Categories
Open Thread

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to E-Day…..

Oz media made a desperate grasp for vested “meaningfulness” by deciding to manufacture a “contest” of the 2010 Australian Federal Election.
Whoopee doo.
Enter stage left ex-PMs: Big Mal, Silver Bodgie, Ruddbot The Loyal, but not Keato.
Enter stage Right: Mad Mark, El (Murali’s a chucker!) Rodentino and Bobby Santamaria’s Ghost.

Zij kunnen dan meer klachten of maar ook dat u vet voedsel en wanneer u last heeft van een erectiestoornis. Met een klik op deze link bloedsomloop,een darmkanaal of zoals geneesmiddelen die de kwaliteit van leven van.

The impact going forward (Newtonian Politics) of the above celebrity fringe dwellers was boosted with appearances by assorted shit-kickers of marginal relevance. Feel the surge, Ticsters. The “swing is on” but it’s “too close to call”. From coast to sea-girt coast across our sunburnt land, cliffs are being pre-emptively cordoned-off from potential hangers. And be consoled men and women of Australia that as we go forward, no child will be left behind.  Touching, really, the certainty and comfort of cliches.

Who knows why the MSM did it. In the mood for a little revenue-raisin’ and funnin’ I guess. Citizen Rupert of Delaware, dear old Auntie and Fair(and balanced)fax are generally so even-handed in matters of national importance that the savaging of Julia “I’m a Ranga” Prole came as a complete surprise to many seasoned election watchers and more than a few political junkies.

Hugh Mackay reckons the last four weeks have been a beat-up monumentale.
Can’t disagree. Hugh, who has a finely honed professional schnoz for these things, can’t perceive the whiff of imminent national change. Next Sunday morning Australians will awaken to the reality of a female Prime Minister who is an unmarried atheist and we, preferentially, will have elected her over a bigoted neo-neanderthal who will comfortably retain his seat of Warringah.

1,495 replies on “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to E-Day…..”

It is so luvly.

That, in turn, had other lawyers really chasing around because if they could get enough evidence to launch such lawsuits the feeling was the NOW would pay up to avoid details coming out in court – there are thought to be some 20 cases already in the pipeline. That is why the NYT story has caused such a stir – does Scotland Yard actually have that evidence but for reasons of protecting its relationship with the Murdoch newspapers it failed to provide that information to those concerned and the coalition government is not really interested in seeing all of this proceed?

One would love to be the fly on the wall in the offices of the NOW lawyers. The position is that the hacking of royalty was a once-off, and that no one in senior management knows anything about further hackings. If the NYT article does get Scotland Yard to release information it allegedly has on further such hackings, and investigations show executives knew more than they have told Parliament, then the civil suits could really start adding up and that will hurt Murdoch where it hurts the most – in the pocket book.

And that surely is another big motive for the NYT story

http://www.followthemedia.com/fittoprint/now08092010.htm

1307
Chris
Either that or he wants to be kingmaker all over the world.
No second prizes for Roo. 😆

Where was this information during the election?
*************************************
“Next generation broadband could produce economic benefits of $12-30 billion per annum to Australia”
Australian Government
Broadband Advisory Group 2003 Report

Possumm posted this comment on his great unhinged thread. An excellent addendum….

166 Possum Comitatus
Posted September 9, 2010 at 9:54 am | Permalink
The problem I have with the ABC isnt bias (six of one, half dozen of the other) – but the seeming lack of intellectual autonomy when it comes to deciding “what is news”.

Too often we get some story in The Oz, complete with it’s particular campaigning angle (The Oz is a campaigning newpaper) – then the ABC picks up that story (often because it *is* newsworthy, but sometimes not) but perpetuates that *same* angle when the facts of the story might not particularly support the angle, or when the reality of what is going on is much more nuanced.

It’s laziness, or cowardice, or naivety or just plain hopelessness. Fran Kelly is the biggest and most obvious culprit IMHO – but it extends further into the organsation.

However one wants to describe it, the ABC is increasingly copying what other news organisations decide is “news” (which can be a small problem, but usually isnt), but also treating the editorialised angle that other organisations have attached to that news content as part of the ABC story as well.

The BER audit report was a typical example.The report says one thing. The Oz is forced to cherry pick an incredibly small amount of info from the report attempting to show that the report says something else entirely (trying to justify their ‘war on stimulus’ campaign that they basically got wrong and which the empirical evidence doesn’t support).

