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AusPoliGAF |OT| Boats? What Boats?
- Thread starter Bernbaum
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Elaugaufein
Member
I'm pretty sure you're being sarcastic. But just in case you're not, no that's not even close to my position, I think the ALP is generally well meaning but souless / spineless but that's considerably better than the LNP's determined war on the underprivileged (however competently or incompetently its carried out). But I'm also not going to vote for the lesser of two evils because its the lesser of two evils, in a center dominated system that will only achieve a drift towards greater evil in the long term
The biased interview he's talking about at the top of the piece was with Hockey, not Abbott. It was considered overly aggressive, quite ironic considering Bolt's writing style. The author of the report actually rated the budget reporting from the ABC that the interview is from as "excellent".
i cant possibly see how any greenie would get mad at a rise in pup seats (ignoring their quick descent into polling irrelevance post-election) when it would be dwarfed the gains the greens would get and the impacts it would have on the coalition and the alp. she needs to be fired asap.
Andrew Bolt is a haemorrhoid.
I vote Green and I don't mind
Candescence
Member
Pretty sure this hasn't been posted, but Mad As Hell pretty much went to town on LNP's obsession with Labor. To borrow a previous gif...
bobnowhere
Member
It just keeps getting better: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-20/new-submarines-will-not-be-built-by-australia-company/6159834
After such a song and dance on wanting to keep production local and it even being a pre-election "promise", a surprise to no one to hear that they are now moving production to overseas companies. Though I guess Abbott got what he wanted before heading into backstab territory.
After such a song and dance on wanting to keep production local and it even being a pre-election "promise", a surprise to no one to hear that they are now moving production to overseas companies. Though I guess Abbott got what he wanted before heading into backstab territory.
I'm still confused. Is it or is it not a legit piece of news?
And yes, I've read the article.
Elaugaufein
Member
I think its real because it's to ridiculous to be satire ?
bobnowhere
Member
I'm still not 100% sure either, they can't be serious, can they?
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/18/islanders-shocked-australia-moves-ban-kava
Lol banning kava.
They've certainly burned all bridges with the Pacific iskands and fiji now! Just destroying all relations with Indonesia was just not enough for the Australian government.
Lol banning kava.
They've certainly burned all bridges with the Pacific iskands and fiji now! Just destroying all relations with Indonesia was just not enough for the Australian government.
roosters93
Member
Liked this article from oldtimer Richard Ackland
On asylum seekers, Malcolm Turnbull asks us to swallow the unswallowable
Everyone already knows of Ruddock's incorrigibly abominable character but the article does a good job of unpacking why any claim by the Abbott Govt to having been nice to the kiddies in detention is bull
On asylum seekers, Malcolm Turnbull asks us to swallow the unswallowable
Everyone already knows of Ruddock's incorrigibly abominable character but the article does a good job of unpacking why any claim by the Abbott Govt to having been nice to the kiddies in detention is bull
You don't ever see legit news from SMH now, do you.
shanshan310
Member
Weird timing. Just tried kava for the first time in Fiji a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty gross, but I can appreciate the group atmosphere drinking it brings.
It sounds like the smuggling ring is what needs to be taken care of, not all kava in the country.
Elaugaufein
Member
But why would you address the actual problem when you can create overbearing oppressive legislation instead ? That legislation can be expanded to other things you don't like later whereas solving the problem only solves the problem.
pretty much. Why not ban alcohol instead of kava though? Kava basically makes you lazy and sleepy... thats it. Or a kava tax, or something along those lines. Of course alcohol wouldn't ever be banned...
Just ticks me off how stupid this government is, theres far worse things that you should be focusing on atm, and stopping one smuggling ring is somehow impossible for the AFP?
Elaugaufein
Member
I'm pretty sure that Alcohol is actually heavily restricted in the NT communities that are at the heart of this. Banning alcohol for the general population would never happen but there seems to be significant (though not unanimous) support for heavily controlling Aboriginal access to it.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-...invasion-of-iraq/story-fnpdbcmu-1227233174095
This story really has to be googled pass the paywall to be believed.
