All the cocks a’crowing, each on their own dunghill

Guest Author Uncategorized

Sally Baxter, Girl Reporter, has consulted her favourite Chinese astrologers to find out what may happen to the movers and shakers in this new Year of the Rooster. As always, Sally, thank you for your permission to republish here.

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Welcome to the Year of the Rooster and Your Girl Reporter’s first post for 2017. In honour of the Lunar New Year I thought we’d kick off with a look at the prospects of some of the leading lights in our political firmament with a little help from the ancient Chinese zodiac. It makes as much sense as anything else that’s going on in this crazy old world.

According to the principles of Chinese astrology, the way to determine your prospects is to see how your sign matches up with the characteristics of the animal in charge of the next 12 lunar months.

How would the two animals interact? And what qualities does the ruling animal possess that you could learn from to improve your chances of a good year?

I think we can all agree that the Year of the Monkey lived up to its reputation for chaos and confusion. The Rooster is so different he’s an astrological backlash, a home bird for all his crowing, happy to be master of his own dunghill.

Where Monkey is more likely to reward agility and risk taking, the Rooster prefers loyalty, hard work and the family values that keep the hens in line and order in the barnyard.

Appearances count. A lot. Nuances and complexities are under-appreciated in the Year of the Rooster who prefers plain speaking and clear intentions. It is not a time for new ideas or the addressing of complex problems. Which sounds bad, I know, but let’s press on.

The Rooster requires hard work and diligence for success, a willingness to play the longer game without the gratification of instant results. The Rooster is related to the harvest and reminds us that we reap what we sow.

Your Girl Reporter’s favourite online astrologer Master Tsai says the Fire Rooster is related to gold and precious gems, suggesting financial events will be uppermost in the year ahead.

According to the folk at the Astrology Club, the Year of the Rooster will be a powerful one, with no middle of the road. Since the times appear to be suiting a certain kind of politician, let’s check out a few horoscopes, starting with the Man of the Hour.

Donald Trump – Year of the Dog

Master Tsai at Chinese Fortune Calendar presciently observes that Dog will happily receive the wealth which Rooster brings with it. He then goes on to say that the generous Dog will also be making donations.

The Dog is the enduring symbol of loyalty and honesty and people born in the Year of the Dog, at their best, are faithful, smart, straightforward and responsible.

Not all of this sounds particularly pertinent to our subject, but Water Dragon at Online Chinese Astrology has a darker view of a certain kind of Dog:

The Overly Pessimistic Dog is always barking up a storm about doom and gloom. The evil Dog sees things in black and white, which kind of makes sense as in real life dogs are actually colour-blind.

This Dog also has fears and anxieties of being not loved or not liked enough. Instead of seeking reassurances, the Overly Pessimistic Dog would rather sulk by itself stewing in its own state of depression.

And, in the case of Top Dog Trump, feverishly tweeting about it.

Master Tsai warns that the Rooster is connected to fog, which can bring confusion to the Dog making it difficult to prioritise and make decisions. The wise Dog will relax and enjoy the comforts of the hearth in a Rooster year, avoiding challenges and risks and certainly not taking on a new job.

Oops! Too late! Good luck, Humanity.

Malcolm Turnbull, Pauline Hanson and George Christensen – Year of the Horse

Back on home shores and Australia has a few politicians seizing their moment in the wake of the Trump presidency. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is being a bit half-hearted about it, as he is about most things, but the commentariat has been in furious agreement that Pauline Hanson’s set for a great year.

Hanson was returned to the Australian Senate in 2016, thanks to Malcolm’s brilliant plan to get rid of some difficult senators in a bold double-dissolution strategy that, to put it mildly, backfired spectacularly. Anyone else hear a Monkey laughing?

So, thanks to Malcolm, Hanson’s openly racist One Nation party holds, at last count (One Nation politicians are slippery), three Senate seats. She’s also picked up a spot in the Queensland State Parliament with a defection of an MP from the opposition Liberal National Party, and is seeking to gain ground in state elections this year in Western Australia and Queensland.

George Christensen, another Horse senator, currently lives on the outer right fringes of Malcolm’s Liberal-National Party coalition government. He’s a National who doesn’t like a lot of the same things Hanson doesn’t like and he’s pretty much declared open war on his prime minister.

If he breaks away, will he join his fellow Horse Hanson? Or will he prefer the company of another Australian right-wing warrior, Rooster Cory Bernardi?

Whatever this disparate mob of brumbies does this year, if they are to achieve their goals in the Year of the Rooster they will need to put in the hard yards.

Master Tsai advises that as long as the Horse maintains its passion and continuously sets higher goals, career success should follow. If the Horse is offered a job change, accept the challenge.

“Horse needs to run and compete. They will see victory,” says Master Tsai.

Of course, victories can be hollow. Ask Malcolm.

Cory Bernardi, Tony Abbott – Year of the Rooster

So many senators in our sights and here’s another. Cory Bernardi has been playing coy about his political plans for some time now. If he really is planning his own political party – and speculation is mounting that he is – what are the prospects?

According to Chinese astrology, the year of your birth animal is not regarded as a time for rejoicing. In the case of the Rooster it’s easy to see why, because cockfighting’s a thing. So Roosters by their nature will be in opposition to the prevailing fortune.

Master Tsai warns Roosters seeking a job change that there is no sign that you’re ahead of the people around you. The Venerable Tsai goes so far as to recommend that if you receive a job offer you should think twice about accepting.

He recommends a humble and polite attitude, good advice for Cory and possibly for that other Rooster, former prime minister Tony Abbott, the Banquo’s Ghost of Australia’s 45th Parliament.

