redefining the meaning of ‘surplus’ before year’s out.

    Rousie

    22 Oct 12 at 5:07 pm

  556. That CFMEU “joke” could be a new test for sobriety, as in how drunk would you have to be to laugh at it.
    If you laugh you are on the verge of losing all bodily functions and probably need to be locked up for the night to sleep it off.

    Keith

    22 Oct 12 at 5:08 pm

  557. That was the joke?!?! That?!?!

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 5:30 pm

  558. badmofo:

    They aren’t claiming the super as their own, they’re holding it in trust but paying interest only at the rate of CPI. People with lost accounts can still claim the money owed them. In practice this may be better than leaving small amounts in funds to be whittled away by annual fees and charges.

    That’s true, mate, but it’s a bit disengenous.

    If its held in trust it shouldn’t appear in the budget as income then, should it?

    I don’t recall banks suggesting deposits are income.

    The dishonesty of these smoke and mirror “savings” the bulk of which is $2b a year by forcing companies to pay tax monthly rather than quarterly. The amount of tax should be about the same so where does the “saving” come from? Interest savings? If that is the case then perhaps he shouldn’t have borrowed so much in the first place.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 5:34 pm

  559. Happy news from Canberra, Anthong Green thinks Labour might pick up another seat at the expense of the Green Party – leaving them with a lonely single seat.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 5:40 pm

  560. Good to hear that, BadM0, but still a concern about the smoke and mirrors budgeting. They have to be desperate to be claiming such things on budget.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    22 Oct 12 at 5:41 pm

  561. Jeeze on PM Stephen Long just gave the greatest defence of the Swan imposts. He must have been taking notes when the spinners sat down with him.

    His tone was “well unfortunately they are just doing what they have to do”:

    tax receipts are the problem (no mention of spending)

    the govt has imposed new taxes but the tax take by the Feds has dropped from 25% to 20% of GDP (I’m dubious on this one, I think it’s probably bullshit)

    the public has no appetite for spending cuts (really?)

    perhaps there has been too much cutting of income tax (yes, he said that)

    or increase indirect taxes, GST on exempt items for example (given that food/education/health was exempted after constant bleating from the left he has unmitigated gall to mention this)

    He made no mention of overspending, waste or the huge interest bill. A masterful performance.

    Transcript should be available tomorrow.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 6:39 pm

  562. JC is in NYC. Anyone up to watching Q&A on our behalf tonight? I’m not up to it. Major problem with anger attacks.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 6:55 pm

  563. Sorry Tom, I’d rather chop my own dick off.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 7:04 pm

  564. Anyone up to watching Q&ALPBC on our behalf tonight?

    Sorry Tom – those toenails aren’t going to cut themselves…

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 7:08 pm

  565. All that howler monkey hatespeak for nothing. No movement in the Essential Research poll for a month: Coalition 53% 2PP, Labor 47%.

    I believe Newspoll is due tomorrow and will probably show the same thing.

    How about a poll on this: Will John McTernan ever get a job again? I was going to suggest nightclub bouncer, but the scrawny little shit would be beaten up every night.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 7:23 pm

  566. ninemsn poll:

    Did Gillard’s misogyny speech impress you?

    Yes 20,399
    No 64,627

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 7:40 pm

  567. still think McTernan/Gillard have done a pretty successful job of demonising tony Abbott.

    Also the public servants up here in Brisbane are cranky. mad as cut snakes actually, whether they’re front line or not is debatable.

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 7:50 pm

  568. Anyone know the most active “green ” blog in Australia, comment wise ?
    I’d like to bookmark it so whenever there’s” OUTRAGE!!?1!1 eleven!!1?”, I can view the comments, have a larf and maybe even post a few here for entertainment.
    LP was the best source for this, where did they all go?

    jumpnmcar

    22 Oct 12 at 7:50 pm

  569. Solid result on that poll. Anecdotally I’d tend to agree. Anyone I’ve mentioned it to has thought it was a horribly shrill rant. Mind you this is a pretty safe Lib area.

    (am I allowed to use “shrill”?)

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 7:51 pm

  570. Bill Leak.

    Pickles

    22 Oct 12 at 7:53 pm

  571. If that Ninemsm poll isn’t an accurate reflection of public reaction to that speech, I’ll bare my bum in Bourke Street. Middle-class feminists aren’t the public.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 8:06 pm

  572. Actually this may have a nasty little sting in it, DaveF.
    If the government is counting some super balances as income, then the question to ask in Parliament is “Why have you confiscated peoples super?”

    Winston Smith

    22 Oct 12 at 8:12 pm

  573. I just learned another thing about this place. Don’t buy into a high floor. Yea the view is great etc, but the freakmg noise is dreadful.

    ………

    Went to a birthday party last night and met a really funny dude connected with the Israeli UN delegation at a senior level.

    When he found out I was Australian he wanted to know if the Aussie public were aware how much the permanent seat had cost. He was laughing.

    He also had a really funny story to tell. The one nation that has been a stalwart isreali supporter at the UN with its vote for the past 20 odd years is Micronesia.

    The reason ?

    Some dude in the Israeli foreign ministry was reading the papers around the region and came across an ad by Micronesia looking for a soccer coach to help them learn/impove their game. So the dude got to thinking and talked the Israeli government into sending some retired soccer coach there to help them. He succeeded and they are forever grateful.

    There’s supposed to be a movie coming about it.

    JC

    22 Oct 12 at 8:20 pm

  574. It’s 5 o’clock in he morn here in NYC and I’ve been up except for 2 hours sleep. We took the invitation of borrowing our friends apartment while they are away.

    But the freaking place sits right over the 59th street bridge. A combination of jet lag and the fucking noise from the bridge makes it impossible for me to sleep even with decent sleeping pills.

    I’m looking out of the 30th floor from bed and just can’t believe the amount of traffic up and down the bridge. There was a jam about an hour ago and it’s been cleared…. That’s Sunday evening / Monday morn!

    Except for the trucks, where the fuck are all these people going?

    JC

    22 Oct 12 at 8:23 pm

  575. Hey Winston,how’s the nephew doing?

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 8:28 pm

  576. JC, Sounds like you didn’t sleep much on the way over. The flight to Tennessee via Dallas last year flattened me for a week because I didn’t sleep.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 8:29 pm

  577. Wuss.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 8:30 pm

  578. “Julia makes front page of the grauniad.co.uk”

    You’re right, the hate speech/Tony Abbott hates his wife and daughters speech has earned Ms Gillard more support.

    Logically, she wouldn’t have done it if the ALP didn’t think it would be successful.

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 8:32 pm

  579. FFS, am I to call 7:30 the new 8:30 on the Cat.
    Thanks Rabz.
    Mass Governmental decree trumps common sense.

    jumpnmcar

    22 Oct 12 at 8:34 pm

  580. Actually this may have a nasty little sting in it, DaveF.

    If the government is counting some super balances as income, then the question to ask in Parliament is “Why have you confiscated peoples super?”

    Nice point. Swan/The Robot (Wong) will need to do some magical verbal tap dancing to defend that accounting trick. *rubs hands in glee*

    I hope the Libs are clever enough to work it out :(

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 8:36 pm

  581. My body clock is fucked, Tom.

    It’s the one reason I really hate travel. Its not just that I feel dopey for most of the day. My entire body is rooted. For some reason jet lag causs me to sweat when I never really do and I feel like shit.

    JC

    22 Oct 12 at 8:37 pm

  582. Who’s on Q&A this evening?

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 8:37 pm

  583. Posted this on “Destroy the Joints” Facebook page:

    Wow, love your description:

    “This page is for people who are sick of the sexism dished out to women in public roles in Australia, whether they be our Prime Minister or any other woman”.

    So what are we going to do about Swan and the other
    Labor MPs like Roxon who thought the joke at the CFMEU event was funny? You know, this joke:

    “Tony Abbott’s chief of staff Peta Credlin does a good Head job. Come Clean. Abbott calls her the Vacuum Cleaner she cleans up his messes.”

    So any outrageous outrage forth coming anytime soon? Or is that only reserved for conservatives?
    http://bunyipitude.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/no-laughing-matter.html

    Naturally it lasted about two minutes before it was removed.

    great work Gab

    I notice that Woolies is right behind these morons.

    never shop there again

    Will

    22 Oct 12 at 8:39 pm

  584. kae

    22 Oct 12 at 8:39 pm

  585. Exciting news Rex. Aren’t you feeling a little tingle up and down your leg seeing the guardian mentioned the Lying slapper and the poll numbers? I know I am. It’s exciting seemg australian getting mentioned internationally.

    We should ask them if they like Australia, no?
    Fuckimg idiot.

    JC

    22 Oct 12 at 8:40 pm

  586. JC – that would be The Federated States of Micronesia (I guess) as opposed to the geographical area of Micronesia.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 8:47 pm

  587. WHo is the idiot “Rex” and what is his purpose here?

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 8:50 pm

  588. Gab, he’s been insinuating himself into the place like a fungus for the past week, avoiding giving offence while he sussed out the rules. He’s about to go full retard and risk ISD.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 8:54 pm

  589. Who’s on Q&A this evening?

    Susan Butler, talking about how strict, literal definitions of words is an obscenely outmoded patriarchal conservative concept, indicative of a repressed hyper-masculine control-freak mentality;
    Amanda Fazio, talking about how hurtful comments against women are crimes equivalent to mass murder, unless those women are tasteless enough to enjoy the company of conservative men, in which case it is open slather;
    Kevin Rudd, talking about how Australia’s successful tilt at a UN Security Council seat was reverse-engineered policy synthesis emanating from an over-arching specificity of commonality, privileging a detailed conceptual framework and engendered by a being of immensely superior intellect, who unfortunately was pre-empted in his acceptance of this approbation from his peers due to an unfortunate accident with a disloyal group of lesser beings jealous of his utter awesomeness in matters of the mind and electoral appeal;
    David Marr, talking about how the Howard Reich will in the fullness of time stand in the dock of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, when said court is finished with mere apprentices in crime, misgovernance and genocide such as Radovan Karadjic, Charles Taylor, Omar al-Bashir, Laurent Gbagbo, Mengistu Haile Mariam and Saparmurat Niyzov; and
    Tanya Plibersek, talking about Tony Abbott.

    James in Melbourne

    22 Oct 12 at 8:55 pm

  590. Wow, Rex. The English mentioned us.

    Makes you feel proud, huh?

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 8:57 pm

  591. James on
    “What’s on QandA?”

    Oh, same shit different night, huh?

    kae

    22 Oct 12 at 8:58 pm

  592. So no token muslim this week on Q&A.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 8:59 pm

  593. Gab, your post lasted two minutes before it was deleted? Pretty much as we’d expect. But here we have to put up with trolls 24/7.
    Moderators – quite a few here have had years, not two minutes, to spew their rubbish. A bit more balance please.

    Blogstrop

    22 Oct 12 at 9:02 pm

  594. Wow. Ninemsn poll update:

    Did Gillard’s misogyny speech impress you?
    YES 22137
    NO 70589

    gillard on the wireless telling me “Afghanistan is a dangerous place”. No shit, Sherlock.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 9:03 pm

  595. Thanks, JamesIM. I have made a sound decision not to anger myself by watching the swamp monkeys laugh at the little people whose credit cards they have stolen.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 9:04 pm

  596. FFS, am I to call 7:30 the new 8:30 on the Cat.
    Thanks Rabz.
    Mass Governmental decree trumps common sense.

    Great – so I get blamed for the clock being changed?

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 9:05 pm

  597. Blog, eventually the more moronic ones step over the line and then the Doomlord executes them.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 9:05 pm

  598. Well someone has to watch it and live blog. Know thy enemy and all that

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 9:06 pm

  599. James in Melbourne – how did you get that preview so right?

    Blogstrop

    22 Oct 12 at 9:07 pm

  600. Nilk did an excellent job last week. Perhaps she can do so this week:

    Drunkblogging Q&A – how ’bout it, Nilk? (Not that Nilk gets drunk, it’s just a vicious rumour)

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 9:08 pm

  601. Well someone has to watch it and live blog. Know thy enemy and all that

    You’re just the hero to do that, Tal.

    Go for it – fill your boots with smug leftist stupidity.

    You know you want to!

