Ang San Sushi Tue 28 Jul 09 (11:53am) .Abbott seeks to position his political leaning as neutral
Mal Turnbull as Abbott’s lackey, Robt? Yer dreamin’.
First, find a job for Malcolm. Then think about leadership change.
How about Governor-General Turnbull?
Well, there you go, AceCon, I didn’t pick a youth like yourself for a Goons fan. “My only crime is eating …”
Another thing, when is someone going to ask Tony Abbott the right questions so he can tell us what he really thinks? See http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/07/awesomely-bad-military-patch-asks-who-would-jesus-shoot/
And I thought ‘twat’ was acronym for The War Against Terror.
Ooooo … please do not strap me into the lie detector.
It’s clear, Jack, you prize the virtues of honesty and knowledge and reward them when they are present in our teenagers. That’s all very nice and, well, boring, and they do bugger-all for the economy. How about Enterprise, that is, the smarts? Let me explain.
Suppose you are the supervisor of an hostel. The admission criteria are on a check-list, and you are assessing the next youth who shows up on the doorstep.
Cannabis? “Well, Supe, to be honest I did share a bong with my auntie two weekends back”.
Speed? “Not since I recovered from the psychosis, Supe, and that’s a fact.”
Alcohol? “I don’t touch it, Supe, except for the odd birthday celebration.”
Pills? “I wouldn’t lie to you, Supe, I did have half a valium one night last week.”
To which you may reply “Well, son, thanks for being so honest, but that’s a nasty dose of the flu you’ve got, eyes all red and glazed, nose streaming and so tired you can’t get your words out. Here’s an aspirin.”
You see, that’s what religion in schools gives us, no incentive. What kind of reward is that?
The next day, you send the youth off to Woolies with $10 to buy a big box of Weetbix. You know they retail for $5.99, but are on special for $3.99. The lad returns with the cereal and the change. If he hands over $6, you could praise the Honesty and reward him by splitting the difference – $1 for an hour’s work, big deal!
Here’s what Enterprise can do. He takes off with the $10, pays $2 for the bus to the inner West. He goes to a friendly GP, comes out bulk-billed with a script for 50 Valium. That will cost $4.30 on his card at the regular pharmacy. The pills are instantly exchanged for cash, $5 a strip of ten. He has $20 in hand, so he goes back to the quack, pays $5 cash for a non-MBS visit and emerges 25secs later with a non-PBS script for 50x2mg alprazolam. Hotfoot to the chemist supermarket, picks up the pills and they are readily converted in the carpark at Maccas – $5 per tablet, or discount 3 for $10 for quick sales. He’s about $150 to the good, and all that has to come out of it is the return fare and $4 at Woolies.
Let’s incentivise our teenagers.
Jack, during my frequent adjournments to Woolies, sniffing out the specials, I sometimes (OK, rarely) observe unaccompanied youth actually shopping for their own food. More often, they are outside with their shirts hanging out cadging for $2 to buy a bus ticket.
The last lot was a group of three, wandering about in a daze, standing in turns in front of various meat trays and aisles of crisps, conversing how they should break out a $20 note. I almost accosted them to demand they produce their list.
So, here’s one foolproof criterion for eligibility. Bring along one food shopping list and the accompanying docket.
It’s worth noting that Woolies have, for the first time ever and no doubt inspired by the leadership of the next PM, offered the 8c fuel discount for spending $40 on fresh fruit & veg before this weekend. Woolies may be the ‘Fresh Food’ mob, but, by Crikey, don’t they make their $$ from the grog section?
Anyway, it’s worth noting that bananas were $1.79/kg two days ago, but guess what they were charging yesterday? That’s right, $3.29. In the week they are onto the fresh fruit promotion – what a $%^&en;coincidence.
Peter Costello was 100% correct. The price of bananas is the mainstay of the CPI. If you wanted an extra criterion for eligibility, to, say, vote below the line for the Senate, you could have your kiddies quote the current market price for any item of fruit.
Hang on, voluntary voting for under-18s would involve some kind of registration, wouldn’t it? How do you get on the electoral roll, these days? I don’t remember having to produce bona fides, it was just a matter of filling out a form.
