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Open Thread

The UK Election

I had decided I was going to ignore the UK election. Like many others, I have been angry at the Labour Party for getting involved with Bush and the Iraq War and have found their policies to be far more conservative than I had liked. I had expected a lot more from British Labour, particularly on the European front. But what are they offering? No entry to the Euro. No entry to Schengen (borderless Europe). I see Europe as a major part of the many ways to world peace. Britain under Labour wasn’t leading.

But what was the alternative? A return to Thatcherism under the Conservative Tory Party. In other words, a lose/lose situation.

Then bingo! Out of nowhere come the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg grabbed world headlines for his party as a result of a very good showing in the first of three debates, and polls now show that the Labour Party may be forced into a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. They have lost a little bit of momentum since the first debate, but there is still a good chance they could form a coalition with Labour.

The mainstream media, led by arch villain Rupert Murdoch, went berserk! Throwing all sorts of bullshit at the Liberal Democrats. Most of it was contrived. So much so that most of the general public didn’t buy it. May be Britain does have a real alternative to the two parties controlled by the establishment. I don’t know. But I would certainly love the chance to find out.

Nick Clegg is also very big on Europe. On that point alone Nick has won me. Nick has also said Brown must go, as part of the coalition deal. Two out of two ain’t bad.

Latest Guardian Poll.
Nick Clegg in Wikipedia.

1,360 replies on “The UK Election”

Reid Opponent Embraces Patriot Group That Warns Of ‘Giant Concentration Camps’
***************************************************

The peculiar ideology of Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee challenging Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada, is perhaps no better illustrated than by her embrace of the patriot group Oath Keepers, whose membership of uniformed soldiers and police take an oath to refuse orders they see as unconstitutional — including enforcement of gun laws, violations of states’ sovereignty, and “any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.”

“We support what the organization stands for,” Angle’s husband, Ted, told TPMDC in a phone interview Monday. “Sharron does.”

Members of Oath Keepers — whose motto is “Not on our watch!” — take a 10-item oath affirming that they will not, for example, force citizens into detention camps or invade a state “that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered the Union.”

Often seen at gun shows and similar settings, the Oath Keepers were singled out by the Southern Poverty Law Center in its 2009 report (.pdf) on the return of the militia movement since President Obama was elected as “a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival.”

You tie this lot in with the oil issue “Drill baby drill “and it was all George Bushes / Republicans fault and you have the makings of a MASSIVE landslide. If I have said it once I have said it 100 times. The picture looks far clearer now than six months ago.

Along with a lack of enthusiasm from the Republicans #1097
If the Democrats can’t do it with twice as much money as the Repugs. There should be a government inquiry.

more here…
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/reid-opponent-embraces-patriot-group-that-warns-of-giant-concentration-camps.php?ref=fpa

The time to place bets for November to get good odds.
*******************************************

Whatever the outcome, the GOP will be the loser of Tuesday’s primary elections, the DNC writes in a statement released on election night that is all about posturing in advance of midterm elections in November.

According to a memo from Brad Woodhouse, Communications Director for the DNC, the Republican Party “is being pulled so far towards the right wing fringe most Americans can’t recognize it anymore.” Woodhouse goes on to say that the Tea Party’s influence within the GOP “has produced a slate of unattractive general election candidates, a trend that seems bound to continue today.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/democrats-primary-night-m_n_605252.html

If you have an account over the fence, please drop that post#1099 over there lol.

Afraid not, Harry, I left that site as I found it, full of experts like Commissar Carr. 😀

Sharron Angle: Nevada Candidate Already Providing Treasure Chest Of Goodies For Harry Reid.
***************************************************

There was noticeable glee among supporters of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Tuesday night. The upset victory of Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle in the Nevada Republican primary ensures that the subsequent months of campaigning will be fought as much over her record as his.

By Wednesday morning, the flood of opposition research on Angle had burst wide open. Talking Points Memo reported that Angle once “spoke out strongly against fluoride, the substance known alternately for improving dental health and as a Communist plot to undermine Western democracy.” Prior to that, The Plum Line’s Greg Sargent pointed to an interview that Angle gave to Liberty Watch magazine in February 2010, in which she suggested support for making alcohol consumption illegal. Reid’s campaign, Sargent added, was planning to paint Angle as, essentially, crazy.

Reid is as safe as houses. Australian houses that is.

more on this lunitic right here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/09/sharron-angle-nevada-cand_n_605754.html#s98517

“Was planning to paint Angle as, essentially, crazy. ” Just through in the whole Republican Party.

Now if the Tea Baggers can just pick up Arizona. What can I say? Primary in August.