    Rabz

    22 Oct 12 at 9:08 pm

  602. Gab take one for the team,go on

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 9:09 pm

  603. Gab’s sister Tal, Princess Warrior.

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 9:11 pm

  604. I have a conference call in 20 minutes, Tal so as much as I’d love to, I won’t be able.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 9:12 pm

  605. Nah I did it when mad old aunty Germaine was on,she was full of crazy and no amount of margaritas made it ant better

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 9:12 pm

  606. Inspired, James in Melbourne.

    Jarrah

    22 Oct 12 at 9:12 pm

  607. Woops, I forgot to congratulate you, JamesIM. Brilliant!

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 9:15 pm

  608. WHo is the idiot “Rex” and what is his purpose here?

    Comedy relief – he’s second banana.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:15 pm

  609. You’re right, the hate speech/Tony Abbott hates his wife and daughters speech has earned Ms Gillard more support.

    Logically, she wouldn’t have done it if the ALP didn’t think it would be successful.

    Where has it earned her support Candy? The polls are the same.

    People aren’t going to vote for the ALP based on that sort of behaviour.

    It’s killed the pretentious ALP luvvie word “misogyny” stone cold dead though. It’s become a joke.

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 9:19 pm

  610. After Numbers had go at us for discussing DVDs the other day I hate to link this for want of giving him ammunition but a couple of the pics are great if you like nature photography.

    Veolia Environment Photographer of the Year.

    Number 4 and 7 are really something special imo. Specially number 7.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:21 pm

  611. Thanks for asking, Tal. He’s doing quite well considering the brain and body damage he suffered. He’s in some pretty intensive physio and is walking a bit. Looks like there was little brain damage at all despite the cerebral damage. Thanks also to all those who said a prayer for the nephew.
    Mind you, I’ve just managed to survive a 16 hour run of VT on a heart with an ejection fraction of 23%. Going for an implantable defibrillator and pacemaker first thing in the morning. Asked the Cardiologist what the survival rate was for someone with these rather dodgy numbers – she said she didn’t know – no one had survived as long as I had.

    Winston Smith

    22 Oct 12 at 9:22 pm

  612. DaveF, no one gives a toss what numbers thinks.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 9:22 pm

  613. Media Watch – the talking cadaver talking about blogs, how interesting.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:22 pm

  614. Good Lord Winston!!!!!! All the best,keep us posted
    That’s great news about your nephew

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 9:25 pm

  615. Is he proposing a state threat to blogs like the Cat after what ACMA did to Jones, Carpe?

    Tom

    22 Oct 12 at 9:27 pm

  616. Hi Winston.
    Can you please translate your condition into lay-medic?
    I have SVT but have had two ablations, however still need to take tambacor.
    What’s your thing?

    kae

    22 Oct 12 at 9:28 pm

  617. Media watch is exposing ALP’s facebook marketing.
    I didn’t expect that at all, and kudos to Johnathan Holmes.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 9:31 pm

  618. Actually not a bad little foray by Holmes into the world of blogging. he steered clear of the issue of political blogs.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 9:34 pm

  619. Hey Winston, you sound pretty bright considering you need some heart work done. Stressful for your wife but. Glad to hear your nephew is going through his physiotherapy and getting on top of things.

    Now looks like we need to say a tiny little prayer for Winston too for the packermaker to settle in and its job!

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 9:34 pm

  620. “he steered clear of the issue of political blogs”

    Now THAT would be a fascinating Media Watch.

    Jarrah

    22 Oct 12 at 9:37 pm

  621. “Where has it earned her support Candy? The polls are the same.”

    Twostix on the poll today her personal support was up to 50%, highest for a long time (unless i’m misreading the figures).

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 9:38 pm

  622. Yes Carpe it’s on blogs, specifically Mummy blogs.

    Mrs Moogs huh….I might give that blog a look in a decade or 2.

    BTW the Q&A panel looks like the spastic preying mantis is one of the panel. And Mandy Vanstone is the Token.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:39 pm

  623. Best wishes, Winston.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 9:39 pm

  624. Q&A – Billy Brag thinks occupy was great – billy bragg is also a fool.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:40 pm

  625. Billy f’ing Bragg? You. Are. Kidding. Me.

    Is it him? Or a dude with the same name? Sounds like him, but surely…

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:42 pm

  626. Q&A – WTF is that skinny bimbo smoking

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:44 pm

  627. Notice how Q&A has that whole Logies Award vibe vis-a-vis the Overseas Star? Has Fatty channelled Moon Face yet and asked Billy Bragg what he thinks of Australia?

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 9:44 pm

  628. Mandy is already making faces. She is out of her depth.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:45 pm

  629. Just interested to the general perception of the topic as opposed to the Cat blind fury. It’s called perspective.

    LOL when one wants to find the “general perception” of something in Australian politics the first stop is always a hyper pretentious leftwing paper in England.

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 9:46 pm

  630. Q&A – it’s all about how awesome the red daleks speech was and how super duper it was on social media, dear god my taxes pay for this dross.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:46 pm

  631. Q&A – Yessss, 12 minutes and Yabbott finally gets a mention (no reference to him being satan though)

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:47 pm

  632. Breaking…

    Charles Johnson at LGF reports:

    A Gorilla Is Born at Lincoln Park Zoo.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 9:47 pm

  633. “he steered clear of the issue of political blogs”
    Now THAT would be a fascinating Media Watch.

    Media Watch looked at Tim Blair’s old blog several years ago – I can’t remember if it was Holmes at the time or some earlier presenter. They quoted some of the more, er, colourful comments that they found, and it caused quite a stir.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 9:48 pm

  634. My earlier comment about slicing a part of my anatomy off rather than watching Q&A is now inoperative.

    I’m drunk now, I can handle it.

    Scott Morrison comes across like a car salesman. Used cars.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:49 pm

  635. Is that the ‘speech’ Gillard gave insisting that a man who regards women as curious c—ts should hold the highest office in Parliament?

    The Tammy Wynette speech.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 9:50 pm

  636. I’m drunk now, I can handle it

    DaveF – welcome to my world

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:51 pm

  637. Christ. Billy Bragg made a decent comment and someone on the panel laughed.

    (he said tweets and FB are fine but no one ever cried to your posts – learn guitar)

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:52 pm

  638. Is Scott Morrison asleep or just playing nice?

    Is this suck up to Billy Bragg night?

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:54 pm

  639. Julia Baird. A fantastic pedigree.

    Sample:

    In 2005, Baird was a fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press and Public Policy at Harvard, researching the global response to American opinion in the lead-up to the Iraq War.

    Her Ph.D., on female politicians and the press, was awarded in 2001, and her book on the subject, Media Tarts, was published in 2004.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:56 pm

  640. Q&A – Insight meets Countdown.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:57 pm

  641. Kae, essentially it means that about four years ago, I got a cold and the virus inflamed the heart muscle. Further down the track, the heart has done its job in maintaining output by by becoming enlarged. However the heart is now so big that it takes up about 70% of the chest space. Believe me, I’ve seen the Xrays. Because the heart is so weakened, it goes into odd rythms, and they need to put in a defibrillator to shock it back to its senses. Fortunately all the cardiac vessels are very healthy – it’s just the heart walls are probably about 2mm thick and can’t do a very good job.
    The Cardiologists here at the Townsville Mater are very good, and that level of confidence in the team comes back to the patient in peace of mind.

    Winston Smith

    22 Oct 12 at 9:57 pm

  642. That Pommy pinko pleb on Q&A is irritating as shit.

    (I’m a young’un so forgive me for not knowing who he is).

    Feral Abacus

    22 Oct 12 at 9:57 pm

  643. Rabz 22 oct. 9:05pm

    Great – so I get blamed for the clock being changed?

    Rabz 19 oct. 9:19pm

    Sinc,

    Could the ****ing clock be fixed, please?!?!?

    About 0.002% of us live in queersland…

    So yes, time lord.
    And as it is now 10pm@the Cat, good night, bed time.

    jumpnmcar

    22 Oct 12 at 9:58 pm

  644. Q&A – Darryl Somers will be introducing Mollies Melodrama any second.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 9:58 pm

  645. Token Muslim step up please

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 9:58 pm

  646. Latest from Gallop:

    R 52% 0 45%…

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 9:59 pm

  647. After Numbers had go at us for discussing DVDs the other day I hate to link this for want of giving him ammunition but a couple of the pics are great if you like nature photography.

    Veolia Environment Photographer of the Year.

    Number 4 and 7 are really something special imo. Specially number 7.

    A series of interesting photos here… Ghosts of History

    Old Fridgie

    22 Oct 12 at 10:00 pm

  648. kae

    22 Oct 12 at 10:00 pm

  649. That’s strange. In the comments pre-view box it”s ” 20 Oct 12 at 3:39pm”
    Tyrant ?
    Sinc?

    jumpnmcar

    22 Oct 12 at 10:00 pm

  650. Oh, okay Winston.
    Didn’t they have surgery where they could make the heart smaller? Or is it past that (or is that not a surgery they do these days?).
    If they stuffed up my ablation I could have ended up with a pacemaker. Not sure I’d like to be tasered from inside!
    Being dead doesn’t really worry my.

    kae

    22 Oct 12 at 10:01 pm

  651. Could someone tell Tony Jones to STFU and let people speak.

    Morrison being verbaled by tones, ex boatie has a bleat about how evil and mentally traumatising Narau is.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:02 pm

  652. And Viruses are awful, they can do so much damage – isn’t cardiomyopathy sometimes caused by virus damage?

    My cousin has nephrosis, caused as a side effect or or by a virus. He’s fine as far as I know, but when he was growing up there was a chance he may have needed a kidney transplant.

    kae

    22 Oct 12 at 10:03 pm

  653. Romney is going to smash the Kenyan into little pieces.

    Fisky

    22 Oct 12 at 10:03 pm

  654. (I’m a young’un so forgive me for not knowing who he is).

    He’s a singer who made his name in Thatcher times singing about how bad things are. He was pro the communist and destructive coal unions etc from memory. It’s terrible whiny stuff with the odd catchy song in there.

    How about asking the Afghani bloke and his 2 sisters/wives if he’s grateful he lives here?

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:04 pm

  655. All Mr Romney has to do now is show more of his personality, warmth and humour, to get him over the line. It’s all in there, people just need to see it.

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 10:05 pm

  656. Safer on Narau than an insulated house in Australia

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 10:05 pm

  657. Asked the Cardiologist what the survival rate was for someone with these rather dodgy numbers – she said she didn’t know – no one had survived as long as I had.

    Sounds like a tough guy, one of those he refuses to go. I’m sure I’m not the only one with fingers & toes crossed for him.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:05 pm

  658. Preview box STILL saying ”
    20 Oct 12 at 3:39 pm”

    jumpnmcar

    22 Oct 12 at 10:05 pm

  659. Billy Brag for an opinion on Australia and boat people? Why?

    Really why?

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:07 pm

  660. Bragg did a over of The Internationale, nuff said

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 10:07 pm

  661. “dd
    That Media Watch.”

    kae, were you the kae on Blair’s blog that got a mention on Media Watch?

    Compost?
    nah, they’re too full of poison.

    Jarrah

    22 Oct 12 at 10:07 pm

  662. Billy Bragg quoting the bible?

    Jesus wept.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:08 pm

  663. Billt Bragg likes open borders – the man is a fvkwit

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:09 pm

  664. Billy Brag for an opinion on Australia and boat people? Why?

    Really why?

    He’s the Overseas Star.

    Bert Newtonists – now almost exclusively of the left – must ask what he thinks of Australia.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 10:09 pm

  665. Good reply from Amanda Vanstone.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:09 pm

  666. Why does tones think that Morrison will give up details of his discussions with Indonesian politicians – and could tones stop interupting.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:12 pm

  667. Can Tony Jones STFU and let Scott Morrison hang himself.

    No. I take that back. Tony Jones should hang himself for his attempted gotcha questions.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:12 pm

  668. Tony likes to be butch sometimes

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 10:13 pm

  669. Tony Jones: impartial moderator extrordinaire.

    Feral Abacus

    22 Oct 12 at 10:14 pm

  670. The token bimbo thinks detention for unlawful non citizens is torture – Vanstone nails said bimbette.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:16 pm

  671. Julia Baird: “I’m from the left and know that you should tell us your policy Scott. Oh and if it isn’t giving free citizenship for these people you are evil”. Mentions the good Samaritan.

    Faark.

    Do it Thrashing Preying Mantis and put a stake through Morrison’s heart.

    Nice work Mandy

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:16 pm

  672. So leftists want foreigners to keep drowning at sea.

    Moral champions.