The next day, the ABC starts on morning radio taking The Oz line (ignoring the contents of the report itself), that then spreads through the ABC news as a whole throughout the day. Ultimately, what we end up with is one news agency’s politicised version of “news” becoming institutionalised into the national broadcaster’s news reports as “fact” – all because a few people seem to have an inability to be able to get across their news brief and think for themselves.

Time and time again I see this happen – and then the journos are left wondering what the hell happened when political events don’t end up following the silly politicised narrative they’ve allowed themselves to be sucked in by, a narrative and story line based mostly on fiction!

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2010/09/08/let-the-great-unhinging-begin/comment-page-4/#comments

all good Gaffers- thanks for asking.
The world is a happy and wonderful place full of rainbows, ( and Brain May is up there with George C. for me. )
Also a bit pleasing that the Red River gums are twinkling with delight at the drenching they are finally getting.
And Fielding and Tuckey are Toast… what more could a woman want? 😆

…apart from not gagging on my toast when CB posts something about faecal matter first thing in the morning. …
honestly Chris. 😡

don’t care about the Christains… what about the atheists trying to eat toast and vegemite???
😆

Oh dear! Ross Garnaut pwned on the 730 report.
Being the director of a gold mine spewing toxic waste into the oceans off Papua New Guinea, is not going to help his future career choices.
The chances of him being new govt’s golden boy of environmental and CC issues just dissolved in a cloud of cyanide tailings. 🙁

Paddy, for environmentalists that’s like discovering Santa Claus is Chester the Molester. Many of his ideas will remain but someone else will have to sell them.

TF Tony Winsor is hip to “renewables”. Oakers too from memory.

By Post Author

In this case Ecky….Santa IS Chester the molester. 🙁

I’ve never found Ross Garnaut particularly impressive or inspiring when it comes to CC or environmental issues. He always struck me as Kevin Rudd’s chief poster boy. Devising better ways to wedge the Libs and offer the polluters a fairly painless way skim billions off the taxpayers.
Not a fan!!!

Interesting stuff from Grog. The editorial from the Oz is quite remarkable. The most interesting ramification I can see is that it’s no longer possible for any ABC program to have these News Ltd. people on and claim they are offering an objective, critical analysis to the ABC audience. So is the ABC willing to continue with the charade? Of course they are but then what does that tell us about the ABC?

Damn and blast! It appears (from word over the fence) that Laura Tingle has opened up with both barrels on the partisan stance of the Oz in today’s Fin Review.
I guess I’ll have to actually buy a copy. 🙁
(It’s really against my religious beliefs to give money to Fairfax. But I’ll force myself to suffer for the greater good. ) 🙂

During the campaign I refused to buy a dead tree OO even on Saturdays when full enchilada Newspolls were published. We descendants of Bog Irish and Lowland Krauts have an epigenetic predispostion to loathing Uber-Mammonists and worshippers of Moloch like Murdoch. Christ only knows how many wars he has used his organs to propagandise)
http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/wp-content/uploads/moloch.jpg

Glommed Newspolls from the blogs as a C&P soonafter anyway. Always difficult for a pol. junky to delay gratification, but especially rewarding when snubbing a Murdoch owned organ.
Sep-Citizen Rupert is the puppeteer of Glen Beck (cf. today’s LNL at 4PM on RN).
The former Adelaide copyboy-made-good has transmogrified into Capo di Tutti Capi di Newsi Cornutto. In the process he has destroyed the lives and reputations of countless good women and men. Rupie almost got his boy Rabbott up in August.

I’m extending my boycott to Mr. Murdoch’s hopelessly inadequate online offerings also. The Dirty Delaware’s dross is not even gonna get a stray click from my side of cyberspace.
Fuck him, his myrmidons, his minions and his mates who profit from mass deception, wars and human misery.

Don Wigan and Merc are going with the boycotting of News advertisers on LP.
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/09/09/16675/

Ticsters, we battle for the heart and soul of of our Great Southern Land. Rupert has meddled in the affairs of dozens of other countries, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could *do him slowly* in his Land Of Origin?

Post Script. My best mate is a Ltd. News subby and dropped a spot to me backing Tone over Jules for PM. We had a long phone debrief (at Rupert’s expense of course) on the election yesterday. His son, (my godson) is about to celebrate his 21st so I asked dad to pass on the hunded dollars as part of godfather’s gift.

