Happy Easter to Contributors and Lurkers.
Regulars will probably know I hate this time of year because Idiots will be on the roads and Truckies may be rushing to get home
Happy Easter and Stay safe if you are Driving
Happy Easter to Contributors and Lurkers.
Regulars will probably know I hate this time of year because Idiots will be on the roads and Truckies may be rushing to get home
Happy Easter and Stay safe if you are Driving
Comments are closed.
I don’t watch the ABC’s morning rubbish. I prefer to hang out online. That means instead of wasting time listening to government propaganda I get to see interesting stuff like this –
Inside Turkey’s Purge
As the ruling party expands the ranks of its enemies, life in a fragile democracy becomes stranger and stranger.
Unraveling faster than the Poodle running for the exit
http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/hiring-a-ceo-from-overseas-cant-be-older-than-45-under-turnbulls-visa-restrictions-post-457s-20170418-gvn2qx.html
IT has an oversupply of unemployed workers. The ACS is trying to get former members to rejoin but why would you join a moribund professional organisation that promoted overseas workers while allowing its members to be retrenched when the ACS President was a head hunter
Could he be the one?
I’d like Turnbull to explain to me exactly what ‘values’ are exclusively Australian, because I have NFI. As far as I can make out everyone on this planet – except the megalomaniacs and billionaires who run the place – have pretty much the same values.
If a government questionnaire asks a prospective Australian citizen if they agree with female genital mutilation (not a Muslim practice, by the way, it’s much older than Islam and Christianity) then of course they will say ‘no’ because they know their citizenship depends on it. Ditto silly questions on hitting your spouse or whatever other biased rubbish Dutton decides to include. No-one is silly enough to wreck their chances of citizenship by giving the wrong answers to pointless loaded questions.
Only the true maniacs answer those questions truthfully.
The smart ones – the ones their clever plan is intended to catch-out as Teh Evil Terrorists – smile urbanely and answer “Of course not.”
There could be more directly Aus questions.Who was John Howard? Or spelling words such as: Christian, white, bogan, barbie … you know what I mean.
“I’d like Turnbull to explain to me exactly what ‘values’ are exclusively Australian,”
Oh that’s easy… Anything that passes the pub test at the Australian Arms Hotel in Penrith.
I’ve just had a look at the current citizenship test – or at least the practice questions. The actual test is a selection of 20 random questions drawn from the questions in the four ‘practice tests’. To pass the test, you must answer 75 per cent, or 15 out of 20 questions, correctly. I think most Australians would struggle to pass.
Something interesting popped up. This question –
Click to access practice-questions.pdf
The correct answer, of course, is (b). (Although if Hanson gets her way it might one day be (a).)
That puts paid to all those idiotic claims about Australia being a ‘Christian’ country. You would think our politicians would be aware of the Australian Constitution and have the necessary knowledge required to pass a citizenship test, but apparently that’s not the case because to many of them keep telling us ‘Australia is a Chrisitian country’. Some of our politicians don’t even speak proper English – looking right at you, Barnaby.
If you want to see all four practice tests then go here –
http://www.aussiecitizenshiptest.com/free-test/1
They can’t be accessed from the links on the Border Force website. How very efficient! How very convenient!.
Citizen Test questions ? Ah who can forget the Howard classic.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bradman-out-for-duck-in-test/2008/01/28/1201369038752.html
“That’s very (un)Christian of you.” implies that Christianity is A Good Thing and that not being a Christian is A Bad Thing.
Penny gets it
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/20/malcolm-turnbull-calls-on-labor-to-back-tougher-citizenship-test
A couple Penny would have in mind as Tony Windsor certainly does.
My camellias are in bloom now. Beautiful!
Did the sample test got two wrong, about flags. Why are flags so bloody important?
Anyway, I haven’t made a study of the layout of the Aboriginal flag, and didn’tknow it was an official flag,nor that the top portion is black. So two wrong there.
Have to admit, though, that having the Australian flag on top of every page DOES allow one to cheat a little when one isn’t sure exactly where the Southern Cross is located, or the precise positioning of the Commonwealth Star.
This is a great post.

A great post, indeed.
A wind farm on the Nufenen pass, Switzerland:
Blowing the debt out.
Blaming Labor.
Just trying to compile a list of some of these “Australian Values” Turnbull might be on about. So far I’ve come up with:
1. The Dismissal
2. Lying about WMDs in order to justify invading Iraq
3. Utegate
4. Concocting harassment scandal to depose Slipper as Speaker
5. ‘Ditch the Witch’
6. Saying Julia Gillard’s father ‘died of shame’
7. Defending rorters.
8. Outsourcing falsely claimed debt to debt collection agencies
9. ‘On water matters’
10. Paying people smugglers not to smuggle people
That’s a start anyway.