I have peeped over the fence on the odd occasion and been highly amused to watch the contortions going on about the Greens selling out on the environment while Labor is trying to do the right thing (by just dumping the whole deal ) 🙄

If it wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious.

I was also amazed at the vitriol and personal attacks going down there . Glad to get home!

One other disappointment from yesterday. Birther attorney Orly Taitz got a thrashing.

The PCCC leaders said the left can take some comfort in how close they came to knocking Lincoln out of the Senate. “Halter started nearly 20 points down,” the write in the email. “He wasn’t taken seriously by most insiders. But he gave Blanche Lincoln the scare of a lifetime with the help of a vibrant progressive movement — thousands of people who committed time, talent, and small-dollar donations in the fight for change.”

That fight included raising millions of dollars for Halter online (PCCC says its members alone sent $250,000 to Halter) and pouring hundreds of volunteers into Arkansas to help Halter take on Lincoln. The PCCC leaders say they learned valuable lessons about coordinating progressive efforts on the ground in a campaign, and will use the Halter effort as a model for future efforts.

Overall, the PCCC leaders say progressives have a lot to be happy about in Arkansas, even if Lincoln will remain the Democratic party’s standard-bearer in the state.

“You have so much to be proud of,” the PCCC leaders write, “And this experience will help us to win big fights ahead.”

Who’s the next target?

more here…
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/progressives-on-ar-sen-every-cloud-has-a-silver-lining.php?ref=fpb

Arkansas Senate primary could cost Wall Street over $100 billion
by: Chris Bowers
***************************************************

Even as labor is being scolded by the White House for spending $10 million on the Arkansas Senate primary, it has gone relatively unnoticed that the primary could end up costing Wall Street one thousand times as much money (literally).

Blanche Lincoln’s derivatives language in the Wall Street reform bill forces banks to spin off their derivative trading sections. If it becomes law, it will cost Wall Street banks billions and billions of dollars:

Goldman Sachs could lose up to 41 percent of its earnings if Congress approves tighter regulation of the derivatives market, according to an analysis by Bernstein Research. That’s equivalent to wiping away $3.9 billion in Goldman’s earnings this year if the stricter regulations were in effect for the entire 12 months, according to a subsequent analysis of the numbers by DealBook using Bernstein’s 2010 earnings-per-share estimates.

Other major banks, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, would also withstand cuts of billions of dollars in their earnings if the derivatives rules currently being considered by the Senate are put in place.

Those estimates are only over the course of one year, too. Over the course of a decade, Lincoln’s language could end up costing Wall Street over ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS (insert Dr. Evil laugh here). That would make this primary challenge one of the most successful attacks on corporate power in the United States ever conducted.

more here..
http://www.openleft.com/diary/19029/arkansas-senate-primary-could-cost-wall-street-over-100-billion

A tough loss, but an important message.
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Low union, netroots denisty: Arkansas is one of the weakest states for the labor and netroots organizations backing Halter. As Eddie Vale points out, Arkansas is 49th out of 50 in terms of union density. It probably isn’t too much higher in terms of netroots density. If we can come close in this state, then Senators in almost every other state better take notice.

It is a tough night, but there are good reasons to be proud. We might get some good legislation from this campaign, primary challenges very rarely come this close, and it was this close despite Arkansas being a terrible state for labor and the netroots. Winning would have been a helluva a lot better, but that ain’t nothing.

And, most importantly, we are going to keep running these primary challenges, no matter what, bad Dems don’t get a break because of what happened here.

more here…
http://www.openleft.com/diary/19017/a-tough-loss-but-an-important-message

Polling from Daily Kos
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I have decided to part ways with our current pollster, and will be looking for a new polling partner to finish out this election cycle. The decision was made, in part, on the results of Nate Silver’s new pollster rankings.

Research 2000’s past results aren’t actually as bad as people will try and make them out to be. In fact, if there’s one thing that’s striking about the chart, is how closely clumped together those pollsters actually are. The difference in accuracy between the best and worst pollsters (omitting Zogby’s genuinely crappy internet poll) isn’t very big. As Nate told me via email as he walked me through the results:

That was quick!
more here..
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/6/9/874403/-Polling

Poll: The sagging popularity of the tea parties
************************************

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll includes questions about the tea parties that have the nascent movement’s popularity slipping badly. Overall, since the last poll, the percentage of Americans who hold an unfavorable view of the movement has jumped from 39 percent to 50 percent. The leading edge of that has been a collapse in support from 18-29-year-olds. In March, they had a positive, 43-38 view of the tea parties. They’ve swung hard to a negative view, 27-60.

Yet they keep winning primaries.
more here…
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/06/poll_the_sagging_popularity_of.html

1115

FirstDog in good form as usual 🙂

The true truth about Kevin that i got from Marr’s piece was that even at University, Kevin was the leader of the weird Bible thumping group on campus. Kevin led and they dutifully followed, including Therese.

