Letter to the Prime Minister

This little black duck Uncategorized

Prime Minister,

On 18 September 2013, you were made Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. You set in place certain policies and practices.

On 17 February 2014, I, Reza Barati, from Iran, prisoner on Manus Island, died from beatings by prison guards and Manus Islanders.

On 22 June 2014, I, Sayed Ibrahim Hussein, from Pakistan, prisoner on Nauru, drowned in the ocean.

On 5 September 2014, I, Hamid Kehazaei, from Iran, prisoner on Manus Island, died from untreated septicemia.

On 29 April 2016, I, Omid Masoumali, from Iran, prisoner on Nauru, died when I killed myself.

On 11 May 2016, I, Rakib Khan, from Sri Lanka, prisoner on Nauru, died from an overdose

On 2 August 2016, I, Kamil Hussain, from Pakistan, prisoner on Manus Island, died swimming.

On 24 December 2016, I, Faysal Ishak Ahmed, from Sudan, prisoner on Manus Island, died from untreated seizures.

On 7 August 2017, I, Hamed Shamshiripour, from Iran, prisoner on Manus Island, died when I killed myself.

On 2 October 2017, I, Rajeev Rajendran, from Sri Lanka, prisoner on Manus Island, died when I killed myself.

On 2 November 2017, I, Jahingir, from Bangladesh, prisoner on Nauru, died hit by a car.

On 22 May 2018, I, Salim Kyawning, stateless Rohingya, prisoner on Manus Island, died when I killed myself.

On 15 June 2018, I, Fariborz Karami, from Iran, prisoner on Nauru, died when I killed myself.

You failed in your duty of care: you killed us.

In that time, you have taken more than one million dollars from Australian taxpayers. Is eighty thousand dollars sufficient reward for each of the twelve lives?

We feel so sorry for your God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

495 thoughts on “Letter to the Prime Minister”

  1. Netanyahu, too scared to take on Hezbolla, Iran or Syria with missiles from the air now that his legs have been cut at the knees by Putin, will concentrate his Sadistic Personality Disorder on the weak:

    Brutal crackdown on West Bank as Netanyahu pledges stepped-up land grab

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized a military crackdown on the Palestinian West Bank.

    The assault was calculated to appeal to Israel’s ultra-nationalist forces at the expense of his fascistic coalition partners, which are vying over who has a tougher policy against the Palestinians.

    In the days that followed, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a series of military operations, killing six and arresting at least 100 more in protests that erupted over Israeli brutality in Nablus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Hebron and al-Bireh. One of those arrested in the Hebron area was the Palestinian legislator Mohammed Ismail Al-Tal.

    The assault started after a drive-by shooting on December 9 near the West Bank city of Ofra that injured seven Israelis, including a pregnant woman whose baby was subsequently delivered by Caesarian section but later died. Settler leaders demanded to “see the blood of the terrorists.” Netanyahu’s son Yair joined the calls for revenge, following a series of posts on social media calling for the expulsion of the Palestinians and writing that he would prefer all Muslims to leave Israel. Facebook’s temporary ban on him for breaking its rule on hate speech only served to make him a martyr among Israel’s fascists.

    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/20/isra-d20.html

  2. Man gets a $4595 bill from the hospital for this:

    Syracuse cops push St. Joe’s to probe man’s rectum for drugs; ‘What country are we living in?’

    Syracuse, NY — Syracuse police, a city court judge and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center worked together last year to conduct a highly unusual drug search.

    They collaborated to sedate a suspect and thread an 8-inch flexible tube into his rectum in a search for illegal drugs. The suspect, who police said had taunted them that he’d hidden drugs there, refused consent for the procedure.

    At least two doctors resisted the police request. An X-ray already had indicated no drugs. They saw no medical need to perform an invasive procedure on someone against his will.

    The notes from police and doctors suggest some tension, a standoff. At one point, eight police officers were at the hospital. A doctor remembers telling officers: “We would not be doing that.”

    The hospital’s top lawyer got pulled in. He talked with the judge who signed the search warrant, which was written by police and signed at the judge’s home.

    When they were done, the hospital lawyer overruled its doctors. The lawyer told his doctors that a search warrant required the doctors to use “any means” to retrieve the drugs, records show.

