Just one of the emails that crossed my desktop today. From Eric Fleay to corporate affairs @ the ABC, CC’d to myself, The Bunyip, Catallaxy, MichaelSmith, and Pickering. (Thank you Eric, such praise, for bloggers and commenters)
I would not have said things this way myself, but for all those who claim the ABC is not biased and shows no favors to the Labor Party, where is the ALP-green-voter-anger at the ABC? Do they complain that the taxpayer is forced to pay for a news service that does not cover environmental or green issues, or represent the voices of people who want more big-government hand-outs and regulation? Where are the calls from those who benefit from the gravy train to “purge” the ABC because it ignores them, denigrates, name-calls, and misinforms them with one-sided views and incompetent news? – Jo
——————————————————————————————————-
Dear Ms ABC,
I have long bypassed television, radio and newspapers in favour of the internet to stay abreast of what is happening in the wider world. What I find amazing is that surely the ‘quality’ journalists touted by the MSM here in this country must go on the net themselves. Surely? That they must, means that they are all, generally speaking, either stupid or corrupt, and if corrupt, either morally or venally so. I mean, how could anyone otherwise peddle the nonsense one gets on the ABC when they have access to real news?
Anyway, to get to the point; I have long realised that that same deficiency applies vis-a-vis affairs here in Oz, and so truly sickening the bias that infects the ABC, I have over the years maintained only a casual interest in national affairs. That is, until earlier this year when friends called my attention to the websites copied to this email.
My bedtime reading is now a joy, tootling off to pleasant dreams after perusing the truly astonishing number of articulate, funny, well informed and insightful fellow Australians who regularly fill the comments sections of these wonderful sites.
I am now certainly a part of that growing groundswell of ordinary citizens who would support, to the hilt, the most ruthless possible purging of the ABC by any new Prime Minister.
To paraphrase Lady C.:
I take no leave of you, Ms ABC. I send no compliments to your management. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously displeased.
Eric Fleay
I’m really looking forward to the ABC’s rebuttal……
100
That would depend on whether the PR (Propaganda Resources) department is having a “golf day” or not.
100
Shouldn’t that be Nembutol rather than rebuttal????????????
40
😀
They already drank the climate Kool-Aid, it’s time for them to take it to the next level!
I reckon Michael Mann learned his paleoclimatology tradecraft from that old ABC children’s classic “Mr Squiggle”.
MISS JANE: That looks like a very innocuous Tiljander river sediment to me, Mr Mann. It does’t look like much 20th century warming at all!
MIKE: Upside down! Upside down! Upside down!
😀
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Re-butt-all; means kiss-my-a** . ABC will ignore, probably bin it, like every other criticism they receive.
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Rebuttal? Maybe more like an excuse — weak in the knees and feverish with vile sickness…
At least that’s what I would expect based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen here at home.
.
.
.
Jo, isn’t it wonderful when someone completely unrelated to your blog tosses the bomb for you? 🙂
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Jo,
When do you sleep? I posted something with a 2:00 AM timestamp on the previous thread. At that time this thread wasn’t visible. My power went down for a while and when it came back I looked again and here’s this thread with a first comment timestamp of 2:19 AM.
I know those are West Australia times so it’s the middle of the night. You do an amazing amount of work. What’s your secret? No, don’t give away any secrets. It’s not fair to ask.
Anyway, to day is a Holiday in America, our National Day of Thanksgiving. And one of the things I’m thankful for is your dedication to this effort. In the daily routine of life’s pressure cooker it’s too easy to take joannenova.com.au for granted. So I think it’s time I should say it, lest it get forgotten. Thank you for what you do!
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Roy,
The reason Jo keeps going throughout the night is because she is powered by solar panels, giving her base load energy to survive throughout the night. 😀
00
Jo,
Clue me in. There must be some history or story behind use of the name Oz as a nickname for Australia. Where does it come from and why?
10
Roy, try this ,
Why is Australia called Oz?
The word Australia when referred to informally with its first three letters becomes Aus. When Aus or Aussie, the short form for an Australian, is pronounced for fun with a hissing sound at the end, it sounds as though the word being pronounced has the spelling Oz.
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Thanks Bob. I shoulda put 2 and 2 together when John Brookes spelled Aussies out phonetically for us U.S. English types as, “Ozzies.” Dense! I owe you one, John.