Then when he got to Canberra he started a Christian Fellowship where all the nutters from both Parties (plus Steve) met monthly.

These kind of people think they have it divinely right all the time, and the rest of us should just follow. Without or without explanation or even rationale. Explaining is not for them.

We have both major Party’s led by these types.

I seriously hope that the Greens have the guts to make it heard clearly during the election campaign that they are the only alternative to this. The Greens have the potential to solidify about 15% this election and a couple of Seats if they have the smarts.

gaffy last page re toons; cheers, China.

KL, sure it’s work, but have a swell time anyhow. Have there been significant attitude changes among your Sep peers towards Obi since your time in The Apple a while back?

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Jun 10:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/doonesbury

June 7:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/ted-rall

June 9:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/ben-sargent

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/british_pelican_20100609/

June 9:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/tony-auth

……….for beachgoers and vacationers, here is an updated weather report from Fox Florida AM, proudly sponsored by BP: Wind Chill Factor is rounding off to a very temperate zero and Oil Slick Factor though high, sure is purty….
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/86848

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/kandahar_test_a_cartoon_from_uae_20100609/

Openly Gay-Loving Cartoonist Hits Out:
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/86859

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/86639

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/86835

Iggy Pops Fourth Stooge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MTQa4QZ9qA&feature=related

Nothing like a nice bit of PR work by BP to keep the world informed and up to date. It always helps to be at the head of the queue.

BP has purchased several search terms from Google, including the phrase ‘oil spill.’ A BP spokesman says the PR initiative is an attempt to inform readers of BP’s clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=113253

Lincoln Keeps Pressure on Banks.
**************************

Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s (D-AR) “surprising victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Arkansas appears to have hardened an anti-Wall Street bent in Congress’s financial-overhaul bill,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Lincoln wrote a controversial provision in the bill that could force banks to spin off their lucrative derivatives-trading operations. Bankers and many lawmakers assumed the provision would wither once Ms. Lincoln lost her primary — or even if she won, given the diminished political imperative to look tough on Wall Street. But her victory appeared to have the opposite effect, with Democrats saying her standing is now strengthened, particularly as it appears the populist provision resonated with voters.”

Said Lincoln: “We’re going to work hard to keep it in.”

http://politicalwire.com

Democrats on Thursday will launch a new 60-second ad on national cable television accusing repeal-happy Republicans of wanting to get rid of health care reform and all its benefits. The ad, obtained by TPMDC, is timed to coincide with the government mailing to seniors the first $250 Medicare rebate checks fixing the so-called prescription drug “donut hole.”

The ad is titled “We Can’t Afford To Go Back.” It outlines the positive parts of the health care law signed by President Obama this spring and charges, “Republicans want to take it all away.”

I’ve learned that DNC Chairman Tim Kaine on Thursday will dare Republicans to make repeal the focus of their fall campaign to try and win back control of Congress, challenging the GOP to tell senior citizens and others benefiting from health care exactly which parts of the reform law they’d scrap.

We’ve been writing quite a bit about the GOP’s repeal pledge over the last few months as they settled on a game plan. Minority Leader John Boehner said in a radio interview on on WFLA’s “Bud Hedinger Show” last week repealing health care is his party’s “No. 1 priority.”

The big sell begins!
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/dems-go-all-in-on-health-care-with-new-ad-slamming-gops-repeal-promise.php?ref=fpa

After Winning GOP Senatorial Nomination in Nevada, Sharron Angle Scrubs the Crazy from Her Website.
By: Blue Texan

Harry Reid is the luckiest man alive. Just hours after the Teabagger-backed Angle locked up the Republican nomination, she took down all the content on her website. Why? Because it’s an abundance of crazy a bit too honest about what right-wingers really think.

Luckily, the good folks at Mother Jones snagged the Google cache for us.

more here…
http://firedoglake.com/2010/06/10/after-winning-gop-senatorial-nomination-in-nevada-sharron-angle-scrubs-the-crazy-from-her-website/

Mixing Gab and Politics.
******************

The Wall Street Journal notes that The View — with 3.8 million viewers each day — is “tilting away from simple celebrity plugs and devoting more time to weighty political topics.”

“ABC’s daytime talk show is planning more frequent political guests in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections. Women, mostly middle-class in their 40s and 50s, are a voting bloc expected to disproportionately participate in 2010. According to Nielsen, 79% of The View audience is female with a median age of 59.”

http://politicalwire.com

Poll Gives Angle Double-Digit Lead Over Reid.
************************************

The first Rasmussen survey in Nevada since the Tuesday primary shows Sharron Angle (R) moving ahead with an 11-point lead over Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 39%.

