785 thoughts on “It aint all bad”

  2. ‘US Secret Services’ Tried to Nab 29 Russian Troops in Syria … and Got Their Butts Kicked – Russian Military

    Now this is something you won’t see on NBC nightly news.

    The Russian military spokesman in this briefing, General Sergei Rudskoi, in a matter-of-fact deadpan, explains that ‘US Secret Services’, and their Al Qaeda proxies, had a very, very bad day yesterday.

    Americans love bombing small, defenseless countries into the stone age, it’s part of their culture like baseball, apple pie, and morbid obesity. One of the things they never do, however, is pick on a country that can fight back….

    Yesterday, according to General Rudskoi, an army of “moderate” decapitators, directed by their ‘US Secret Service’ handlers, double-crossing the Russians by violating a ceasefire agreement, launched an attack with tanks and artillery on the Syrian Government north of Hama in the de-escalation zone, in an attempt to halt the Syrian Army’s successful advance.

    A key part of the plan was to capture 29 Russian soldiers, which would have been a major embarrassment for Russia. ..

    AL-Qaeda and the US ‘Secret Services’ however, had a very, very, bad day.

    A terrorist attack was stopped and they suffered heavy losses due to the measures taken by the Russian command together with the General Staff of Syria.

    Air and artillery strikes destroyed 187 objects, about 850 terrorists, 11 tanks, four armoured vehicles, 46 pickups, five mortars, 20 trucks and 38 weapons warehouses were destroyed in a 24-hours period.

    http://russia-insider.com/en/military/us-secret-services-tried-nab-29-russian-troops-syria-and-got-their-butts-kicked-russian

  3. The Abbott ‘incident’ goes a bit like this:

    Abbott: A man headbutted me!
    Q: Really?
    Abbott: Yes, he had a ‘yes’ badge on and everything!
    Q: Any witnesses?
    Abbott: My staffer.
    Q: Any way of confirming this allegation then?
    Abbott: He ran away!
    Q:
    Abbott: Really! It really happened!
    Q:
    Abbott: I got a sore lip!
    Q: Uh huh…
    Abbott: Vote no!

  5. * Anonymous graffiti artists scrawl slogans over statues = Stalinist rewriting of history.

    * Anonymous “Postal workers” are destroying SSM ballots = Thuggery of “The Left”.

    * Anonymous “assault” on Abbott leaving a “very, very minor” swollen lip (so small you can’t see it) = Political correctness gone mad.

    The pattern is the usual one: those who wield the power, are the richest, have the biggest bully pulpits, call most of the shots,and livehigh on the hog off the public tit… THEY are the ones being oppressed. Just a pity there are rarely any arrests or any follow-up to see who is really doing this, or even if it is being done at all.

    Front pages everywhere. No proof. Mission Accomplished.

    And then the media complain about Abbott white-anting Turnbull… and (get this) about how Abbott is getting too much publicity!

    • You would like this ‘hyper-bowl’ over the ‘incident’. A comment left at the GG article.

      Politically Motivated Violence = terrorism. Call it what it is. .

  6. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    John Hewson in a refreshingly honest contribution looks at the values and tactics of John Howard. Well worth reading.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/john-hewson-john-howards-republican-debate-tactics-threaten-samesex-marriage-20170921-gylqbj.html
    Michaela Whitbourn writes about the Law Society facing a fresh row over its support for same-sex marriage as members agitate for an extraordinary general meeting to censure the organisation for publicly backing a change in the law.
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/law-society-faces-fresh-row-over-samesex-marriage-20170921-gylqvc.html
    I TOLD you! Our cricketers are not getting paid enough.
    http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/cricket-india-crush-australia-to-lead-odi-series-20-20170921-gymgv6.html
    Abbott has been aggressively seeking attention and he finally got some!
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-says-he-was-injured-after-being-assaulted-by-same-sex-marriage-campaigner-in-hobart-20170921-gymerl.html
    David Crowe looks at the questionable motives of the NO campaign. It distils down to the right of religious organisations to discriminate, he says. Google.
    /opinion/samesex-marriage-are-they-out-to-confuse-us-its-a-yes-for-tony/news-story/bafd525a5fd8bad553bd4750cdf2ab90
    Adam Gartrell was entertained by Malcolm Roberts’ High Court appearance yesterday. “The Empirical Strikes Back”.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/the-empirical-strikes-back-malcolm-roberts-difficult-day-in-court-20170921-gylw51.html
    Mark Kenny looks at the AFL’s entry into the SSM debate.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/samesex-marriage-dont-complain-this-is-the-public-debate-the-no-side-asked-for-20170921-gylvp7.html
    The AFL remains defiant in the face of criticism over its expression of support for SSM.
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/thats-why-people-turn-to-the-afl-sport-defiant-in-face-of-criticism-over-samesex-marriage-support-20170921-gym1f6.html
    The odious Lyle Shelton has been getting more media coverage than all three leading YES campaigners – but he still complains about being silenced!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/22/lyle-shelton-gets-more-media-mentions-than-all-three-leading-yes-campaigners
    Opponents of marriage equality often say that married and de facto couples already have the same rights. To what extent is this true? And, in legal terms, how much do the differences matter? Abbott is wrong on what he spouts on this subject writes this Professor of Law.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/tony-abbotts-wrong-de-facto-couples-dont-have-the-same-rights-as-married-ones-20170921-gym5s9.html