30
Besides, we down under
considerused to consider we live at the end of the yellow brick road.It increasingly seems we now live on a slippery slope to oblivion.
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And you are “lead” by the wicked witch?
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I was going to mention that, but it is so obvious,I found it superfluous.
30
Ah, but I am at my best when stating the bleeding obvious! 🙂
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Yes, obvious. I was going to say, “Look behind the curtain, you won’t find a bald headed man, but a red-headed woman.”
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@ Rereke Whakaaro
“And you are “lead” by the wicked witch?”
It would seem so …
(60 years on, and I still feel like grabbing a hiding cushion when the latter day version appears.)
On the other hand (slightly misquoted no doubt)
“Not so fast – this has to be done delicately”
That doesn’t fit too well does it.
Also, this time round, you can’t solve the problem by throwing water – I think that’s been tried already.
40
True Bob
But it doesn’t stop this from being one of my favourite songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I
KK 🙂
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Great version, Keith 🙂
10
I started using the screen name TonyfromOz in early 2005 when I started asking questions and then contributing at the Mothers Car Care Wax Forum site, and yes I know, it does seem a little unrelated to anything else I may do, but I really wanted to know how to best look after my car.
From that site, I struck up a friendship with someone who has turned into an excellent friend, and we have shared emails on a daily basis from that time, sometimes many emails a day. He sends me links and I send him links, and more come from him because he has a wider menu to choose from.
I would rarely, if ever, leave Comments (other than that Mothers site) at any other site at all, and on one occasion, in March of 2008, I did leave a Comment at this one particular article at a site which Bob in Stockton sent me the link to. The site owner asked if he could use my Comment as a Post of its own, and would I like to contribute Posts there. I had never done anything like this before and had no idea where to start. That is how I started what I do now.
Right from day one, the site owner asked specifically about the ‘Oz’ thing, and when he asked me to write my bio for the site, he told me to make sure I added an explanation as to what it meant, and I’ve lost count of the number of times I have had to explain it.
Having used it now for almost 8 years, I still get asked about it.
Tony.
Link to My Bio at the site I contribute at, and where I am now the Senior Editor. (Oh wow! Big Deal!!!!)
80
Tony I presume you were disscussing waxing cars?
00
I had just gotten hold of my latest car, my first non Toyota after 4 Corollas, and a Camry in 36 years, and my first car that wasn’t new. This was a 4 year old top of the range Holden Astra, (the Opel based Astra) and it was in absolutely perfect condition. However, it did have some small marks on the roof, and I enquired about how to rectify them at an AutObarn outlet, and the franchise operator there mentioned I might better ask about products and procedures at that Mothers site.
It turned out that the clear coat over the paint was etched, and the cause of that was acidic in nature, deposits from a flying fox that had not been cleaned off immediately they were noticed, and anyway, that really didn’t matter all that much, because with a deposit like that, it starts to etch that clear coat almost immediately.
From that, I caught the bug, and I still have that Astra now, and it’s more pristine now than when it was on the showroom floor.
At first, it seemed to be a hell of a lot of work, but now it takes virtually no time at all. The more you do it, the more it becomes just a routine. Easy peasy really.
Tony.
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I waxed Lyrical once, but the fumes gave her a headache.
90
I think I knew her……
20
Roy Hogue comments on Jo’s work ethic, the timestamp, and Thanksgiving. I totally agree with thanking Jo for her efforts. Regarding the timestamp – maybe it is not based on her location. I’ll post at about 9:44 AM (Pacific Standard Time USA) [5:44 GMT] and see what shows up with the comment. Some blogs show the time at the server location.
As regards Thanksgiving, being partly a ‘harvest’ thing, the US is a month behind Canada and a half-year out of phase with Australia. But Happy Thanksgiving to all, regardless.
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I think you will find that it is Sydney time, so I guess that is where the servers are based.
Perth is three hours behind that, so a post timed at 2 am will have been submitted at 11 pm the day before.
50
Damn time warps
10
It’s the date line that gets you. When I was in Saigon I never could keep it straight.
00
Roy nothing in Saigon was straight. Still isn’t
00
Hi David
No place is perfect.
Saigon is one of those places that is on the surface reasonably safe and “straight”, but of course
that depends on your idea of straight.
Are we talking personal safety or politics or corruption?
I feel safer in Saigon and Vietnam generally than I would in Barcelona for example; reminder never,
ever to go back to Spain, especially the big B.