Putting PMs in chaff bags
Fake Tradie. There’s another Australian Value.
Tony is very upset –
‘Just Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Nutt and I had it’: Tony Abbott lashes ‘sneaky’ leak of Warringah polling.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/just-malcolm-turnbull-tony-nutt-and-i-had-it-tony-abbott-lashes-sneaky-leak-of-warringah-polling-20170420-gvob7p.html
So who leaked? Nutt or Fizza?
Tony hisself!
I think you might be right.
Katharine has this right
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/20/malcolm-turnbull-puts-soundbites-before-substance-in-flawed-comeback-strategy
Well – er – derr – well – ummm –
Turnbull struggles to answer a simple question about his citizenship changes.
It’s the vibe ……
I just noticed something that should have been a bit more obvious to me. There’s been almost a complete absence of the usual “of course the ALP have their troubles too…” messaging in most news articles lately. That little add-on has quietly faded away over the past few weeks. It used to be mandatory. It looks as if it’s been replaced with the Equivalence Tactic – which is the one where a failing of the Liberal Party is portrayed as a failing of politics in general. As in Katharine Murphy’s:
No, that’s a Liberal trait. The ALP, by contrast, are forced to defend every single thing they say and do. The press gallery takes care of that. The Liberal get to drop ideas around like dog turds and let the press clean it up. And Murphy would prefer to see the blame spread about rather than sheeted to where it properly belongs. Which is one reason why the Liberals keep on doing it. No matter how lunatic or badly-thought-out their initiatives are, they never get punished for them anywhere except the polls. They just play their Blame Labor get out of jail card and carry on.
The last few weeks in the political press have followed a well defined weekly pattern:
1. Great Turnbull Announcement! (Attack ALP, Syria, Snowy, 457)
2. Widespread rejoicing, he’s on his way back.
3. [pause]
4. Well, that didn’t work.
5. Oh dear, politics is to blame.
6. What’s next?
Yep, that’s two As all over. She’ll never change.
A quiet moment of reflection at 6:56 tonight.
Why does Trumble keep saying “respect of”?
I think he has just lost votes, lots of votes, from those of us who are imports.
Mandy
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/20/dutton-alleges-manus-shooting-rampage-sparked-after-refugees-seen-with-boy
Stories like this break my heart and make me despise NAPLAN. Labor should be very ashamed of inflicting this pointless test on the kids of Australia.
My Daughter Is About To Fail Naplan, And I’m So Proud Of Her
When your kid is average, or worse, it is depressingly rare for a school to celebrate their achievements.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/marissa-parsons/my-daughter-is-about-to-fail-naplan-and-im-so-proud-of-her_a_22043712/?ncid=fcbklnkauhpmg00000001
if I had kids at school now i’d be exercising my right to have tyhem exempted from this test. you can do that, it’s a shame parents don’t know and it’s a shame parents have been hoodwinked into believing their kids MUST take this test and will somehow be penalised or miss out if they don’t.
Say No to NAPLAN
Click to access No_NAPLAN.pdf
NAPLAN
iswas part of needs-based funding.Blame the schools.
Except the Gillard government pretty much abandoned needs-based funding for their ‘no school will be worse off’ brainfart. That means wealthy private schools are still getting obscene amounts of funding. The original Gonski plan was about equality, not about providing a third swimming pool or a performing arts centre or a rifle range to private schools.
I understand why NAPLAN was introduced but it has never really worked as we were told it would. Schools definitely do teach to the test, meaning students miss out on lessons in other subject areas. Parents are brainwashed into believing their kids have to sit for the test. I’ve had parents justify it to me with the ‘it helps prepare kids for exams at high school’ story. Which is rubbish.
I blame the Gillard government for introducing the scheme, even if it was done with good intentions. I blame school principals and classroom teachers for pushing these tests on their students, for causing students unnecessary stress and for indoctrinating parents, I blame parents who accept all the propaganda without question instead of insisting their kids be exempted from these tests.
The money wasted on NAPLAN should go to schools for worthwhile programs that will do more to improve literacy and numeracy than a standardised test will ever do.
Truffles on 7.5 tonight
“Prime Minister, answer me this …”
“No.”
“OK.”
I was due to get FTTH(ovel) in late 2014 but then an Oaf happened. Now i find out I have a
Farkin’ Turnbull’s Totally Hopeless internet connection available. Will report in once I have a “plan” picked and connected.
“Deeply” is such an overused word.
Why does Kath Murphy use it? Why can’t she just say “our patriotic duty”, never mind the “deeply”?
Is “deeply” the new “passionate” ?
“I trust the wisdom of the [US] government and administration.”
Get your laughing gear around that one.
Leigh did very well. It was one occasion where she didn’t have to dig deeply: she just asked so many questions, each one of which got Waffled.