  7. Section 2 . . .

    Labor and the Liberals have done a deal to keep the Greens at bay at the Leichhardt Council.
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/labor-wins-inner-west-mayoralty-after-powersharing-deal-with-liberals-20170921-gym93h.html
    Gas markets are now almost certain to get hit with export controls. Google.
    /business/gas-markets-are-now-almost-certain-to-be-hit-with-export-controls-20170921-gym555
    Some nice musings from Tony Wright while taking a country train trip.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/riding-a-train-and-watching-the-world-through-glass-darkly-20170921-gylrvw.html
    Some of the state’s best-loved destinations, including the Sydney Opera House and Taronga Zoo, have been blindsided by an order to dump their distinctive branding and adopt the NSW government Waratah as their logo. What’s Gladys up to?
    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/like-an-episode-of-utopia-cultural-icons-caught-in-dramatic-rebranding-exercise-by-nsw-government-20170920-gyl02o.html
    Misleading attacks on Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology by climate deniers in the Australian are “debilitating” to the agency and limiting its ability to predict risks and protect the community, the former head of the bureau has told the Guardian.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/21/former-weather-bureau-chief-says-agency-debilitated-by-climate-deniers-attacks
    This is delightful. Cory Bernardi shoots his bigoted mouth off and it all backfires on him!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/21/cory-bernardis-attack-on-school-fundraiser-as-gender-morphing-pushes-up-donations
    The Government’s media package threatens to break the ABC — and it may never be able to be put together again, says former Age editor Ranald Macdonald.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/competitive-neutrality-inquiry-pushes-abc-into-turbulent-times,10738
    Adele Ferguson says that if companies battling scandals want a glimpse at the financial and reputational cost of treating customers poorly, look no further than the Commonwealth Bank.
    http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/cba-shows-businesses-will-pay-for-disrespecting-customers-20170921-gyluap.html
    The irony of Melania Trump’s anti-bullying speech at the United Nations on Wednesday was not lost on Twitter users.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/09/21/melania-trumps-anti-bullying-speech-did-not-go-down-well_a_23217642/?utm_hp_ref=au-homepage
    Details of the Victorian Assisted Dying legislation have now come to light.
    http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victorians-access-to-euthanasia-could-be-contested-20170921-gymbdj.html