Fucking holy shit Abbott wanted to send in 3500 troops into Iraq without US or NATO support.
This story really has to be googled pass the paywall to be believed.
Fucking holy shit Abbott wanted to send in 3500 troops into Iraq without US or NATO support.
bobnowhere
Member
I imagine the advice that came back was, "No, are you fucking crazy?"
For a long time I was quite ok with Abbott as PM. I didn't vote for him, but the antics of the ALP as the previous government persuaded the majority to vote for the other. That's democracy, you don't always get what you want. Put up with their obsessive pro-business aims, they have moderators in the senate, it can't be that bad and hope the ALP get their shit together.
Now I'm starting to wonder if he really is a crazy person, a sociopath, a nutjob, a man with unparallelled ego. He may actually be dangerous for the country and more importantly, everyone in it. Hell I'd take Chris Pyne at this point.
I must admit after all that has happened this story legitimately shocked me.
A decision like this takes unrivaled stupidity and egotism unlike any PM before (all PM's have an ego but non have been this stupid).
My position before was that his presence made it easier for the ALP to win in 2016 so I thought he should stay, now I'm convinced he absolutely has to go fucking ASAP. He is far to unstable and dangerous to be anywhere near government.
The last year has been a long chain of "Well yeah that was worse than we imagined, but surely they can't be any worse than that?"
It's depressing
The basis of the story about Abbot wanting to send troops seems quite weak. There are quite a few things in there that are concrete though. I haven't read the story, just what the other papers are saying. It's pretty clear Murdoch wants Abbott gone. To print such a sensationalist story, with no names attached to verify it, is propaganda. It's total hearsay. The other thing we know is that the story has originated from within the Liberal ranks.
Printing this story is about building the crazy Abbott narrative and eventually ousting him. This is very similar to what Rudd was doing to Gillard.
Printing this story is about building the crazy Abbott narrative and eventually ousting him. This is very similar to what Rudd was doing to Gillard.
Was at a Newcastle Council Ward By-election today. Things overheard included "We must kill all the politicians and replace them with normal people" and the Labor candidate being scolded by a member of the public for not passing the Federal budget measures through the Senate.
Council elections are the best.
Council elections are the best.
shanshan310
Member
holy shit. How could he possibly have thought that was a good enough idea to actually suggest it to other people? And how did no one say anything before it got to the military leaders!? Yes, unilaterally invading a country on the other side of the world with 3000 troops is a great idea.
bobnowhere
Member
Interesting retort to the allegations from The Australian from the PM. I can't remember the extact words but, "At no point was a formal meeting called to make a formal request." Formal is a great weasel word, so it's pretty clear he broached the subject with the military and they laughed it off.
A
A More Normal Bird
Unconfirmed Member
I haven't read the story but is there a timeframe for when this was supposed to have occurred? If you cast your mind back to when John Kerry was in Australia Abbott was saying things like "we can't rule anything in or out," when asked about Australia sending troops even though the US had already ruled it out for themselves. At the time I thought he was just blustering because it was obvious Australia would only ever be a part of a larger US-led operation but maybe he was actually considering it.
bobnowhere
Member
Last November. It probably was informal, but the timing of the internal leak is all about further destabilising his leadership. Another spill must be on at some point in the near future.
29 days according to Micallef.
In local government news... http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ryde-mayo...-at-putney-polling-booth-20150221-13l3sh.html
:S
:S
Another twist to the sending troops tale. Abbott is giving a national security statement on Monday. The article from the Australian will turn a lot of the questions towards this story and how it was able to get past Credlin and company. Who needs facts? The whole thing could be a complete fabrication and could completely derail what is a very important debate.
Elaugaufein
Member
My money is on the statement being more security theatre to wedge Labor rather than instantiating any actual debate on national security. National security and the economy are traditionally the Coalition's strong point. Having ballsed up the latter I can't see any interest whatsoever in honest debate of the former. But miracles could happen.