If Cory does strike out on his own, he should expect competition. And indeed that’s exactly the situation he would be pondering if he is indeed harbouring such plans. Pauline Hanson has already helpfully suggested that he might like to join One Nation but Cory strikes me as the kind of guy who dreams of his very own dunghill.

And, while the challenges will be many, Master Tsai reckons the Rooster that can face the competition and work hard for his goal could yet yield a good result.

But is a good result for Cory a good result for Australia? While Cory probably thinks so, judging by his Make Australia Great Again hat, it’s hard to see how a move would do anything other than splinter the vote still further.

Get the popcorn in. It hasn’t got off to a great start, with the steel gates slamming down on America, but nevertheless I wish you all a happy and prosperous Year of the Rooster.

© Sally Baxter 2017

889 thoughts on “All the cocks a’crowing, each on their own dunghill”

  1. Kirsdarke

    Yes, I think a RC into the Coalition’s Asylum policies will be a very good move for Labor.

    A most excellent idea.

  2. Okay, half time at WALF. No 3 and 4 grandsons are here. Great to be watching history with the boys, telling them that is something you can tell your grandkids about. 🙂

    They are enjoying being back at school, not that they would admit it, but going by their conversation I can tell. No 3 is loving loving literacy and english. No 4, who just started in year 7, loves PT, computer class and maths.

  3. Kirsdarke

    If you click on the bell with the red dot up in the top right corner you can see I’ve made responses to your comments, if you are interested.

  4. Kirsdarke,

    Please, don’t give up, ever. We need to think widely and creatively if we are going to at least control a horrible problem.

    Let me ask all Pubsters: would the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectricity Scheme have been built without migrant labour? Remember – most of those migrants and their families were from displaced persons’ camps post WW2. Some of them lost their lives during the construction.

    The SM Scheme was part of my early childhood: my father was a founding member of the Blue Cow Ski Club, at Guthega (which was the first power station to go online). Some of my earliest memories include being fireman-lifted up a ladder to the main area of the lodge that the original members built, essentially all by themselves.

    It was a huge privilege to spend part of most years until my mid-teens skiing when there was snow, bushwalking when there wasn’t. In my recollection, it was an almost pristine environment, one I hope I can cherish all of my life.

  6. Thanks for saying that, Fiona.

    Thinking about this problem a little more, I think that Labor’s push for the next election should simply be to fix up what Turnbull and Abbott stuffed up for Australia.

    And perhaps grand infrastructure schemes that would rival that of the Snowy Mountain project in the 1940’s-1950’s could be the theme of its re-election campaign in the 2020’s? Massive projects that would generate lots of jobs and create something that would result in lasting success for the nation for many generations. And would have additional benefits like giving asylum seekers jobs and most of all an opportunity to become a part of the wonderful project that is Australia.

    Surely that is something that the country can get behind?

    • And as for what the Asylum Seekers could be employed with after the cities are built? Well. Once they’re built, obviously a lot of local services like schools, hospitals, shops, etc are going to need to be staffed too. A city would still need services after all, and surely once the asylum seekers finish their jobs in building it, they’d be available for maintaining it as well?

    • Yes! The original idea of the NBN would be a fantastic idea.

      Sadly at this point of its construction, I don’t know how badly the Coalition has fucked it up. So the safest option that Labor can do can be to say something like “We’ll go by our old plan the best we can, but, it depends on how this project stands after these backward bastards gutted it”.

  9. Kirsdarke

    Fixing Turnbull’s sabotaging of a nation’s future would qualify as a grand infrastructure scheme and be well worth doing. Truffles by screwing the NBN has cost this nation probably more than any other single politician in Australia.

  10. Been out for dinner.

    Finding work for refugees should include provision for the skills they already have.

    We have doctors, nurses, scientists and teachers and other highly qualified people either languishing in camps or, if they have made it to the mainland, doing things like driving taxis.

    Don’t ever assume that just because you are a refugee you must be a labourer or an unskilled worker. We need to be taking advantage of the skilled people we are currently trying to push away.

    • leonetwo

      “Don’t ever assume that just because you are a refugee you must be a labourer or an unskilled worker”
      .
      Damn right because it is the relatively well to do who have the wherewithal to escape. After NZ took the Howard Tampa victims one of the things reported in NZ media was how many professional , doctors, architects, engineers NZ had gained.

      A surprisingly sympathetic look from The Hun on the children of Tampa .

      The Tampa children reflect on their rescue 12 years on

      Twelve years on, Tahira smiles beside her best friend, Huria Rahimi, on campus at the University of Auckland. Tahira is doing a double major in psychology and social science for public health; Huria is studying optometry.

      They first met in the lounge of an Indonesian hotel. Two seven-year-old girls looking after little brothers, fighting over whose turn it was to sit on an old rocking chair.

      http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/the-tampa-children-reflect-on-their-rescue-12-years-on/news-story/ad3079e56669d3c0515aedf42bd7d552

      Tampa refugees resurface as Kiwis

      Slick teen Ewazi speaks with the clipped accent of his adopted homeland. He is studying for a degree in sports management and coaching at Auckland University of Technology. His sister Zainab, 22, is doing an information technology course at the same institution. The young girls from the Tampa, who had travelled with parents, had never been to school.

      Sarwari was the first of the young Hazara women to graduate and recently started working in an Auckland health clinic.

      They are just some of the stories of success and struggle, dislocation and revival, told to Inquirer from those who were rescued by the Tampa. Hundreds have followed them under refugee resettlement and family reunion programs in New Zealand.
      http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tampa-refugees-resurface-as-kiwis/news-story/625d5ee7bc5ebd04de2d06812617a550

  11. @Leone

    Yes, that’s right that work should be made for refugees, but at the same time, it shouldn’t come at the expense of people already living in Australia, because that just amounts to racist resentment as an end result.