No doubt, the msm will call it a triumph for their little darling.
She didn’t even throw him a sop.
More on the burning issue of what ‘Australian values’ might be.
Here’s What ‘Australian Values’ Means According To Everyday Australians
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/04/20/heres-what-australian-values-means-according-to-everyday-aust_a_22047448/?utm_hp_ref=au-homepage
The Australian value was $US75.1 this arvo.
BTW, wouldn’t “What does ‘arvo’ mean” be a great question for would-be Ozzies?
John Clarke’s final curtain call as last Clarke and Dawe episode released
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-20/final-curtain-call-last-clarke-and-dawe-episode-released/8459030
Sob when Clarke prophetically said re the Budget do that “He shall be unable to attend”
Just heard on News Radio that the head of the Department Of Insecticides (Or Whatever) that Barnarby Joyce re-located to Armidale has resigned.
It’s treason, I tell you, treason!
She should be broken on the wheel!
That is the foretaste of what Your Government will be facing. Not that they give a Rhett.
A tiler named Blake came to our house today and demolished the upstairs ensuite in 1 hour, right back to the fiberglass waterproofing.
When Mick The Builder arrived, after Blake had left, we thanked him for recommending Blake.
“Yair. He’s an energetic little unit, isn’t he?”
Laugh? I nearly split my sides. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect description of Blake than “an energetic little unit”.
That is totally an Australian turn of phrase.
I suggest a reference to the Absolute Last Word Of What Is Australian, that His Highness has just established.
The Grattan Institute says that Barnyard’s decentralisation brain fart is a bad idea.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-20/decentralisation-policy-bad-idea-grattan-institute/8458484
They have come late to the party.
Dear Pubsters,
I am now an orphan. My darling mum died at 5am today. It was, according to the nurses, very peaceful, with no discomfort. (She has been on morphine since Tuesday; she has refused all food and water since last Friday.) Somewhere in what was left of her mind I suspect she knew that today is the 4th anniversary of my dad’s demise, so it seems an entirely appropriate time for her to leave.
She was a wonderful, funny, dynamic woman who led a full and happy life. She was a superb mother, and even in the last few years we have been able to enjoy many good times together.
So … I am not distraught. The last time I saw her, on Tuesday evening, she gave me a wicked grin and a kiss. What more could a daughter want?
Various relations and friends around Australia (and maybe even Thailand) have been raising a glass/cup of something to her this evening.
Fiona,
Can I buy such a death?
You have my number.
A not-call will not offend.
My thoughts are with you and yours at this time Fiona 😦
I met Mum, as did Bushfire Bill and joe6pak, in Canberra.
She was, conversationally and physically, beautiful.
It doesn’t destroy the pain and sorrow that you feel at the loss, but it is a comfort that she departed on her terms. My condolences to you, Fiona.
Fiona,
My deepest sympathies to to all your family. You always wrote about you mum with so much love and respect and I can’t imagine your loss.
My thoughts are with you,
Fred.
Condolences, Fiona.
I loved hearing about your Mum. She sounds like a great example to follow.
“I am now an orphan.”
How very sad. My condolences to you and your family.
Sorry, Jeremy, it is not
If you pursue that line you will go nowhere.
Theresa has said, wtte “Let’s get this Brexit over and done with.” I guess the disengagement of their voters will prevail.
Fiona
I have no words that are adequate but I will now in your mum’s honour join those ” around Australia (and maybe even Thailand) have been raising a glass/cup of something to her this evening.” . So a toast to what must have been a fantastic mum to have raised such a daughter.
Haere ra mater Fiona.
I have had a lot to drink tonight.
Somehow, I wish to drink no more.
You get that.
Fiona
Condolences.
Fiona
Condolences. You will find some comfort that your Mum was able to live closer to you in the last few years and you made some good memories. Thinking of you this evening.
Fiona
My condolences.
It’s good your mother’s death was peaceful and pain-free, and I’m sure she chose the time of departure. I’m sorry I never got to meet your mother.
Thinking of you.
I met Heather. She and I had a lovely chat for half an hour while Fiona and Joe were attending to Canberra Chapter matters prior to our last nosh-up in Kingston.
What a cheap political hack is Josh Frydenberg:
l suppose it’s Labor’s fault that this poor girl went surfing on a deserted beach in a known shark-attack area, eh Josh?
Fiona,
We Pubsters have been privileged to share with you over the past couple of years, a detailed review of your mother’s experience with one of the less desirable features of the aging process that most of us would prefer to avoid.
It is with great sorrow that I send to you via this medium my heartfelt commiserations towards your loss and my deep appreciation of your tender concern towards my health issues, which are of second order to the concerns you must have been experiencing with your dear mother and her failing health.
Our kindest regards,
Scorpio & Mrs Scorpio.