KK
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David,
Yes, there was much wrong with the place and still is. But even back then, with the war sending refugees into Saigon by the trainload, some of Saigon was as beautiful a city as you could hope to find. For contrast — there are places within a few minutes drive from me that I wouldn’t try to walk through at night, much less live in.
The people were also “straight” for the most part, hard working and no less trustworthy than any group of people under terrible stress. So I try to keep the place and its people separate from their leaders and politics. I have to do the same thing right here in my own country by the way.
00
Well put Roy.
I live in a so called civilised western society, but would be stupid to go out on foot late at night.
The alcohol industry has taken over our city.
By contrast, in Saigon, a pragmatic decision was taken to protect the tourist dollars that flowed into the country.
They tried the other way and it didn’t work. The tourist and returning industry stopped dead in it’s
tracks for a while.
People were not going to go to VN if they were constantly harassed by every policeman or minor official for money.
So for tourists it is OK. For the locals however there is another side that is less pleasant.
I have only had two brushes with a party animal in VN. Chilling is the only word I can think of to describe what I felt.
This site that looks at some of the less pleasant aspects of a police state , see cartoon at the bottom of this page near the beer for all article.
http://www.muinebeach.net/
I don’t know how this bloke survives with some of the stories he has put up.
The face of politics of a country does not always reflect the nature of the people.
Just look at Australia. Judging by our politicians you would think we were all stupid.
KK 🙂
00
Its just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right.
20
I can imagine the ABC choosing which protest to cover in the news.
Protest 1) A protest just like this only bigger.
Protest 2)
A large group of Building and health workers holding signs that read “Steal more from our childrens mouths”. Over and over again this happy, dedicated and loyal mob would be chanting:
“A union ..defrauded …will always be defeated”,
“A union ..defrauded …will always be defeated”,
“A union ..defrauded …will always be defeated”.
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Look, let’s be realistic.
The days where some TV channel or Radio executives can effectively coerce a population along the lines of any particular direction are numbered. The Old media are in their dying throes – just as the catholic church were in europe as a result of the printing press.
The days of force feeding a repetitive party line to the masses until they believe it are on their way out.
Interestingly the old medias arguments against the new media are exactly the same as the arguments the Catholic church used in copernicus’ time. That’s right – the current mob can’t even come up with any original arguments.
The younger ones are switching off to the spoon fed partisan agendas spouted by organisations like the ABC.
The rent seekers and ideologically driven nutters who seem to end up in those institutions will have to leave the world of make believe and actually do something productive for society.
$1B per year of the ABC – with respect to their news coverage and current affairs attempts? What a complete waste of my money. I resent paying for such a biased ALP puppet to try and force feed the ALPs smears.
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The trouble is that they have recognized the threat of the Internet for what it is and are trying to put the genie back in the bottle..
http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/google/google-asks-users-to-stand-up-against-internet-censorship/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/technology/google-un-itu-internet-censorship-december-china-russia-317195.html
Google has come out swinging against a United Nations (UN) led effort to decide the future of the open Internet at a December meeting of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a body run by the UN.
Google’s website, at http://www.google.com/takeaction/, provides detailed information about possible upcoming legislative changes at the behind-closed-doors ITU meeting next month. The website features a video of people around the world saying “a free and open web depends on me” in their native language and requests the viewer to take action to “tell them (governments) you support a free and open web.”
On its website, Google says that in December, “the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is bringing together regulators from around the world to re-negotiate a decades-old communications treaty” and that “proposed changes to the treaty could increase censorship and threaten innovation.”
The upcoming UN/ITU proposal is not new. Over the last year, countries with repressive Internet censorship–particularly China and Russia–have become more vocal about having the United States turn over oversight of the core Internet functionality to the United Nations.
Note: The UN want to control the Internet – these are the same guys in the middle of the whole AGW meme..
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There needs to be an international organization that can counter the U.N. …. something like a ‘Freedom Federation’ that can stand up to the big global control freak, compete against it for resources, and prevent it from being the ‘only show in town’
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What we need is to close it down, throw out every last vestige of it and start over with a different, much more limited mandate.
Unfortunately that won’t work either, as history has proven over and over again. So just closing it down and replacing it with nothing seems like the only real alternative.
Never create an organization of any kind, tell it to protect you from yourself and give it any degree of power over you. If you do, it will end up being your master.
30
That’s a Bite Back I wish I could have made! Well done Mr. Fleay!