    I mean, there’s a current example with Australian engineering jobs. People born and raised in Australia who have gone through primary, secondary and tertiary education to become Engineers end up graduating and find that they’re unemployable because many employers think they can get away with accepting someone on a 457 visa and pay them less than someone raised here.

    http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/engineers-imported-from-overseas-as-australians-struggle-to-find-jobs-20161220-gtes3q.html

    It’s issues like this that arise from conservatives that want to import foreign labor and use their acceptance as an excuse to reduce the standards of living and working for those of us already living here. I just hope Labor has a way of combating things like this in the years to come.

    • Those 457 visas are evil; things in the hands of conservative governments. Remember Gina and her wish to have workers who would be paid $2 a day.

      Shorten tried a private member’s bill to deal with some of the issues last year, but of course, it went nowhere. He raised the subject again at the NPC, so we can be sure Labor’s policies for the next election will be along the same lines.

  12. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/adanis-carmichael-mine-in-doubt-after-shock-court-decision/news-story/d35b55a936d8e19d4cad85a16eb9dbf6 paywalled, google the URL

    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/concerns-raised-about-integrity-of-greens-preselection-20170203-gu4yri.html

    http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/news/australian-actor-impersonated-family-of-bourke-st-victims-in-calls-to-hospitals/news-story/d9be5da3a809ddf7bdaa58a96a54fc4e

    A nasty conspiracy theorist has become an actual Bourke Street massacre truther, Sandy Hook style. Astonishing. He has form, see the below (not paywalled) from 2012. He’s a chemtrails nutter.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/travel/jet-pilots-fear-chemtrail-attacks/news-story/19fb843a35518ff4955d38c83dda90c6

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/meet-the-good-trolls-secretly-spying-on-trump-supporters

    https://newrepublic.com/article/140344/steve-bannon-turning-trump-ethno-nationalist-ideologue

  13. leonetwo

    Gina also wanted/wants a special low tax zone up North. Part of the plan she spruiked involved parking passenger liners of the Kimberly coast to house el cheapo “Asian labour”.

  16. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Peter Hartcher says that Australia is caught between Donald Trump abroad and the phenomenon of Trumpism at home. He is face with the twin threats of Trump and Hanson.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-twin-threats-facing-malcolm-turnbull-donald-trump-and-pauline-hanson-20170203-gu58x3.html
    Australian and American officials spent Friday scrambling to shore up the US refugee swap deal – and repair the damage to the alliance – amid signs that President Donald Trump could follow through on the agreement with Malcolm Turnbull.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/politicians-diplomats-scramble-to-repair-usaustralian-alliance-after-trump-tweets-20170203-gu4yqa.html
    Paul Bongiorno writes about how Turnbull was caught out during the week. Turnbull’s keynote speech this week was more of the same – the platitudes that have been draining his tank since he took the top job he says
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2017/02/04/malcolm-turnbull-caught-out-donation-and-us-deal/14861268004183
    Kellyanne Conway is rivalling Comical Ali and makes stuff up.
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/trump-aide-kellyanne-conway-cites-a-massacre-that-never-happened-to-defend-travel-ban-20170203-gu5etj.html
    Scary Steve Bannon – the world’s second most powerful man. Google.
    /news/world/us-election/steve-bannon-emerges-as-the-policy-maker-behind-donald-trump-20170201-gu3lod
    Here’s some letters from America apologising for their president’s behaviour.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/dear-australia-we-apologise-for-donald-trumps-crocodile-dumb-deal-20170203-gu4qkt.html
    With Malcolm Turnbull desperate to keep burning coal for electricity, just how important is the mining industry to our economy? Short answer: not nearly as much as it wants us to believe, and has conned our politicians into believing. Ross Gittins rains on the government’s parade.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/minings-economic-contribution-not-as-big-as-you-might-think-20170203-gu4r5l.html
    Jack Waterford says Abbott lacks the credibility to restore good government.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/you-shouldnt-doubt-that-tony-abbott-is-just-waiting-for-the-call-to-lead-the-liberals-again-20170202-gu4lda.html
    Jacqui Maley has an idea on how to deal with the narcissistic Trump.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/how-to-deal-with-a-narcissist-like-donald-trump-20170202-gu3yzq.html
    The SMH editorial on how we should deal with Trump, the known unknown.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/dial-t-for-a-thorough-trumping-20170202-gu4jxm.html

  17. Section 2 . . .

    Economists are not expecting Aussie house prices to fall this year. There are interactive charts for several forecast items in Peter Martin’s article.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/home-prices-will-rise-dont-expect-a-crash-economists-20170201-gu35ta.html
    Liberal Party MPs who support same-sex marriage will push to abandon the government’s plebiscite policy over the next fortnight in favour of a free vote on the floor of Parliament, in a move that could divide the Coalition and create a fresh political headache for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Bring it on!
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/government-mps-working-to-bring-samesex-marriage-policy-to-a-head-over-next-fortnight-20170203-gu4t75.html
    A lucrative fundraising body linked to the Liberal Party has quietly begun bankrolling the organisations behind two of the Coalition’s biggest crossbench supporters in the finely balanced Senate. Yet another reason we need to completely overhaul the rules about political donations.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-partylinked-fundraising-body-cormack-foundation-bankrolling-two-senate-crossbench-parties-20170202-gu3xtf.html
    It’s a real worry what Trump is bound to do with the Supreme Court.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/trump-can-remake-the-us-supreme-court-in-his-own-image-20170203-gu4v7o.html
    Mike Seccombe on internal resistance in Trump’s America.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/02/04/internal-resistance-trumps-america/14861268004195
    Trump is unhinged tyranny writ large. Hope lies in heeding this huge warning signal — resist, says psychologist, Lyn Bender.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/president-trump-a-madman-in-the-white-house,9989
    Laurie Oakes says we should be very careful with Trump’s America. Google.
    /news/opinion/laurie-oakes/laurie-oakes-prime-minister-shows-donald-trump-his-mettle/news-story/f2c2d74eb0d61291a02a9c9e5ac45ac4
    Paul Kelly’s piece is somewhat similar. Google.
    /opinion/columnists/paul-kelly/tricky-and-wild-ride-on-the-trump-express/news-story/620bd0b04f575788e6de2abbf4af1163
    Just another “Oh shit! Trump” sort of day.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/its-just-another-oh-s-trump-kinda-day-20170202-gu43g6.html
    Here we go! Greece is on the brink again.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/03/grexit-greece-debt-crisis-eu-germany-us