For me, it was one of the sweetest moments of our lifelong friendship. 🙂

1331
Fuck that, scan it and post it all for us cheapskates.

And also EC Roo has his fingers in the “movie’ world pie as well. Avatar for eg so best to wait and burn a copy and give it away.

I stopped buying The Australian during the lead up to the Iraq war and have never gone back. Though I do read George Megalogenis online.

That editorial – the comments on the Greens being bad for the nation etc – is shocking. Makes me wonder whether The Australian has given up on its core demographic of tertiary educated people, ‘coz that’s who votes Green (not all, of course).

Joyce pours scorn on ‘rubbish’ Oakeshott.
*********************************

Prominent Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce has poured scorn on independent Rob Oakeshott over claims he sought a NSW ministerial post when he was a state member.

Mr Joyce described as “rubbish” a comment by Mr Oakeshott that he could not recall the conversation that he had in 2007 with NSW Premier Morris Iemma about becoming a minister.
Reports in News Limited papers allege Mr Oakeshott – who is set to reveal today if he will accept an offer from Prime Minister Julia Gillard for a regional affairs role – pushed for the state role. At the time, Mr Oakeshott was the state independent member for Port Macquarie, having defected from the Nationals.

Mr Iemma is cited in the reports as confirming that Mr Oakeshott made the approach.

Yeah! Joyce is shooting himself in the foot.

More here..
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/joyce-pours-scorn-on-rubbish-oakeshott-20100910-153n8.html

Timber giant concedes defeat in decades-old logging war .
**********************************************

TIMBER giant Gunns has broken ranks with Tasmania’s forest industry and confirmed it will pull out of native forest logging altogether.

In a massive win for the environmental movement, Gunns revealed it would quit the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania, which was arguing for a continuation of native forest logging in the state.

Gunns chief executive Greg L’Estrange told The Age the company’s future lay in plantation hardwoods and softwoods and processing of forest products.

“Native forest is not part of our future,” he said. “We see that the conflict largely has to end. Our employees and the communities we operate in have been collateral damage to this process. We want to move our business to a plantation-based business.”

Mr L’Estrange said Gunns wanted a constructive outcome to the forestry negotiations and the company would take in ideas from “all parties”. “A lot of good ideas can come from the people we used to throw rocks and brickbats at,” he said.

Well done Jen. Well done The Greens.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/timber-giant-concedes-defeat-in-decadesold-logging-war-20100910-153fm.html

Cheapskate bastards the lot of you. 😆
Haven’t got a friggin scanner so the juicy bits willl have to be manually typed.
(Never my strong suite.) 🙁
Anyway, here goes.

“Media dilemma that can’t be avoided”.
By Laura Tingle.
It took 17 days to settle who would run Australia. It may take a lot more time to settle the question of who will win a very different and potentially more monumental tussle between the minority government and News Ltd.

The aggression of the News Ltd tabloids stepped up during the campaign. Papers such as Sydney’s Daily Tele urged its readers on it’s front page to get rid of Labor after “the South American-stylethat ended KRudd’s PMship”.
But this was nothing compared to with the rage of the News Ltd papers since voters delivered an outcome they clearly didn’t like.

Green’s leader Bob Brown, has had enough.
“It’s stepped out of the role of the fourth estatye to think it’s the determinant of who has seats in Parliament, and it needs to be taken on.”

What happens to the national broadband network has long term implications for Foxtel and Internet broadcasting.

Bob Brown has raised the possibility of a Senate enquiry into News Ltd’s involvement in he Melbourne Storm football club…..

There is one small problem of course: Melbourne Storm’s No 1 ticket holder is Julia Gillard.
But, as with the other decisions she will have to make that affect News, the Prime Minister will have to put such considerations aside.”

Paul Begala, Democratic Strategist, On A GOP Government Shutdown: ‘Bring It On’.
***************************************************

The Democratic Governors Association hosted a panel on Thursday with a group of Democratic strategists involved in the 1994 elections who argued that 2010 won’t be as bad for the party as that year. They stressed that Democrats need to be more specific in portraying what a Congress controlled by Republicans will look like and pointed to the gubernatorial races as key to gaining — and retaining — power.

The panelists, which included Democratic strategist Paul Begala, former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, former Clinton deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes, and DGA Executive Director Nathan Daschle, said that Democrats need to stay focused on not only talking about how many of the country’s problems were created by Republicans but also stressing what they would do if they regain a majority.