    So St. Joe’s medical staff knocked out the suspect and performed the sigmoidoscopy, in search of evidence of a misdemeanor or low-level felony charge, records show…

    And when they were done, St. Joe’s sent the suspect a bill for $4,595.12.

    https://www.syracuse.com//crime/2018/12/syracuse-cops-push-st-joes-to-probe-mans-rectum-for-drugs-what-country-are-we-living-in.html?utm_source=samizdat&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=free

    • I no longer subscribe, stopped a couple of years ago because I had better uses for the money, but I can confirm that Bernard Keane named Bill Shorten “Politician of the Year”. This was the blurb for Keane’s article, which I can’t read, I’m not signing up to the free trial thingy just to see it.

      In a year in which the political class has failed to address the disaffection and contempt so many voters have for our political system, Bill Shorten has been far and away the most effective politician

      Don’t get too excited though. Crikey being what it is has followed up with a bit of fluff called “Will Bill Shorten’s luck run out?”

      You can read a few comments on that here –
      https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/12/21/comments-bill-shorten-politician-of-the-year/

  9. …

  13. I thought George Christensen was engaged and looking forward to married life.

    https://outline.com/qk6H7u

    Insert sound of bucketloads of pennies dropping ….

    Don’t tell me George is the government MP who caused concern with his visits to seedy vice districts in Asia? His frequent visits to the Philippines suggest it’s him.

    Oh My!!!!!!!!!

  15. Adani making a sneaky move just before Christmas, no doubt hoping no-one will notice, and then that idiot Canavan alerts the whole nation.

  16. Had to post this:

    That’s exactly how it feels.

  19. this tweet has just been deleted

    Alt. U.S. Press Sec. @AltUSPressSec 3h3 hours ago

    The Kurds are being told by the Turks that they and their families will be laid down in graves and executed when the U.S. leaves.

    Does America’s word meaning nothing under Trump?

  20. Leone

    Thanks, yes I used to subscribe many many years ago when it was in its early phase and had its eyes open to what was happening. Got disillusioned very quickly though. That is why I was asking if it was true about Bill shorten, because I was genuinely surprised.

  21. Bevan Shields must have written this before the news about Christensen broke, and then was quickly hushed up.

    I disagree with the headline – the government is in a much worse position than they were at the beginning of the year.

    Weighed down by sex and sleaze, the Coalition ends the year the way it started
    A red hot story started rolling off the printing presses in western Sydney, setting off a ticking time bomb for the Morrison government and scandal-prone Nationals.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/weighed-down-by-sex-and-sleaze-the-coalition-ends-the-year-the-way-it-started-20181219-p50n4a.html

  22. Why is Bridgit’s photo here? Yes I know she lives in Elwood and has a trans Tasman love affair with a New Zealand politician – has she been working her way through the shooting team?

    • Bridget has her eyes on the Nats leadership. She’s hoping for a safe lower house seat. She also needs to find a way to dethrone McCormack.

      I don’t know if the average voter would have heard about her love affair. When they do find out she too will lose support.

      I would not be surprised if she has worked her way though any number of shooting teams.