OK, had a look at the form at AEC. Needs proof of ID, the usual 100 points thing. Quote driver licence number, looks like that’s all. Now, I did hear how a meth trafficking company had access to Motoring databases …
Even without driver licence, or any other piece of paper, you can use two enrolled people who have known you for one month.
It’s interesting, you can use a Medicare card to prove who you are to authorised person. But the card doesn’t have photo ID. I bet there’s no cross-checking on addresses given, either.
This is all very odd, when you think about it. It’s as though none of the agencies (like licencing) talk to each other and you have to prove you exist before getting registered.
In short, while I support voluntary voting, any further mucking about with a rickety system is bound to cause more loopholes and problems.
Is anyone watching ‘Last Enemy’? T.I.A.
I see this is yet another anti-Turnbull stunt, Jack. What about the bananas?
Is Peter Dutton old enough to vote under the current system?
Two generations of Australian workers have grown up under Medibank and the results are seen everywhere we look across the wide and brown land, especially in our liberated, self-supporting, remote communities. Bones are stronger, hair is luxuriant, all the children are above average, there is not an ounce of flab and doctors are few, lean and hungry.
It’s time to bring on Dentibank, and give dentists their due. The proletariat will benefit in great measure from our grand vision of gleaming teeth. We will invest your taxes in prevention, not bridges and crowns.
We all know where dental health begins – at mother’s knee, along with brushed hair, washed hands and wiped bottoms. To assist parents we will install CCTV monitors in every private bathroom. Automated surveillance networks, via the NNBN, will observe children’s teeth-brushing habits and reward them bonus Centrelink points for the correct 36-stroke brushing technique.
Maintain your gums, it’s time for flossing.
.A giant leap for grasping our destiny
Was Gerard Whately the first with “This is the deal [Buckley, Malthouse] that Peter Costello did not get” at 17:19 today?
The Pies’ prospects for a flag must have moved up a notch.
Malcolm Turnbull has posted the pics from his jaunt at the fruit market. He fondled a few bananas.
Other than that, “bold vision” and “blame game” just about covers it.
The “Wilson” from Cast Away was a treat, ay.
Jack, you may have cocked a snook at C trading, on the grounds that it beats cricket for Booooring, but have a captain at Carbon Market Expo Australasia 2009. Macquarie is a Diamond sponsor, so we should eat our BioChar and enjoy it.
On the pugnacious contender, Jack, I’ll be interested to read in his book how much prominence he gives to that mysterious animus known as ‘individual conscience’. I can understand unstinting loyalty to The Party, ruled by the iron fist of a JWH, and I get enlightened conscience. So, if Abbott is big on conscience I’d expect that to be reflected in his modus as putative leader, that is, much more leeway given to individual MPs as in the US system.
Greg Sheridan wrote today about Clint Eastwood in ‘Gran Torino’, giving the movie the warm hand of fellowship, and, oh, by the bye, it did have a priest character who was warm and cuddly. My opinion on Eastwood is that Gran Torino was OK, but weakened by the stereotypes. Million Dollar Baby is miles ahead, not least because the priest character is a complete and utter bastard. The Frankie Dunn character is out and away the better father figure by miles.
What’s odd is that today’s issue was a full frontal The Dreaming of Tony Abbott, and Sheridan seemed to be sharing the toke by reference to how the Eastwood character “creates a small island of moral order around himself”. Sheridan has written off MDB, which is unfortunate because it’s all about boxing and would be a bloody great foil for the next episode of Touting the Monk. But it’s gone, now.
I can’t see Abbott as anything more than another kingmaker and expect to hear nothing to convince, despite the lavish but desperate op-ed praise, that he is not all P and W. I imagine Labor is plotting right now on how to give him the stage to preach his moral superiority.
Seems a cosmic event is needed to take the spotlight off the Lib leadership. So, people are nailing Abbott’s colours (purple and scarlet) to the mast and expecting salutes?
Would he replace JB as deputy? Sandgropers and Boervolk would love that.
Where does MT go if TA challenges for leader? Maybe shadow for endowments and rain-making? Or shift him to the Senate, where he could do Arts & Environment as his perpetual legacy?
Abbott’s sectarian values will be rewarded, alright. Wherever there’s a chink, expect his Howardite colleagues to drive in a wedge. It would be sweet indeed if the dispute centred around the monarchy, then Labor could let the Opposition mugs do all the dirty work, wait a bit, and take it to a referendum.