20
Just had a little wander around the idea of a climate advisory group for the ABC of the ’28gate’ vaiety and identified the ‘ABC Advisory Council’, biblically numbered 12,
http://www.abc.net.au/corp/abcac/
‘The ABC Advisory Council (ABCAC) was established under the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983. All appointments to the ABC Advisory Council are made by the ABC Board’. The role of the Advisory Council is described. Requirements include: ‘Maintain contact with your community and seek their opinions on the ABC’, and ‘View, listen, access ABC programs and services and review all aspects of output’.
I noticed that one requirement is to: ‘Uphold the values of the ABC of integrity, respect, collegiality and innovation’. Astonishingly, nowhere is it mentioned that impartiality and critical evaluation are aspired ‘values’.
Given the flagrant political dishonesty of carbon tax, to matters surrounding climate change discourse and the melange of toxic issues that have sprung forth from this well of deception it is not at all obvious as we all know, that the ABC reflects the true tenor of this discourse, preferring instead to manifest a globally ‘settled’ view.
The Advisory Council is convened by Ms Joan McKain, the deputy convenor being Mr Taylor Tran. The ‘twelve’ may be identified at the above site together with short bio’s. Representation to this Advisory Group, along the lines of ‘Dear Ms ABC’ with searching questions regarding their accurate reflection of public debate and concern to the ABC Board together with the resultant response from the Board would be truly fascinating, though perhaps not informative.
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A great idea Manfred.
A good start would be to get a response to the list and comments put up by Crackar24 recently.
He listed a range of scientists who claim to have been misrepresented by the UN IPCC Summation of their input.
These are the “experts” being quoted.
These are “the scientists” and part of the fabled 3,000 scientists who created the UNIPCC reports.
There is a division that shows up, Scientists report on their specialty topics and the political appointees “create” the summary which is not a summary of scientific work but a flagrant distortion purely aimed at advocacy of the CAGW theme.
That needs to be exposed.
KK
50
ABC’s Charter – (under ‘Standards’) :
“4.2 Present a diversity of perspectives so that, over time, no significant strand of thought
or belief within the community is knowingly excluded or disproportionately represented.”
Does the board follow their charter, or are the lunatics in charge of the asylum?
30
For the first time in ages I watched a bit of the Drum last night as an experiment.
The young lady in the centre was very adamant in her performance and no doubt convinced any waverers that the
CAGW Religion was alive and kicking and that Government-National Debt was irrelevant when you are Saving the World.
I felt like throwing up – is this what billions of taxpayers dollars has come to?
An advocacy show for the Planet Savers and others occupying the Higher Moral Ground.
KK
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One of these days they will get the name right it’s “DUM” not drum.
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Must remember that Shirl
KK 🙂
00
The ABC hasn’t worked out the danger they are in.
If you insult those who give you money you risk a day when they won’t give you money anymore.
We see this with Fairfax, The Guardian, New York Times, Newsweek and other progressive media organisations which are losing cartloads of money – as they become even more biassed their revenue dries up because there are not enough green progressives to pay the cost (and green progressives are used to getting free services from government so are even less likely to pay for content than conservatives).
The ABC however is funded via the fangs they use to suck on our necks. Eventually if we get fed up being suckers we will remove the fangs. And the method of choice will be a stake to the heart.
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The choice would be either closing the ABC down and putting the facility out to private tender and the issue of new licences.
Or going by subscription with the luvies who support the ABC obliged to put their hands in their own pockets.
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Yeah! Simple, honest justice! 🙂
10
That’s the only way then. Shut down the ABC! I’d even donate $100 as compensation to the sacked ABC staff.
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Not me, I’ve already had too hand over more hard earned than their net worth as Journalists.
10
The BBC (Beagle Blog Cartoons), continuing to bring you unbiased reporting (fully illustrated) from occupied Britain (no prejudice honest)…
Bohemian subsidies….
http://fenbeagleblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/bohemian-subsidy/
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Laugh until you cry, or cry until you laugh; in either case a true touch of genius!
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It’s a little too true to actually be funny but inspired by a sense of real satirical genius nonetheless.
Jo really should provide a sidebar link to Fenbeagle. 🙂
00
For a long while now I was convinced the next Liberal PM should shut down the ABC. There’s no point having a Liberal government funding a Labor propaganda machine is there? Can one imagine what the ABC will be saying and doing when there’s a Liberal government? They would go berserk. The only other option I would probably agree to is for the ABC to be sold off and commercialized. Then they either have to sink or swim on their own. The problem with that is the unions will probably fund it to keep it alive so I don’t think that would be a viable option.