  30. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Matthew Knott explains why James Mattis’ departure is terrible news for Australia.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/why-james-mattis-s-departure-is-terrible-news-for-australia-20181221-p50npm.html
    Bevan Shields writes about the sleaze problem the Coalition has.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/weighed-down-by-sex-and-sleaze-the-coalition-ends-the-year-the-way-it-started-20181219-p50n4a.html
    David Wroe reckons that Bill Shorten has opened a chink in his armour on border security.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bill-shorten-has-opened-a-chink-in-his-armour-on-border-security-20181221-p50nq5.html
    Peter van Onselen says that Shorten is on the cusp of becoming PM and whatever you think of Labor’s plans for government, there is no denying the opposition’s willingness to present a large target. It has spelled out detailed policies and has gone ahead with its national conference on the eve of an election campaign.
    https://outline.com/X3qL3a
    Mike Seccombe says that as public faith in democracy collapses, the institution is further undermined by suspect polling, gormless politics and a media dependent on both. He makes several good points.
    https://outline.com/mUMJ5M
    Michael Koziol reports that Labor has asked the Australian Federal Police to urgently investigate a $350,000 job offer Scott Morrison’s right-hand man Scott Briggs made to the man who was set to roll Liberal MP Craig Kelly for preselection in his seat of Hughes. If only we had a federal ICAC!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-asks-afp-to-investigate-350-000-job-offer-to-craig-kelly-preselection-challenger-20181221-p50npf.html
    Ouch!!! Paul Bongiorno begins his contribution with, “Morrison, or more accurately the Coalition government, finishes the year in as parlous a position as it began it. And the reason is mostly of its own making. Principally, the house is divided and, more to the point, exhibits no gumption on the basics of political management. There is simply no internal cohesion, with communication non-existent between the constituent parts, because of a lack of trust and competence. The upshot of this has been on display in the past seven days.”
    https://outline.com/6jDUVX
    Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alistair McGibbon, sees an opportunity arising from the Chinese hacking issue.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-silver-lining-to-china-s-hacking-outrage-better-cyber-defences-20181221-p50ns6.html
    In a year bookended by National Party MPs in disgrace, we saw big banks and cricketers shamed, international politics teeter and literary and musical icons shuffle off this mortal coil. Martin McKenzie-Murray has a look back at the year that was.
    https://outline.com/Fcp7M6
    The SMH editorialises that Gladys Berejiklian, having given the federal government a chance, had no choice but to break with Morrison on energy policy.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/berejiklian-had-to-break-with-morrison-on-energy-20181221-p50noi.html
    Emma Koehn & John McDuling tells us how Australia turned against tech. Nearly three years to the day from the unveiling of that policy, the federal government’s retreat from innovation, and standing within the tech community, sank to its nadir.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/from-ideas-boom-to-innovation-bust-how-australia-turned-against-tech-20181218-p50n1l.html
    Headlined “Treason’s Greetings”, Hamish McDonald writes “Trump’s legal challenges. Report on Russian hacking during US election. China retaliates against Canada over Huawei arrest. Theresa May braces for Brexit defeat. Local ceasefire in Yemen brings hope. Morrison’s Jerusalem gambit pleases no one.”
    https://outline.com/6xM4Bb
    Ross Gittins explains how we killed off Australia’s inflation problem.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/no-more-stop-go-how-we-killed-off-australia-s-inflation-problem-20181221-p50nne.html
    An “income tax shuffle” by wealthy Australians via their use of discretionary trusts is denying the rest of the country potentially billions of dollars in tax revenue, an independent paper commissioned by the Tax Office found. And the cost to the tax system in foregone revenue would grow as the corporate rate reduces.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/income-tax-shuffle-through-trusts-costing-australia-billions-20181221-p50nn8.html
    Meanwhile Amy Remeikis reports that almost three years after making the promise, the Coalition government has made no progress in establishing a register designed to crack down on multinational tax avoidance.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/21/coalition-pledge-to-crack-down-on-tax-avoidance-achieves-almost-nothing-in-three-years
    Professor Clive Williams says that Trump’s declaration of victory over Islamic State is premature.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-isis-withdrawal-and-defeat-declaration-is-premature-20181221-p50nox.html
    As Donald Trump withdraws US troops, Scott Morrison vows to stay the course in the war against terror in the Middle East.
    https://outline.com/ehcjKD
    And Greg Sheridan says that the resignation of the US Defence Secretary removes the most stable buttress of the global American alliance system.
    https://www.outline.com/PCMmU3
    Laura Tingle says that Jim Mattis’ resignation letter was as devastating as any military hardware. She concludes by writing that Labor’s national conference this week emphasised that Labor has moved back to a position of backing more assertive government interventions in markets and the economy, while the Coalition continues to pay lip service to the power of markets, whatever the realities of its policies.