  18. Section 3 . . .

    The economics just don’t weigh up for rural relocation á la Barnaby.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/02/04/internal-resistance-trumps-america/14861268004195
    The Reuters news agency says covering Washington DC is now on a par with reporting from dictatorships. Is this the right thing for journalists? Doc Martin reviews the advice being given to reporters facing Donald Trump’s shock doctrine tactics.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/media-sauce-how-should-the-news-media-report-trumps-presidency1,9988
    It was a banner year for inside selling as directors dodge corporate disasters. Google.
    /markets/equity-markets/banner-year-for-insider-selling-as-directors-dodge-corporate-disasters-20170201-gu3glh
    Why middle-aged diners hate popular restaurants.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/why-middleaged-diners-hate-popular-restaurants-20170130-gu1hbm.html
    What should we do with the Senate?
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/abbott-is-right-to-call-for-senate-reform-hes-just-wrong-on-the-details-20170202-gu3u2c.html
    Gerard Henderson goes in to bat for the Catholic church ahead of what will be a sensational three weeks CA Royal Commission hearing starting on Monday. Google.
    /opinion/columnists/gerard-henderson/child-abuse-royal-commission-dont-just-target-catholic-church/news-story/226d35862aceb5915ed19692fdd457f0
    Every Catholic archbishop in the country except for Hobart is being called to give evidence at a royal commission hearing starting next week in Sydney. There will be some interesting viewing to be had.
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-03/royal-commission-most-catholic-archbishops-to-give-evidence/8240208?utm_hp_ref=au-homepage
    Karen Middleton goes inside the fight for the Australian Greens.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/02/04/inside-the-fight-the-australian-greens/14861268004193
    Bewitched by clean-coal fairies, Canberra hints at more fossil fuel hand-outs writes Michael West.
    http://www.michaelwest.com.au/bewitched-by-clean-coal-fairies-government-hints-at-more-fossil-subsidies/
    A growing number of Congressional Republicans are voicing opposition to paying for Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border. Congress may not be able to fund the wall because many members of Congress don’t want to give Trump the money.
    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/03/trumps-mexico-wall-fantasy-crumbling-republicans-refusing-pay.html

  19. Section 4 . . .

    It looks like there is almost no escape from chronic back pain. Tell me about it!
    http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/back-pain-medications-do-more-harm-than-good-study-finds-20170202-gu3uhr.html
    Lucrative training contracts for the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Defence have been awarded to a private college group (with a 12% pass rate) that has been under investigation by the federal government.
    http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/afp-and-defence-training-contracts-awarded-to-evocca-college-20170202-gu3q6b.html
    Liquidators to failed satellite company NewSat are seeking more than $270 million in damages from its former managing director Adrian Ballintine and former chairman Richard Green. Ouch!!
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/receivers-sue-newsat-boss-adrian-ballintine-and-chairman-richard-green-for-270-million-20170203-gu58gj.html
    Will there be more casualties in the retail clothing business sector as continuous discounting persists. This is probably a good example of pricing being set by the market.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/womens-clothing-the-cheapest-on-record-20170203-gu4t5w.html
    Victims of the notorious paedophile priest Brian Joseph Spillane have told of devastating and lifelong effects suffered due to the sexual abuse experienced at a prestigious Catholic country boarding school between the 1970s and 1990s.
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/victims-tell-of-abuse-by-notorious-stannies-paedophile-priest-brian-spillane-20170202-gu4khc.html
    Barnaby Joyce has got some work to do in cabinet over the potential acquisition of prime land in Queensland for defence training purposes.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/barnaby-joyce-attempts-to-quell-growing-tension-over-prospect-of-compulsory-acquisitions-20170202-gu3zem.html
    “Clean coal” plants that the Turnbull government has flagged could get clean energy subsidies are more expensive than solar, wind and gas-fired power and would lead to higher electricity price rises, analysts have warned.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/clean-coal-would-push-up-power-bills-more-than-wind-solar-or-gas-analysts-20170203-gu4ow5.html
    Tony Wright has some fun at Turnbull’s expense.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/malcolm-trumbull-is-there-any-greater-insult-for-the-prime-minister-20170203-gu4vok.html
    In a disturbing move Trump aims to have religion and politics to mix. Another move to the return of the Dark Age.
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/johnson-amendment-trump-wants-religion-and-politics-to-mix-20170202-gu4kn1.html

  20. Section 5 . . . Cartoon Corner

    John Shakespeare and Turnbull’s problems.

    Mark David has Trump building another wall.

    A couple of good ones from Broelman.


    Some more quite disturbing images from David Rowe.

    David Pope has Turnbull all at sea again.

    Mark Knight heralds the start of the women’s footy competition.
    http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/d7991364f101ad5cbd5a2fc79e892dbb?width=1024
    Bill Leak reverts to his usual form today.
    http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/8e8e41bd7f0b19e92413946508774fc5

  22. I think Jacqui Maley’s piece is on the money. There has been far too much attention paid to Trump. It’s exactly what he wants,and needs.