40
The union cheque would bounce. An explanation for the bounced cheque would go along the lines of “Why are you digging up ancient history? That has all been answered in the past.” No relevant records would ever be found.
If the ABC was privatized then big wind / big solar and the Carbon banksters etc would snap it up fast. All this perhaps with the full support and encouragement of Malcolm Turnbull.
60
Sheesh. When I don’t want to watch crap on the telly – I just switch it off. No letter required.
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That’s not the issue. The issue is the ABC is a total waste of taxpayers money since for all intents and purposes it’s a propaganda machine of Labor. As I stated earlier, how can a Liberal government keep funding a virtual Labor propaganda machine? It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s one ball and chain they can easily remedy by shutting it down, or at least cleaning it out somehow as JoNova has suggested.
130
If anything the ABC leans to the Left of the Labor Party and close to the Greens. Bob Brown’s career was helped immensely by the ABC. If any greenie can get a demonstration going with more than 6 protestors the ABC will be there.
I cannot see anyway that the ABC can be reformed. That means breaking it up and using the bits that are valuable, such as Radio Australia, the rural service and possibly the children’s programming if it hasn’t been infiltrated by the “politically correct”.
Nor should it be overlooked that those who believe in AGW and the financially irresponsible believers in a great big mother teat, are entitled to some (minor) source of bias confirmation. That latter outlet could employ the more virulent announcers and producers, under some restrictions, and keep them off the streets where they could frighten the horses.
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And of course, when Bob Brown made his Green Oration speech on the Hobart Town Hall steps [you remember? -two weeks before he resigned from parliament-began “Fellow Earthians” and ended with a plea for world government by our friends at the UN] our aunty ABC had a full film crew record every second of Bob the fearless leader, only for not one second of that speech ever to being repeated on any ABC network. Perhaps Bob just wasn’t that newsworthy on that particular day?
40
I tried that, James.
It didn’t work.
So then I completely unplugged the TV from the power outlet.
That didn’t help either.
.
Unfortunately the constant flow of money from my wallet, direct to the ABC coffers, just continued unabated.
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But when you read what you think is ‘crap’ on this blog, you don’t switch the computer off?
What’s the difference?
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But when you read what you think is ‘crap’ on this blog, you don’t switch the computer off?
What’s the difference?
Ha Ha! 🙂
Good one Heywood.
There is one important difference though:
This blog is not financed by the taxpayer….the ABC is.
James can switch off his computer (or not visit this blog) and he is not required to pay for it anyway.
No choice with the ABC.
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Yes Debbie,
I also suspect that James doesn’t think that anything on the ABC is ‘crap’.
20
James,
I notice that you don’t say whether you watch the ABC or not. As a consequence your comment lacks the context to make it useful — sort of like… …crap? 🙁
00
Jo, this is important!
The UN is trying to control the internet (no surprise there).
60
They are very serious about it too.
And a real danger to free speech.
00
“How much of Tasmania is enough?”
******Mr (Bob) Brown responded: “The whole lot, I think Tasmania should be kept in tact and should be celebrated.”
deep down in this article, you will find the above excerpt:
23 Nov: ABC: Forest peace bill set to pass today
The fiery debate lasted more than 13 hours.
Opposition Leader Will Hodgman wants an election and says Labor has sold out to the Greens.
“I would not pay that price, I would not sell away an industry, people’s jobs, people’s livelihoods and regional communities,” he said.
“We’re not prepared to do that. We never will.”
The Greens’ Cassy O’Connor ridiculed the election call.
“You’ve got the gall to come in here and move that nauseating amendment,” she said.
The Greens’ Kim Booth laughed at the Opposition Leader’s performance.
“The contribution by the Leader Mr Hodgman was so comical that if he’d been playing the village idiot he would’ve been accused of gross overacting,” he said…
Former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has welcomed moves to set aside almost 130,000 ha for world heritage status as part of the peace deal.
He was heckled by pro-logging campaigner Kelly Wilton as he spoke to reporters.
“How much of Tasmania is enough?”