Its all coming together so nicely.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/09/begala-shut-down-government-gop_n_710785.html

“Melbourne Storm’s No 1 ticket holder is Julia Gillard.” Since when does being a number 1 ticket holder implicate anyone?

1339
Beat me to it KL 😆
Isn’t it interesting, how even those in the business of journalism are ignoring the paywall restraints and demanding the brightest and the best be heard?
Good to see.

Super PACs Multiply as Companies Freed to Give.
**************************************

At least 25 “super PACS,” including one linked to Karl Rove, are fueling a surge in money for this year’s elections following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down limits on corporate campaign spending.

These political action committees can take unlimited company, union and individual donations and explicitly urge voters to support or oppose candidates, unlike ordinary PACs and nonprofit groups. Like other PACs, they must register with the Federal Election Commission and disclose donors.
———————————————————————————
Of the 25 super PACS, at least nine lean Republican and 10 Democratic. There may also be dozens more that haven’t formally outlined their plans to the FEC, said Mary Brandenberger, an agency spokeswoman.

The super PACs include new units of established groups such as the Club for Growth, which supports lower taxes and favors Republicans, and the League of Conservation Voters, which primarily backs Democrats.

As long as their funding is reasonably balanced. It should be OK. As of the parties The Democrat Party has twice as much money as The Republican Party. So they do have a bit of catching up to do. The Democrats have the added advantage of the Presidency behind them.

Full article here…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-09/super-pacs-flourish-to-influence-u-s-vote-after-companies-freed-to-give.html

1339 Katielou Thanks Katielou. You can zoom in to full size by clicking the boxes in the top right hand corner. Then choose Original 4299 x 3035 I have saved a copy. Right click on the image and select save image as for PC users. Just in case it is removed due to Copyright Issues. I don’t know how quickly Flickr responds.

Meanwhile the heater has been turned up a notch as Roo starts to freeze a bit.

Rupert Murdoch found himself under fire for the first time in the phone-hacking scandal today when his judgment was called into question during a parliamentary debate.

As Conservative MPs raised concerns about News International, Murdoch was criticised for promoting Rebekah Brooks after she admitted illegal payments were made to police by the News of the World.

Labour MPs used parliamentary privilege in the commons debate to criticise the chairman and CEO of News Corporation, which owns the newspaper publisher, and his senior executives, who are battling claims that the NoW endorsed the illegal hacking of mobile phones.

Tom Watson, a Labour member of the Commons culture select committee, placed Murdoch in the line of fire by accusing him of appointing Brooks as chief executive of News International knowing that she had admitted that illegal payments had been made to police.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/09/rupert-murdoch-phone-hacking-mps

Oh what a treat. Tonight on lateline with Leigh Sales.
The lovely Laura T and Mega George!!
Should be a cracker of a show. 🙂

1345
gaffy
That is such a lovely story. 🙂
The fall of the house of Murdoch is a movie we are all dying to see.
(Preferably d/loaded from the pirate bay!) 👿

1330
Oh yes….speaking of punting Ecky.
Those scum sucking bastards at the TAB are refusing to pay out till Julia signs in the cabinet next week.
Sheesh! They are nothing but a bunch of b(w)ankers!!! 🙂

To be fair Chris B, you have to pay to watch Sky News on TV.

I have Foxtel but only occasionally watch Sky News. But I feel pretty disappointed with ABC News 24 as well. As many have pointed out before me, I think the ABC budget is stretched too thinly. I wish they’d put more into investigative journalism over a 24 hour news channel. Case in point – Four Corners has absolutely gone to pot. I don’t watch it anymore. It used to be great. Sigh

“Cheapskate bastards the lot of you. 🙂 ”

Gaffy, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain ideological purity ’round this joint without being cravenly subjected to the opprobrium of one’s peers ! :mrgreen:

“And also EC Roo has his fingers in the “movie’ world pie as well.”

The facts and physics of NBN mean that punters will be able to download Sony faster than a phalanx of hopped-up electrons and a whole lotta other non-Rupie stuff too!
Holy Croessus, Batman! If this trend continues, the Mongrel Mogul might have to bunk down in Lachlie’s Bondi doss house when the power-hungry prick deigns to descend downunder.

“TIMBER giant Gunns has broken ranks with Tasmania’s forest industry and confirmed it will pull out of native forest logging altogether.”
“Well done Jen. Well done The Greens.”

Aye, wot Chris sed. Abso-bloomin-lutely. Or to quote Ferny, “Fuck, Yeah!!”