Maybe a star has risen in the East, after all.
Jack, are you sorry now that you binned your ETS project? Going by Nick Minchin’s sound and light explosions on the mere mention of the matter on QandA, a blog would have sent him into a terminal apoplexy. None of that jolly laff-along-with-me nonsense.
It is about ‘knife skills’ in the Coal Party Room. Take the set I was given a couple of weeks ago. Solid, one-piece Japanese steel, six all as sharp as razors. I could have a leg off with the bread knife before feeling a thing.
But did you all watch Cook and Chef on ABC TV? He made a passable apple pie in about seven minutes with five ingredients and no pie tin. That’s the kind of magic KRudd will need – no risk of chopping off fingers.
You know me, Jack – teetotal and pure as the whistling wind (the last pronounced to rhyme with “kind”, if you recall the Boy Scout’s weekly incantation).
Now, in a dream I am managing a soup kitchen, more like a drop-in centre for drop-outs. Take it from me most of the clientele would like a meal that’s more substantial than cheez-wip on white toast, and some peace and quiet away from the usual chattering ratbags. So, the hand-lettered sign on the wall reads “No TV, No mobile phones, No grog, No sex, No pills, No bongs, No pipes, No shooting up in the loos, No loud laughter”. Is there something missing off that list? Yup – smoking. In my establishment, there’d be no repairing outside to the bleak and piss-ponged laneway. Light up at your ease, gents and ladies, just don’t flick the butts. Would that be against the Law?
Back to Noddy. If I could dose up on Stemetil, I’d note the movements more carefully. There seems to be a consistent pattern. First, five gentle tips to the left, then six with more twist so the jaw swings over to the right. Then a couple of correctives to line up and finally a suite of full vertically aligned wig-rattlers to get back in balance.
But please do not draw Joe’s attention to the tic, that’s likely to set off the winking.
Aw, Jack, so you watched the New Noddy on Lateline. New slim-look dark colours, new hairstyle and, I bet, some of that poncy Pierce Brosnan goo rubbed into the jowls.
We were reassured that the verbiage was as erratic and, ha-ha-ha-laff-along-with-me-Leigh as ever.
But, Jack, you have connections. Can you please get someone to stand behind him with a waddy and clip him every time he starts that nod?
Jack, have you read P.Smith on tanking? It’s bloody funny, but did he step over the mark?
Jack, this cyber bullying sounds like a good lurk. I’d like to get into it and this blog is as good as any. But, due to a deprived public school education, my repertoire of abuse is limited and doesn’t extend beyond the kind of language with which Malcolm Turnbull would tell Wilson Tuckey what to do with that Mars bar.
So, are you able to refer me to a useful lexicon?
On lunar landscapes, Jack, here’s a photo essay by Michael Yon from a NATO base in Ghor Province, Afghanistan.
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/some-photos-and-captions.htm
He’s got some shots of the night sky.
There is something about Afghans that resonates with Americans. They value independence and personal strength, and honor is a part of their society. There is a substantial reservoir of expats—many are Brits or Americans who have lived here for years on end. Not on bases, but downtown in many parts of Afghanistan. Despite my personal negativity that we are losing the war, one doesn’t have to look far for sparkles of hope. Losing doesn’t mean lost. Difficult does not mean impossible.
Well, Jack, so you thought I was not low enough to sink the boot into a battler in the grip of the struggle? Wrong, mate.
Since this topic is about making the world a better and brighter place for the average Afghani, we’d better mention the next piece of reality-crap to occupy the small minds at Ch9. “Perfect Couple” it’s called. No doubt majoring in bedroom antics, by the promo. How are feeling now, Jack? Still optimistic about Homo sapiens?
Great recovery, Jack, I thought I had you by the shorts there.
But, by Gaw, I remember standing out in the front yard at 24 Benga looking up for Sputnik. That, of course, was in the day when suburbanites could see celestial bodies other than the Moon. Now all we see is dim twinkles, and I have had the cataracts done, thank you.
So, what do we hear from Senator Clean-Coal today? A smack-down on nuclear power, which means more filthy smoke and ash in the atmosphere from coal-fired burners.