    From the “crowd size” matter through to the “Who hung up on whom?” phone call with Turnbull the reaction to Trump has morphed into over-reaction. And that suits The Donald fine. People are paying attention to him,and if spruikers and bullshit artists know anything it’s: “Any publicity is good publicity”.

    Yes,I know, you could say that Turnbull brought this upon himself. Rather than endure the constant sniping from (at least a few) journalists about the cruelties of the gulags, and the palpable pants-wetting of his party enemies, and Sky and 2GB shock-jocks waiting for him to fail, Turnbull could have just directed that the refugees had done enough penance and could come to Australia.The point is made,and has been for a while. How many more stateless wretches huddled in Indonesia would want to come here, only to be locked up out in the middle of the Pacific among hostile natives for indefinite numbers of years? Turnbull could have avoided all that, but he is too weak to do so.

    Given that Turnbull didn’t have a real choice in having to confront Trump on The Deal (notice how Trump puts everything in terms of “deals”? That’s why they call him “transactional” I guess, and it fits his TV personality too) I think he hndled The Donald as appropriately as he could.

    I have a friend a little like Trump, but not nearly as malignant (or else he wouldn’t be my friend). I used to buck up against him, challenge him. It was very testosteroney stuff. It only made him more determined to “win” every exchange we had, no matter how trivial the subject. In the end I decided to just buckle under, said “Yes sir” and “No sir”, what-do-you-think-we-should-do-next-sir? Now we get on like a house on fire: him in his place, me in mine, and the relationship is productive instead of combative. He still thinks we get on fine because I recognize his superiority over me. OK, well, let him think that. There is a great good at stake: our two spouses were friends before he and I were, and they were starting to take sides in our blokey disputes. Couldn’t have that. The benefits outweigh the costs.

    In Turnbull’s case, he cut his teeth dealing with Kerry Packer, another bully (although with more saving graces than Trump). Turnbull learnt when to hold and when to fold with Packer,and ended up getting on fine with him, or at least surviving with his head still on his shoulders. Sometimes you just have to give in, and when you get your chance, strike back.

    Turnbull’s real problem is that he has nothing to work with much. He has dealt himself a very poor hand of cards in aspiring to leadership of the Liberal Party. As big a bunch of miscreants, boors and malignant moral dwarfs you couldn’t hope to find in a travelling circus. There may be no way out forTurnbull, except to resign from politics and get right out of it. The political editor of Macquarie News (aka 2GB) waxed on this last night. He “has a feeling” this is going to happen. And why wouldn’t it? Turnbull is in his 60s and has lots of money.Why would he want to put up with these dickheads a millisecond longer than he has to?Turnbull’s choices (and his options) have become – and probably always were – self-limiting.

    For the moment, though, don’t be surprised if Turnbull’s stakes rise a little in the next couple of weeks. He endured The Donald and kept his deal at least ticking over. Even Tanya Plibersek had some sympathy for him. The Australian people may too.

    But when reality – that’s REAL reality – strikes home,and the argey-bargey has settled down, Turnbull will have to ask himself whether it’s all worth it.And of course it isn’t. Even he (in his more honest moments) can see that we need a Labor government to fix the mess he and his party have dumped Australia into. I doubt whether he believes all that guff aboutBill shorten beingthe face of the CFMEU. “CFMEU” is just a trigger word coming out of the focus groups. So, for that matter, is “Bill Shorten”. Bill knows how to deal with bullies, too. Bullies that hit you, or even have you killed, not just threaten you. He didn’t get where he is by being weak. He got where he is by being smart and letting his enemies do most of the damage to themselves. And when all the sound and fury is over, there’s Bill: still smiling.

    You get the feeling that the same people are advising Turnbull as advised Tony Abbott. The personal tactics are certainly the same. And the issues: boats, climate and unions. We are seeing the natural end-games of those policies right now: an unnecessary new refugee crisis, uncertainty and continuing gloom in the energy industry, and stagnation in the economy. Depp in his heart of hearts Turnbull will be asking himself whether it’s all worth it. His shame is that he knows the truth and cannot bring himself to act on it. The longer he props up the Coalition with his personal standing (and his money) the worse it’s going to get for Australia. If he has any decency left,and any interest in saving his own soul, he’ll make that move he has to make.

    The Liberal Party itself is a narcissistic bully. Turnbull has accommodated it,hoping to calm it and makefor a brighter future. It’snot working. Whatever he is, Malcolm is not stupid. Let us just hope that -for all our sakes – he goes sooner rather than later in order to let political nature take its course.

    A really smart person would do that.

    • Bushfire Bill,

      To some extent I agree with you, but, as always with fizza, it comes down to his judgement.

    • Fiona… yes “judgement”. He’s put himself in an untenable situation. He’s never going to win through or convince his enemies – inside or outside the party.

      Given that, I think he’s comported himself fairly well with Trump. The deal is a rotten one,and there’s an easier solution. That Turnbull still pursues it shows he has hope.

      However, as every professional soldier knows, until you admit you’re already dead, you can’t fight efficiently, without mercy or regret. Turnbull doesn’t know he’s already dead… yet.

    • “As big a bunch of miscreants, boors and malignant moral dwarfs you couldn’t hope to find in a travelling circus.”

      So true. So funny.

    • BB
      Great work. I agree. Except for one thing – I think you credit Turnbull with more ability and common sense than he would ever have.