    Feral Abacus

    22 Oct 12 at 10:17 pm

  673. First use of “I’ll take it as comment” 30 minutes in.

    Glad I’m not playing a drinking game.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:18 pm

  674. Viwer question – gas plant is evil, Billy Bragg confims the notion that he is a dribbling mouthbreather.

    Remember that business that employs you is exploiting you – fool.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:19 pm

  675. My very best wishes to you for a speedy recovery, Winston. xx

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 10:19 pm

  676. Glad I’m not playing a drinking game.

    Have a shot for every greek style hand gesture and you would have been paralytic after 15 minutes.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:21 pm

  677. BTW Mandy is now full time on Counterpoint on Radio National from the looks of it.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:22 pm

  678. Yep Carpe, good reply from Amanda. A terrible Q & A, I have deliberately not been watching – HIA seems intent on doing so, the Good Lord knows why. Peter Garrett going on about dinosaur tracks in Broome; he could try making a few of those himself. Boring old fart. I am cranky and tired tonight.

    I can’t stand it any longer. Off to bed to read.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    22 Oct 12 at 10:23 pm

  679. Lurch confims the notion that the uppity aboriginals north of broome should continue to live in poverty.

    Oh yes and AbbottAbbottAbbott.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:23 pm

  680. Hey best wishes for the procedure tomorrow Winston.

    Even without a history of VT you deserve an AICD with a post myocarditis recovery EF of 23%.

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 10:25 pm

  681. The Marfans Syndrome sufferer is now the Education Minister? I had no idea.

    He’ll be PM next given Gillard’s trajectory.

    Oh and PS Tony: F off please.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:26 pm

  682. Billy Brag for an opinion on Australia and boat people? Why?

    Snow Cone is such a fan Bragg’s dreamy socialist anthems.

    Billt Bragg likes open borders – the man is a fvkwit

    Some of his music may suggest an answer:

    Billy Bragg – The marching song of the covert battalions

    Waiting for the Great Leap Forward

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:26 pm

  683. Lurch confirms he has no idea how Gonski will be paid for.

    Bimbette opens her mouth and changes feet, Amanda kisks said bimbette.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:27 pm

  684. kicks – bugger

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:28 pm

  685. Tony Jones: impartial moderator extrordinaire.

    Graduate cum laude from the Candy Crowley finishing school for left twats I believe.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:28 pm

  686. Waiting for someone to run out and slap lurch on the head Benny Hill style.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:29 pm

  687. Is this woman an Indigenous Person?

    My parents married in Rabaul, does that make me PNG?

    Baldy has the pollie speak down well. He’s learnt that pretty quickly.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:29 pm

  688. Thanks everyone, if you don’t hear from me again, you’ll know I’m arguing the toss with St Peter…

    Winston Smith

    22 Oct 12 at 10:29 pm

  689. Good luck, Winston.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 10:30 pm

  690. Billy Bragg: Children are the future, spend lots of dough.

    I’m really glad that’s over.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:31 pm

  691. Billy Bragg sings and i just smashed another TV

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:31 pm

  692. God bless Winston xx

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 10:32 pm

  693. Nah, Winston they tell me only the good die young :)
    ———————————————-

    Meanwhile in Frankston, Victoria…

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 10:32 pm

  694. Oh wait. Bonus BB track.

    C’mon Midnight Oil get on the triangle behind him

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:33 pm

  695. Q&A irony time – a socialist sings about class inequality while playing on an $8000 guitar.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:34 pm

  696. Dare I open up the Bomber Command debate again:

    Bomber Command was an offensive weapon, as is made clear in the Churchill quote about how only the bombers could offer victory (see photo in line 3, far left). And its purpose was not just to win the war (which despite Bomber Harris’s promises it only helped to do), but to punish the damned losers of it for having started it. This was a punitive war, and everyone at the time knew it. Oh sure, the story at the time in the newspapers was that it was all precision bombing of military targets, blah blah, but if any bombs just happened to land on civilians, the attitude of civilians on our side was: serve the bastards right.

    You have to realise how most British people felt about the Germans during WW2, including most of the bomber airmen. The Germans were the people who, having experienced World War 1 in all its horror, concluded from it that they needed to have a re-run of it, but this time win. Starting WW1 was forgiveable, albeit a horrible blunder, and we still quarrel about who exactly did start it. Starting WW2, on purpose, was unforgiveable.

    Okay, maybe a lot of Germans were not in favour of all this. But they went along with it, very happily. Until it all started to go wrong.

    WW1 ended with a negotiated German surrender. This time around, our Anglo ancestors were determined that every last German left alive would not only lose, but know that Germany had lost. Each German must taste defeat, and if they died while tasting it, that was just fine. This time, the surrender would be unconditional. No “stab in the back” crap. Stabbed from the front, with overwhelming force, by an enraged world.

    Never again. You must never, never, do this again. That was what Bomber Command was saying.

    In a way, the bombing offensive was a continuation by other means of the silly pamphlet dropping over Germany which was what the bombers first did. Sending a message, but this time in a form that would register.

    You may not like any of this, but that is how it was.

    (posts and goes to bed whilst all hell breaks loose).

    boy on a bike

    22 Oct 12 at 10:34 pm

  697. nice one Gab

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:35 pm

  698. Ahahahahahahaha.

    ‘Newspaper’ that has a video of Obama rubbishing Jews in its vault backs Bam in a stunningly tone-deaf and denialist plea.

    LA Times endorses Obama for second term.

    A MAJOR US newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, has endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term in the White House, saying he has brought “steady leadership” to the office.

    “The nation has been well served by President Obama’s steady leadership. He deserves a second term,” stated an LA Times editorial on Monday.

    It added that while his opponents assailed him as a socialist, “he showed himself to be an adult, less an ideologue than a pragmatist, more cautious than cocky“.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  699. Winston Smith @ 2229

    You’ll be fine – keep the chin up (but don’t lead with it)

    Mike of Marion

    22 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  700. When you start digging through polling companies data you start seeign some seriously bizarre things.

    For example.

    When Essential do their polling the also ask a few luvvie questions on the cause- du-jour.

    Check this:

    Q. How much sexism and discrimination against women do you think currently occurs in the following?

    A majority of respondents think there is a lot or some sexism in politics (61%), advertising (59%), sport (58%), the media (56%) and workplaces (55%).

    But when asked:

    Q. Do you personally experience one or more of the following forms of intolerance?

    Sexism:

    11%

    So there’s the narrative: that sexism is everywhere. Then there’s the reality: nobody personally actually ever experiences it.

    http://essentialvision.com.au/category/essentialreport

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 10:36 pm

  701. War room is open

    Tal

    22 Oct 12 at 10:37 pm

  702. Hey Rex! Look, Rex, look. This will excite you too.

    Alan Jones has made it into the UK’s Telegraph!! This will make you proud I’m sure.

    Australian is known for its suppression of free speech.

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100185903/freedom-of-speech-is-deader-in-australia/

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 10:38 pm

  703. The Australian has a breaking exclusive:

    THE Gillard government banned the super-trawler in defiance of Fisheries Department warnings that this would expose taxpayers to legal action and damage the credibility of Australia’s fisheries management.

    Leaked documents obtained by The Australian show the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry explicitly warned the government against the ban.

    The top-level advice, ignored by the government, warned: “Any attempt to prevent the FV Margiris (later renamed Abel Tasman) from operating would result in significant risk to the Commonwealth, to Australia’s fisheries management credibility and to the proper operation of commercial fishing businesses.”

    Despite the advice from DAFF in August, Environment Minister Tony Burke announced weeks later legislation to allow him to ban the 143m-long trawler and then issued an interim declaration doing just that.

    The document supports warnings, revealed exclusively in The Weekend Australian, that the ban had exposed taxpayers to legal action that could lead to millions of dollars in compensation.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 10:40 pm

  704. Bill Whittle has a video explaining why Conservatives suck.

    The best takeaway from that in politics its often “bad choices or worse choices” and the conservatives go with merely bad.

    John Howard did that. And Rudd went with worse.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:40 pm

  705. Hey Rex! Look, Rex, look. This will excite you too.

    Alan Jones has made it into the UK’s Telegraph!! This will make you proud I’m sure.

    Australian is known for its suppression of free speech.

    You can bet that brought a tear of joy to his eye.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:43 pm

  706. The top-level advice, ignored by the government,

    Yes but Facebook ‘likes’ and GetUp replicated emails make more of an impact on this government than their own top advisors. So get rid of the advisors and save the weary taxpayer a few $$$s.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 10:43 pm

  707. Q&A irony time – a socialist sings about class inequality while playing on an $8000 guitar

    I thought it was kind of sanctimonious and pretentious for Billy Bragg to sing that to the other panellists. I mean, sure, write a song about how politicians are all corrupt, greedy capitalist arseholes. But don’t stand there and sing it into the face of someone who has gone into politics.

    I thought it was a particularly nasty slam on Garrett, who – whatever you might think of his ideals – is at least trying to walk the walk.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 10:44 pm

  708. Breaking – Armstrong has just been stripped of all his TDF titles and is banned for life

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:44 pm

  709. Nice to see Dellers has AJ’s back thanks to Jo Nova.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:44 pm

  710. I think 4Corners had an even handed report on the large trawler mess. Yep, even handed.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:45 pm

  711. dd – Bragg is trying to relive the 1980s when he thought he was relevant.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:46 pm

  712. Thoughts and prayers, Winston.

    Cold-Hands

    22 Oct 12 at 10:46 pm

  713. I thought it was kind of sanctimonious and pretentious for Billy Bragg to sing that to the other panellists

    That is a wonderful summary of Billy Bragg’s career.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:47 pm

  714. Also, by giving him a platform to sing that song at the end, QandA elevates Bragg to someone who is above the fray. He’s better than the other panellists. He’s outside the political debate and passing judgement on their hypocrisy, lack of morals and so on.

    But this is a fiction! Bragg has well-known political views and agitates for one side of the debate. he’s a player, not an observer (just as Garrett was, now I think of it).

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 10:47 pm

  715. Did anyone else watching Q&A think Morrison was hopeless?

    I’m not a concern troll. Just looking for opinions.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:48 pm

  716. Gab, he’s been insinuating himself into the place like a fungus for the past week, avoiding giving offence while he sussed out the rules. He’s about to go full retard and risk ISD.

    It’s some achievement but you truly may be the stupidest person to ever comment here.

    badm0f0

    22 Oct 12 at 10:48 pm

  717. I think 4Corners had an even handed report on the large trawler mess. Yep, even handed.

    Somewhere between the Greens & the ALP then?

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:49 pm

  718. Breaking – Armstrong has just been stripped of all his TDF titles and is banned for life

    ridiculous. It’s absurd to target Armstrong when the entire sport of cycling is awash with performance enhancing drugs.

    The piecemeal approach that’s taken with drugs in sport is worse than doing nothing at all, because they nuke athletes more or less at random.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 10:50 pm

  719. Winston Smith

    All the best for tomorrow. Prayers are on their way.

    Grigory Potemkin

    22 Oct 12 at 10:51 pm

  720. THE Gillard government banned the super-trawler in defiance of Fisheries Department warnings

    It was not just business liability. The government’s scientific advice was that the trawler would abide by fishing quotas, which are set to maintain fish stock levels. Normally green leaning researchers in Tasmania are livid about the way they have been shat on.

    This evening’s ALPBC propaganda piece on 4 Corners does not deny this. Instead it chose to fog the issue with emotive red herrings about West Africa, without any facts.

    How do 47% of the population vote for this?

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 10:52 pm

  721. Did anyone else watching Q&A think Morrison was hopeless?

    I didn’t.
    He copped some quite aggressive interviewing from Jones tonight.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 10:52 pm

  722. Winston, please check in and tell how you’re doing when you can.

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 10:53 pm

  723. Did anyone else watching Q&A think Morrison was hopeless?

    I thought he was Ok. But Amanda was (eventually) fired up when she put the token bimbo in her place.

    I don’t usually watch qanda – but the afternoon nap kept me up for it for a change.

    Carpe Jugulum

    22 Oct 12 at 10:53 pm

  724. Did anyone else watching Q&A think Morrison was hopeless?

    No, thought he was great. Are you just a brainless troll? Perhaps a McTernan bot? Do you pass the Turing test?

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 10:54 pm

  725. I thought it was kind of sanctimonious and pretentious for Billy Bragg to sing that to the other panellists. I mean, sure, write a song about how politicians are all corrupt, greedy capitalist arseholes. But don’t stand there and sing it into the face of someone who has gone into politics.