******Mr Brown responded: “The whole lot, I think Tasmania should be kept in tact and should be celebrated.”
“So what’s more important Bob, families or trees? We’ve already got with this new IGA that’s over 50 per cent of our state is locked up,” she said…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-23/forest-peace-bill-set-to-pass-today/4387536
Hobart Mercury does not even report Brown’s insane comment:
23 Nov: Hobart Mercury: Matt Smith: Mum fights over forests
A PRO-FORESTRY campaigner gatecrashed a news conference by former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown yesterday, accusing him of putting trees before families, jobs and economic wellbeing.
As signatories of the long-awaited forests peace agreement talked up the deal, the story of Claremont mum Kelly Wilton highlighted the problems that continue to plague the industry.
Mrs Wilton, whose family has been hit by unemployment within the industry, took the opportunity to tell Dr Brown what she thought of the Greens and anti-forestry activists.
“What’s more important, my family, my family’s future or a couple of trees?” she said.
“My tactic is to fight and fight for my family.”…
“I have gone through a marriage separation earlier in the year, my ex-husband is a logger,” she said.
“I have lost $80,000 in assets in my home on a block of land in a rural area because house prices have just plummeted.
“Nobody wants to live where there is no work. My son has lost an apprenticeship that was reliant on maintenance from the logging industry.”
The former Bushy Park resident said she had never worked in the forest industry.
“But because of the flow-on effect I have lost the job that I had in a metropolitan area because the building industry is suffering,” she said.
“I’ve got to a point where we sit back and do nothing now and we allow these Greens and enviro-Nazis to walk over us again and again.
We have tried that for the last 30 years and this is where it has got us.
“It is time to take a stand and time to come out fighting.”…
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/11/23/366643_most-popular-stories.html
Murdoch media doesn’t report on Brown’s statement and, even searching for the response, requires getting past days-old stories in murdoch and abc media about Brown heading up the anti-logging group:
19 Nov: ABC: Former Greens MPs head up anti-logging group
Ms Putt says a major fundraising push is imminent, foreshadowing an increase in campaigning.
“He (Bob Brown) is one of the best known environmental campaigners, if not the best known environmental campaigner on the planet and he’s a great leader as well,” she said…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-19/former-greens-mps-head-up-anti-forestry-group/4379280?section=tas
30
Perhaps a glimpse into the future……….
Dateline: 1st May 2025
via Reuters
Rebel forces, loyal to General Andrew Anit, are closing in on the capital Sydney after the third straight day of heavy fighting. The towns of Gosford, Wollongong and Campbelltown have fallen into rebel hands in the last 24 hours, and are now staging points for the final assault on the city itself. Ground forces are being assisted through the agency of UN Drones and stealth bomber raids on Government strongholds, clearing a path for the rebel advance.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Robert Nicholas, under fire from the IMF and World Bank for failing to meet Energy reduction and Economic Austerity targets has appealed for calm, and has insisted that his government has the situation in hand, even as rioting and mass looting outbreaks have begun to occur in isolated suburbs within the capital. A curfew is in place and loyalist troops patrol the streets with strict imposition of these measures causing much disquiet among the civilian population. Prime Minister Nicholas once again reiterated his intention to float his own Government backed alternative currency, backed by Gold, in opposition to UN Mandate 431.2, which has sparked the ire of former American and European allies, who have strongly come out in the last week in support of the rebels in their attempt to overthrow the incumbent.
Sources close to the ground within the city of Sydney, report that multiple human rights abuses are occuring daily, with attacks on innocent civilians occurring as part of the government’s response to this latest insurgency.
[A couple of editorial changes made] Fly
10
Mods,
Perhaps if the General’s name was ‘XXXX’ and even the PM’s name ‘YYYY’ if that would help, since I wasn’t trying to make a religious or even ethnic point, though it might appear that I was.
[Fixed] Fly
00
Thanks Fly
00
.
Those of you having intellectual wet dreams about what a future Coalition government may do with the ABC, please wake up and smell the coffee.
The ABC falls within the portfolio of the Minister for Communications, and the Opposition spokesman for communications is none other than the Member for Goldman Sachs.
That’s the very same fellow who had a very jolly time on the very same ABC earlier this week, jointly announcing the formation of the Turnbull – Rudd – ABC Mutual Admiration Society.
.
And didn’t they all get along just fabulously together.
132
Memoryvault,
I see Abbott and the Liberals as mostly harmless … mostly.
Gillard and Labour are actually poisonous.
The choice is between poison and mostly harmless.