      Turnbull is 110% ego, and nothing else. Trump hanging up on him must have really, really stung, hence the refusal to talk about what was said. If Turnbull had had even half a brain he would have told the media straight away that Trump was a boor, an oaf. but he didn’t. He’s too much in thrall already, busy grovelling and boot licking because he wants that wretched refugee resettlement to go ahead. Instead of telling it like it was he lied and that made him look ridiculous when the truth was revealed. That judgement issue yet again.

      The solution is so easy. Bring everyone – refugee status determined or not – on Manus and Nauru here, (and win back a lot of voters in the process) tell the US and Trump to get stuffed and then carry on building a good relationship in this region.

      Will Turnbull ever do any of that? No.

  25. BB

    Good one. I would have like a newspoll last week before this blew up to see what was happening ‘out there’, unfortunately like you I think lnp will get a boost. It is like a family, infighting is okay, but woe betide any outsider that disparages any one of the family.

  27. The famous modern art museum (MoMA) in New York has decided to exhibit works by artists from several countries targeted by the anti-immigrant decree of Donald Trump in an act of protest against this text. Seven works of artists of Sudanese, Iraqi or Iranian origin were installed Thursday night on the 5th floor of the MoMA, instead of works by Picasso, Matisse or Picabia, said the New York Times, whose article Was retweeted by the MoMA.

    https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.lefigaro.fr/&prev=search

  28. I think Malcolm Turnbull will get a boost, not necessarily the party.

    The thing is: he handled Trump as he should have, fairly well. Trump was testing him by leaking about the call, and now saying the leak was “fake news” (there were only a few people in the room, all Trump Men, so the “Fake news” claim is pretty thin). Turnbull passed the initial phase of the test at least,and I don’t think he’ll be marked down for it. Shorten would have been in exactly the same position, but perhaps not exhibiting as much braggadocio as Turnbull did. Turnbull’s problem is that he has serious enemies on all sides. Shorten not so much.

    I don’t know what it’s called, but Trump’s behaviour looks like classic “softening up” tactics. Anger, joy, happiness and sadness are all intermixed. “No” is uttered as often as “yes”.”Maybe” gets a big run too. Flags are run up poles and brought down again. The victim doesn’t know what’s happening. They become amenable to the deal, ANY deal as long as they can get this torture stopped. I’m sure Trump has used exactly this tactic in his commercial dealings. He realizes he is already dead, even if Turnbull doesn’t in his own case.

    Turnbull should not have been in the position he found himself in.The deal WAS rotten, but it was rotten even under Obama. If Turnbull had any real style he would end the situation by bringing the refugees back, and then retiring from politics.

  29. The real trouble Turnbull has is that the news cycle just moves too quickly. Whatever impression people now have of the situation will be the one they keep, because next week something new will crop up – probably three of four things – for everyone to process. To give an example: the Centrelink crisis is still as disastrous as it’s been all along, but nobody’s talking about it any more. The failure of the TPP has almost been forgotten already. Even Turnbull tipping $1.75M into his own campaign is being shunted out of the cycle, and that was just three days ago. And does anyone even remember Sussan Ley?

    There isn’t time to consider and properly judge anything. It’s an incident, you have your gut reaction, and it just gets thrown into the mix of impressions you’ve been stockpiling. And the mix of impressions have been against Turnbull for some time now.

    Parliament starts this week. The Coalition have a bit of a better time during sitting weeks, because they’re able to hammer their memes and control the news cycle a bit better. Just stonewalling all the pertinent questions that get fired at them seems to restore their confidence. If anything, that might allow them to claw back a point or two.

    If – and it’s a pretty big if – they have a bad week in Parliament this week, then they’re terminal. Throwing their weight around on the floor is the only thing they have left, and I expect they’ll go at it with a bit of gusto this week. “Blame Labor” and “get out of the way and let us run the country” will get big runs. Tired memes, yes, but as it’s all they have they will be relying on them.

    • Agree with that Aguirre, but in a situation where even a glimmer of good news is gold, I still think he’ll get some kind of empathy vote.

      On the other side of the equation, 2GB last night was scathing. I know it’sonly a radio station,but it represents a certain attitude towards Turnbull that’s held by many out there.

      Maybe the nett result will be zero, but in the short term I think, a blip in the positive direction.

  30. Telling it like it is.

    Malcolm Turnbull wants to send refugees to America – why can’t Australia offer them a home?
    I’ve been to Australia’s offshore facilities, and there’s no question it’s causing the refugees real harm. By Michael Bochenek, senior children’s rights counsel at Human Rights Watch.

    Despite what the White House press secretary said on Thursday, Australia may now need to be prepared to solve a problem of its own making.

    There’s an obvious solution, one that doesn’t depend on the United States and its new president, which would yield substantial savings, and could be implemented immediately: Turnbull could transfer all the refugees and asylum seekers now offshore to Australia.

    The prime minister should do exactly that

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/malcolm-turnbull-wants-send-refugees-america-why-cant-australia-offer-them-home-1604697

    https://www.hrw.org/

    If writers in the US can get their heads around the obvious solution why can’t Australian journalists and politicians?

  31. Why on earth am I supposed to feel sorry for Turnbull, or empathise?

    i’m hugely delighted by his very obvious embarrassment and discomfort. Just desserts, I think.

    Turnbull wanted to be PM because he saw only the fruits of triumph. He thought he’d be waving to cheering crowds from the back seat of Tony’s old bullet-proof BMW while maidens threw rosepetals at his cavalcade. He thought he would be gracefully and stylishly presiding over government ceremonies, and winning the applause of journalists with his ‘stylish’ debating in parliament. He never once thought about the problems that come with the job. His ego is so huge he thought everyone from Parliament House cleaners to world leaders would simply fall at his feet in awe.