———————-

And on behalf of all the card-carrying “cheapskates” of Ticsterdom, please accept our eternal gratitude for your theft and dissemination of valuable intellectual property blong Fairfax. 🙂

Seriously, thanks.

—————-

Oh squee! Laura Tingle and George Megalogenis on Lateline tonight.

As Kath & Kim usta say:

She’s….. such…. a…… girl! 🙂

(Naturally, I’ll cop an optic’s worth too.)

Paddy, Priness Sparlke Pony is simply devastated by the premature demise of her good friend, The Little Exploding Terrorist Pony. She feels it’s best if Special Ponies are always matched with the right Jihad Jockey before connections nominate for the Ka-Boom Encourage.

Have only used Betfair for the World Cup and our recent elections and thanks to the Flying Teapot of the Punt have collected from both events.
Was impressed that they paid up when the Indies cast their lots. Honourable even! The TAB are not only collecting interest every day on the dosh that is rightfully yours, if any of Ranga’s 76 are subject to (touchez le bois!) misadventure, the mean-spirited grafters will say it’s legal to keep the money until after the bye-election.
And it’s not the roughest that if said seat was marginalish, it could go the other way in which case you’d lose the lot.

Besides, their odds are were tight as a fish’s arsehole, notwithstanding the “5% tax on winnings” which btw goes down the more you do bidness with ’em!

Another link from over the fence.

Journalists and newspaper executives involved in hacking politicians’ telephones face the prospect of being hauled in front of the Commons to apologise – a punishment that MPs have not used for more than 50 years.

Yesterday, the Commons instructed its most powerful committee, the Standards and Privileges Committee, to investigate whether the phone-tapping or “blagging” of politicians’ phone messages amounted to contempt of Parliament.

Witnesses who have previously refused to give evidence to parliamentary inquiries, including the two men jailed for phone-hacking in 2007 and the former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who is now chief executive of News International, may now be compelled to break their silence. The Commons even heard a call for Rupert Murdoch to be summoned to “explain his position”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/commons-declares-war-on-media-barons-and-their-redtopped-assassins-2075474.html

Voinovich Breaks Ranks, Says Small Biz Bill Must Pass.
******************************************

Retiring Ohio Senator George Voinovich has given a strong signal to the White House that he will play ball with them on the Small Business bill as well as the $50 billion infrastructure stimulus spending bill. It appears that he will want to add an amendment pulling the 1099 reporting requirement that was included in the Affordable Care Act as his only quid pro quo.

Voinovich’s support for the measures really exposes the bankruptcy of the current Republican strategy, otherwise known as “No.”

Now that will be very handy!

more here…
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/voinovich-breaks-ranks-says-small-biz-bill-

1351 Katielou I agree with everything you say. What I am trying to say is that people will gradually drop the paid stuff for free to air. There are still a lot more channels to start yet. 2 or 3 SBS including HD, 9 HD plus a standard. Seven Mate, Seven HD. They are doing the Grand Final in 3D. Plus 1 or 2 stations from Ten. They a gradually chipping away. 🙂

Now *THIS*…….Is just too good not to share. 😆
From today’s Crikey tips and rumours.

Overheard on the tram… From the number 96 from North Fitzroy this morning:
TRAM DRIVER (over loud speaker): Would passengers please push the buzzer a Bit Earlier, if you don’t mind.

PASSENGER: Would you kindly pick us up on time, if you don’t mind.

TRAM DRIVER (enunciating very clearly): Well, if people didn’t stick blow up sex toys to the tracks, we wouldn’t be in this predicament would we……

PASSENGER: My apologies.

Who ever said Melb was boring?

1358 gaffhook Great news. I wonder if anyone has thought that the same thing could be happening here. After all there were leaks in the federal election. 🙂

I hadn’t realised this speech received wide coverage.
************************************************

Megyn Kelly somehow heard ahead of time from anonymous “senior White House advisers” that President Obama’s speech in Ohio yesterday was going to be about “his personal experiences,” featuring his “grandma and grandpa”. She and Rich Lowry were quick to make fun of the speech beforehand, because no one cares about his grandma.

Then, when Obama actually started speaking, she continued to push this narrative, talking over him at the start by making sure the audience knew he was going to be speaking with “a greater emphasis on his own personal history”.