    https://outline.com/kNm8Bj
    The decision to pull out of Syria has dismayed allies, delighted foes – and proved the final straw for the US secretary of defence, writes Peter Beaumont.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/21/james-mattis-trump-syria-us-secretary-defence
    In a wide ranging article Karen Middleton looks at the disdain the NSW government has for the Coalition government.
    https://outline.com/fY3JN7
    In a long, interesting article Cameron Stewart writes that given the challenges that lie ahead, 2019 promises to be the most volatile year yet for America’s disrupter-in-chief.
    https://www.outline.com/NBAEsd
    Simon Cowan looks at the political year that was. Not a particularly good contribution really.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-year-is-a-long-time-in-australian-politics-20181220-p50nks.html
    Elizabeth Knight tells us how AMP’s Shane Oliver is leading a small break-away minority of economists who think the next move in interest rates will be down.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/oliver-s-twist-the-economist-breaking-from-the-pack-on-next-rate-move-20181221-p50np5.html
    According to London’s Daily Telegraph monetary tightening by central banks is like trying to pull a brick across a rough surface with elastic: nothing happens; still nothing happens; then it leaps up and hits you in the face.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/we-re-in-uncharted-waters-and-markets-are-not-happy-20181221-p50no6.html
    The Saturday Paper has an exclusive in which it says the Indonesian military has employed airstrikes in West Papua – suspected to include the banned chemical weapon white phosphorus – as a retaliation for murders following a flag-raising protest.
    https://outline.com/sbahkN
    Sally Whyte & Doug Dingwall explain how 2019 could be a turning point for the APS.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/change-in-the-air-why-2019-could-be-a-turning-point-for-the-aps-20181219-p50nb2.html
    The federal Labor MP Emma Husar has had an early victory in her defamation case against BuzzFeed, with a judge ruling an article published by the news website in July was capable of conveying that she was a “slut”. Not a good day for the defendants.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/salacious-judge-rebukes-buzzfeed-in-emma-husar-defamation-case-20181221-p50nm4.html
    Tim Soutphommasane writes that the general rule is the louder a politician proclaims their traditional family values, the greater their indulgence of private vice and public hypocrisy. He goes on to say the Australian leadership class resembles a Bunyip aristocracy. It’s like a cosy and complacent club.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/cosy-club-at-the-top-must-change-to-avoid-a-brutal-truth-20181220-p50njd.html
    Eryk Bagshaw explains how Australia is set to fall significantly short of its Paris climate change targets, undermining claims by the Morrison government that the economy will meet its international obligations “in a canter.” What a disgraceful farrago of lies we have been getting from the Coalition!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-to-miss-2030-emissions-target-by-massive-margin-20181221-p50no1.html
    Dr Evan Jones continues his examination of the effects of neoliberal economic policies, focusing on electricity reform and the NBN.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-neoliberalist-downfall-of-energy-and-the-nbn,12225
    Former Liberal staffer Tim James has seized on a potential mystery vote or voter to launch a fresh challenge to North Shore MP Felicity Wilson’s narrow preselection victory for the Sydney seat. This could get interesting.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/north-shore-mp-s-preselection-rival-claims-mystery-voter-20181221-p50npk.html
    The Northern Territory government is in turmoil after three ministers were sacked. What an omnishambles!
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/21/northern-territory-government-in-turmoil-after-three-ministers-sacked
    A growing anti-vaccine movement in Europe, fuelled by social media and anti-establishment populists, is putting lives at risk and may be to blame for measles outbreaks surging to a 20-year high, health experts are warning. How does such ignorance take hold?
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/21/measles-cases-at-highest-for-20-years-in-europe-as-anti-vaccine-movement-grows
    The recent yellow vest protests in France are an example of what frustration towards a Right-wing government can lead to, writes Stephen Fitzgerald.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-people-have-spoken-and-australia-could-be-next,12228
    Good luck with that one Frank!
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-21/pope-urges-predator-priests-to-turn-themselves-in/10658634
    Wendy Squires on the joy and hell of families at Christmas.
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/at-christmas-families-are-hell-and-a-blessing-20181220-p50nf3.html
    Today’s nomination for “Arseholes of the Week” goes to . . .
    https://www.theage.com.au/business/workplace/devastating-blow-before-christmas-as-firm-collapse-leaves-120-jobless-20181221-p50noy.html
    Although this outfit is a worthy contender . . .
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/21/undue-harassment-debt-collection-firm-acm-fined-750000-over-methods