Oops, sorry, mate …. arrr, orright, pop out for a quick one, then.
“… that blue orb …” Errr, when did they get colour TV on the Moon?
Back to that bong, bro.
Teen as media news guru
Trevor Mon 20 Jul 09 (12:22pm)
Some of us older types do use Twitter, not for it’s social connections, though.
We also pine for the days when there was an element of trust left in the role of the fourth estate.
Suppose an insider has solid information that a highly placed person has acted against the public interest. Could that person trust anyone inside the media citadel to deal with that information?
Two recent articles suggest that trust may be hard to come by. Michelle Grattan wrote about the Public Service, but the problem may lie more toward the rapidly revolving door between media and PR offices.
Ross Gittins wrote about failure to disclose conflicts of interests.
We form our opinions on what we read in newspapers, and that’s more often than not “caveat emptor”. Sometimes what we see in newspapers is downright self-serving laziness. For instance, a daily in Melbourne has plastered Master Chef all over its front page the day following the event was watched by all who were interested.
Suppose I had something interesting to report from my own observations inside a global corporation with its headquarters in Melbourne. Could I trust anyone in the heritage media with that information, or would it be run past someone in that corporation to make sure it wasn’t against the interests of “Melbourne”?
It’s no surprise that alternative media outlets are attracting funding, when so many in the heritage media have sold out to governments and to commerce.
Mark, could you ask your grandson to review the new iPhone app for Financial Times?
“The FT Mobile app is free to download and supported by advertising, though it does carry the same restrictions as the main site, allowing users to read 10 articles per month before having to cough up for a subscription.” (source: econsultancy)
Time for federal anti-corruption body to be established
Jack, I’m with the government on the linkage between our presence in Afghanistan and the way global jihadists will focus on picking off targets that result in maximum angst among the coffee sippers.
So, I’m going right out on a limb with a bold assertion that corruption in politics and loss of confidence in the media will sink the chances of keeping the ADF in Afghanistan for the long term necessary to do any good.
What I mean is there will always be people in politics who are tempted by fame and its material rewards. The media is essential to expose the rot. But there is recent history of elements of the media boosting a war, against the evidence. There is more recent infamy in the Utegate business. The current obsession with absolutely unnewsworthy crap like reality TV and ‘gangland widows’ gives me the shits. There will be hell to pay if the public loses confidence in the ability of journalists to fearlessly root out the truth, and they see the media’s main role is to provide brain-dead entertainment.
There’s been a bit of talk around the issue of the Libs needing to jettison the aged deadwood tainted by the curse of Howardism. Is there any hope those good ‘ol guys ‘n gals who boosted Bush in Iraq will get their golden handshake?
Now, I know some may be thinking “Get a life, you pathetic old fogey; get a big plasma screen and pay TV and settle down.” Well, the old CRT is on the blink, but I’ll be picking up a used replacement of the exact same model from ebay, and be buggered if we are paying for cable just to see umpteen replays from seven angles.
News apps for iPhone are increasing at a great rate (off a low base) according to spiffy graphs and charts at radar.oreilly.
Maybe the average iPhone user would not be interested in the top item on 1pm news at ABC Melbourne. No, it wasn’t a lazy, self-serving back reference to a reality TV show, but to court proceedings against a “gangland widow”. Who, FFS, at the ABC decides what goes into “news” and how the items are ranked?
Anyway, a little hypothetical on ethics in journalism. Suppose A, who works at mid-level for a big sporting organisation, has evidence of dodgy dealings by her employer that involve three levels of government and threaten to cause financial harm to innocent people. She has brought her concerns to her immediate boss and been told to drop it.
A goes to B, a trusted friend who has close ties with a prominent journalist (C), to broker the release of the documents to the media, with no thought of recompense.
B arranges a meeting with C, and while walking along Southbank to the coffee shop, notices C ahead of him, arm-in-arm with a woman (D) whom B recognises as a partner in a PR firm, one that works with A’s employer.
While ordering his coffee, B sees a noted affiliate (E) of local gangsters at a nearby table. E gets up to leave, and on passing by B, stoops and comes up with a wallet-sized photo. “This was on the floor, is it yours?” It’s a snap of Mrs B dropping off the kids at school.