    His entire schtick watching and listening to the links posted above seems completely manufactured.

    twostix

    22 Oct 12 at 10:54 pm

  726. All the very best for tomorrow Winston.

    hz

    22 Oct 12 at 10:54 pm

  727. LA Times endorses Obama. My god all he needs now is the NYT and WAPO to give him their tick of approval and it’s all over.

    Infidel tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 10:55 pm

  728. WHo is the idiot “Rex” and what is his purpose here?

    Rex has been here before. He had a great time telling us what victims the little thugs with mobile phones smashing up other peoples property were during the London riots.

    JC always brings the best out of him.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:55 pm

  729. Did anyone else watching Q&A think Morrison was hopeless?

    So you’d do better with Snow Cone cutting you off all the time?

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 10:56 pm

  730. I think 4Corners had an even handed report on the large trawler mess. Yep, even handed.

    Somewhere between the Greens & the ALP then?

    Nope. Possibly actually even handed. They mentioned compo for the company and had Fisheries Dept people talking about the dangers as hogwash.

    But I didn’t watch, just heard snippets.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 10:57 pm

  731. Good luck, Winston. Let us know as soon as you can.

    You shouldn’t put anything toxic in your compost, it could poison your garden.

    kae

    22 Oct 12 at 11:00 pm

  732. But I didn’t watch, just heard snippets

    That is: I am just an on message McTernan troll.

    Fuck off out of here.

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:01 pm

  733. That is: I am just an on message McTernan troll.

    Fuck off out of here.

    No mate you can get stuffed, it was an honest opinion. I reckon he didn’t present very well.

    And the fishing was the same, an honest opinion. If you have a problem with that your troll bar is set somewhere south of 2 inches.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:10 pm

  734. Did anyone else watching Q&A think Morrison was hopeless?

    I thought he was brilliant.

    As usual.

    He’s definitely future PM material.

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:14 pm

  735. If you have a problem with that your troll bar is set somewhere south of 2 inches.

    You have to understand that people here do not like you and your opinions. Go away to where you will be welcome.

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:18 pm

  736. Well to other commenters apart from Lazlo who think Morrison did ok I don’t agree. He could have pointed out the Howard years after the law was changed had stuff all arrivals and deaths, he could have pointed out the arrival of Labour lead to lots of arrivals and deaths.

    And he could have mentioned the boat that foundered in the Sunda Strait that called US! was between Java and Sumatra. The location identified by the ABC as merely “220 nautical miles from Christmas Island” or some such.

    He could have done that but didn’t.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:20 pm

  737. Well, hang on. DaveF reckons he’s not trolling. He’s entitled to hang around and give his viewpoint until proven otherwise.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 11:23 pm

  738. Vanstone attempted to do so, but Jones shouted her down.

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:23 pm

  739. Roger L. Simon calls for Obama to resign over the Benghazi scandal.

    What I’d like to hear is Barack Obama resigning over Benghazi, the most extreme public mishandling of an attack on American personnel ever, certainly in my lifetime. If I (or most people) had been president and something like that happened on my (our) watch — and then I had lied about it myself while urging others to cover up — I would be so ashamed of myself I wouldn’t be able to come out in public…

    Obama’s outrage during the second debate even at being questioned on his response to the terrorist killings is one of the ugliest displays of narcissism I have ever witnessed from a politician and certainly the ugliest if you consider the ramifications of his behavior.

    Only a man with a leftover undergraduate ambivalence about Western civilization would have dealt with the Benghazi catastrophe in such a fashion in the first place. Barack Obama responded to the terrorism like a Columbia junior stoned on a reefer, particularly one from his era. He took another toke and moved on. And then when he was told he couldn’t do that, he got angry at the people telling him.

    Does that last modus operandi sound familiar, by the way?

    Regarding, say, a prime minister and her Speaker?

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 11:23 pm

  740. Jones also talked all over Morrison. Your point?

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:24 pm

  741. Interesting.

    Fish Oil use for brain injuries.

    John H, any thoughts?

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:27 pm

  742. Obama saved his outrage for a guy who made a YouTube video. The death of 4 Americans by terrorist attack was… Not optimal.

    Infidel tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 11:27 pm

  743. He could have done that but didn’t.

    He could hardly get a word in edgeways DaveF.

    I think Tony’s heckling was obvious to suburban mums and dads.

    BB and the blond leftist looked like condescending thoroughly ignorant gits

    This sort of ABC heckling doesn’t work in voterland.

    Morrison knew exactly what he was doing

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:27 pm

  744. John H, any thoughts?

    Sounds fishy Gab.

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:28 pm

  745. PS Jones did not talk all over Garrett, Baird or Bragg. Coincidence?

    Not at all.

    No prisoners! The left don’t take any.

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:29 pm

  746. He could have pointed out the Howard years after the law was changed had stuff all arrivals and deaths, he could have pointed out the arrival of Labour lead to lots of arrivals and deaths.

    It sounds like you wanted him to make a red-blooded, passionate attack on Labor policies. But that wouldn’t have worked. See, you might have noticed that it was Coalition border policies – not Labor policies – that were in the firing line on QandA tonight, so that approach was not advisable. It could have looked like a desperate counterattack, distracting with a ‘look over there’.

    dd

    22 Oct 12 at 11:29 pm

  747. *Groan*

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:29 pm

  748. All I’m saying is a trip to Q&A land for Libs is a trip through the 9 (7?) levels of Dante’s Inferno. You have to prep and have the answers.

    And that is trolling?

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:30 pm

  749. No mention of gay marriage on Q&A? WTF?
    Snowcone must be having a bad night to let that slip. At least he didn’t correct the Abbott misogy rant by the resident lefties…..Redeemed

    Splatacrobat

    22 Oct 12 at 11:31 pm

  750. I think Tony’s heckling was obvious to suburban mums and dads.

    Q&A is a “preaching to the choir” type of program. The only people that watch it are full-on leftards, and righties who want to see what the full-on leftards are presently whining about.

    There is no amount of alcohol that could allow me to watch it.

    Fleeced

    22 Oct 12 at 11:31 pm

  751. Yes, we know how to suck eggs..

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:32 pm

  752. I lose track of who is ans isn’t a concern-troll on this thing – but I’m inclined to give DaveF the benefit of the doubt, just because he correctly used “could have” instead of the incorrect but widely used “could of”

    Fleeced

    22 Oct 12 at 11:34 pm

  753. Latest from Gallop:

    R 52% 0 45%…

    Has anyone noticed that McMurtrie on Lateline, Washington correspondent, never mentions Gallup? Certainly not since Romney has powered ahead. Shameless.

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 11:34 pm

  754. The grammar Nazi is scared of cockroaches :lol:

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:35 pm

  755. Viva, Winston!

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 11:36 pm

  756. All I’m saying is a trip to Q&A land for Libs is a trip through the 9 (7?) levels of Dante’s Inferno. You have to prep and have the answers.

    And that is trolling?

    Good response. You are prepared to stand up and back your statements.

    So far I have not detected the stink of eau de lefty yet.

    We see so many concern trolls here, you can expect a bit more hazing before the regulars truly give you a break.

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 11:37 pm

  757. dd:

    yeah ok fair point. I DID want him to defend the past and NOT advance their current policies. True.

    In hindsight it’s true the Libs have moved to more difficult terrain on the issue for the ABC audience to handle.

    And I agree TJ was an absolute tool but you have to prep for that.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:38 pm

  758. I think Tony’s heckling was obvious to suburban mums and dads

    Real people living in the suburbs do not watch that filth. QANDAs audience is made up of political junkies and deviates. .

    Infidel tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 11:38 pm

  759. Cockroaches are from the devil!

    Fleeced

    22 Oct 12 at 11:38 pm

  760. LOL

    Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are fats the body cannot make Gab so they have to be eaten in the diet.

    Most essential fatty acids are required by nervous tissue.

    I haven’t read your linked article but it would stand to reason that healing nerve cells would require more EFAs

    EFA’s are found in large quantities in fish oil and in the right relative proportions of different FFAS.

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:39 pm

  761. Real people living in the suburbs do not watch that filth. QANDAs audience is made up of political junkies and deviates. .

    ‘zactly what I said.

    Fleeced

    22 Oct 12 at 11:39 pm

  762. Has anyone noticed that McMurtrie on Lateline, Washington correspondent, never mentions Gallup? Certainly not since Romney has powered ahead.

    Ah yes. See, that’s JournoList protocol.

    When the Republican is winning, the race is “tight.”

    C.L.

    22 Oct 12 at 11:39 pm

  763. “You shouldn’t put anything toxic in your compost, it could poison your garden.”

    Why so coy? I’m just curious.

    Jarrah

    22 Oct 12 at 11:40 pm

  764. All the best Winston. They’ll have you fixed in a jiffy.

    Viva

    22 Oct 12 at 11:41 pm

  765. Ok guys, I’ll go with ‘the consensus’. I was hasty. But DaveF needs to understand that this is a robust place, and if you don’t like that…

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:41 pm

  766. ha ha. That’s funny. Dover said “Viva, Winston” and then Viva pops in to give a call out to Winston. Timing is everything. Well, I thought it was funny anyways.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:43 pm

  767. Ta Fleeced.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:44 pm

  768. the article seems to indicate fish oil cured a young man with a brain injury after a car accident with a gcs score 3 – dead as a brick as the doctor said.
    it does sound quite fishy

    fish oil is beaut for your dog’s arthritis but

    candy

    22 Oct 12 at 11:45 pm

  769. I noticed that too, Gab. Viva, slippers! (I won’t hold my breath).

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 11:45 pm

  770. When the Republican is winning, the race is “tight.”

    I’m gonna laugh my rear end off when Romney wins by 5 points or more in the 15 days.

    You can hear the reports: ‘In a shocking result the extent of which no polls predicted, America’s first African-American President was rejected in the election Tuesday’

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:47 pm

  771. Ok guys, I’ll go with ‘the consensus’. I was hasty. But DaveF needs to understand that this is a robust place, and if you don’t like that…

    Oh I don’t mind. I was just defending myself.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:47 pm

  772. Real people living in the suburbs do not watch that filth. QANDAs audience is made up of political junkies and deviates. .

    The studio audience is.

    Lotsa mums and dads watch the show on tv.

    Morrison did well tonight.

    He always does.

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:50 pm

  773. RE: US election

    Even the left (Daily Kos and others) have pretty much conceded NC and Florida.

    I’d hate to be watching TV in Virginia and Ohio at the moment.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:50 pm

  774. You won’t be the only one, JamesK. It will be our St Crispin’s Day.

    dover_beach

    22 Oct 12 at 11:51 pm

  775. A spicy topic you can bet the moderator will avoid tonight:

    The Obama re-election campaign has accepted at least one foreign donation in violation of the law — and does nothing to check on the provenance of millions of dollars in other contributions, a watchdog group alleges.

    Chris Walker, a British citizen who lives outside London, told The Post he was able to make two $5 donations to President Obama’s campaign this month through its Web site while a similar attempt to give Mitt Romney cash was rejected. It is illegal to knowingly solicit or accept money from foreign citizens.

    Along those lines:

    Obama campaign collecting more donations from non-existent ZIP codes as campaign season goes on

    Token

    22 Oct 12 at 11:53 pm

  776. Fair Nuff. Next: climate change? tax = ‘reform’ or ‘savings’? Misogyny = shooting a girl in the face? Officer of the Court = perjury? Cyber ignorance = massive NBN fraud?

    Where would you like to start?

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:53 pm

  777. I’d hate to be watching TV in Virginia and Ohio at the moment.

    I wasn’t clear. Th ads must be wall to wall political. Awful.

    DaveF

    22 Oct 12 at 11:53 pm

  778. Things normal Australians never say:

    “I was watching Q&A the other night….”

    Infidel tiger

    22 Oct 12 at 11:55 pm

  779. the article seems to indicate fish oil cured a young man with a brain injury after a car accident with a gcs score 3

    Really?

    Lotsa people recover fully after scoring 3(the lowest score) on the Glasgow Coma Scale.

    The GCS is of poor predictive value for longterm outcome

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:56 pm

  780. We do get a lot of trolls her though – and that can put us on the defensive sometimes. Frankly, I’d be happy to see some of them moderated out of existence, but at the same time, I’m not a cliquey guy, and I don’t want to see the place become an echo-chamber.