Looks like Rasmussen are at it again!

http://politicalwire.com

An interesting interview on the oil spill.
There’s not enough money in the world to clean up.
Charming, absolutely charming.

What do you think is in store for the future of BP?

They have about a month before they declare Chapter 11. They’re going to run out of cash from lawsuits, cleanup and other expenses. One really smart thing that Obama did was about three weeks ago he forced BP CEO Tony Hayward to put in writing that BP would pay for every dollar of the cleanup. But there isn’t enough money in the world to clean up the Gulf of Mexico. Once BP realizes the extent of this my guess is that they’ll panic and go into Chapter 11.

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=113307

Hat tip to over the fence.
What a lovely parcel of scum the alternative government is. No wonder they love worstchoices.

We had to fight even for the right of dying cancer victims to get a speedy trial. I recall sitting in the WA Supreme Court in an interlocutory hearing for the test cases involving Wittenoom miners Mr Peter Heys and Mr Tim Barrow. Mr Gordon was appearing and asking the court to give the men’s claims a speedy trial.

CSR was represented by Ms Julie Bishop (then Julie Gillon), who is now Federal Minister for Education. The woman now in charge of education for our nation’s young was rhetorically asking the court why it was that workers should be entitled to jump court queues just because they were dying.

http://203.6.199.73/news/3d/0c04d93d.asp

If Tony Abbott wants to stop the boat people, he should patrol the coastline in his budgie smugglers.

Unified Democrats Grab Lead in Generic Ballot
************************************

For the first time since December, a new Public Policy Polling survey finds Democrats leading in the generic congressional ballot, albeit by the insignificant margin of 43% to 41%.

The biggest reason for the shift is that the party is becoming more unified. Democratic voters are now planning to support their candidates by a 76 point margin, 84% to 8%. That represents an 11 point increase from March.

http://politicalwire.com

Pelosi: We’ll stop blaming Bush when his problems go away.
************************************************

Democrats will keep blaming George W. Bush until the problems from his administration end, according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In an interview with MSNBC, Pelosi said congressional Democrats feel justified in blaming the Bush administration because of the problems it left behind for President Barack Obama.
Republicans have criticized Democrats for playing the Bush blame game, a successful political strategy for the latter party in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

The GOP argues it is time for Obama, in office for nearly 18 months, to take responsibility for some of the country’s problems, from the Gulf oil spill to the huge budget deficit. Democrats have been in charge of Congress for nearly three and a half years.

Pelosi’s criticism of Bush is routine. In press releases, her office often mentions efforts Democrats have taken to help the economy recover from a recession that began during Bush’s presidency, her statements emphasize.
Asked if there was a statute of limitations on blaming Bush, Pelosi said: “Well, it runs out when the problems go away.

“He brought us to the brink of financial crisis, he brought us to the brink of deep recession, ignoring issues related to climate change,” said Pelosi (D-Calif.), who rattled off a number of problems she said Democrats inherited from Bush and are trying to fix.

Not for a long time yet.

more here….
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/102657-pelosi-dems-blame-on-bush-still-warranted

The latest on Drill baby Drill is not looking good.
If what they are describing now is correct it is a worst nightmare come true. I guess all they need is to get someone to tell the truth and be able somehow to plug it.

My worst fears have been realized. If this link is true and the oil is coming through the sea floor, they have either blown out the formation or blown out the cement (which we know they did anyway to get the blowout to occur). I am beginning to realize why they have not wanted toclose the valves on the cap. The more theyclose it, the more oil is going to come up through the sea floor, next to the well casing. I listed 12 points in my attached article. The really big concern here is that their directional wells are now pointless. They are GUARANTEED to fail because you can not pump mud or cement into a blown out well. It just does not set with oil and gas roaring past.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/B-P-Halliburton-and-Trans-by-Chris-Landau-100611-452.html

Clinton: Obama wants immigration reform passed this year.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week told an Ecuador television reporter that President Barack Obama is courting lawmakers’ support for immigration reform and wants it to happen this year.

“He’s working very hard to get that support and I know he wants to do it in the next months,” Clinton told NTN24 reporter Gabriella Baer. “I can’t tell you exactly when, but fairly soon.”
When asked if it would be this year, Clinton responded, “He wants it to be this year.”

Clinton visited Ecuador this week to mend relations with the country’s left-wing president, Rafael Correa.

Handled well by the Democrats, immigration could drive the Latinos out of the Republican Party and ensure the Latino vote is high in the Democrats.

more here..
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/102807-clinton-obama-wants-immigration-reform-this-year

Obama hits back at Teabaggers and GOP.
*********************************

It’s about time and very well deserved. Now repeat every day and be more forceful the next time. Nobody is saying Obama needs to swear or lose his temper but being firm and forceful without bowing to those responsible would go a long way.