What should B do?
Success fees, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25811886-2702,00.html Oh yeah! Now, that’s “doing something”.
There’s a stew from which no self-regarding journalist will lift off the lid. Bet the theme withers and dies a cold and lonely death before it gets anywhere near Canberra and Insiders. Co-habitors’ reputations to consider, and, look! – there’s *MASTER CHEF*.
The old dinosaur Walter Cronkite said, in his dotage “The press always has to dig and delve for what it can find. Its only purpose is to share that information with the American people. In this democracy of ours, we should be on guard that we are not denied the facts about what the government is doing in our name. That is the basis of a democracy and particularly one that proclaims freedom of speech and press. We cannot let a veil of secrecy be pulled around the official government in Washington.” (source: Reese Erlich)
How old-fashioned. Why bother, when any number of press releases are sitting on the fax machine? A reputable mouthpiece for the status can churn out opinion without stirring from the comfort of the chaise. Corruption? Pfffft! It’s for the weak willed.
Walter Cronkite, a reporter who was once voted to be ‘most trusted’.
Trust is central to this topic. If we cannot trust politicians to act always in the public interest, are any journalists able to fulfil the role? Can whistle-blowers trust media conglomerates? “Another politician on the take, now let’s turn to a celebrity who has suffered a wardrobe malfunction” – kind of drags probity into the gutter by association.
The people with fair dinkum stories to tell about the inside workings of government will turn away from the nabobs, who glorify Insiders as a rite of status, to alternative media outlets. Read Clay Shirky.
This is an important issue, Jack, and my opinion is that some kind of ultimate authority would enhance our system of governance. A place where ordinary citizens could take their grievances and be heard by a panel of incorruptible peers, without the interference of politicians and the legal apparatus. The simplest one-step change to get closer to that ideal would be to make all voting non-compulsory. That, coupled technological changes (currently clumped together and dissed by heritage media as “social media”) which would allow rapid exposure of some of the crap we are forced to endure (eg, clock onto autotune-your-friday at You-know-where, or Jon Stewart’s rip into Senator Lindsey Graham over Sotomayor).
We could keep asking, for eternity, how we stop the rats, shonks and buffoons from getting seats in our legislatures. But we don’t have a good appreciation of the environment within which we demand they work. So, is Canberra the kind of place where a naive, but upright, person could be easily corrupted? A better question for us would be “how would we know if we were being corrupted?”
Let’s say we have been elected to office. What would we make of the friend who suggests going easy on someone or something? Or the partner who says something weird happened at work today, or the child who has noticed strangers hanging around? Would we hold to our integrity or would our principles acquire some elasticity, because, after all, we are in this only to give our kids a better chance.
Just to sharpen the point, let’s imagine a person elected to Canberra is akin to a Mexican policeman who is posted to Michoacan state to do battle with the drug lords. How many ways can corruption reach out? Until we have a better grasp of that, we won’t know to design our ultimate arbiter of justice.
It’s No Country for Old Men.
Cries of ‘do something’ a bit rich in China spy case
In the interests of the profession of journalism, Jack, may I recommend this blog by Michael Yon the wandering war jockey?
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/sangow-bar-village.htm
He writes “Ambassador in UN Affairs, Shigeyuki Hiroki, is the key man when it comes to the investment of the $2 billion Japan has so far pledged. Mr. Hiroki told me that $1.8 billion is already invested, and that the final $200 million is not the end of the road here for Japan. Ambassador Hiroki told me that Japan would be involved for 10, 20 or 30 years. Mr. Hiroki has been one of the most realistic officials I’ve spoken with from any country, though the Lithuanian Commander of the Provincial Construction Team, Colonel Alvydas Siuparis, also is under no illusions. Nor are Secretary Gates or General Petraeus under any illusions and they speak frankly. It would seem that our greatest asset today is the small but strong and growing nucleus of people who understand the magnitude of the problems, but still believe in the endeavor.” Yon is on familiar terms with Bob Gates, but he is no armchair mouthpiece.
This is a fragment of good news. The bigger picture is less cheerful. The US Congress is haggling over parochial pork in the form of fat contracts for “future jets” while Gates is warning that direction will hinder current missions as they try to engage with the populace on the ground.