    I remember when I first switched from lurker to poster… Cat people seemed so hostile, LOL! Perhaps it was my own fault – even though I’d never posted, I’d been reading for so long that I felt “familiar” with everybody, and so probably acted over-familiar.

    Fleeced

    22 Oct 12 at 11:56 pm

  781. Things normal Australians never say:

    “I was watching Q&A the other night….”

    Unfortunately I think you are wrong IT.

    JamesK

    22 Oct 12 at 11:57 pm

  782. Wonder what the viewing numbers are for Q&A.

    Gab

    22 Oct 12 at 11:58 pm

  783. db: this Thursday 25 October is St Crispin’s day:

    ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
    For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
    Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
    This day shall gentle his condition;
    And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
    Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day’

    Lazlo

    22 Oct 12 at 11:59 pm

  784. JC abused me after my very first post on the Cat. Luckily I knew he was an uptight Wop with designer jeans with perfectly ironed creases, so it didn’t bother me.

    Infidel tiger

    23 Oct 12 at 12:02 am

  785. 863,000 for the Pell vs Dawkins show Gab.

    JamesK

    23 Oct 12 at 12:03 am

  786. that many, eh? Am surprised, James.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 12:04 am

  787. SFB got stuck into me after a couple of posts when I was new here. he got very upset when I remarked that CL was an excellent writer. “Love your work” set SFB into a snarling frenzy. He’s been jealous of me since.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 12:06 am

  788. fish oil is beaut for your dog’s arthritis but

    A good omega 3 to omega 6 ratio seems to be important for chronic inflammatory illness in general.

    I don’t bother with fish oil myself. Instead I avoid industrial-age seed oils (canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, etc.) as these are high in omega 6 and are evolutionarilly novel.

    Dangph

    23 Oct 12 at 12:07 am

  789. Battle of belief a ratings hit for Q&A

    I don’t think it has those ratings normally

    JamesK

    23 Oct 12 at 12:07 am

  790. I remember when I first switched from lurker to poster… Cat people seemed so hostile, LOL! Perhaps it was my own fault – even though I’d never posted, I’d been reading for so long that I felt “familiar” with everybody, and so probably acted over-familiar.

    I lurked for months then started posting maybe a month ago. First hostility tonight.

    But, like I said it’s no probs. I just have an opinion that others don’t share.

    DaveF

    23 Oct 12 at 12:08 am

  791. JC abused me after my very first post on the Cat. Luckily I knew he was an uptight Wop with designer jeans with perfectly ironed creases, so it didn’t bother me.

    JC and Jason were pretty nasty to me, from memory.

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 12:08 am

  792. I lurked for months then started posting maybe a month ago.

    I was going to ask when you started posting… was pretty sure I’d seen you post long before tonight.

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 12:09 am

  793. This was back in the day when the Cat was a pro Obama, pro carbon tax joint. Luckily the server deleted that sordid history.

    Infidel tiger

    23 Oct 12 at 12:11 am

  794. When did we turn into an encounter group?

    Lazlo

    23 Oct 12 at 12:11 am

  795. Luckily the server deleted that sordid history.

    LOL. Yeah, that was some “accident”

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 12:13 am

  796. In the JC case, I think it was the over-familiarity thing I mentioned before… With the Jason run-in, I really can’t remember… some trivial libertarian bullshit, probably – but as he ran the blog at the time, I refrained from posting for quite a whiles, as I was pissed off.

    Funny, I seem to find both of them quite agreeable nowadays.

    Anyway, my point is: don’t be so cliquey that you scare away newcomers.

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 12:17 am

  797. When did we turn into an encounter group?

    Ok Lazlo. I enjoyed the uplift however.

    You know Bambi is off the rails when 538 at the NYT starts running articles like this:

    2:43 a.m. | Updated If only women voted, President Obama would be on track for a landslide re-election, equaling or exceeding his margin of victory over John McCain in 2008.

    DaveF

    23 Oct 12 at 12:20 am

  798. Yea, if only blokes had tits…

    Lazlo

    23 Oct 12 at 12:26 am

  799. When did we turn into an encounter group?

    I didn’t even know what that was until I googled it… You been to a few of these, Lazlo?

    Yea, if only blokes had tits…

    It hear it only costs a few thousand, Laz… keep reaching for that rainbow!

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 12:30 am

  800. A bit harsh DaveF, as it then goes on to say what would happen if only men voted, where Romney would romp it in. The article looks to be a reasonably balanced discussion of gender’s effects on voting patterns.

    Cold-Hands

    23 Oct 12 at 12:30 am

  801. Women should never have been given the vote… lol ;)

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 12:33 am

  802. Nah, he’s dredging hopes and dreams. Women tend not to vote in the US apparently.

    I notice he’s now conceding Virginia as well as Florida (which he did a week ago) only Ohio to fall.

    And then it’s game over.

    DaveF

    23 Oct 12 at 12:34 am

  803. Cold Hand -

    Sure I was stressing the spin. He’s arguing women love Obama but later mentions men.

    t’s not a big deal but I figure it’s a sign his boy is on a hard road.

    DaveF

    23 Oct 12 at 12:39 am

  804. He’s the Anthony Green of US politics. I think they are both very good.

    DaveF

    23 Oct 12 at 12:41 am

  805. Potemkin’s Village

    I have many regrets… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 3:28 am

  806. NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian is one of Fatty O’Barrell’s star performers:

    MORE than 1000 Railcorp employees are either not doing the jobs they were hired to do or are not working at all, a government audit of the organisation has found.

    Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian has sacked 111 people and ordered 369 back to work in the wake of the audit she commissioned. A further 360 employees are being reviewed and 210 more under “case management” – on notice to be redeployed or dismissed.

    Mrs Berejiklian said a lack of accountability within Railcorp had created a long list of “bludgers”.

    In all, she said 1065 staff were either not at work or not in the jobs they should be, with only 15 per cent of those off for legitimate reasons such as long service or maternity leave.

    Some were found to be sitting at home or had been shuffled off to tasks different from their assigned job, on full pay.

    Tom

    23 Oct 12 at 5:19 am

  807. Winston, as usual I’m late to the party and you’re probably enjoying your blissfully-stupefying pre-surgery cocktail by now, but just wanted to let you know that I’ll be keeping you and your medical team in my thoughts and prayers today.

    sdog

    23 Oct 12 at 6:06 am

  808. A spicy topic you can bet the moderator will avoid tonight:

    Alas, the debate is all about what’s going on outside the US’s borders – which, despite the fact that this is where the donations are coming from, is only illegal within the 50 United States.

    If poll results keep on going south for Obambi, the Dems will have to comfort themselves with the fact that, as far as the two main players are concerned, Romney came second-last.

    If he can get through the debate without making a screw-up, I suspect Mittens has it in the bag, provided all the Republican supporters get out there and vote. But I think they will – they know what’s riding on this.

    perturbed

    23 Oct 12 at 6:10 am

  809. Winston,

    Best of luck, ol’ bean – you’ll be fine.

    Rabz

    23 Oct 12 at 7:03 am

  810. That’s bullshit. I’ve never been rude to you guys as I’m not a rude person.

    The only time I could have been dismissive to you IT was when you were doing some sort of Avon lady schtick peddling moisteriser products and it got out of hand.

    JC

    23 Oct 12 at 7:13 am

  811. Joe you are a little,shall we say,robust to newcomers :)

    How’s your kid doing?

    Tal

    23 Oct 12 at 7:17 am

  812. Boab, thanks for that contribution re bombers and bombing in ww2.
    The political, propagandist emasculation of the means of winning wars has gone on ever since ww2. It’s part of the broad front that includes pretty much anything that would mean the western democracies maintain strength in the face of either military aggression or political white-anting.
    The demonisation of what became an essential overwhelming force in the face of implacable, to the death resistance – both Germany and Japan had, in their own ways, a total war and no surrender position.
    The long march people now control so much of the narrative that our pollies and armed services flinch at the shadows of “international law” cast by a coterie of UN deadbeats, and ROE are often self defeating.
    Political correctness will make certain that the ME remains a large whack a mole board, where one is replaced by another just as bad.
    Neither the US Embassy saga in Teheran nor the 9/11 abomination yielded enough pain inflicted on this region to send a strong message. Yes, two countries were superficially scarified, but the PC aspects quickly come back into play. The killing of civilians in both cases has been allowed to trump extermination of militants. We have just lost another soldier in Afghan theatre – they are having to go in and sort out at close quarters those settlements where there,s a risk that the gunman,s moll and sprogs might get hurt, and instead the soldier takes the ied.

    Blogstrop

    23 Oct 12 at 7:22 am

  813. Nilk did an excellent job last week. Perhaps she can do so this week:

    Sorry, Gab, I wasn’t home at that time last night. Decided to go for a walk with the offspring and didn’t get home until well after dark, and then just couldn’t face QandA.

    Had to do some work also, which took precedence.

    I’ll try for next week. Do we know who’s on yet?

    nilk

    23 Oct 12 at 7:25 am

  814. Tal

    I’m never rude. :-)

    I’m trying to apply the Fisk doctrine with leftwing idiots. There is no reason to engage them because there’s nothing to learn from them.

    Here’s an open challenge to anyone here.

    When was the last time a leftwinger offered up a useful comment that wasn’t laced with stupidity or deceit.

    There’s money in it for proof.

    JC

    23 Oct 12 at 7:25 am

  815. Winston, thinking of you today. Very much hoping all goes well for you and that we see you back here soonest. Kisses and hugs. (late I know, but I’ve only just caught up on the back thread; talk to you soon of course when you’re on the mend).

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    23 Oct 12 at 7:26 am

  816. And best wishes to Winston, a most valuable contributor here. I’m confident they’ll patch you up and send you back into the fray asap.

    Blogstrop

    23 Oct 12 at 7:26 am

  817. Oh and the kid is doing great. Perfect health but quite annoying. Best served in small doses.

    JC

    23 Oct 12 at 7:27 am

  818. They quoted some of the more, er, colourful comments that they found, and it caused quite a stir.

    If I recall, that was our very own Kae. She’s always been a riot!

    nilk

    23 Oct 12 at 7:30 am

  819. Encounter group? Well, we do encounter each other here.

    I first commented the very first time I ever landed on the Cat (I think via Bolt?) and I come here regularly now. (Never backward in coming foward, my Ma used to say, but really I am quite shy and jump in quickly to cover that). I started with a little parody about a young and naive lawyer, because she was really annoying me. Ever the gentleman, JC’s immediate reaction was to think I was being unkind to little girlies but as realisation dawned he ended with ‘I think you are making a parody’. IT then chimed in with “Ya think??”. Gab immediately and kindly made me feel at home (gosh, hope she hasn’t regretted that!). I found there are some really lovely guys on this site and good feisty women (It is a very decent place towards women when it really matters). It is always smart and edgey, full of information, and cracks me up with laughter often. Best medicine around for countering leftism and learning more. The Cat has real gemeinschaft and communitas (thank you, Max Weber). It runs hot and wild when news breaks.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    23 Oct 12 at 7:54 am

  820. I notice he’s now conceding Virginia as well as Florida (which he did a week ago) only Ohio to fall.

    He hasn’t yet conceded Pennsylvania. But that would mean game over 2 weeks before the election.

    JC

    23 Oct 12 at 7:59 am

  821. ps. fyi – I have been coming here for well over a year now. Still relatively new.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    23 Oct 12 at 8:05 am

  822. Good to hear the kid’s doing well, JC. You’ve got an interesting fortnight coming up.

    dover_beach

    23 Oct 12 at 8:06 am

  823. But that would mean game over 2 weeks before the election.

    Yep. There’s only one poll that counts.

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) B.

    23 Oct 12 at 8:07 am

  824. DB

    The people I’ve caught up with seem to be far less informed than the people at the Cat.

    The one person who I think is a political junkie thinks its too close to call.

    If there is one common thread to the thinking here I’ve noticed is that people despise both political parties with a vengeance. They hate them.

    I of course always suggest they ought to hate the GOP less than the demolitionists.

    We’re going to a Kenyan supporting home for dinner this evening. At least the we’re last time I was here… They voted for him. Let’s see what they say, although being NYC, it doesn’t really matter much.

    JC

    23 Oct 12 at 8:16 am

  825. I’m trying to apply the Fisk doctrine with leftwing idiots. There is no reason to engage them because there’s nothing to learn from them.

    I don’t get why we should put up with their childish tirades?