    He has learnt a lot of very painful lessons since he knifed Abbott. You can see the doubt and worry in his face now, and in that rapidly receding hairline. Loss of hair from stress and anxiety really does happen. No matter what he does or where he is these days he always looks like a man who would rather be somewhere else, somewhere far away from Canberra, politics and stroppy world leaders who refuse to grovel.

    He really should announce his retirement and leave the government and the Liberal Party to fall apart without him. He should abandon that sinking ship ASAP. He won’t, though. His ego won’t let him.

    I never understood why he wanted to be in parliament at all. It must have been that old ambition to be PM that hooked him. Something else to be ticked off his to-do list.
    Make money – tick.
    Be a lawyer – tick.
    Have rich and powerful friends – tick. (Sort of – no-one really likes him once they get to know him.)
    Get into parliament – tick.
    Become Prime minister – tick

    What’s next on the list? “Become Australia’s first president” has to be there somewhere. Let’s hope that never gets a tick.

    • Why on earth am I supposed to feel sorry for Turnbull, or empathise?

      I didn’t expect YOU to have any empathy with Turnbull’s plight at all, Leone. I don’t either. He got himself into it. He can get himself out of it.

      I was just saying that there may be a school of thought that say, no matter the politics, that it was unfair and unseemly of Trump people to put out a humiliating version of the phone call to an ally’s Prime Minister…and then go on to call it (when it backfires a little) “Fake news”! They’re making their own news stories and then calling themselves out on it. Weird, bizarre times.

      Maybe it was just about denigrating Obama for doing a “bad deal”.

      Another school of thought might have sympathy for Turnbull directly.

      Others (like yourself,myself and – ironically – the 2GB crowd) think Turnbull’s getting everything he deserves (although perhaps for different reasons).

      Adding them all up I think a slightly positive vibe will come out of this for Turnbull in the next little while. He has had so many disappointments,and has been so disappointing that anything at all which looks half-way good is a plus. Remember that when Tony Abbott managed to tie his own shoelaces and not fart in front of world leaders, they called him “‘Prime Ministerial”. Same same for Turnbull – in certain quarters at least.

      The best way for Turnbull to win some kind of enduring honour out of all this is to release the hostages and then retire, at least a little less morally behind as he is at the moment.

    • It’s easy to see why the 2GB crowd are enjoying Turnbull’s discomfort. They would be the Bring Abbott Back’ lot.

  32. A video by a German talk show comedian hopes to introduce the new American President to Deutschland, hoping he’ll make his motto ‘America first, Germany second’.
    After a Dutch comedy show’s video went viral recently, introducing Donald Trump to the “best language in Europe” and a “fantastic” pony park, the Germans have taken their own stab at explaining their country to the American leader.

    In a video uploaded to YouTube on Thursday, comedian Jan Böhmermann jokes that he was incensed that the Dutch had asked to be “second” in Trump’s “America first” mentality.

    “Stop Holland! We want to be number two,” Böhmermann exclaimed. “Because we are strong, we are big, and who else if not us deserves to be given a third chance.”

    Böhmermann then went on to explain that they had to make their message “as simple as possible” for Trump because “he does not read”. So the show used a Trump impersonator to narrate the video in the president’s “own language”.

    https://www.thelocal.de/20170203/watch-this-is-how-germany-introduced-trump-to-the-country

  33. Talk about The Art Of The Deal…

    We are repainting our house at the moment. It’s a big job. A VERY big job.

    HI has been asking me which colors I like. She pretends I have a choice.

    “Do you like this? Or this?” she asks innocently, placing Dulux color charts against the existing wall.

    I reply, “I don’t like that, but I DO like that one.”

    She then says, “Oh… why do you like that?”

    I stammer, “Because I like it. That’s what you asked me, wasn’t it? Which color I liked?”

    She say, “But WHY.”

    “Ah ha!” retorts me. “Well, why do YOU like the other color?”

    “I don’t like either of them.”

    She can say things like this simultaneously with not being able to quite understand why I hit the roof.

    Finally I say, “Look. Just pick the bloody color YOU bloody-well like.”

    “But what if it’s wrong? What if you don’t like it?”

    “IT OBVIOUSLY DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER I LIKE IT OR NOT! YOU’LL LIKE SOMETHING ELSE! SO WHY BOTHER ASKING ME?”

    “Why are you being so unreasonable, Bushfire?”

    This happens every time. We need an independent mediator, one of those “colourists” who come in point and point some more and then it’s all done and settled.

    Except HI wants to choose the color herself, and then get me to agree to it – just to end the torture – and then to blame me for it being the wrong one.

    It’s a losin’ fight.

    P.S.I might add that she picks pale pastel greys, with the slightest green, warm or blue tint, knowing full well that my mild deuteranopia (red-green color-blindness) cannot see any of the differences between them.

    • She has probably picked a delicate peach or apricot tint not a grey one at all

      Good luck

      If you are tarting up the house for sale, get a colourist

    • Yes, it’s for sale. An no, she doesn’t want a colorist.

      I know how this is going to end. I feel it in my bones.

      What arguments can I use for a colorist?

    • If the house is for sale just paint everything magnolia or last year’s trendy pale grey (which I hate because I think it’s depressing) and let the new owners worry about what colours they want.

    • I am better at buying than selling, in fact very inexperienced.

      My sister has bought and sold 3 houses during her marriage and has always got a higher increase in value than the average increase in value in that market.

      She is bloody ruthless, massive declutter, objects that are deemed worthy get put into Kennards storage then she used to wander through our houses borrowing soft furnishings, paintings and furniture to “dress the house” for sale.
      The 2 year old was kept in her cot – so the room looked bigger – cots are smaller than beds – the 2 year old entertained aunts with a very nimble demo of climbing out of cot.