The Brits are struggling to come to terms with the depth of structure needed to keep their commitment in political favour. (Source: @dangerroom)
You know me, Jack, wherever there’s a blog or a litany of free-range comments, I’ll be there to drop my thruppence on the manure pile. Hence my delight when KRudd’s tweet plugged his new blog. The first one is on climate change, and I was there early to register and play. ‘Send’ – cop that, young Kevin!
Didn’t get far, though. The immediate reply was “your comment has triggered the spam filter and you are banned forever”. Well! OK, I sent off my problem to the blog-master, but there’s been no relief.
This is an outrage against democracy. I have been gagged.
Tonight’s homework for MT – find out how much China and Japan are investing in the Central Asian countries.
Looks like MT has departed for the rugby. He made no reference to the PM’s “considered remarks” that included
A range of foreign governments and corporations will be watching this case with interest and be watching it very closely, and they’ll be drawing their own conclusions as to how it is conducted. It is in all of our interests to have this matter resolved.
Well, I am disappointed the match seems to have been conceded, Jack, before the second-stringers from the Opp’n had their five seconds of glory.
At this stage, KR is well positioned to segue into the ETS.
Bob Ellis refers to his mateship with Malcolm Turnbull in the early chapters of his last book. He may have mentioned it in later chapters, but the book failed to escape the Ellis orbit and went back to the library. I’m glad I didn’t shell out $55 for it.
Here’s a suggestion for Uncle Bob. If he serialised that book, cut it into self-contained slabs that could be read (by himself) in not more than seven minutes, I would buy the MP3s from iTunes (or similar) for not more than $2 a pop. Then I could carry a couple on my phone and listen to a small dose of Bob’s prose at convenient times.
Well, I’m off to call my broker. Goldman-Sachs looking pretty chipper. By-the-bye, Financial Times, “The FT Mobile app is free to download and supported by advertising, though it does carry the same restrictions as the main site, allowing users to read 10 articles per month before having to cough up for a subscription.” Eat that shit, WSJ.
Jack, I noticed a wonderful expression in correspondence … somewhere, not here … “shit-eating grin”.
Now, a little voice inside tells me there’s a specific application for the phrase in the context of the current topic. But I could be wrong (again) and crave your advice.
That reminds me, Jack, has anyone had the wit to seek Steve Fielding’s assessment of this matter?
Jack, you’ve got a few news junkies hanging off every word here. So, just for them, please pass on a recommendation to read ‘In the news cycle, memes spread more like a heartbeat than a virus’ at The Nieman Journalism Lab.
That article references a beautiful study, with superb graphics, on the movement of catch-phrases, such as “lipstick on a pig”, through the ether.
I’m pretty sure the phrase “megaphone diplomacy” will show up there soon, beating the heck out of MT’s “get on the phone”.
Does anyone know whether representatives from other countries, like Indonesia and Tonga, have fallen foul of PRC and spent time in the pokey for “espionage”?
New York Times is reporting on “broadening corruption investigation” – has that been picked up here?
As mentioned by Rob Banks, the watch-word for the future is Trade. Any tin-pot nation has few avenues to relative prosperity for its citizens. Probably only two, in fact. Either patronage (= short route to corruption) from a major power for resources or access, or trading in the global market place.
The Opp’n needs to get off its sacred ‘individual rights’ bandwagon, in the first instance because the thousands of Australians with Chinese heritage understand Confucian values place the individual a poor third place after country and family.
In the second instance the Opp’n could do itself some good by sharpening its tools and taking time to explain why fair trade beats aid most days, and needs a solid basis in democracy. (I may have stolen some of Obama’s speech in Ghana for that.)
Meanwhile, back in Uzbekistan.
Jack, did you watch last night’s 4Corners on Madoff? I’m not suggesting that master-mind criminals operate inside global mining companies, or behind the bamboo curtain. But I do suggest the mandarins watched Spooks. And if PRC chiefs wanted to take steps to ensure China wasn’t at risk of being bankrupted by lawless individuals, they wouldn’t be telling how they intended to do that. Same goes for any state in the cybersphere.
Ooooooh … Jack, the blouse, the tiny skirt …. those tight buttocks …. oooooooo! The stern look, the severity …. Ooooooh. Not the flogger, pleeeeeease, Miss.