80
I remember people saying much the same thing about the Coalition in the late Sixties, during the shambles that followed Menzies’ retirement.
So the people voted in Whitlam in 1972.
I remember people saying much the same thing about Labor in 1975, leading up to The Dismissal.
So the people voted in Fraser in 1975.
I remember people saying much the same thing about the Coalition in 1982, following years of record government expansion.
So the people voted in Hawke in 1982.
I remember people saying much the same thing about Labor in 1996, when people woke to what The Accord was really all about.
So the people voted in Howard in 1996.
I remember people saying much the same thing about the Coalition in 2007, following Workchoices.
So the people voted in KRudd in 2007.
.
The ONLY major policy difference at the moment between Labor and Liberal is the NBN. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors, semantics and spin.
Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
After 46 years of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, you’d think people would eventually learn.
Sadly not, it seems.
53
Well at least you Aussies are consistent with the quality of Prime Ministers you get.
40
MV, having lived through all of those changes I can honetly say that I have never encountered a Federal government as poisonous as this one. The current Liberals are continuing the trend that you have provided in your examples. The current Labour/Green unholy alliance is a whole new level of evil that makes what has been the normal level of evil seem “good” by comparison.
Like time and space, it is all relative.
60
As in, “they mostly come out at night…. mostly”.
20
Greg, it is good that someone caught the pop-culture reference …
00
You’re making two assumptions there MV,
1) That Malcolm (nowhere near the middle) will win his seat, given, a fairly safe bet.
2) That he will assume the role of Communication Minister when TA wins the election, not so much a safe bet. Tacticaly a good move to keep him as a shadow in an area he has some knowledge, give him status, enables him to preen in public, and gives him enough face time on Their ABC to assuage his ego, thus reducing the risk of a challenge before the election. Afterwards, all bets are off.
If it were me, see him as the useful idiot he is to placate the wets then move him to the backbench and disendorse him in the lead up to the next election. Leaving him with 3 choices,
1) Stand as an independent, no power, no status, no chance.
2) Retire from politics, again.
3) Suck it up and go head to head with Little Bully Shortone for Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition – The Australian Labor Party.
30
memoryvault –
removing partisan blinders is not easy.
20 Nov: ABC AM: Rudd-Turnbull Q and A double act on respective fates
??TONY EASTLEY: Both men are more popular than their successors and are constantly asked about their ambitions…
??ALEXANDRA KIRK: Opinion polls continue to show voters like both men more than their respective party leaders…
Malcolm Turnbull says “thousands and thousands of people” have suggested he set up a new party but he’s committed to the Liberal Party. He says he won’t be leader but assures supporters he’ll have some clout in an Abbott cabinet.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: Most people know that if they vote Liberal and Tony Abbott becomes prime minister, I will be part of his team, influential at the cabinet table, involved, part of that collective leadership…
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2012/s3636311.htm
given turnbull should have been expelled from the liberal party long ago for acting outside his portfolio and against coalition policy, u have to admire the minister for goldman sachs’ confidence, which is no doubt well placed.
50
Actually, last time Essential asked who was the better leader for the Liberal Party the result was (Abbott:Turnbull):
ALP voters: 11%:37%
LNP voters: 39%:26%
Greens voters: 3%:53%
In other words Green voters and the
AustralianGreen Progressive Broadcasting Corporation really, really like Turnbull for Lib leader. Which is my reason why he should never ever be Liberal leader.To be fair ALP voters in the same poll prefer Julia as ALP leader. Libs and Greens preferred Kevin.
What Essential didn’t ask was whether Turnbull should be leader of the ALP. That would be an entertaining statistic. Since Rudd is so popular in caucus (like Ebola) I suspect if you polled ALP Federal MP’s you might actually have a majority saying yes.
50
You are right Bruce. I don’t want a leader who is popular, especially with the ‘masses’, but one who doesn’t lie and gets things done that matter.
20
don’t imagine Deutsche Welle is any better than ABC or BBC. love the bit about failure would be a fatal sign for politicians and environmentalists!!! not for the planet!