In an interview with POLITICO, the president said: “I think it’s fair to say, if six months ago, before this spill had happened, I had gone up to Congress and I had said we need to crack down a lot harder on oil companies and we need to spend more money on technology to respond in case of a catastrophic spill, there are folks up there, who will not be named, who would have said this is classic, big-government overregulation and wasteful spending.”

more here..
http://www.americablog.com/2010/06/obama-hits-back-at-teabaggers-and-gop.html

One thing I failed to mention in my last list of why Obama and the Democrats will win in a landslide is the Republicans are the party of NO. They have blocked everything possible in government making it very hard for the Democrats to do what the USA elected us to do. The Republicans have promised to block government and stop it working for two years if the are elected!

gaffers-
that is utterly terrifying.
We are calmly watching the beginning of the end of planet.

1147
Jen
The hurricane season is just about to lob on them as well so when it hits the fan the rough seas will undoubtably bring all the stuff sitting underneath to the surface and the high tides that come with hurricanes will dump the oil further inland as well.
But BP don’t give a continental anyway.

No! No way, a responsible multinational like BP would never do that.
What? Promise to compensate everyone then hire a rogue company to pay them less. Leaving the gate wide open for BP to say the we never had anything to do with that reputable company and how they assess losses to be paid. No way we would do that.
You say you are a fishing guide with your own boats, why sir you look like a lowly deckhand to me, sorry that’s all a decky is paid, now fuck off.

Publicly, BP has said it intends to be generous in compensating those affected by the Gulf oil spill: CEO Tony Hayward has pledged to pay all “legitimate” claims resulting from the disaster, even offering to waive the $75 million cap on liability for economic damages.

But to handle claims from the spill, BP has hired a risk-management company who advertises that a main benefit of its services is “reducing our clients’ loss dollar pay-outs” — a goal Gulf advocates say is in direct contradiction to Washington and BP’s promises to fully compensate coastal residents.

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=113463

HG Nelson on the African festival of the boot.

4-0 what a result! It was a green and gold triumph! I was both humbled and proud. At fulltime the pants were round the ankles, the sloop was pointing north and I was shouting “Australia you bloody beauty!” 4-0. A total triumph.

I spoke to the panto dame of SBS football, Les Murray, as soon as the referee blew time. He screamed above the vuvuzelas, “H.G. it could have been 10-0. The Germans missed so many cod easy chances in front of the net”. Les said the atmosphere was brilliant. He loved the noise of a billion swarming wasps and maintained, “Incidentally, H.G. to tire of the vuvuzela is to tire of life” before he phoned in sick.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2926445.htm

US finds 1 trillion worth of minerals in Afghanistan.
****************************************

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
he previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.

While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.

more here..
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html

Yeah, Hussey it was a blitzkreig orright. Will never forget the header by Klose. The Archangel Michael slammed the orb from Schwartzer’s expectant claws with the lethal precision a finely tuned howitzer. Fucken breathtaking.
For Oziboyz, paradise was at that moment, lost.

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June 10:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/pat-oliphant

BP cuts Bob a square deal.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/13/anti-bp-art-the-best-visu_n_609660.html#s99400

June 14:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/doonesbury

June 13: Like Donny the wannabee Pentagon comedian sed:

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we do not know we don’t know.”
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/tony-auth

Goebbels inspired Israeli logic:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/ted-rall

Cardinal Pell ‘blocked’ on top Vatican post.
*********************************

CARDINAL George Pell, whose promotion to a top Vatican job was expected this month, has been dropped from consideration because of former abuse allegations against him, according to informed sources in Rome.

Cardinal Pell stood down as Archbishop of Sydney in 2002 after he was accused of abusing a teenager at a church camp in the 1960s, but an independent investigation by a retired non-Catholic judge cleared him.

Vatican watchers now say important officials have worked to undermine Cardinal Pell as the next head of the Congregation of Bishops, partly from concerns over negative publicity about the abuse allegations and partly for internal political reasons, including the desire for an Italian to take the job.

According to the 2002 complaint, the cardinal, then a seminarian, several times stuck his hand down a youth’s pants and fondled his genitals at a church camp at Phillip Island. The inquiry, by retired Victorian Supreme Court judge Alec Southwell, found the complainant and the cardinal were honest witnesses, and concluded he could not be satisfied the complaint was established.

more here…
http://www.theage.com.au/national/cardinal-pell-blocked-on-top-vatican-post-20100613-y5y3.html

Chris, this “find” will have some bearing on value of the lithium deposits in the Bolivian saltflats which were believed to be the largest source till now. Interesting how the find in Afghanistan is tagged by the fat cats’ PR machine as Saudi Ararbian.