    As they say diamonds are just carbon that was put under a lot of pressure and survived.

    I found there are some really lovely guys on this site and good feisty women

    Watch it Lizzie, we’ve got a reputation to keep ;)

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 8:17 am

  826. If there is one common thread to the thinking here I’ve noticed is that people despise both political parties with a vengeance. They hate them.

    I wonder if they are having some internal conflict. They think they ought to vote for Obama but they don’t want to.

    I of course always suggest they ought to hate the GOP less than the demolitionists.

    Yes. They may both be bad, but less bad is always better than more bad.

    Dangph

    23 Oct 12 at 9:06 am

  827. Fauxfacts Deathwatch

    Honestly, can the price get any lower before an inevitable implosion?

    Why on earth do corbett and the board expect people to take this stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure seriously?

    Rabz

    23 Oct 12 at 9:08 am

  828. More meeja cluelessness and idiocy:

    COULD this be the first public photograph of the future boss of the Nine television network?

    No, unless he becomes da boss while still in nappies.

    Nine’s ‘future’ is about as rosy as Fauxfacts’.

    Rabz

    23 Oct 12 at 9:13 am

  829. Ninemsn poll update:

    Did Gillard’s misogyny speech impress you?
    Yes 28074
    No 90280

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 9:32 am

  830. Ralph Blweitt wrties a letter:

    And I have an intimate knowledge of the disposal of some of those funds and the Gillard Wilson affair “Romance” life style whilst they where in that relationship in Melbourne.

    I was never involved in the rest of the alleged frauds committed by Bruce Wilson and others in Victoria and I have only recently become aware of the magnitude and extent of those alleged frauds upon reading the discovered documents.
    The things that really concerned me about all of this and led to my decision where as follows.

    (1) The dismissal of yourself and Glen Milne brought about by pressure from persons of influence in order keep the story from the public.I view this as an attack on freedom of the press.

    (2) The treatment of Bob Kernohan,which is well documented.

    (3) The Press conference held by Ms J Gillard in August and some of the things regarding this matter that Ms Gillard put on the public record do not ring true to me having been a party to this whole episode during my time as an official of the AWU and at that time a close friend of Ms Gillard and Bruce Wilson in the period 1992 until 1995/96.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 9:36 am

  831. More meeja cluelessness and idiocy:

    Yes, these are the people who cheer Gillard’s faux war on mysogyny*.

    * Bolta has picked up the fact Macquarie Dictionary will be correcting the spelling of Forward Foward in the coming days.

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 9:36 am

  832. I like the cartoon that goes with this article.

    Profiting from disadvantage

    YOU don’t have to be black to be a black, you don’t have to be poor to be poor, you don’t have to be a woman-hater to be a misogynist. You don’t even have to be without a roof over your head to be homeless.

    Such is the slide in meaning attached to these and many other, once bountiful, political campaigns that swarms of professionals have to be employed to keep the flames of outrage alive.

    And keep them alive they do: their careers depend on it. Equal employment opportunity officers, equal rights officers, professional busybodies and lobbyists throughout Australia are diligent at seeking out slight and insult or massaging group data to prove some organised evil within society.

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 9:41 am

  833. Did Gillard’s misogyny speech impress you?

    It impressed the heck out of Billy Bragg on Q&A. He may not have known anything about the local issues, but that sort of thing doesn’t matter to someone of Billy’s caliber. He could tell that it was an important speech. He could tell that Abbott was a bad man.

    Dangph

    23 Oct 12 at 9:41 am

  834. Bolt notes:

    Reader sush notes a news item from Sri Lanka on the trawler allegedly hijacked and on its way here:

    Among the hijackers who are believed to be coming to Australia are notorious fraudster and his wife and underworld leader who is wanted by police .if you can read Sinhalese ..here is the link.

    Don’t worry about it Bolt, they’ll be welcomed here with open arms.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 9:49 am

  835. Hi Winston,

    Just checking in and saw your news. Notice this is in the present tense because I expect you have survived your intervention. Look forward to hearing you soon and be nice to the nurses. Hope you feel much better and have stacks more energy.

    XXX

    Helen Armstrong

    23 Oct 12 at 9:56 am

  836. Jonathan Brown hit by car

    GREG STOLZ
    Lions legend Jonathan Brown has been taken to hospital after he was hit by a car on the Gold Coast – and the vehicle had to be towed.

    My bolding

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    23 Oct 12 at 10:06 am

  837. Emma Alberici calls Joe Hockey “Joker Hockey” to his face.

    http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3616330.htm

    Go to 14:48.

    Vile.

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 10:20 am

  838. And now for a mid-morning laugh:

    Former GetUp director Simon Sheikh will seek preselection to stand for the Greens in the senate at the next federal election. Mr Sheikh, who stood down from the activist group after collapsing on the ABC’s Q&A program, wants to represent the party in the ACT. GetUp is not endorsing the move, reiterating it’s status as an unaffiliated political action group.

    Hilarious.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 10:22 am

  839. I hope it’s all gone well, Winston, and a full and speedy recovery follows.

    Ivan Denisovich

    23 Oct 12 at 10:23 am

  840. Bit of comedy from the Australian’s Capital Circle:

    Bedrock: Special Minister of State Gary Gray has declared the public service “a foundation for our prosperity, our economy and society”. He was responding to an Institute of Public Affairs call for 44,000 jobs to be slashed from the public sector. Said Gray: “A capable public service has been critical to all successful nations of the 20th century and there is every reason to believe that will be true of the 21st century.” (CC – That, and good plumbing.)

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 10:27 am

  841. Roxon approved anti-alcohol squads now roaming Australian cities.

    Infidel Tiger

    23 Oct 12 at 10:34 am

  842. I can’t believe Ralph Blewitts letter has so many spelling and grammatical errors. Didn’t he have anyone to proof read it for him? Maybe his lawyers intentionally left all the errors in to make him come across more humble and sincere. The whole thing looks like it was typed into an iPad in the dark.

    brc

    23 Oct 12 at 10:34 am

  843. Ah, no wonder gillard backflipped on research funding…

    Julia Gillard… She’ll be in Sydney later today for the opening Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 10:37 am

  844. nilk 23 Oct 12 at 7:30 am:

    If I recall, that was our very own Kae. She’s always been a riot!

    She’s also got a mention in a book I found at the local library: The Rise of the Fifth Estate by Greg Jericho (aka Grog’s Gamut). It’s half the rise-of-social-media-in-the-Australian-political-sphere, half I’m-a-lefty-blogger-and-I’m-now-a-part-of-history, but wasn’t too bad a read.

    Kae gets a specific mention as one of two female bloggers in Australia with a political bent. You go girl!

    The Cat also gets a few mentions and Doomlord is quoted. Boab and the Professer are among those that make the appendix listing Australian political blogs.

    I’ll give it 2.5 stars. Probably worth getting your local library to order it in rather than purchasing.

    Steve D

    23 Oct 12 at 10:41 am

  845. I never watch Lateline as it is either on too late or I am at work. Thank God for that.
    I just watched the interview where Alberici clearly says “Joker Hockey” and I have to say that I have never before seen such partisan hectoring masquerading as an interview.
    Have these people no shame? Have they realised that the forthcoming election is going to be such a bloodbath that they can throw off any pretense of neutrality?
    I would dearly love to see one of these leftist “journalists” be so aggressive with a government minister, you know, one of those people that is actually responsible for what is going on.
    I have not been a frequenter of this site for long enough to have seen the Fisk Doctrine laid out in its entirety, however my limited exposure has taught me that it needs to be applied to the ABC with maximum prejudice.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    23 Oct 12 at 11:07 am

  846. As part of the cuts, the baby bonus will go down to $3000, from $5000, for second and subsequent children.

    The government has argued the change recognises that families purchased durable, big-ticket nursery items when their first child was born.

    However, Mr Abbott said this did not reflect the reality of having a family.

    “Often one child is still in the cot when the second one comes along … so you actually need an extra cot.

    I think if the government was a bit more experienced in this area they wouldn’t come out with glib lines like that.”

    Abbott’s comment will be the news for the rest of this week as the coven get their hackles up.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 11:09 am

  847. Shiny brand new ad from America Crossroads, for your viewing pleasure:
    NOT OPTIMAL

    sdog

    23 Oct 12 at 11:14 am

  848. The former GetUp! leader was a Green extremist all along?

    Well I’ll be.

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 11:16 am

  849. Well it’s another typically stupid thing of Abbott to say, Gab: a dog whistle on the vitally important [/sarc] issue of Gillard’s “barren” womb.

    I also like the way that a budget move which nearly all Catallaxy people feel is well overdue is met with silence – because it’s Labor doing it.

  850. Roxon approved anti-alcohol squads now roaming Australian cities.

    That bloke, Cristian Martinez, looks about 30-35.

    That “spiritual leader”, Fayad, should have realised Martinez was just young and naive, and gone easy on him.

    Eddystone

    23 Oct 12 at 11:19 am

  851. SFB hears a dog-whistle. Good boy.

    Actually Abbott didn’t say “gillard” he said “government”.

    Notice SFB makes no comment about Alberici’s unprofessional conduct in relation to a conservative minister.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 11:22 am

  852. Abbott was clearly talking about baby bonus minutiae and implementation – it being a Coalition policy – not Julia Gillard.

    Bolt’s actually being silly on this, behaving like a lefty analyst.

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 11:24 am

  853. ABC Online flat-out lies:

    Tony Abbott attacks Labor’s justification for cutting some baby bonus payments, saying it reveals a lack of “experience” in raising children.

    He said nothing even approximating that.

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 11:26 am

  854. I also like the way that a budget move which nearly all Catallaxy people feel is well overdue is met with silence – because it’s Labor doing it.

    It’s hard to get enthusiastic because they will just spend the money on something worse.

    Dangph

    23 Oct 12 at 11:28 am

  855. Cutting the baby bonus will hit hard with a lot of families, some more than others, and I think stay at home mums will suffer the most as they don’t get parental leave stuff.

    candy

    23 Oct 12 at 11:37 am

  856. Well it’s another typically stupid thing of Abbott to say, Gab: a dog whistle on the vitally important [/sarc] issue of Gillard’s “barren” womb.

    No Abbott didn’t, stop making crap up.

    It is interesting confession SoB, it is only dogs that hear dog-whistles. Sounds lke you’ve revealed much about your the prejudices that inhibit you.

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 11:41 am

  857. it’s got to the point where we’re not allowed to discuss families and the government in the same point

    Joe Hockey giving it back to government reporters.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 11:43 am

  858. Surreal.

    dover_beach

    23 Oct 12 at 11:44 am

  859. Tell you what though, the government reporters backed off on that line of questioning after Hockey’s retort.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 11:47 am

  860. it’s got to the point where we’re not allowed to discuss families and the government in the same point

    Bog standard Labor, they have the victim card ready for every situation and the Love Media dutifully report it like it is a gaffe.

    The Coaltion is on notice we’ve moved past a point and it either has to de-fang the ABC or give up trying to win government permanently.

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 11:50 am

  861. Is it just me, or are others getting the ‘Ozblogistan is broken’ message when they try to download te Catallaxy homepage?

    I had to come in via google on an individual post

    Rococo Liberal

    23 Oct 12 at 11:51 am

  862. Well it’s another typically stupid thing of Abbott to say,

    lets call a spade a spade, exactly what is Gillard’s experience of marriage, apart from being an agent of destruction, and with bringing up children?

    nic

    23 Oct 12 at 11:52 am

  863. Rococo, try ctrl-f5 (Windows) or Cmd-r (Mac).

    Dangph

    23 Oct 12 at 11:57 am

  864. Well d’uh: of course he couldn’t say (without a torrent of criticism) “if this PM had more experience in the matter of what it costs to have babies”; so instead it’s a matter of covering it with a reference to “this government”.

    The key and obvious member of this government with no experience happens to be the PM. (Even the lesbian in cabinet has experience in the matter!)

    The Einsteins of Catallaxy can’t work that out. Huh.

  865. It’s not as if saying Ms Gillard is barren is untrue.
    She is barren, and by choice apparently, not sadly a health/social issue.

    whereas calling Tony Abbott a misognist is a hideous lie by Ms Gillard in parliament where she felt safe to say it.

    candy

    23 Oct 12 at 11:59 am

  866. I don’t think Alberici meant to mispronounce Hockey’s first name (it sounded like “Joker”) at the end of last night’s interview. But her behaviour as a government apologist, frequently talking over him after she had asked long complicated gotcha questions, was disgraceful. It wasn’t “bias”; it was an attack on him whenever she didn’t get the answer she wanted. It was shameless propaganda.