  8. Section 3 . . .

    Meanwhile a survey of 500 Victorians finds 72% support rights of adults ‘to choose to end their lives if they are suffering from a terminal illness’.
    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/21/victorians-overwhelmingly-support-voluntary-euthanasia-survey-finds
    The Federal Government is threatening to introduce the first-ever compulsory safety recall for cars as another 877,000 vehicles — and eight more automotive brands — are added to the tally. But they are yet to reveal how a compulsory safety recall will be enforced. Google.
    /finance/business/manufacturing/takata-airbag-recall-to-become-compulsory-as-crisis-hits-33-million-cars-in-australia/news-story/26ee8815a04d93bf013d091d9c38788f
    Michelle Grattan on how the SSM issue has progressed.
    https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-same-sex-marriage-ballot-captures-attention-of-a-public-alienated-from-politicians-84456
    Laura Tingle has a good look at how German politics will significantly change after this election. Google.
    /news/world/europe/german-politics-everything-different-to-ours-but-ultimately-the-same-20170920-gyl84x
    Michael Pascoe on the breaking up of the bank that David Murray built. But Pascoe sees improved Australian banks in the future.
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/comminsure-sale-theyre-breaking-up-the-bank-david-murray-built-20170921-gylyt7.html
    With a liar like Boris Johnson as foreign secretary how can Europe trust Britain?
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/21/liar-boris-johnson-europe-trust-britain-brexit-bill
    High earners beware – the taxman’s likely to come after you if you’ve breached your superannuation contribution caps, paid too little tax on your super contributions or taken part in employee share schemes and haven’t declared them on your tax return. Google.
    /personal-finance/tax/what-high-earners-need-to-fear-from-the-taxman-20170918-gyjozl
    The newly elected Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney takes a look at the city 20 years on from now.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/new-deputy-lord-mayor-jess-millers-vision-for-sydney-in-20-years-20170921-gyltfz.html
    The Liberal party is once again being forced to defend its record on women, after one MP swore in frustration when asked about gender diversity and another referred to breastfeeding in parliament as “a bit over the top”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/21/liberals-on-back-foot-after-gender-outburst-and-criticism-of-breastfeeding

  9. Section 4 . . . Cartoon Corner

    Simon Letch has been on ancestry.com.

    Cathy Wilcox and all the issues on our plates at the moment.

    John Shakespeare’s got it right.

    Mark David and Abbott’s unfinished business.

    A few weeks ago Jon Kudelka saw it coming!

    Broelman’s take on scary clowns.

    Paul Zanetti with sport and SSM politics.

    And Zanetti has found the RET.

    Fiona Katauskas NAILS “fair and balanced” for the ABC.

    Matt Golding and our ability to engage with more than one issue at a time.

    And Golding wonders if the Victorian parliament can find it in their conscience to legislate for assisted dying.

    Roy Taylor on the anxious wait for SSM couples.

    Andrew Dyson and little man Trump at the UN.

    Mark Knight with a ripper on Malcolm Roberts’ day as a witness.
    http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/d02e9b500e9c0872750c4eddf7b1ac7f?width=1024
    Mark Knight saddles up Crusader Howard for the SSM debate.

    As does John Shakespeare.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/illustrations-and-cartoons-by-john-shakespeare-20090909-fhba
    Alan Moir with Turnbull’s difficulty in prosecuting his government’s coal policy.

    David Rowe with Malcolm Roberts all at a warming sea.

    David Pope with a cracker on Bush and Trump.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/david-pope-20120214-1t3j0
    Ron Tandberg and the selfishness of some people.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/ron-tandberg-20090910-fixc.html
    Andrew Dyson reckons it’s all about poles and wires.
    http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/illustrations-by-matthew-davidson-20090928-g8gc.html
    More from Jon Kudelka on Roberts.
    http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/1f54203a01e965e357ebaef5cd677df1

  10. From Leroy’s link at 9.40 last night.

    Some innovating thinking that adds to the evidence that we are currently ‘governed’ by political dinosaurs.

    Nice to know that people in the power industries are looking to the future rather than clinging to the past. In the process they seem to be ignoring the guff from Canberra. As industries continue building momentum toward renewables, it will be fascinating to see how the Coalition attempts to claim relevance for anything, let alone to their ‘traditional’ and ‘natural’ allies. Especially if federal funding is involved.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/21/pumped-hydro-project-that-reuses-old-goldmine-expected-to-win-federal-funding

  11. That Kidston gold mine is really really remote, a hell of a long way from any sort of grid connection.

  12. Now Tony has worked out how to allegedly get public sympathy while painting the ‘Yes’ campaign in a bad light there will be no stopping him

    We can look forward to lots more alleged incidents involving Tony Abbott, none of which will be reported to the police until someone hears Tony on the radio having a good sook to Jones or Hadley.

    Coming attractions could include –
    Tony allegedly pushed off his bike by an alleged terrorist wearing a ‘Vote Yes’ t-shirt. Tony sustains a scratch on his knee.
    Tony allegedly narrowly missing a bullet fired at him by an alleged terrorist wearing a ‘Vote Yes’ T-shirt. Tony gets a scratch on his ear from the bullet flying past.
    Tony, allegedly, is woken up by a home invader allegedly wearing a ‘Vote Yes’ T-shirt. Tony fends off the intruder before anything is stolen, using his amazing boxing skills, but does get a bruise on one knuckle on his left hand.
    Tony, while driving down his own leafy street, allegedly narrowly avoids a collision with a garbage truck driven by a maniac wearing a ‘Vote Yes’ T-shirt. Only Tony’s superb driving skills save him from death. Tony escapes without injury but his taxpayer-funded car will need a lot of panel beating and a full respray due to the tiny scratch he later found on the left front door.