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe with a Christmas feast from Putin – served up by Robert Mueller.

    David Pope takes the piss out of Morrison’s trip to Iraq.

    Alan Moir and the Trump family holiday.

    Plenty more from Matt Golding.
    https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_828/t_resize_width/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto%2Cdpr_auto/e13bcd2a7ef03ad20fab763ff3922c16b4403500,jpg


    https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_828/t_resize_width/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto%2Cdpr_auto/1a2307f9f476fe7569ef0ed429608ef00da9d3e4,jpg

    https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_828/t_resize_width/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto%2Cdpr_auto/2af23d231f6eb370e57180050dfdc833a0a0498f,jpg
    Andrew Dyson and Chinese hacking.

    A poetic Christmas message from Mark David.

    Zanetti switches his attention to The Greens.

    Cathy Wilcox and some Christmas gift ideas.

    Alan Moir and two hopefuls.

  31. More rorting – rorting is exactly what it is. The taxpayers fund “study” trips overseas, the politicians who take them travel purely for pleasure, and then they submit doctored “reports” that tell us nothing because they are copied from old reports. How far back do these reports go, I wonder? How many decades ago did some long-gone politician actually write an original report about a real study trip?

    Note the mention of George Christensen who visited – of course – Asia.

    Australian MPs who billed taxpayers for trips copying and pasting text for reports
    Delegations to Fiji, Romania, Vietnam, Switzerland and Philippines copied content from similar trips when reporting back
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/22/australian-mps-who-billed-taxpayers-for-trips-copying-and-pasting-text-for-reports

    You might remember Barnaby, Jewellery Blingshop and Teresa Gambaro using this ploy to get the taxpayers to foot the bill for their return from a lavish Indian wedding in 2013. Gina Rinehart flew them to India for free but they had to get themselves home, so of course they used the “study tour” rort.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/coalition-mps-in-overseas-study-claim-for-wedding-20131005-2v13w.html

  32. George Christensen has a big sook and, of course, says it’s all Labor’s fault.

    (I’ll post the whole Herald Sun article because it’s paywalled unless you have a nifty extension, Outline won’t fix it and an incognito window won’t work.)

    George Christensen slams ‘vile smear campaign’ over Asia trips
    Anthony Galloway and Rob Harris, Herald Sun
    December 22, 2018 7:00am
    Subscriber only

    Queensland federal MP George Christensen has outed himself as the politician who was the subject of police ­inquiries into his travel to South East Asia, denying any wrongdoing.

    Mr Christensen said any suggestions he was frequenting areas in the Philippines known for prostitution and drugs were wrong, and were being peddled by “gutless” and “vengeful” enemies in a “vile and hateful smear campaign”.

    The Nationals MP said he was never under investigation by the Australian Federal Police for any criminality, citing an AFP letter to him.

    The Herald Sun reported yesterday that the AFP had ­inquired into an MP’s travel, prompted by a financial intelligence agency picking up large transactions sent overseas.

    There were concerns the MP could be subjected to blackmail and extortion in the areas he was frequenting.

    Mr Christensen blamed Labor and former senior MPs for leaking against him, saying the referral to the AFP was from a senior Labor MP. The Herald Sun can reveal that AFP and

    Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ­inquiries began several months before the ALP referral.

    Mr Christensen did not comment about claims that the inquiries had been undermined by a lack of access to ­encrypted messages.

    The Herald Sun understands inquiries continued for months, but the Prime Minister’s Office says the AFP’s checks were finished quickly.

    Mr Christensen said he travelled to the Philippines regularly at his own cost to see his friends and his fiancée.

    He supports both her and her family.

    “All the innuendo is false,’’ he said.

    “Apart from jaywalking or speeding, I have never, in my entire life, committed a criminal offence either in Australia or overseas.”

    Senior government officials were aware of AFP inquiries early in September last year, following a meeting between AFP boss Andrew Colvin and senior bureaucrat Martin Parkinson over the matter.

    Separately, it is understood a DFAT employee — who had worked at the embassy — later privately passed on concerns to a senior Labor MP, who felt the information should be passed on to the AFP. That ­occurred in mid-November.

    In a letter to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton this year, the AFP said it had finished its inquiries and found no evidence of criminality. But it warned that the MP remained at risk of being compromised by foreign interests

    Believe George if you want to, I don’t.

    The Herald Sun had to run that article because they broke the story. Other media picked it up, someone mentioned George’s name and then that particular article was quickly taken down. We’ve had journalist Asher Moses claiming he has been sitting on this story for a year and no-one would publish it. It seems there’s a lot more to this story but it really does seem to have been deliberately hushed up.