Well, it didn’t quite turn out that way. There was only a brief mention of his personal history in the speech itself — most of which in fact was devoted to ripping Republicans and reminding voters who got them into this mess, particularly House-Speaker-in-Waiting Boehner. I don’t think Kelly was too pleased to have 40-plus minutes of her hourlong show dedicated to Obama’s Republican-bashing, which may have been why she finally cut in near the end of his speech and resumed her “regular broadcast” with a dismissive sneer.

more here…
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/megyn-kelly-wanted-make-fun-obamas-s

‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules.
*************************************************

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal judge on Thursday declared the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional and said she will issue an order to stop the government from enforcing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy nationwide.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips said the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of gays and lesbians. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base.

In her ruling, Phillips said the policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect” on the armed services.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000-member group that includes current and former military members, filed a lawsuit in 2004 seeking an injunction to stop the ban’s enforcement. Phillips will draft the injunction with input from the group within a week, and the federal government will have a week to respond.

more here….

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/09/dont-ask-dont-tell-unconstitutional-ruled-judge_n_711508.html

Austan Goolsbee. Stange name. But boy, is he good. [See videos]
****************************************************

Obama to Tap Goolsbee as Chair of Council of Economic Advisers.
Administration sources tell ABC News that at the start of his press conference Friday morning, President Obama will formally announced that he is appointing University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee to be chair of his Council of Economic Advisers.

Goolsbee, 41, has already been confirmed by the Senate to serve as one of the three economists on the CEA; President Obama has the prerogative to appoint the chair. The former chair, Christina Romer, departed last week, returning to teach at the University of California at Berkeley. Goolsbee is also chief economist for the Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

The 1991 Yale grad is popular in the administration and appreciated for his communications skills, evidenced by his frequent cable TV bookings, his former hosting of a show on the History Channel, his former column in the New York Times and his award as Funniest Celebrity in Washington in 2009.

This guy is very good. See the Jon Stewart videos.
Maybe a game changer.

more here….
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/09/obama-to-tap-goolsbee-as-chair-of-council-of-economic-advisers.html

Austan Goolsbee doesn’t talk political speak. Just treat us like real people. Which is why Austan is in big demand from the cable networks.

Hmm….Looks like Julian Assange and wikileaks aren’t going to be shutdown by a “sex-scandal” sting. 🙂 oops!
“Massive Cache of Iraq War Docs to Be Published by @wikileaks”
http://bit.ly/diM76r

Lovely Yarra City tram exchange, Paddy. 🙂 Now if only the Swannies can give Barry and the Dogs something to remember tomorrow.

Oakers made the right call on a Ministry gig. Too many hairs on it for my liking. If he’d taken Ranga’s offer, The Mongrel Mogul’s myrmidons would have shredded Robbie O. to his long bones before dropping them from Icarine heights to shatter far below on the rocks of political oblivion.

Then they would skirmish for position like jackals before sucking the last of Oakeshott’s marrow.

1371
Paddy
Bring it on i say. Nothing like a bit of transparency after the events so that history can be correctly written.
Especially in a fucked out trumped up war which our scumbag prime minister at the time falsely led us in to.

Tram conductors have no sence of humour.
Got on a tram in St Kilda once with a couple of mates and a skinfull.
Conductor; Tickets to where fellas.
Us; no mate the Lord Mayor has give us the keys to the city.
Conductor; Well i suggest you get off now or pay for a ticket as the keys he has given you don’t open the doors at Pentrige. 🙁

Trams are great.

I want Julia and Bob Brown to jump on the bandwagon of the UK parliament and start hassling Rude Roo.

Bob is in the right spot to do it but maybe better off waiting till July next year and in the meantime collect all the ammo to shoot him down with when they have BOP.

Sad, indeed, Paddy. Applying Ockham’s Razor, a lotta folk reckon he leaked to Big Laurie during week one of the campaign.

——————–

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/light_my_fire_20100909/

Sept 9:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/mike-luckovich

———-

Yep, gaffy, Uncle Bob should hold-off on THAT Roo shoot till the second half of next year.
Meanwhile, Laura and teh lettle payple of teh blogs are gonna go teh scoundrel scone hot! 🙂

Lateline 10:10.

By Post Author

From the remarkably reliable GhostWhoVotes on twitter

Kevin Rudd will become the Foreign Minister and Stephen Smith will be taking Defence.

1381
Yep Hussey He looked bloody embarrassed too.
He’s taken the 40 pieces of silver and it must really hurt to be the last one standing of Rupert’s minions who has *any* of his (rapidly diminishing) credibility left. 🙁
Tonight’s performance left him painfully exposed.