Pretty sure they mean as a source of raw wealth rather than emphasizing lithium as an essential component of a future solar-powered battery. 🙂

Chris, one feels confident that Big George will take his rejection as would have Christ’s Pamphleteers, turn the other cheek and meditate on matters wholesome and spiritual.

I’m including him in my prayers.

Canj one of the Sydney based Ticsters organise someone to rush to the Gap to make sure the mad Monk jumps.

Canj one of the Sydney based Ticsters organise someone to rush to the Gap to make sure the mad Monk jumps.

As Tone exited from a beautiful pike and extended his arms in readiment to meet his Maker, the Rocks suddenly parted and the Sea flowed just enough to allow Tone to survive his intended Deathdrop.
As He clambored ashore, resplendent in his red budgies, Tone was deep in thought.
“Yes, he thought. I will do thine work. I will rid the world from the Evils of Rudd”

Just then , a hand extended a towel.

“um ah, ah um, ah, mm, ah…thx Malcolm”

Oh My God!!!
animal sex on QandA with Helen Coonan and Peter Garrett…
hilarious!
😆 :mrgreen: 😎

Damming evidence against BP.
************************

BP took measures to cut costs in the weeks before the catastrophic blowout in the Gulf of Mexico as it dealt with one problem after another, prompting a BP engineer to describe the doomed rig as a “nightmare well,” according to internal documents released Monday.

The comment by BP engineer Brian Morel came in an e-mail April 14, six days before the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 people and has sent tens of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf in the nation’s worst environmental disaster.

The e-mail was among dozens of internal documents released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating the explosion and its aftermath.

In a letter to BP CEO Tony Hayward, Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Bart Stupak, D-Mich., noted at least five questionable decisions BP made in the days leading up to the explosion.

more here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/14/bp-engineer-called-deepwa_n_611739.html

He just keeps giving.
****************

Rand Paul Not Board Certified: Kentucky Senate Hopeful Faces Challenge From Medical Panel.
Rand Paul, who touts his career as a Kentucky eye doctor as part of his outsider credentials in his campaign for U.S. Senate, isn’t certified by his profession’s leading group.

He tried Monday to bat away questions about it by calling it an attack on his livelihood, saying the scrutiny stems from his challenge of a powerful medical group over a certification policy he thought was unfair.

The libertarian-leaning Republican helped create a rival certification group more than a decade ago. He said the group has since recertified several hundred ophthalmologists, despite not being recognized the American Board of Medical Specialties – the governing group for two dozen medical specialty boards.

more here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/14/rand-paul-not-board-certi_n_611018.html

She keeps giving.
**************

DNC Hammers Angle For Misleading Viewers In Softball Fox News Interview.
The hosts of “Fox and Friends” were widely ridiculed on Monday morning for their interview with Senate candidate Sharron Angle in which probing — or, more importantly, factually-based — questions seemed to be sorely lacking.

Notably, the hosts stated as fact that Angle was a newcomer to the political scene (she’s not) and had earned the endorsement of Sarah Palin (she hasn’t). It was enough to cause some quizzical and critical takes from the Nevada press, including the local Fox affiliate, which wondered why the network had done such little preparation for the interview (Palin actually gave a “shout-out” to the defeated candidate in the race, Sue Lowden).

Now the Democratic National Committee is also weighing in — though not by calling out the show’s hosts for their softball questions but by slamming Angle herself for misleading viewers by not correcting the record.

more here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/14/dnc-hammers-angle-for-mis_n_611560.html

Questioning 538.com
*****************

An Update on Transparency and Pollster Ratings
Mark Blumenthal looks at the transparency issues I raised with Nate Silver’s pollster scorecard and agrees it’s lacking in both the “database used to created to rate pollster accuracy and in regards to the details of the statistical models used to generate the ratings.”

Notes Blumenthal: “Many in the worlds of journalism and polling are taking these ratings very seriously. They have already played a major role in getting one pollster fired. Soon these ratings will appear under the imprimatur of the New York Times. So with due respect, these ratings deserve a higher degree of transparency than FiveThirtyEight’s typical work.”

more here..
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/06/14/an_update_on_transparency_and_pollster_ratings.html

Sharron should be useful in helping the Democrats pick up heaps of donations from the veterans.

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/86854

June 14
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/pat-oliphant

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87016

June 15:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/tom-toles

Albert Swearengen (R-SD), circa 1878, was in Hospitality. Al had a sensitivity rivalling BP’s:

Factotum: Al, there’s blood all over the floor!