    If you are simply sending money and affectionate messages to your fiance and her family then why encrypt them?

    George announced his engagement in September this year, he claimed he had met his alleged fiance at the beginning of 2017 while holidaying in the Philippines. He said he planned to get married after the 2019 election. How very convenient this story seems. Was it neatly concocted to explain George’s trips to Asia? Did he only visit the Philippines or did he make trips to other parts of south-east Asia as well? Were the encrypted messages intended to hide his travel plans?
    https://outline.com/qk6H7u

    The government has told us a lot of lies about this business. The longer it goes on the more lies there are.

    Among the liars – Craig Kelly, who appeared on The Project last night to say George, being a good Christian chap, was just sending money to a church. He didn’t know what church though, so that gives a good indication of the truth of his claim. Isn’t Craig in enough trouble with his business with FauxMo’s fixer offering bribes to his would-be opponent for pre-selection?

    • According to the wags on Twitter George speaks basic Malay Thai Tagalog. He isn’t the most attractive suitor and as he commutes between high paid Canberra and poverty stricken electorate he might prefer to pay for sex rather than nurture & negotiate a relationship

      Most people communicate via What’s App when travelling, you know who can read your messages and you can make phone calls free. Oh and it’s encrypted

    • Yep, some one is getting Bruce Pascoe “Dark Emu” for Christmas. I wonder if I can finish it first?

    • I’ve read “Dark Emu”. It should be required reading in Australian schools.

      Another book on the same topic is “The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia” by Bill Gammage. I haven’t read it yet, I have it on my Kindle ready for post-Christmas reading.

    • Matches The Age page 2 article that describes a Christmas meal according to dietary guidelines, not able to copy
      Entree
      6 oysters
      or 3 prawns
      or 4 sticks of tomato boccocini and basil leaf

      Main
      80 g turkey or 100g seafood
      1/2 cup dry roasted starchy vegetables
      1 1/2 cup steamed green vegetables

      Dessert
      1 cup chopped fruit with 2 scoop icecream
      or 40g of pudding with 1/2 cup custard

      alcohol and sugary drinks – NO NO NO

    • https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/bah-humbug-what-you-should-be-eating-for-christmas-lunch-20181219-p50n5z.html

      Not my taste-

      I don’t eat oysters.
      Could I have some lettuce and a nice dressing instead of that one undressed basil leaf?
      I loathe turkey.
      Seafood is something I just don’t eat.
      I’m not supposed to eat starchy vegetables, but if I do eat them I never dry roast them. Any nutritionist worth their salt would know that duck fat – the only thing to use for roast vegies – is a healthy fat and quite OK for the occasional indulgence.

  38. I LOL the BOM’s “No shit Sherlock” bit after forecasting 41 C for Perth we are informed “Very hot and sunny”.

    Currently 39C , lucky xmas shoppers. I’m huddling indoors.

  43. Alex Lavelle is having mashed spud

    A year ago, one of the senior ministers in what was then the Turnbull government ventured into a topic that was so far wide of his normal scope of interests that it was fair to ask if he really knew what he was talking about.

    Peter Dutton, then-immigration minister, had just taken on the super-charged portfolio of Minister for Home Affairs, a role that placed him at the nation’s pinnacle of security, border control, immigration, emergency response management and law enforcement.

    With law enforcement duties in his clutch, it might have been presumed that Mr Dutton’s musings about the crime rate in Victoria, and the ostensible fear level in the community, would have been informed by hard facts and statistics, or at least tempered by a modicum of thoughtfulness and intelligence.

    Yes, there had been several grievous instances of aggravated burglaries, car-jackings, assaults and rampaging in 2017, and they continued into the new year. And, yes, some of those heinous and violent incidents had been perpetrated by youths and thugs of various ethnic backgrounds. Including young men and women of African descent in numbers disproportionate to their community’s representation in the broader population.

    Some of the youths and thugs were also of Pacific Islander descent. And of Anglo-Saxon descent.
    Mr Dutton, though, spent much of last Christmas and the new year break perpetrating the lie that crime in Victoria was out of control. And perpetrating the lie that Victorians were fearful to go out at night, that criminal thugs had reduced this community to a trembling wreck.