    None of these or other alleged incidents/attacks will be reported to police but they will take up much of the programs of Alan Jones and Ray Hadley.

    Tony is a sociopath, a bully, a narcissist and an attention-seeker, he demonstrates all the worst aspects of those personality traits. To put it simply, he’s nuts, and the sooner he is contained in an institution for the terminally deluded the better off we will be.

  14. What a crybaby Abbott is.

    Come to think of it… most of the supposed “tough guys” of the Right are. Bolt being chief among them.

    I have sneaking suspicion that given Abbott’s low popularity, and his reputation for being a thug and a bully, there might be many out there quietly smiling to themselves, wishing the assailant had tried a little harder.

  15. I was in Hobart not that long ago, and I’ve just looked up the location of the alleged incident.. Morrison Street, 4.35pm on a weekday. There’d be plenty of people around there at that time, lots of witnesses.

    But just you watch the media machine crank up on this one. Give it a couple of days and the Yes campaigners are going to rival the Hells Angels for wanton and destructive violence.

    • The lack of witnesses is the key. Either Tony made the whole thing up, or everyone who saw it was absolutely delighted to see Tony finally get what he deserves and none of them have any intention of dobbing on whoever did it.

      Here’s the thing – Abbott was in Hobart to attend a Young Liberals cocktail party. He squeezed in a visit to ‘No’ campaigners and went to the office of the Mercury. He was walking back to his hotel from the Mercury offices in Salamanca Square when he was allegedly headbutted. None of this could be called ‘official business’ but I bet Tony claims it all as legitimate expenses. Something to watch out for when this month’s entitlements reporting is made public sometime next year.

  17. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-22/solar-batteries-the-future-poll-finds/8967652

    https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/8a324597e091bd650f16e6edf2f1cf6f.pdf Its a ReachTEL poll

  18. Record low rain in central-west NSW forces farmers to tear up ruined crops
    http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/record-low-rain-in-central-west-nsw-forces-farmers-to-tear-up-ruined-crops/526881

    Up here it’s been an extremely dry winter, and this month has been just as bad. Only 4.6mm rain since the beginning of the month, and nothing forecast for the coming week. Lovely weather for the school holidays and the tourists, rotten for those who are trying to grow crops or just keep their home gardens alive. We have been on permanent level 1 water restrictions for years, higher levels can’t be far off.

    Just to make it that much worse we have another hot weekend coming up, forecast around 30C tomorrow and 32C on Sunday. Not looking forward to that. Or the inevitable bushfires.

  19. Unions staged new protests Thursday against an overhaul of France’s labour laws, hoping to build pressure on President Emmanuel Macron days before his flagship reforms are expected to enter into force.
    The marches and strikes come a week after hundreds of thousands of people — 200,000 according to police, half a million according to organisers — demonstrated against the measures in the first major challenge to Macron since he was elected in May.

    More rallies are expected Saturday, staged by hard-left political party France Unbowed, which will provide another measure of the resistance to 39-year-old Macron’s pro-business agenda.

    https://www.thelocal.fr/20170921/more-protests-as-france-prepares-to-green-light-macrons-labour-reforms

    • I find it intriguing that the complaint was only laid with the police a couple of days after it had been aired on the radio. Now that could be for a variety of reasons, including Mr Abbott feeling embarrassed (poor lad), but given the delay and the police apparently only asking for witnesses today … could it be possible that in a busy street nobody saw the incident? Could it be that the CCTV doesn’t show the incident either?

      I really [dislike | am starting to hate] how some prominent media personalities, like Mr Abbot et al, always make me want to disbelieve their statements. What bothers me most is that I used to be able to respect politicians on both sides of politics, but it is increasingly difficult to do that with those in the Liberals and National Parties.
      It worries me as to how we can repair the common wealth of this country now so much bitterness has poisoned the conversation.