Al: Yeah, I’ll get to that.

(and on a previous occasion after having his henchman slaughter a departing family in the Black Hills for their prospected gold mega-stash, then loudly blaming the atrocity on the “terrorist Indian savages”)

God rest the souls of that poor family… and pussy’s half price for the next 15 minutes

Yes Hussey, no disputing Numero Uno though: 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ymBaAsSqDE&feature=related

————————————–oOo————————————-

Memo to Ticster cinephiles:

He’s all out of love and he’s so lost without her……and “Sweetie” has done some bad things.

If you found the mood, music and acting of David Wenham and ensemble unsettling in “The Boys”, then Ben Mendelsohn’s prowlings in “Animal Kingdom” will likewise freak the living daylights out of you. Bloody great film about a fair dinkum crim family and not the repetitive dross formulaically spewed in Underbelly.

Hope young James Frencheville is advised that he doesn’t need the razzamatazzi to nuture a potentially stellar career. After he appeared in “Two Hands”, the monstrously gifted Heath Ledger didn’t need or want ‘em either.

For a first time major release director, Michlob has made a film as good as “Wake In Fright”. It will stalk your psyche.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VQtbEHbW8s

1171
Paddy

The MSM and Their ABfrigginC will take absolutely no notice.
The Ruddster put it quite bluntly to JoHo and Julie today in QT.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good fear campaign.

They both asked a real Dorothy Dixer and after Ruddster slapped JoHo all over the place, when JoHo thought no one was looking he threw his fist full of papers at the observers/advisers and head down and bolted from the chamber.

Mesma totally fucked up her question about the hammering at the stock exchange.

What a joke.LOL

Foreign flagging of offshore rigs skirts U.S. safety rules.
********************************************

The Marshall Islands, not the U.S., had the main responsibility for safety inspections on the Deepwater Horizon.
Reporting from Washington —
————————————-
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico was built in South Korea. It was operated by a Swiss company under contract to a British oil firm. Primary responsibility for safety and other inspections rested not with the U.S. government but with the Republic of the Marshall Islands — a tiny, impoverished nation in the Pacific Ocean.

And the Marshall Islands, a maze of tiny atolls, many smaller than the ill-fated oil rig, outsourced many of its responsibilities to private companies.

Now, as the government tries to figure out what went wrong in the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history, this international patchwork of divided authority and sometimes conflicting priorities is emerging as a crucial underlying factor in the explosion of the rig.

Woah! Massive news there. Huge political implications on the party that allowed it. I wonder who that would be?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-inspection-20100615,0,3043517,full.story

The Marshall Islands are a series of atolls north east of New Guinea. I wonder how many inspectors they had in the Gulf of Mexico?

That means 14,000 deep water oil wells not inspected properly. Urgent legislation will need to be put through. I wonder if the DUMB Republicans will oppose it. It would be absolute political suicide to oppose it. But that has not stopped the numb nuts before. Drill baby. Drill! 😈

Just collect a lot of You Tube video’s with various Republicans saying Drill Baby. Drill. Edit them into a video with Republicans saying Drill Baby. Drill. Submit as new video. Choose a whole lot of key words to do with elections. Anyone can do it!

Republicans Hold Big Lead in Swing Seats
*********************************

A new NPR poll in 70 House districts shows just how difficult it will be for Democrats to avoid big losses in the House this November. These are this year’s swing seats — the political terrain where the battle for control of the House of Representatives will be won or lost. Sixty of them are currently held by Democrats as compared to just ten held by Republicans.

In this battleground, voters prefer the Republicans over Democrats by eight points, 49% to 41%.

Said pollster Stan Greenberg: “In a year where voters want change and which Democrats are seen to be in power this is a tough poll, about as tough as you get.”

Wanna bet?
http://politicalwire.com

Murdoch’s News Corporation in BSkyB takeover bid.
*******************************************

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is seeking to take full control of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, by acquiring the 60.9% of the shares it does not already own.

News Corporation’s initial offer of 700 pence a share, which values BSkyB at around £12bn, was rejected.

Talks are now expected to continue until a deal is reached. BSkyB said it wants “in excess of 800p” per share.

News of the bid pushed shares in BSkyB up by 19% in afternoon trading.

News Corporation also owns the Sun, Times and News of the World newspapers.

more here..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10316087.stm

Angle Floated Idea of Armed Insurrection
********************************

In an interview earlier this year, Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R) appeared to float the possibility of armed insurrection if “this Congress keeps going the way it is,” reports Greg Sargent.

Said Angle: “You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. I hope that’s not where we’re going, but you know if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.”

more donations to the Democrats election campaign.

http://politicalwire.com

I suspect if Obama was more forceful regarding the oil spill his approval would skyrocket.