Obama Press Conference: President To Take GOP To Task On Economy, Tax Cuts.
****************************************************

WASHINGTON — Striving to gain the upper hand on a crucial political issue, President Barack Obama is faulting Republicans for refusing to help him turn around the sluggish economy or support some proposed new tax breaks for businesses that the GOP has backed in the past.

Obama has argued that case many times recently. But on Friday he takes it to an audience of millions, including many who will vote in November’s decisive congressional elections, during a nationally televised news conference from the White House East Room.

Before taking questions, Obama was to open the session with a statement on the economy and the stakes in the elections and, according to a White House official, announce that he has chosen one of his longtime economic advisers, Austan Goolsbee, to be the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers. The official spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement had not been made.

Goolsbee, 41, a University of Chicago professor of economics, was Obama’s senior economic adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign. He already has been confirmed to the council by the Senate and will need no further confirmation. He replaces Christina Romer, who left the administration last week to return to teaching at the University of California, Berkeley.

Now if anyone is not sure if the election battle has started. This will answer your question. David that means you too.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/10/obama-press-conference-pr_n_711857.html

If he’d taken Ranga’s offer, The Mongrel Mogul’s myrmidons would have shredded Robbie O. to his long bones before dropping them from Icarine heights to shatter far below on the rocks of political oblivion.

I’m not sure if I follow all that, but it *sounds* bad. 😉

Entertainment, information, and an edu-ma-cation in the one sentence Eccy. Well done!

The tentacles of the Malevolent Mongrel Mogul’s Myrmidons octopus must have reached in to every nook and public cranny as though it was feasting on all those delicious crayfish. The ones it thought were an arse full of meat and a head full of shit and would never find out.

What a delicious morsel twill be if the crayfish decide to go on the march with a class action for a measely 1mil pound each in damages.

There are broadly three categories of people who have been identified as victims or possible victims of phone hacking by Glenn Mulcaire, the News of the World’s private investigator. Although the total number of names runs into the thousands, few so far have been identified……….Second, there are those who have taken the initiative to approach Scotland Yard and to ask whether the police hold any evidence that they were targeted in any way by Mulcaire. Scotland Yard are holding the results of an analysis of phone records which, we now know, revealed “a vast number” of people who had had their voicemail accessed; and also a spreadsheet which summarises the contents of the mass of paperwork, audio tapes and computer records which police seized from Mulcaire and which, the Guardian discovered, included 4,332 names or partial names; 2,987 mobile phone numbers; 30 audio tapes of varying length; and 91 PIN codes of a kind which are needed to access voicemail with the minority of targets who change the factory settings on their mobile phones.

That would be 4,332 times 1 mil pound. That would go close to wiping out the profits from Avatar would it not.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/sep/10/phone-hacking-victims-list.

As Audrey would say;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q671QIDeH-U

Have to help this grow legs out there. Coulson must surely be now tainted and hanging on by …………..fill the blank.

If testimony given by former News of the World employees starts to mount, ex-editor could see himself interviewed under criminal caution Andy Coulson faces a series of challenges if he is to survive the phone-hacking affair.

The first is Scotland Yard’s renewed investigation into the allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World, where Coulson was editor. He denies being aware of the practice.

Detectives are planning to interview Sean Hoare, a former reporter on the tabloid who says Coulson was aware that phone hacking went on, before they speak to Coulson.

Other witnesses who have come forward to media organisations to give accounts of phone hacking could also present police with a picture that the practice was widespread.

At this stage, Coulson is most likely to be interviewed as a witness, which will avoid damaging headlines about him being a “criminal suspect” in the Yard’s investigation.

But if the testimony given by former employees starts to mount, Coulson could see himself interviewed under criminal caution – which would technically mean police suspect him of possible wrongdoing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/10/phone-hacking-scandal-andy-coulson

How fucken cute.
Fox and henhouse springs to mind.
Love the photo of Roo when he ws 28. :mrgreen:
And this issue is being ramped up in the US as their Novembers come close. Will not be a bad thing for Barry to discredit their news services as severely tainted.

The News of the World says it will open its own investigation.

“Amidst a swirl of untethered allegations, there should be no doubt that the News of the World will investigate any allegation of wrongdoing when presented with evidence,” the newspaper said in a statement. “As we have always made clear, we have a zero-tolerance approach to wrongdoing and will take swift and decisive action if we have proof.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i93d84615e6fca146a5e0af2c0cd168d9

Hope Bob Brown is taking it all in.
When the UK tories are mentioning press regulations i wonder if abbort concurs here in Oz.