      2 years ago she sold her house in the area of Melbourne that the Chinese like to buy in and she hired professionals to plan the presentation, repainting, clean up garden, declutter, remove all furniture except beds, hire furniture. Have the photos taken and keep the house looking like that to Auction Day. I walked into the lounge room and grinned – this wasn’t my sister’s house – the sofa was too twee to be comfortable for tall people to sit on, the blinds were half closed so we had to stoop to see the view. The aim is to leave enough furniture in the room to give an idea of function and size of room and leave space for the buyer to imagine how their favourite pieces would fit in with your furniture

      So, was it worth it? They got the money they wanted.

    • They sold to a Chinese buyer who flown in from Shanghai that day and looked at 3 properties that morning
      Their house matched the photos of it on the internet

      They took a 20 month old baby through house to check the feng shui- during the auction

      Also need to check the bank and realestate online calculator valuations for your house and correct them. Sisters house had been extensively renovated and the Westpac calculator valued as a 2 bedroom bungalow

    • Just think of choosing the paint tint as occupational therapy
      No body buys a house without checking its photos and floor plan and valuation on the internet.
      Even a local buyer might have to drive for an hour to view your house

    • Actually last time I was in a turgid fight over paint colours I was looking at apricot and peach shades
      The wall colour was beige it is has been lemony beige now for 15 years

  34. gigilene

    Surprised to see Hitler in the vide but LOL building a wall and “and we made the Russians pay for it”

  35. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/wa-election/wa-election-western-power-privatisation-hits-colin-barnett/news-story/3d63ec0fd15dbe6764a408238d453813 paywalled

    WA election: Western Power privatisation hits Colin Barnett
    The Australian 12:00AM February 4, 2017
    ANDREW BURRELL
    WA Chief Reporter Perth

    West Australian Premier Colin Barnett’s gamble to seek a mandate­ for the privatisation of state-owned Western Power at the looming election has backfired, with a special Newspoll survey showing 61 per cent of voters oppose the sale.

    ……………….

    Only 44 per cent of Liberal and Nationals voters said they supported­ the idea; 44 per cent were opposed and 12 per cent were uncommitted. Among Labor voters, the idea was less popular. Just 15 per cent favoured the plan and 76 per cent were opposed.

    Among One Nation voters, 28 per cent were in support and 63 per cent against.

    But the highest level of oppos­ition came from Greens voters: 13 per cent favoured the proposal and 77 per cent opposed it.

  36. http://kevinbonham.blogspot.com.au/2017/02/grim-newspoll-for-barnett-campaign.html

    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/betrayal-conservative-coalition-mps-push-back-on-samesex-marriage-free-vote-20170204-gu5hz4.html

  37. Only SBS seems to be reporting this in Australia.

    US officials postpone second-round interviews with Nauru and Manus asylum seekers

    US immigration officials have postponed interviews with asylum seekers in an Australian immigration detention on Nauru since President Trump’s executive order on immigration, suggesting Washington is already blocking progress on a controversial refugee resettlement deal

    http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/02/03/us-officials-postpone-second-round-interviews-nauru-and-manus-asylum-seekers

  38. Is it fair to call a recently privatised health insurer incompetent if they take 6+ months to tell you that your monthly credit card payments didn’t go through? How should one address said problem?

    Discuss.

    • P.S. Don’t use any special characters: quotation marks, apostrophes, slashes, question marks and/or colons.

    • I fail to see why I should be punished for the failure of your back office systems to detect errors in your credit card payment interface

    • Has Medibank Private just installed a SAP system and the Medibank receivables interface not talk with the bank or Visa properly?

      It is very incompetent of them to take 6 months to admit the fault, but its YOUR problem, life isn’t fair

      How do address said problem

      1. Do you still have health Insurance cover?
      2. Have you lost your life time health insurance cap? don’t lose that if have had health insurance continuously since you were 30 cap because your premiums go up by 2% for each year you are over 30
      3. I think you will have to back pay them before switching insurers or drop your health insurance

    • Thanks, billie11.

      The leap year – and extra pay day – pushed our combined income just over the PHI threshold. I’ve had PHI “forever”, FWIW – but still copped a $1000 tax slug. That seems cheaper than $1700+ to actually have PHI…

      I’m all for paying tax for the greater good, but post-privatisation? F**k ’em.

  41. Bill has obviously been reading up on the LNP front bench, possibly even run into Mesma at some celebrity event based on this tweet

  42. Brandis commits a legal faux pas.

    Brandis wigs out

    At least Bookshelves Brandis could swan about in his full-bottom wig for Monday’s swearing-in of Susan Kiefel as chief justice of the High Court. The judges themselves don’t wig up, but that’s no excuse for anyone else not to pile on the horsehair.

    In fact, the wig is so beloved by the attorney-general that he arrived at a Federal Court swearing-in fully wigged, to the gobsmacked amazement of the assembled dignitaries.

    It had been Federal Court lore for some time that “wigs, full-bottomed or otherwise, are not worn on any occasion”

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2017/02/04/gadfly-st-johns-wart/14861268004181

    It’s not the first time Bookshelves has committed this sin.
    July 2016 –

    The federal court has banned full-bottomed wigs for any occasion, an instruction attorney general George Brandis must have overlooked when he breezed into a shocked court for a special sitting, sporting his long ceremonial headwear flapping around his ears

    http://armourallen.com/getting-wiggy-fuss-barristers-garb-explained/

    http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6986120b41bfebe9515f6788960cd6c3?width=316

    I suspect legal wigs are not the only wigs George owns.

  47. Terse (limited by # of characters) complaint sent – without “special” characters (round brackets – the horror!)

    I’m not holding my breath for a reply.

Comments are closed.