Flabbergasted Friday

Guest Author Uncategorized

Thank you, most wonderful Dragon aka Puffy, for coming to the rescue with the following thread-starter:

Our pollies are toppling over like nine-pins under  S44 of our Constitution

South Australia and Victoria find out the water allocations upstream are not all smooth flowing, in fact the stench of rotting fish hangs about the air.

Barnaby has been ranting over few coldies and not all are happy.

The international bat-dung crazy embarrassment,  The Peter Principle President of the USA, decided a serviceperson’s sexuality is more important than if they can operate millions of dolalrs worth of lethal machinery of war.  There will be no lace in the armed services!

The ALP is busy developing policy, getting their message out and not interrupting an enemy while he is shooting himself in both feet.

And our fearless Prime Minister is….

so just relax…

455 thoughts on “Flabbergasted Friday”

  1. Section 1a

    John Hewson is right on the money here as he homes in on the internecine problems the Coalition has with the SSM issue.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/john-hewson-egos-driving-samesex-marriage-vote-ignore-issues-of-the-majority-20170803-gxoaqu.html
    Laura Tingle lets fly on our “useless bunch of indulgent politicians”. Google.
    /opinion/a-useless-bunch-of-indulgent-politicians-who-deserve-to-be-turfed-20170803-gxonj5
    A group of conservative Labor MPs are threatening to blow up any last-ditch attempt by Liberal rebels to legalise same-sex marriage, with the numbers in both chambers hanging by a thread.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-labor-mps-who-could-blow-up-rebel-liberals-samesex-marriage-plans-20170802-gxnkp7.html
    Michael Koziol on the “emergency meeting” that Turnbull has called for Monday. He reports that constitutional expert George Williams has also warned a postal vote “could explode in the government’s face” if not underpinned by legislation.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-calls-emergency-liberal-party-meeting-to-debate-samesex-marriage-20170803-gxoh6h.html

  2. Section 3 . . .

    Mark Kenny tells us that Turnbull has thrown the switch to brow-beating, calling in the nation’s biggest electricity retailers for face-to-face talks next Wednesday in a bid to curb galloping household and business electricity bills, and improve their market sensitivity.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/feel-the-power-malcolm-turnbull-summons-electricity-retailers-to-canberra-for-summit-20170803-gxotv1.html
    Adele Ferguson unloads on the latest CBA shocking allegations. She says that despite a series of parliamentary and industry inquiries and a series of mea culpas of sorts by various bank bosses, it seems mistrust is increasing and the scandals keep coming. Royal Commission anyone?
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/fake-names-drug-lords-suspicious-trading-and-cba-20170803-gxov29.html
    Former Australian Statistician Bill McLennan says the Independent Assurance Panel’s ‘Report on the Quality of 2106 Census Data’ is the flawed outcome of a sloppy process, which glosses over significant failures by the ABS.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/former-chief-statistician-condemns-censusfail-whitewash,10571
    A Sydney-born terrorism plot to place a bomb on a passenger plane was dangerously close to being carried out before it was unwittingly thwarted at an airline check-in counter.
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-terrorist-plot-bid-to-smuggle-bomb-through-airport-thwarted-at-checkin-20170803-gxodlz.html

  3. Section 3a

    How many pollies does it take to open a Perth freeway extension?
    http://www.smh.com.au/wa-news/how-many-pollies-does-it-take-to-open-a-perth-freeway-extension-20170803-gxokrb.html
    Another by-election in NSW as Robbo announces he’ll be quitting next month.
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/former-labor-leader-john-robertson-to-quit-parliament-20170803-gxomp8.html
    Leading retailers of Australian broadband ISP services say the NBN pricing model is broken, making high-speed internet connections too expensive for most domestic customers.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/exclusive-retail-isps-say-nbn-pricing-model-must-change,10570
    The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank writes that the way Trump plays golf tells us a lot about the man.
    http://www.smh.com.au/world/donald-trumps-golf-game-tells-us-an-awful-lot-about-him-20170803-gxoylu.html

  4. Dear, oh dear!

    “This is a big deal. It is really, really important to us that we maintain it,” Mr Turnbull said during the call according to the transcript.

    Mr Trump insisted the deal will make him look like “a dope” after proposing a ban on refugee resettlement in the US.

    Mr Turnbull repeatedly stressed that Mr Trump did not have to actually accept any of the individuals on Nauru or Manus Island to honour the deal, saying he only has to vet them for resettlement.

    “Suppose I vet them closely and I do not take any?” Mr Trump asked later in the call.

    “That is the point I have been trying to make.” Mr Turnbull replied.

    “How does that help you?” Mr Trump asked.

    “Well, we assume that we will act in good faith,” Mr Turnbull said.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-04/donald-trump-told-malcolm-turnbull-refugee-deal-was-stupid/8773368

  5. Their ABC Breakfast Team need to be careful, the two guests on at the moment are so far ahead of their interviewers it is not funny. Trioli couldn’t get off the issue raised by the questioning of the new NZ LAbor leader about pregnancy and working women fast enough. Wouldn’t want to upset all the old white men who she sucks up to. Just saying.