    Tom

    23 Oct 12 at 12:00 pm

  867. Steve, no one here cares what you think. Please go away.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    23 Oct 12 at 12:12 pm

  868. What sort of rubbish is it about families “often” needing two cots anyway? I am pretty sure my parents (and most of their cohort) never had a need for two cots: even before the pill, breastfeeding took care of a bit of natural spacing in most cases.

  869. We get it Steve, you are riddled with prejudices about women who choose not to have children so you always read between the lines and hear things that are not stated.

    That said, the statement by the Coalition was responsible and did not approach the area you personally have prejudices about.

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 12:22 pm

  870. whereas calling Tony Abbott a misognist is a hideous lie by Ms Gillard in parliament where she felt safe to say it.

    It’s ok, nah not ok, heroic to say that Tony Abbott hates his daughters but it’s pure evil to say that Gillard doesn’t have children.

    That’s the narrative, here’s reality:

    Gillard chose to not have children, she spent her childbearing years chasing married fathers. She was president of an organisation that described house wives as prostitutes and stated that all men are rapists.

    That is reality.

    Living in the narrative is like living in a neo Victorian-era nightmare of hypocritical unspoken rules, shifting classes and bizarre social mores enforced by a psychopathic class of white collar, inner city, urban middle class sons and daughters of middle managers.

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 12:32 pm

  871. I’m not entirely sure what all those italics achieved, Token.

    Short story is: the changes Labor made to the baby bonus are a welcome adjustment; and reflect the reality that subsequent children are less expensive than the first one to set up with baby gear.

  872. What sort of rubbish is it about families “often” needing two cots anyway? I am pretty sure my parents (and most of their cohort) never had a need for two cots: even before the pill, breastfeeding took care of a bit of natural spacing in most cases.

    We had two cots you fuckwit.

    I can think of three families we know with two cots.

    Abbott right again, the left know nothing about families.

    Also I thought you had kids, or did you forget you said that once? Another lie?

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 12:37 pm

  873. SfB is so fucking stupid that I believe that he is really Wayne Swan incognito.
    No one else can be as stupid,as often.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    23 Oct 12 at 12:44 pm

  874. I remain unconvinced that two cots is common.

  875. We had 2 kids 23 months apart and needed two cots for about 6-8 months. Made do with a loan of a bassinet then a portacot however.

    papachango

    23 Oct 12 at 12:58 pm

  876. Gillard arced up on AM thismorning about Abbott’s “experience in this area” grab with the child payments… You have to listen to it to hear the bile in her voice!

    ANDREW O’KEEFE: When you’ve already bought the cot and the pram and the, you know, the first lot of clothes and all that, everyone knows the first child is the golden child Tony don’t they?

    TONY ABBOTT: Well Andrew in our family every child is the golden child, but often Andrew, one child is still in the cot when the second one comes along, one child is still in the pram when the second one comes along.

    So you actually need to get an extra cot or a double sized pram. I think if the Government was a bit more experienced in this area, they wouldn’t come out with glib lines like that.

    SABRA LANE: Does the Opposition Leader have a point here, does the leadership group of Labor understand the pressures of families with children?

    JULIA GILLARD: Well I think Mr Abbott can explain what he meant by that line. On families and pressures with children, the Government is certainly working with Australian families and we understand many families are struggling to make ends meet, and for example they face costs when the kids are going back to school, which is why we provided the school kids bonus.

    And let’s be clear about the way we’re working with Australian families and working with them on cost of living pressures. For a family with two children, the school kids bonus is worth $15,000 across the life of the kids at school, all of the years that they’re at school.

    Mr Hockey has very clearly said that Mr Abbott, if he was prime minister, would take that away, and yet at the same time, we’ve got Mr Abbott on TV this morning complaining about a change to the baby bonus which means a $2,000 difference once for a family.

    This doesn’t add up Sabra.

    SABRA LANE: So you’re saying that families get enough payments and help from the Government already, you shouldn’t notice this.

    JULIA GILLARD: I’m saying it’s in the interests of Australian families for us to have a budget that brings a budget surplus in, we’ve got a growing economy so this is the right economic strategy for jobs and for growth.

    Linky.

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 1:06 pm

  877. Okay, linky!

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 1:08 pm

  878. Gillard did quarantine any cuts to the knitting chair bonus though

    Rousie

    23 Oct 12 at 1:13 pm

  879. Well d’uh: of course he couldn’t say…

    Steve now admits Abbott said nothing of the sort.

    But dogs like him heard something mystical in there.

    Macquarie Dictionary: time to redefine “says” – as in Abbott says “it reveals a lack of ‘experience’ in raising children” (ABC) – to mean ‘something not said.’

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 1:31 pm

  880. It was a bad idea to get Gillards to respond to the family costs issue – everyone knows she doesn’t have any kids. They should have found another minister with younger kids to respond. The accusation is that the government doesn’t know anything about raising children, so they should have found someone in the government with kids to disprove the point. Instead they drag out the screecher-in-chief and actually prove the point by having her unload a pile off waffle instead of relating life experience.

    Honestly, I could do a better job of labor spinner than their current incompetents, and I dislike just about everything that labor stands for.

    brc

    23 Oct 12 at 1:38 pm

  881. I wish the Liberals would do something about the childless (and living in sin) Julie Bishop as Deputy Leader. Bloody hell, if Tony Abbott is PM and falls under a bus, we’ll be back to government leadership that doesn’t have a friggin’ clue about the number of cots needed in the average household.

  882. Abbott ‘apologises‘… but in a way meant to highlight his life experience and Gillard’s increasingly laughable glass jaw:

    “I was alluding to my own experience of a double pram for (his children) Louise and Francis,” Mr Abbott told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

    “If she (Ms Gillard) wants to take offence, then of course I am sorry about that and if she would like me to say I am sorry, I’m sorry.”

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 1:49 pm

  883. Tony Abbott being quite the clever one today, even mentioning his daughters’ names and the double pram.
    Nicely done.

    candy

    23 Oct 12 at 1:51 pm

  884. Yabbott quote:

    I think if the government was a bit more experienced in this area they wouldn’t come out with glib lines like that.”

    Laybore reaction:

    Laybore immediately seized on the remarks and accused the Opposition Leader of dog whistling.

    Remember, geniuses, if you can hear the whistle…

    Rabz

    23 Oct 12 at 1:55 pm

  885. Yes, candy. I find Abbott a very convincing leader of this great nation of ours because he’s managed to impregnate a women four three times.

  886. Abbott is playing rope-a-dope with Gillard now on misogyny and sexism.

    He is killing her.

    H B Bear

    23 Oct 12 at 2:20 pm

  887. Impregnating a woman is the easy bit. Bringing up kids that aren’t whiny socialist wastes of oxygen – now there’s the real achievement.

    brc

    23 Oct 12 at 2:31 pm

  888. Yes, candy. I find Abbott a very convincing leader of this great nation of ours because he’s managed to impregnate a women four three time
    SfB aka Woine Swan aka D/C, fuck off you ignorant waste of space troll. No one likes you, no one cares what you have to say.

    Huckleberry Chunkwot

    23 Oct 12 at 2:57 pm

  889. Anything new about Gillard’s mysterious reference to a “personal” experience of abortion?

    Because nothing says simpatico with family life like adultery and abortion.

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 3:08 pm

  890. Gawd, SFB is still at it? Geez, your hand must be sore from all that typing, SFB.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 3:13 pm

  891. Yes, very clever tactics from Abbott.

    Next he should speak of the dangers posed to family life by illegal drugs (like heroin) … perhaps while rebutting Tanya Plibersek.

    C.L.

    23 Oct 12 at 3:17 pm

  892. We had two cots you fuckwit.
    I can think of three families we know with two cots.

    Good on you. And I should subsidise you buying those cots because…?

    SteveC

    23 Oct 12 at 3:24 pm

  893. Heh. Nice one Abbott:

    Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says his comments today about the government’s inexperience on family matters were not a reference to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s childlessness, but says he will apologise “if she would like me to say sorry’’…

    Following Ms Gillard’s response, Mr Abbott explained to Fairfax Radio that his comment referred to his own experience with his daughters Louise and Frances and that he was not in any way referring to the Prime Minister’s lack of children.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 3:31 pm

  894. Gab follows CL’s lead and refuses to scroll upwards.

  895. Good on you. And I should subsidise you buying those cots because…?

    Because we are a “working family” and like Labor sings from the rooftops we are entitled to your income, because you are not.

    But as a Labor supporter you already agree with that in full so why ask?

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 3:35 pm

  896. That’s all ya got. SFB? lol

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 3:35 pm

  897. I don’t understand, Wayne Swan said the Australian economy was the best in the world, so why penalise families to find savings by cutting the baby bonus, shouldn’t he be more competent in the first place before resorting to that.

    candy

    23 Oct 12 at 3:42 pm

  898. SteveC turns into an economic rationalist when it suits him. Careful there SteveC, the wind might change.

    Keith

    23 Oct 12 at 3:46 pm

  899. twostix, I thought baby bonus and FTB were two of the more stupid decisions of the Howard government. Good to see labor starting to cut middle class welfare. So you think the Government should subsidise people for having babies?

    SteveC

    23 Oct 12 at 3:50 pm

  900. Keith, you’ll see i’ve been arguing against middle class welfare here fairly consistently. I think welfare is an important role of government to avoid people living in poverty. non-means tested payments (baby bonus) and payments to families on almost double the national median household income are not “welfare”, they are simply “churn”.

    SteveC

    23 Oct 12 at 3:54 pm

  901. SteveC turns into an economic rationalist when it suits him. Careful there SteveC, the wind might change.

    For the ALP left “breeders” as they so fondly like to refer to them are well and truly off the totem pole and have been for fifteen years since families in the marginals started delivering elections for Howard.

    If we were a coven of feminists sharing a house and taking Womyns Studies SteveC would be fighting to the death for our right to be “subsidised”.

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 3:58 pm

  902. twostix, I thought baby bonus and FTB were two of the more stupid decisions of the Howard government. Good to see labor starting to cut middle class welfare. So you think the Government should subsidise people for having babies?

    You think the government should subsidise everyone and everything else.

    You simply despise Working Families.

    Cutting stimulus to the middle class will cause a recession, all this talk of cuts, cuts, cuts, look at the Tea Bagger nutjob.

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 4:02 pm

  903. Keith, you’ll see i’ve been arguing against middle class welfare here fairly consistently.

    You’re fighting in the wrong fight.
    The baby bonus is relevant to the relative costs of alternative means of populating this country. Nothing more.

    Keith

    23 Oct 12 at 4:15 pm

  904. Steve D
    I didn’t realise that my ‘umble blog was mentioned in a book about blogs etc.
    Too bad it’s not what it used to be.
    I tried to look up the book, there’s a kindle edition for $10, but I dunno if I’m that interested in the book.
    You can go into the kindle books at amazon and see quite a bit of the book!

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 4:37 pm

  905. Potemkin’s Village

    FLASHBACK – A gentle reminder to the young people out there… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 5:22 pm

  906. Potemkin’s Village

    A gentle reminder to the young people out there… here

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 5:24 pm

  907. TEST

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 5:28 pm

  908. TEST 2

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 5:35 pm

  909. TEST 3

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 5:44 pm

  910. TEST 4

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 5:46 pm

  911. Daily Telegraph poll:

    Did Tony Abbott cross the line with his comments?

    Yes 25.8% (5079 votes)
    No 74.2% (14606 votes)

    Total votes: 19685

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 5:50 pm

  912. TEST 5

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 6:06 pm

  913. LEGAL action over phone hacking has spread for the first time to newspapers outside Rupert Murdoch’s British company with four law suits filed against Mirror Group tabloids.

    Four law suits were lodged in the High Court in London yesterday by people including former England football manager Sven Goran-Eriksson accusing the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and The People of intercepting their mobile telephone voice messages.

    The alleged involvement of the Mirror newspapers was reported by The Australian in July last year, when former reporter James Hipwell became the first ex-staffer from the Daily Mirror to go on the record saying that he had witnessed phone hacking in the tabloid’s newsroom.

    After his interview with The Australian, Hipwell was called to give evidence before the Leveson Inquiry into the media, where he stood by his accusations despite repeated denials from Mirror Group executives and former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.