I may be mistaken, Jack, but I do not believe the PRC gives a flying fruitbat for my opinion on this.
But, by golly, it’s a useful rallying point for the poor tools in the Coalition. Expect more of the same, raising hue and cry over this or that, until some of it sticks together and coalesces into a tight little ball. Then KRudd can give it a sharp whack and knock it over the boundary.
.
By Crikey, Jack, look at that consumer sentiment, willya?
Hearty congrats to the Libs for the exquisite timing of the roll-out of the debt truck. Have you seen it up your way, yet? I’d like to see more of it, but only on days when a pop king has bitten the dust. I hope it’s got a GPS tracker on board so we can follow its progress.
Now the Libs ETS policy doesn’t need the side of a barn, a postage stamp would be ample space, but if they get it out soon all carbon problems will be solved, on today’s performance.
Failures of government no fault of fixed terms
Bloggers’ rage show they’re out of touch with reality
Charles Lewis (Center for Public Integrity) wrote The allure of a central, online place to read, hear and see anthologized, original, investigative journalism content is incredibly powerful. And at the very least, amidst the current crisis in commercial journalism, the Investigative News Network offers the promise of some clarity and coherence to the wildly evolving, nonprofit investigative reporting ecosystem.
I wonder what is the allure of a career in heritage media. Is it the chance of a Pulitzer Prize? Or the promise of ascent into the zone of patronage, where one is hosted to those $1500 a head dinners in the North to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful, and give a helping hand to launch the next war?
How much do weapons industries pay to advertise in The Australian?
I don’t have the print version, Mark, so could you tell us how much space your paper will set aside for Sarah Palin?
And if Apple bring out a portable news reader, how much will punters pay to get the latest on Palin? That is, more or less than they pay for access to the WSJ?
Will you be hoping the ‘blogosphere’ buries Palin quickly, so the heritage media can devote more time and space to the real issues?
George, following on from Insiders, I think your take on the hospital funding impasse is that it was hard to believe anything much would happen. Since Andrew Bolt had a couple of goes at journalists (in contrast to bloggers?) for failing to engage properly with that matter, and the ETS, I’d like to recommend a tweet from Josh Gans.
The definition of good journalism. Atul Gawande in the New Yorker.
That’s a reference to an article in the June 1st issue, where Gawande wrote about one of the root causes of funding inequities in the US system.
The apparatus of government has lost a lot of skin over the past eight years, George. From WMDs and AWB through to Turnbull’s failure to make his case.
A particular kind of low point was Steve Fielding yelping like a trained seal before the pack.
Four immensely powerful groupings – politicians, media, lobbyists and bureaucrats – are pleased to present their joint work as democracy to the public.
So, is it likely they will suborn their power to a body with the ability to expose and punish corruption?
Your boss, John Hartigan, has been busy this week, fighting a rear-guard action getting stuck into champions for non-traditional media. There’s a story at Politico that begins
Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive “salon” at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to “those powerful few” — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.
Traditional media organs could excuse themselves from exposing corruption because they reckon other sources like blogs and Crikey will do the dirty work.
.Malcolm Turnbull down, but not out
Jack, have you thought of inviting Tony Abbott into your chat room? I’m sure he could explain why parents should be allowed to poison their children.
Mick Malthouse would keep the flow going, too, as long as it relates to why the Pies lost to the Dons last Anzac day.
And if you recruited Steve Fielding, we could all have a rest.
Jack, I love retailers, and when Gerry Harvey comes on with a big smile on his dial, Craig Emerson should reward him with a big fat cigar for making so many punters happy and keeping Oz out of the GFC.
Craig is making heavy weather of his job, too much straining and frowning will have him in an early grave. Craig wants competition, but he’s using the wrong word. The correct word is ‘balance’. The ABC and every worthwhile media organ strives for it. We know that, because it’s in their mission statements.
Balance is so easy to achieve. Suppose you want a balanced view of grocery prices. Forget geeky computer systems, just ask Woolies AND Coles. There, that’s balance. Fuel prices? Get the good oil from Caltex AND Shell. Banking fees? Be informed by any two of the big four and a voter-approved balance is on view.