    Voters put paid to that lie a few weeks ago, when they overwhelmingly rejected the Liberal’s platform of policies, including those built around fear and division. And last week, as the second Andrews government got down to business, the state’s Crime Statistics Agency released data showing that, by almost every measure, Victoria’s crime rate for the 12 months to September is at a several-years’ low.

    Do the math. There are more police on the beat and the crime rate is down. That does not necessarily represent a causal chain, but the overall result is pleasing. For one, Victorians might feel safer in knowing there are more police monitoring and responding to community concerns. And they might feel safer knowing that the crime rate, in real and trend terms, is down.

    At the same time, many of the recidivist thugs, who perpetrated rampages and assaults in 2016 and 2017, may now be in detention.

    For all Mr Dutton’s ill-informed and racially divisive hyperbole, which was intended to bolster the state Liberal Party’s law and order platform ahead of the 2018 election, Victorians somehow muddled through. And, ‘lo, they are still going out at night, still wining and dining, and still strolling the streets.
    For the victims, the criminal episodes were unquestionably terrifying and life-changing. Fear, or heightened caution, no doubt shadows them and their families. But politicians’ false fear-mongering will not cower this community.

    There are lies, and then there are damned statistics.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/trust-the-statistics-not-dutton-on-crime-20181222-p50nw1.html

  45. I’d take all that Revelation nonsense a little more seriously if it didn’t have that NewsCorp tag.

    It actually echoes some of the stuff I’ve been saying about FauxMo and his Jerusalem embassy brainfart. It shows the dangers involved in having a Pentecostal PM. Other than that, it’s mostly dystopian fantasy.

    There’s no chance Australia will fall for the “Christian government” thing, especially not after those “good Christian boys” Barnaby and Broad got themselves into strife. although there was that Pentecostal pastor who said darkness would descend on this country if we voted FauxMo and his government out of office. Better stock up on candles before the election, just in case he’s right.

    “Barnaby and Broad” – doesn’t that sound like a vaudeville act! It makes me which one is the dummy and which one is the ventriloquist, and where dear, charitable, ever-so-Christian George fits into the act.

    I don’t think I’ll be needing a Handmaid outfit just yet.

    • Sorry, Leone.

      Was feeling a bit down earlier. Better – ish now.

      Anyway, I wouldn’t qualify for Handmaids – my fertility years are done and dusted …