Campbell also wrote that he detected an appetite among Conservative MPs to change the current system of press regulation. “Current Tory MPs were saying that the real issue was how widespread illegal practices may have been, and not just at the News of the World. Press regulation is definitely on the political agenda, and it could be Tory MPs pushing hardest for it.”

He said that few in the media or in politics are convinced by Coulson’s repeated denials that he knew about phone-hacking at the paper when he edited it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/10/alastair-campbell-tories-phone-hacking

Stewart teaches MSNBC to selectively edit clips like Fox News.
*************************************************

MSNBC could learn a thing or two from Fox News.
Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart noted Thursday that the left leaning network was moderating their praise for President Barack Obama. On the other hand, Fox News hasn’t held back with their criticism and selectively edited clips.

Gawker wrote:

Tonight, Jon Stewart noted President Obama’s shift from bipartisan love machine to Republican-killing campaign shark, and—namely—the media’s reaction to it. The verdict? MSNBC should emulate Fox News’ skew-the-news-to-fit-our-narrative mantra, and Rick Sanchez is an effing idiot. Video inside.

Only two years ago, Stewart had declared that MSNBC was the new Fox News.

Jon Stewart declared MSNBC the new Fox News Monday night on “The Daily Show,” saying MSNBC has stepped up to be “the mouthpiece of this new administration.”

Obama rolled out his first major speech of the 2010 campaign season on Labor Day. All of the networks said noticed the president was in campaign mode.

more here…
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/stewart-how-msnbc-can-selectively-edit-clips

Gaffy, great stuff on the Mongrel Mogel’s “Gotcha!”. The Seps actually locked up another media mega-malfeasant, Conrad Black for lesser crimes. NYT havn’t taken on The Delaware without doing their homework first. They are ready for the shitstorm. So heartening to see Bob Brown and Tingles et al. ready to at last confront him in Australia.

It’s alive!!

Conroy’s net filter still alive and kicking

The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, is ploughing ahead with his internet filter policy despite there being virtually no chance any enabling legislation will pass either house of Parliament.

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott, the Opposition and the Greens have all come out against the policy, leaving it effectively dead in the water.

The Greens communications spokesman, Scott Ludlam, has called on the government to end the facade and drop the internet censorship scheme once and for all, as it was wasting time and taxpayers’ money.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/conroys-net-filter-still-alive-and-kicking-20100910-1540s.html

Thanks, Flanners, always nice to know you’re lurking. 🙂

Hell yeah, Hussey! Time to stop the waste and wowser-pandering!

Bring it all out in the open and bring it now you weak bastards.
Drill Noos Ltd until it explodes like BP’s gulf well and foires burn it to the ground.

A cross-party committee of MPs abandoned plans to force the News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, to testify last year after they were warned that their private lives would be investigated, a former member alleged last night.

Adam Price, a former Plaid Cymru MP, told Channel 4 News that a group of committee members shied away from the “nuclear option” of issuing a warrant for Brooks to attend after a senior Tory warned that News International would “go for us”.

Adrian Sanders, a Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said that the Tory chairman of the committee, John Whittingdale, had issued the warning. “The chairman himself had made some sort of allusion towards what could happen were we to go down this route. But there was no surprise in that because it was sort of, ‘Well, yeh, we knew that from that beginning’.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/10/mps-backed-down-rebekah-brooks

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/90398/

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/90443

We don’t burn no steenkin’ Korans in Anchorage!

Fox News mainstays and tea-party superstars Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are joining forces for a big-ticket event in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sept. 11. Ostensibly, it’s just a “coincidence” that this right-wing pep rally is happening on such an auspicious date.

“Awww…..shucks, it’s just a lil’ ol’ co-incidence. Like Glen Beck and his pals at the Lincoln Memorial, that’s all. People need to respect us more as Patriots!”

~ Fox News Spokesrobot

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/beck_and_palin_together_again_on_9_11_20100909/

1398
Afraid so, Chris.
Hopefully, they’ll listen to the Indi’s and ditch the filter asap.
BTW
I notice that Jules is also keeping a sharp eye on the digital stuff.
As Conroy is also Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity.
I suspect the filter will be given a quick and painless death when she gets a moment. 🙂

Comments are closed.