Just as I thought I was safe having a mad-monk detox in Perth, had a fright as I found myself driving past Julie Bishop’s office ! Further was surrounded by a hysterical media relishing a most unappetising show of billionaires screaming “Äxe the Tax”…do they actually pay any? Not having been there since Black Friday,1987, was shocked at how rabidly anti-Labour/Green the place seems to be. Heard they (will?) have two desalination plants for such a small population and,despite it’s natural beauty, a sense of conservation seems non-existent and the built environment lacks a sense of permanency.
Am so over the anti-Rudd hysteria ….again I hear about the “bungled insulation”….I still maintain that the Govt initiative was a good one but that the shoddy workmanship by installers was the problem. My foil insulation installed in 2003 caused electrical problems. This Govt scheme just brought the problem to light.
So pleased to hear that the Brits have acknowleged they were in the wrong re Irish “Bloody Sunday”. Still remember the horror and the hunger strikes even though half a world away.

Megan “I still maintain that the Govt initiative was a good one but that the shoddy workmanship by installers was the problem.” Peter Garett should have supervised every installation.

I support Tamana Tahu’s stand against ingrained racist perjoratives used in the sporting world and am boycotting Origin 2. Nobody calls Jewish people “Kike C**ts” in public or for that matter in team meetings these days because Jewish people have stood up for themselves and potential offenders, even the most obtuse, know there will be consequences. About time the courtesy was extended to all non-WASPS.
Rugby League perpetrated an Eddie Gilbert on Anthony Mundine. Despite his onfield brilliance, NSW selectors refused to select “The Man” to play S.O.O.

Tommy Raudonikis (on Tahu’s stance): “who does he think he is, Martin Luther King?”

Might have been funny in the seventies, Tommy, but times have changed whereas Rugby League culture hasn’t.

——————————————oOo————————————-

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/86855

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87091

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87108

oh WTF!!!
Obama ( you know, the POTUS) says we need to stop our dependency on fossil fuels.
and Tony Jones runs a line pushing the “are words enough??” slant.
How else do you get a message or an idea into the public consciousness?
On the same program we are given the news that we are soon to be the proud owners of billions of dollars worth of already redundant war planes.
And yet Obama is the person who is subtly ridiculed for being the first world leader making a committment to changing the way we live, while we are expected to accept the same old bullshit about investing in machinery that has no other benefit than how effectively we can potentially kill the maximum number of human beings for the least monetary cost .

More wine.
And I’m sending Obi a bottle.

(and why TFdo we constantly have the fake scene of Big Ben on Lateline Business behind the irrelevant long-winded interviews with people in London talking about stuff that is mainly relevant to the UK??) 😡
Maybe vodka.

More wine.

Gezzuz paddy!
what happened to the warning?
french-polished desktop is completely trashed
😆

Geez Jen i was a bit concerned for you when i just watched 10 nooz. They mentioned the wild storms and said what i thought at the time was a lady vineyard drinker was killed. I was relieved to hear them then say vineyard worker.
So sad that somebody was killed by the storms though.

From Possum’s twitter feed.
On a Fed Dept intranet today (text): http://twitpic.com/1xh5ll
Early election folks?
Text reads:
Minutes to the Parliamentary Secretary – deadline
The Parliamentary Secretary’s Office has requested that the areas provide, by
23 June 2010, all minutes that require a decision before 19 July 2010.
To meet this deadline, Offices should provide any Minutes that require a
decision by the Parliamentary Secretary to TGA Parliamentary by COB Monday 21 June 2910.

And who’s gonna tell the children

how our rivers once flowed crystal-blue

As we keep leavin’ scars on Mother Earth

And getting’ Closer To The Truth

TJ White, 1991.

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87178

“We fired once more and they began to runnin’

Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico…..”

June 15:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/ben-sargent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_iRIcxsz0

June 17: Koo-koo ka choo:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/tom-toles

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87158

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87168

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87169

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87128

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87154

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/87155

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/space_invaders_20100617/

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/give_that_man_a_medal_20100617/

June 17:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/tony-auth

June 17:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/doonesbury

June 15: Cost/benefit analysis in a land where lifestyle will not be compromised.
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/mike-luckovich

Greater love than this hath no man than to lay down his life-style for his country…… and its owners.

June 17: Special two month anniversary issue,

BP….Unplugged!
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/rob-rogers

As they die in the detritus of their uber-consumption, resident earthlings began to ask the Big Questions………
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/pat-oliphant

After the Red Kerry interview tonight my pick for the election.

Late Feb early to mid March.

Paddy
They are spreadin a bit of the old prop to get the lieberals jumpin.

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