  6. Whether or not Trump agrees to take a few refugees off Turnbull’s hands one thing is very clear. No matter what happens to our refugees, Australia will still be taking refugees from Central America, and going by Turnbull’s grovelling remarks, anyone else the US wants to dump on us.

    Basically, we are taking people from the previous administration that they were very keen on getting out of the United States. We will take more. We will take anyone that you want us to take. The only people that we do not take are people who come by boat. So we would rather take a not very attractive guy that help you out then to take a Noble [sic] Peace Prize winner that comes by boat. That is the point

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/politics/australia-mexico-transcripts/?utm_term=.cde2b1af45bf

    • Now I’m wondering what Fizza meant by ‘a not very attractive guy that help you out’. Was he saying Australia would accept criminals and other dodgy types the US has rejected?

      i’d rather take the potential Nobel Peace Prize winners being abused on Manus Island right now.

  7. The Michael Koziol ‘The Labor MPs who could blow up rebel Liberals’ same-sex marriage plans’ article was carefully designed to take some of the heat off the government.

    how nice of Michael to come up with a distraction.

    It’s all speculation. Koziol has gone through a list of Labor MP and senators, pulled out the names of those who sound the most Catholic or the most conservative and then made up some bullshit about how he thinks they might vote.

    He also shows his ignorance by saying the vote would be complicated by a Labor senator leaving soon for a secondment at the UN. Senator Warren Entsch will also be taking up a secondment. Surely political journalists know that these secondments are always done with two senators – one from the government, one form the opposition. Last year it was Cory Bernardi and Lisa Singh.
    http://www.warrenentsch.com.au/Media/MediaReleases/tabid/73/ID/1305/Entsch-to-represent-Australia-at-the-United-Nations.aspx

    Anyway, there’s not going to be a conscience vote, not in September, not this year, not during the life of this government. Turnbull’s agreement with the National Party ensures that. MPs can present private members bills to parliament as often as they like, but the government decides what bills will be debated, and so far all bills on amending the Marriage Act have been either shoved to the bottom of the list or removed from the notice paper.

  10. Why aren’t I flabbergasted?

    It has been reported that Australian authorities were rushed into arresting the men by a British threat to issue a public travel warning about Australia.

    Deputy Commissioner Phelan confirmed police “went in early on the Saturday” but declined to specify why the decision was made to execute the raids.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-04/sydney-terror-raids-police-say-plane-bomb-plot-disrupted/8773752

    And, I might add, terrorism and SSM “controversies” are a nice distraction from the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of water up Brewarrina way.

    It went like this:

    1. Pump much more water than you need to service your cotton crops (i.e. steal it).

    2. When drought comes pump the excess water (that you’ve stolen from the public) back into the river and sell it at a premium to fellow farmers (i.e. small fry who abide by the rules). Make money in good times with cotton, make money in bad times with water.

    3. Get your local spruiker (and Deputy Prime Minister) to tell the public this is a very serious situation.

    4. Get the same local spruiker a couple of schooners and then lethim tell, not only the big farmers, but their targets, that it’s just a Greenie-socialist plot, and that they should continue to vote for him because he’s the only person who can nobble the coming inquiry so that nothing happens.

    5. High fives as exatly the above scenario happens, and you’ve chiselled your neighbour out of his livelihood.

    6. Meanwhile…. terrorism and poufters wanna get married (probably to each other).

    It’s the perfect crime.

    Our Prime Minister who is the local member for an electorate with the biggest concentration of LGBTQ-alphabet constituents, does nothing…about any of it.

  20. Bushfire,
    What is hydrogen sulphide, and how could it be used in a terror attack? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-04/what-is-a-hydrogen-sulphide-bomb/8774240

    Would H2S be used to attack a plane?

    “Hydrogen sulphide is one of those things you can produce yourself, and in a significant quantity it can be very dangerous,” Professor Barton explains.

    Airport scanners don’t pick up gases, so hypothetically H2S could be smuggled on board a plane.

    However, Professor Barton says it’s unlikely H2S would be used to attack a plane.

    “Releasing hydrogen sulphide in an aircraft cabin wouldn’t render everyone unconscious,” he explains.

    “There simply wouldn’t be enough of the gas.

    “Perhaps that aspect of the plan — and we must keep in mind that the device was not built — may have been intended for release on a bus or a train, or in a public space in Sydney.”

    How deadly would an attack be?

    Professor Barton says this is a purely speculative question.

    If the gas had been released in a public space, he says the effect would be similar to “being sprayed in the face with a can of Mace”.

    “But perhaps used in conjunction with another means of attack, it would have created fear and panic,” Professor Barton says.

    The AFP says the alleged attackers had precursor chemicals and some components for the hydrogen sulphide device.

    But the suspects had no concrete plans for where and when to unleash the gas, police say.

    “There was no evidence this device was completed,” Professor Barton says — echoing comments from the AFP boss.

    >/blockquote>

    • Extremely flammable gas.
      Contains gas under pressure; may explode if heated.
      May cause frostbite.
      May form explosive mixtures in Air.
      Fatal if inhaled.
      Extended exposure to gas reduces the ability to smell sulfides.
      Corrosive to respiratory tract.
      Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.

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