  22. What annoys me is the absolute assumption and acceptance that:

    (a) this happened as stated,

    (b) the assailant was a cardboard cutout “Yes” campaigner (complete with large Yes badge, and strawberry-colored hair),

    (c) Abbott didn’t deserve any of this after all the damage he’s done to Australian politics and the country in general,

    (d) ALL Australians (cf. Mark Kenny’s latest predictable “analysis”) will abhor the use of “violence”,

    (e) no-one should secretly (or otherwise) celebrate this, thinking “He’s had it coming for a long time and yes, I wish I’d been there to see it”,

    (f) the mobilization of the Tasmanian police, up to Commissioner level, is appropriate for what is a VERY minor matter,

    (g) there’s nothing fishy about Abbott not making the complaint himself, instead having to be just about shoe-horned into making an official complaint (as opposed to whingeing to Bolt),and that Abbott’s reluctance may indicate the incident has been overblown, or perhaps never happened, or was just made-up to impress Bolt and his looney listeners,

    (h) the Right can mock, insult, demean, belittle, lose their temper, utter racist slurs, be homophobes,humiliate and vilify because, well, that’s just what the Right does,

    (i) but Lefties have to be purer than the driven snow and on their best behaviour,putting up with all the shit thrown at them at all times

    (j) this will therefore “destroy” the Yes case because there were millions out there ready to swap from “no” to “yes” but now they’ll all stay voting “No”, because Abbott has never been detected exaggerating, manipulating or telling outright lies in order to further whatever cause he’s on about.

    Kenny’s article:

    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/tony-abbott-assault-a-gift-to-the-no-case-plain-and-simple-20170922-gympu4.html

  23. While everyone is talking about Abbott –

    Dutton hs been very busy thinking up new and delightful (to him) ways to torture refugees.

    Here’s the latest, trying to force a father to relinquish custody of his own baby daughter, who he has never seen so he can, maybe, be ‘free’ in Trump’s America.

    An impossible choice: the Nauru refugee forced to choose between family and freedom
    As the first of the refugees held in Australia’s offshore detention are accepted by the US, Arash faces the prospect of being separated from his loved ones forever
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/22/an-impossible-choice-the-nauru-refugee-forced-to-choose-between-family-and-freedom

  25. What’s really annoying me about this whole survey and the way it is being reported is that it’s turning into a ‘battle of the campaigners’. In other words, that it’s portrayed merely as a question of which side is doing the better ‘messaging’ and therefore has persuaded more voters. I keep hearing comments about the No side running a better media campaign, as if that should make a blind bit of difference how people ought to think on this issue.

    It’s not about that. As someone on another forum commented, this isn’t a plebiscite over two competing national anthems or flags, were you can assume both sides are coming from more or less the same place and your choice is an aesthetic one. This is about principles, rights and ethics. And ethically speaking, this isn’t a level playing field, not even close to one. One side is plainly right, and the other side is merely trying to position themselves somewhere, anywhere, where they can create a plausible enough doubt in people’s minds to make them cautious about doing what’s right. That’s what we have to endure.

    It’s a problem with most of politics. Scads of money, monopoly of media outlets and sophisticated PR techniques are enough to turn wrong thinking into popular thinking. It can make people vote against renewable energy, or carbon pricing, or human rights, or their own financial interests, simply through having the loudest megaphone or the right media contacts. That’s how Brexit happened, and it’s also how Trump became president. Everyone gets caught up in it, and only afterwards do they think, “What have I done?”

    What’s mainly on my mind about the Abbott ‘incident’ is that pretty much every terror ‘suspect’ arrested under the Turnbull government has been released without charge. It was the arrest that got the headlines. We’re in a situation analogous to that right now.

    • The man arrested will no doubt turn out to be a serial pest who just likes getting attention, much like Abbott, I suppose.

      Not ‘Yes’ campaign related at all.

      The media has been making a lot of Abbott’s mention of a ‘Liverpool kiss’. He’s lucky it wasn’t a Glasgow smile.

  26. And speaking of ‘being silenced’, it turns out that Lyle Shelton alone has had more mentions in the media as the three leading Yes campaigners combined. I’ll bet hardly anyone could even name the three most prominent Yes campaigners.

    The whole idea that the Yes campaign has been in any way intrusive or coercive is utterly ridiculous. It’s barely been able to get a word in edgeways.

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