Sociophobic cynics, holed up in shacks in the ranges, may have a biased view that the political system is rooted. But that sad attitude is fuelled by lack of balance. The remedy, surely, is to hear both Labor and Liberals on the matter. Do they run around crying that their houses are burning? No way. Everything is dandy, just like it is. Let’s leave it that way.
MT was unable to tweet up John Hartigan’s address to the Press club, but, never fear, other twitterers kept up with the pace.
Let me just say that the reportage in The Punk will be, possibly, more positive and supportive than what has been on the wire thus far.
All I want to know is, did Hartigan straw poll his audience for their brands of 3G phones? I suggest his speech had been carefully scrubbed of any mention of iPhone.
Jack, I deeply regret invoking Churchill earlier. Because now it’s revealed MT has been off to get his photo-ops in camo gear. No doubt these will be still photos and there will be no accompanying audio.
Also, Julia Gillard is out on the Fair Shake for Workers Bill. Another opportunity to remind, several times, about WorkChoices.
To add to the mix, we had two dodgers hand-delivered today. One from the local (Labor) MP touting numerous nation-building enterprises, the other a stark reminder about the $315 BILLION DEBT BURDEN!!!
Did the wind change while we weren’t looking? Is there something in the air? Are these events the prelims for the main bout in three months time?
Here’s a website http://tld-surreyhospital.com/ (hat tip to http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/) that shows hourly progress at a hospital building site.
How about Kevin mounts cameras at all those shovel-ready sites so punters can keep on eye on things? I’d hate to go into the poll-booth with just a snap of Malcolm’s enormous head poking out of an Aslav.
Folks, charisma (and it’s obverse) are traits most easily detected by those gifted with intuition. Let me give an example. Last night at an educational event I sat next to a bloke who wanted to talk to me. Turns out he is a self-confessed (and self-diagnosed) sufferer from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). He described the key characteristics of ADD as 1) has never read a book 2) lives in a mess 3) motor mouth. This bloke is a highly successful pro in his highly specialised field, though. Because his sensory processing has been scrambled he has had to learn to run on intuition all his life. He was popping dexies and constantly interrupting with questions, little anecdotes and quirky sotto voces. I do love sitting next to the chatty one in the room, it saves me the bother.
But, here’s the point. He picked me out as a dead-set mark for his banter, while I (intuition score 1/10) got hooked in. Here’s another proof – I rather like Kevin Rudd since meeting him once, but my household associate cannot abide his visage.
What I mean is, picking winners in this game is very complex. The major leadership strengths may well be innate, but a good one learns on the job and has to pass through the fires of harsh judgements. How long did it take Churchill to progress from the military tragedies of WW1 to “blood, toil, tears and sweat”? And how different would have been his legacy if he’d chosen to say ‘toil, sweat, blood and tears’?
Jack, if economic management is the watch-word for the next poll, can I take it you will be punting for the leader who is demonstrably tighter than a fish’s ring?
With that in mind, to the respondent who invoked Kenneth Williams, may I re-direct to the cartoon character Butthead?
You may find this hard to believe, Jack, that I am basically a very conservative person. For example, these puny efforts by wannabees trying to revive Bob Santamaria, well, they may call themselves the Right, but why don’t they muscle up a bit and go the biff? Any fool can write bespoke advertorials and fill yards of newsprint that’s destined for the cocky cage, but where are they putting in for the laws of nature? Not in Oxford Street, that’s for sure.
I’m gung-ho for the laws of society, too. In fact, one simple rule could iron out most of our ills – “Shut Up and Sit Down!”
Another law is that the government of the day is entitled to the spoils of office. If that involves paying fees to top schools for the kiddies, so be it. And if it is a rule of said schools that students must attend riding school classes in Bavaria during our winter break, that’s fine with me.
I’m also generous. So, faced with the prospect of a sustained outbreak of the yaps from those members of the Oppn who have to stay at home during the recess, I’m happy to pay for them all to go overseas – far, far away – for the entire six weeks. I’d be delirious if Barrie sat with a row of empty chairs on Sunday morning, announced that no-one was available and faded to a nature documentary.
“avoid any focus on themselves”
Hat’s off, Jack, forelock is tugged and I’m shuffling away backwards on my belly. You are the Master.
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