I wasn't expecting anything honest about national security from Abbott. That's why I think it's important that he properly get grilled about it. Although this troop thing has brought his national security credentials into question. It is in a very sneakie and illegitimate way so it doesn't feel like any kind of victory for the left.
roosters93
Member
As bobnowhere said Abbott is now playing wordgames and has all but come out and admitted it's true...
“I read an article in the paper this morning and I must say I thought it was absolutely fanciful and I rang the Chief of the Defence Force to ask him about it and he’s as mystified by it as I am,” Abbott said. “The idea there was a meeting in late November where I formally asked for advice and formally suggested that a large Australian force should go unilaterally to Iraq is wrong – just wrong.”
I personally can't read that any other way then the story is true and he doesn't want to admit to it but he's smart enough not to lie about it completely either.
Abbott is such a gaffe machine he could have said formal because he thought it sounded more prime ministerial. I'm not arguing that he didn't put forward the troops idea. It sounds like something he would say. My issue with this is the evidence is lame. It's gossip and in the end doesn't align with the actual policy. This is the same dirty politics that gave us debt and deficit disaster, stop the boats and of course Tony Abbott himself. It's a stupid gaffe made in private. It doesn't help or raise the level of debate. It's just more of the same meaningless bullshit that's disillusioned so many Australians.
Edit: The real story here isn't Abbott. It's The Australian creating news, not reporting it. It's on the front page! With this little to back it up, it should have been tucked back in the meat of the paper, if at all. This is The Australian, the media, playing politics. That's what happens in facist states.
Edit: The real story here isn't Abbott. It's The Australian creating news, not reporting it. It's on the front page! With this little to back it up, it should have been tucked back in the meat of the paper, if at all. This is The Australian, the media, playing politics. That's what happens in facist states.
Elaugaufein
Member
There's nothing new in Murdoch papers playing politics. Or making up stories based on almost nothing. Even in turning on sitting Coalition Prime Ministers. They've done it in the past when things were obviously past the point of no return to preserve their reputation as Kingmakers (and often for what at least appeared to be quid pro quo from the other side of the contest ). Not that it isn't as scummy as all hell or something I'd like to do away with. Its just not a recent phenomenon.
I never said it was a recent phenomena. What's your argument here? Due to precedent we should allow Murdoch to influence our democracy via dirty means? Because we've turned a blind eye in the past we can't now call him out for it? The ABC gets called out for bias when an interviewer is a little overly emotive and here we have Murdoch and company blatantly pushing an agenda. It should be pointed out by the media, by the politicians, by us on the web every time they do it. Otherwise we might as well admit to being a Murdochracy.
I read an article in the paper this morning and I must say I thought it was absolutely fanciful and I rang the Chief of the Defence Force to ask him about it and hes as mystified by it as I am, Abbott said.
I was on the national security committee at the time, I can confirm what the prime minister said. It is fanciful, social services minister Scott Morrison said.
Agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, a Nationals MP, said the report was so out there its fanciful.
Did they all agree on that specific word? lol
bobnowhere
Member
Pretty much, Mattias Corman was also using Formal a lot on the weekend too. Pretty much standard political practice. The tactics team gets up early reads all the papers and prepares missives for all the members of the party, government or opposition, to follow everytime they speak to the media. The whole thing is a bit of a joke most of the time, the media and public zone out, but sometimes if enough people repeat the line and repeat it for long enough, well you get the Abbott government!
Elaugaufein
Member
I agree with you. I was just saying it's not really news that the Murdoch press is scummy, its their standard operating procedure. I'd love to see it called out more often , I just doubt it will be, the media and politicians are either on board with it or worried about seeming biased against a rival (or not politically neutral) on the other. There are exceptions but they've been calling out the Murdoch press for years and no one has really listened yet (apart from the abysmal trust rating the Murdoch papers get).
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