  46. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Nick O’Malley reports that things are not looking up for Abbott in Warringah.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/grassroots-tony-abbott-warringah-election-independent-20181222-p50nvo.html
    Jacqui Maley says that even the CWA is turning away from the Coalition.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sigh-now-the-voters-of-australia-are-forced-to-add-moral-disgust-to-our-political-burden-20181221-p50npj.html
    In n informative contribution Gabrielle Chan writes that the Nationals face their biggest threat yet after an annus horribilis.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/23/nationals-face-their-biggest-threat-yet-after-an-annus-horribilis
    Parts of the US government began shutting down on Saturday for the third time this year after a bipartisan spending deal collapsed over Trump’s demands for more money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/us-government-shutdown-begins-as-trump-and-democrats-negotiate-on-border-wall-20181222-p50nwp.html
    Nicole Hasham reports that former colleagues of an Australian Border Force officer who took his life say he was deeply distressed by his treatment at work and his superiors have “blood on their hands”, in the second suicide linked to the toxic culture pervading this quasi-military federal agency.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/blood-on-their-hands-border-force-slammed-after-second-employee-suicide-20181218-p50mym.html
    And out goes another odious Young Liberal powerbroker.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/bloodletting-young-liberal-powerbroker-steps-amid-derogatory-texts-20181222-p50nxd.html
    Liberal Party member Oliver Yates says Angus Taylor may have won the day by thwarting discussion of a climate and energy roadmap at COAG last week, but he may well have also lost the federal Coalition’s last ally in that forum.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/liberals-seize-a-clean-energy-future-while-our-federal-colleagues-fail-20181221-p50nm3.html
    The AFR says a triple pile-on on Scott Morrison government’s big stick energy policies this week leaves the government with nowhere to go in a policy field they chose to fight on in the coming election.
    https://outline.com/GwEzXp
    Eryk Bagshaw goes through the failing PaTH intern program that is being misused by certain employers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/one-business-used-17-interns-but-offered-no-jobs-in-taxpayer-funded-program-20181222-p50nwk.html
    Peter FitzSimons recons Margaret Cunneen was picked because her views accord with setting up only the most toothless of toothless tigers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-expert-you-pick-for-a-corruption-body-without-bite-20181221-p50noa.html
    The National Broadband Network is as much as two years behind its completion deadline and the technology needs “billions and billions of dollars” to “catch up”. The project is also facing a budget blowout of $900 million and, according to experts, could cost millions of dollars more in repair work that has yet to be revealed. What a terrible cockup!
    https://outline.com/5vxpJW
    The latest online dump of Federal politicians’ expenses claims by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) is, once again, an exposé in extravagance and hypocrisy by our Federal politicians.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/out-of-control-expenses-claims-made-by-federal-politicians,12227
    The SMH editorial tells us to chill out a bit.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/try-a-little-tenderness-this-christmas-20181221-p50nr7.html
    Even the meatheads on Fox and Friends reckon Trump is crazy pulling out of Syria.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/he-just-refounded-isis-fox-news-bucks-trump-again-20181222-p50nud.html
    The Times in the UK tells us that Trump’s sudden decision to withdraw US troops from Syria came during a phone call with President Erdogan of Turkey and took the US defence leadership by surprise.
    https://www.outline.com/g4hDNL
    How long can the system hold together in Trump’s America?
    https://outline.com/7wSNg9
    The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, has denounced “discrimination against people of faith”. Pot, kettle, black?
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/catholic-leader-denounces-discrimination-against-people-of-faith-20181221-p50nmj.html
    This might shed some light on my comment on the preceding article. Faith can exist without the church and organised religion, but the church cannot exist without controlling the faithful, writes Kim Wingerei.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/church-and-religion—the-real-enemies-of-faith,12229
    Eryk Bagshaw writes about George Christensen’s woes.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nationals-mp-george-christensen-lashes-out-at-smear-campaign-20181222-p50nui.html
    And for nomination for “Arseholes of the Week” is this story. The executive chairman of failed ASX-listed minerals group ­Condor Blanco Mines has accuse­d the former managing directo­r of stealing millions of dollars from the company by oper­ating an international share issue scam with the help of its chief financial officer and a prominent Sydney law firm.
    https://outline.com/gj6jPe

    Cartoon Corner

    From Matt Golding.




    From Reg Lynch.

    From Mike Luckovich in the US.

    Jon Kudelka and Christmas in Bethlehem.

  47. George Christensen threatens to take legal action –

    What a laugh!

    He will never do that. If he does he will have to tell the truth about his Asian adventures to a courtroom filled with reporters. And who is he going to sue? The entire ALP? Every news site that reported the allegations? The horde of tweeters who gleefully passed around the story?

    Not one member of the government has defended George. Neither FauxMo or McCormack has bothered to have a presser where they stand by George and declare his innocence, usual form for this government when bad behaviour by yet another member has been revealed There have been no official statements declaring George’s innocence. This silence tells us so much.

    Bring on the legal action, George. We can’t wait!

  49. Is there nothing FauxMo won’t lie about?

    He blames slow Christmas spending on Labor’s negative gearing policy.

    FFS!

    Labor isn’t in government. I don’t think the idiot realises that.

    Any reasons for people hanging on to what money they have are due to his government’s policies – or lack of them.

    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/pm-urges-voters-to-get-shopping-as-retailers-sweat-on-sales-lift-20181219-p50n80.html

    I had to shop today, I had to buy vegies for the salad I have to take to Christmas lunch, some fruit for me and food for the cats, anything else can wait until after the big day. Judging by the crowds at the supermarket everyone was out shopping until they dropped. Sunday afternoon is usually very quiet, a time I like to shop, but of course, not today.

    • FauxMo realises that, but doesn’t let it impede his thought bubbles.

      I also shopped today – needed to get a chook to roast this evening, as Melbourne is in for a hot spell for the next few days.

      My cunning plan for tomorrow is to hit our magnificent greengrocer at 7am, to buy the salad ingredients for three days. Home to put stuff into the fridge, then off to work to scan another box of documents – mission almost complete!!!

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