    Morgan, who is now a celebrity broadcaster for CNN, was the Mirror’s editor at the time Goran-Eriksson claims its reporters hacked into his voice messages.

    Morgan and his newspaper won the “scoop of the year” award at the British Press Awards in 2002 for revealing that Goran-Eriksson was having an affair with television presenter Ulrika Jonsson.

    Mr Morgan had taken over the Mirror after being the youngest ever editor of the News of the World, the Sunday tabloid that was closed in July last year after the exposure of its wide-ranging use of phone hacking to generate stories.

    Hipwell told The Australian two weeks later that under Morgan’s editorship phone hacking had been standard practice among show business and celebrity reporters.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/in-depth/hacking-scandal-sweeps-mirror-stable/story-fn9eci82-1226501393151

    Where’s the outrageous outrage! from the lefties? Not a peep. Guess their outrage is only reserved for Murdoch.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 6:12 pm

  914. On the news now…. another young person has died after a fall from a high-rise on the Gold Coast.

    A tragedy.

    Until you hear that this one was known to police as a cat-burglar.

    Too bad, so sad.

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 6:12 pm

  915. * Bolta has picked up the fact Macquarie Dictionary will be correcting the spelling of Forward Foward in the coming days.

    Ha ha. As I said on the Wayne’s World thread:

    “The Oxford Dictionary is the only reliable etymological reference.”

    Septimus

    23 Oct 12 at 6:34 pm

  916. Tim Blair pops in:

    Apologies for infrequent posting, but I’m reluctant to put much up in case Bill Shorten alters any definitions. By the way, now that Bill is Australia’s Official Wordperson, are we all pronouncing “with” as “wiff”? And what does “fink” mean?

    Rhiannon is worse…or somefink.

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 6:54 pm

  917. Simon Sheikh is getting a bath in comments at the Green-Left Canberra Times after announcing his intention to try to enter the Senate via the ACT, which is expected to have thrown out three of the four Green members in the ACT Assembly in last Saturday’s election. In counting today, the Canberra Liberals passed the Labor vote and now look likely to hold 8 seats, Labor 8 and Greens 1. It looks likely the new ACT Labor-Greens alliance will be unpopular and will damage the federal Labor-Greens alliance.

    Tom

    23 Oct 12 at 7:17 pm

  918. Take the personal vote in favour of Katy Gallagher out of Molonglo (swing to Labor 4.4%) and there would have been no increase in the Labor vote.

    With the Green vote collapsing a lot fewer preferences to flow back to the ALP next time around.

    H B Bear

    23 Oct 12 at 7:33 pm

  919. Yes Joolya, I’m sure you understand

    Test 1: Preparation

    Women: To prepare for pregnancy
    1. Put on a dressing gown and stick a beanbag down the front.
    2. Leave it there.
    3. After 9 months remove 5% of the beans.
    Men: To prepare for children
    1. Go to a local chemist, tip the contents of your wallet onto the counter and tell the pharmacist to help himself
    2. Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
    3. Go home. Pick up the newspaper and read it for the last time.

    Test 2: Knowledge

    Find a couple who are already parents and berate them about their methods of discipline, lack of patience, appallingly low tolerance levels and how they have allowed their children to run wild.
    Suggest ways in which they might improve their child’s sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behaviour.
    Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.

    Test 3: Nights

    To discover how the nights will feel:
    1. Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 4 – 6kg, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
    2. At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
    3. Get up at 11pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
    4. Set the alarm for 3am.
    5. As you can’t get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
    6. Go to bed at 2.45am.
    7. Get up again at 3am when the alarm goes off.
    8. Sing songs in the dark until 4am.
    9. Put the alarm on for 5am. Get up when it goes off.
    10. Make breakfast.
    Keep this up for 5 years. LOOK CHEERFUL.

    For the remainder of the 14 part test, go here

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 7:36 pm

  920. Simon Sheikh a Green!!? :eek:
    Incontheavable.
    His Wifey will be shocked.
    Shocked and awed i tells yee.

    jumpnmcar

    23 Oct 12 at 7:49 pm

  921. Yes, candy. I find Abbott a very convincing leader of this great nation of ours because he’s managed to impregnate a women four three times.

    More dogshit, no solution.

    blogstrop

    23 Oct 12 at 7:54 pm

  922. WTF? Wow. I should have known that because the whole “GetUp is independent” is a crock of shit that smells badly.

    I hope Abbot repeals the carbon tax and wastrels and carpetbaggers like Rose, Sheikh and Nathan Fabian and their children…begin to live in interesting times.

    .

    23 Oct 12 at 7:57 pm

  923. Yes, candy. I find Abbott a very convincing leader of this great nation of ours because he’s managed to impregnate a women four three times.

    At least he is competent.

    He beats the entire cast of rejects who have served in the ALP Ministry since 2007, hands down.

    .

    23 Oct 12 at 7:59 pm

  924. Bad trip! Bad trip!

    Grigory, I’m having flashbacks!

    Cold-Hands

    23 Oct 12 at 7:59 pm

  925. Simon Sheikh a Green!!?

    Yawn.

    The only good Green is a Soylent Green . . . .

    Euthanased and re-cycled!

    Septimus

    23 Oct 12 at 8:07 pm

  926. Joolya, here’s a different definition of victim for you to consider

    ————————————

    Eight steps to a partial birth abortion

    1. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby’s legs with forceps.

    2. The baby’s leg is pulled out into the birth canal.

    3. The abortionist delivers the baby’s entire body, except for the head.

    4. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby’s skull.

    5. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the skull.

    6. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted.

    7. The baby’s brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse.

    8. The dead baby is then removed.

    ————————————
    Spin that McTernan

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 8:30 pm

  927. SteveC
    You said the Baby Bonus is ” middle class welfare ”
    Why do you say that ?

    jumpnmcar

    23 Oct 12 at 8:32 pm

  928. Cold Hands – LOL

    Grigory Potemkin

    23 Oct 12 at 8:42 pm

  929. If anyone’s interested in watching Lateline for me, there is going to be an interview with the Q Society, who are bringing Geert Wilders out in feb next year.

    I’m falling asleep here, and still need to do the dishes. I really, really don’t like the ALPBC, but I may have to stay up and have a look anyway.

    nilk

    23 Oct 12 at 10:00 pm

  930. Totally OT (though I guess nothing is OT for an open forum), but I found a curry made this mob’s product to be quite awesome – best home-made curry I’ve had. A bit more work than a single-packet curry mix, but oh, so worth it:

    Curry Traders

    If only I could find a source for decent Naan bread…

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 10:06 pm

  931. I’m falling asleep here, and still need to do the dishes.

    Dang it, why’d you remind me :(

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 10:09 pm

  932. Our current labor luvvies are folk marxists, a term which we need to use more on Catallaxy

    http://www.ideasinactiontv.com/tcs_daily/2006/01/folk-beliefs-have-consequences.html

    Rococo Liberal

    23 Oct 12 at 10:14 pm

  933. jump, I call the baby bonus middle class welfare because it is not means tested. Any govt handout to people on good incomes is unnecessary. welfare should be designed to keep people out of poverty.

    SteveC

    23 Oct 12 at 10:53 pm

  934. Do you call public education middle class welfare as well SteveC?

    Token

    23 Oct 12 at 10:57 pm

  935. Do you call public education middle class welfare as well SteveC?

    It’s the standard leftist BS. “Oh, but uyou use public, roads, etc… you didn’t built that”

    The implication is that you’re a hypocrite for taking back what they stole from you. This is incorrect.

    If I say to people, “Don’t take the baby bonus”, and then take it myself, then I’m a hypocrite. If, on the other hand, I say, “There shouldn’t be a baby bonus, but since they’ve already taxed us for it, take back what you can get”, then that’s not hypocrisy at all – just common sense. Of course in the case of roads etc…, we don’t even have the choice.

    I don’t support handouts. However, I certainly don’t object to people clawing back what was theirs. There is no inconsistency here.

    Fleeced

    23 Oct 12 at 11:24 pm

  936. Jeez – thanks everyone. I didn’t expect the response, just put it in because so many some a couple of us are at that point of life where this sort of thing becomes commonplace.
    I got a copy of the rhythm strip of when they shock your heart into Ventricular Fibrillation – (you test the defib by letting it return you to a sinus rhythm) and now have a record of a live Winston, then a dead Winston, then another live Winston.
    It’s going to get framed and put straight into the pool room.

    Winston Smith

    23 Oct 12 at 11:38 pm

  937. Hey great news, Winston and thanks for letting us know.

    a record of a live Winston, then a dead Winston, then another live Winston.

    Wow. Scary stuff. Did you see the light though??? :)

    Really glad you did so well xx

    Gab

    23 Oct 12 at 11:41 pm

  938. Dead right Fleeced. I would rather we didn’t have the baby bonus or the family tax benefits, because they are just putting back in one pocket that which was taken out of another. It’s needless churn and inefficient. Lower income tax rates instead.

    With that said, if we are to have them then go your hardest because it’s your own money you’re getting back if you pay any decent amount of tax.

    tbh

    23 Oct 12 at 11:41 pm

  939. Hey, Winston! Good on ya.
    I wish I had cardiogram records of the SVT when the adenosine gets to the heart.
    Interesting feeling.

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 11:42 pm

  940. Winston, that’s great to hear. I’m more of a lurker but I feel like I’ve got to know a few people at the Cat and I’m glad to hear that your visit to the Doc left you still breathing!

    tbh

    23 Oct 12 at 11:43 pm

  941. I wish I had a pool room.

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 11:44 pm

  942. (Damn. Room should have a strike. Does this do it? room)

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 11:45 pm

  943. Hurrah! I’m pleased that Winston doesn’t have a strikethrough.

    :)

    kae

    23 Oct 12 at 11:46 pm

  944. Don’t use any muscle stimulator machines Winston!

    JamesK

    23 Oct 12 at 11:53 pm

  945. Dead right Fleeced. I would rather we didn’t have the baby bonus or the family tax benefits, because they are just putting back in one pocket that which was taken out of another. It’s needless churn and inefficient. Lower income tax rates instead.

    In the past it was a tax deduction.

    Having a grateful populace receive money in the bank each fortnight from a benevolent government is a far superior situation as far as the statist is concerned.

    On the other hand it’s a clever ploy – once a year tax deductions are easily wiped out at budget time by broke, money hungry, middle class and family hating ALP commies. Government payments are not, thus the FTB has so far survived even this government.

    twostix

    23 Oct 12 at 11:55 pm

  946. Wonder if we’re getting a new thread?

    Gab

    24 Oct 12 at 12:05 am

  947. kae 23 Oct 12 at 4:37 pm:

    I didn’t realise that my ‘umble blog was mentioned in a book about blogs etc.

    Hi Kae, I still have the book (can return it to the library later today), so you don’t have to hunt it down. :) Here’s the reference, from page 51:

    Of the eight women’s blogs that are on the right-wing side of politics, one is Miranda Devine’s on The Daily Telegraph’s website; two are focused primarily on climate change (one by Jo nova, author of The Skeptics Handbook, and the other by Queensland academic Jennifer Marohasy); one is run by Julie Novak, a research fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs; one is Drag0nista’s Blog written by Paula Matthewson, current executive officer at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries; one is a group blog, Skepticlawyer, written by four women, including Helen Dale and Katy Barnett, who focus on legal issues. This leaves the authors of Avatar Briefs and kae’s bloodnut blog as the only two right-wing women bloggers who hold no academic or lobbyist positions.

    So there you go. You’re in somewhat rarefied air, Kae. :)

    Steve D

    24 Oct 12 at 8:09 am

  948. Thanks, Steve D
    Avatar Briefs’ Caz is a blogfriend of mine, too.

    But surely there are others?

    kae

    24 Oct 12 at 8:44 am

  949. Steve D – how surprising, and I would never have known without you noticing, and posting here, and without Kae kindly sharing the information.

    I do wonder how narrow the author’s definition of “political” though, and ‘right wing” – independent, yes, but not partisan, or not too much, I’d like to believe. (Or maybe that’s like the ABC liking to believe they’re “balanced”?)

    Pity he didn’t get in touch with Kae or me, I’m sure we both would have had many thoughts to share about the alleged gender imbalance of politically skewed blogs, and unaffiliated little blogs, like ours.

    Ah well. Almost famous, but not quite.

    Still, thanks for sharing.

    Caz

    24 Oct 12 at 2:47 pm

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