22 Nov: Deutsche Welle: What is at stage at the Doha climate talks?
Extreme heat waves, rising sea levels and droughts in developing countries in tropical zones are on the way if the international community fails to take action, claim scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change in a recently published report for the World Bank…
***The failure to agree on details for extending the Kyoto Protocol would be a fatal sign for politicians and environmental activists…
Even if all the nations agreed to details for extending the protocol, their decision would remain a largely symbolic gesture. It is highly likely that only Switzerland and Norway, in addition to the EU, would adhere to a second commitment period – countries that are responsible for about 16 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The United States – the largest CO2 emitter in the developed world – never ratified the protocol in the first place.
http://www.dw.de/what-is-at-stake-at-the-doha-climate-talks/a-16399354
10
how comforting! what a waste of time and money. sack them all.
ANALYSIS: Overhaul of U.N. talks needed for new climate deal
LONDON, Nov. 21 (Reuters Point Carbon) – This time next month U.N. negotiators from almost 200 countries will have spent nearly 365 days over 15 years locked in talks to find a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol – the world’s only treaty forcing nations to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases…
http://www.pointcarbon.com/news/1.2070769
00
The only way to reform the ABC is through sites like Joanne’s – point out to them where they are wrong and where they are misleading the public that finances them.
Sure, you won’t be able to get through to Tony Jones, Philip Adams or Robyn William but surely their young staff must read this site and others, digest the content, and hang their heads vowing to one day make amends.
It won’t happen over night but it will happen.
31
ye Gads! Does the hilarity ever stop here? 🙂
Log in to a site that’s largely inhabited by people who are somewhat less than inhibited in expressing their displeasure with the ALP in Govt, and i find they are complaining about ABC bias.
Log in to pretty much any site that’s largely inhabited by people who are somewhat less than inhibited in expressing their displeasure with the Lib/Nats in Oopposition, and ususally supporters of the ALP or Greens, and you’ll find they are complaining about ABC bias.
ABC seems to think that if everybody is accusing them of bias they are probably striking the right balance. Although how they justify that when they have IPA shills and idiot has beens like Peter Reith on so often…… 🙁
118
Haven’t you found a job yet?
60
No wonder my tax bill is so high.
Paying for ABC multichannel spectaculars showing Kiddy Rock or Kiddy Science and then having to pay support
money for the viewers who are so confused by the crap that they can’t function in the real world.
KK
90
Oh lookey lookey, it’s ‘Cat’ again.
Yawn.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
90
More likely they are inept. Also more likely that Cat is unable to discern bias.
90
“Also more likely that Cat is unable to discern bias.”
Which has more brains, a Cat or a chihuahua?
Either way, do not expect much of it. It has a proven inability for rational thought.!
70
Well thats nice. I make a comment actually related to the subject of the OP, and out of the woodwork slither the usual abusive suspects.
Too much to expect a contribution to the discussion?
Yup, abuse and whinging complaint, yet again. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Oh and KK, i do actually have a job. I also have sick leave which i have been on for the last week so that explains why i have been resting up and kicking around the various humour sites on the net for entertainment. 🙂
19
.
Catamongst,
You mentioned earlier that you’re on Oxycodone?
Fairly serious pain killer there. Hope it’s not for palliative care.
It’s one up or one down from Morphine, depending which side of the fence you’re on.
Get well soon – you seem to have lost your sense of humour somewhat.
Better still – watch the ABC for a laugh while you’re resting up.
30
Hi Catamongst,
Sorry to hear you have a job.
I know how difficult it must be when hanging out with all the other Ardent Concerned Labour/Greenies who are
either students or living off their rich parents.
but back to business; we know how addicted you are to red thumbs; well we love it when we get great
stuff like;
“Yup, abuse and whinging complaint, yet again. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad”.
Stuff like that says we got pay-dirt.
KK 🙂
20
Ah, i get it KK, your actually projecting a sort of Borat like persona to troll for reactions!
Now the tone and content of your posts makes sense. Its not actually real, its parody of what a perpetually outraged obnoxious twit would post!
Must say, well done that…..person! 🙂 Although please, no manikin’s ok?
03
Sorry, spelt mankini’s wrong. my bad. 🙂
03
Very perceptive Cata
KK
00
So, Catamon, let’s put you to a simple test — what would be be, “…a contribution to the discussion,” in response to your #23? I’d like to know what you expect after off-the-wall statements.
20
That’s bit rough Roy, wanting people to write your comments for you?
But i would have been interested to hear whether people actually do think the ABC is biased and why they do, Me, although their political coverage has definitely been a bit weak the last couple of years, their anti ALP bias has been reducing over the last few months.
And i would like to see them do more journalism, and less regurgitating of New Ltd stories and tory press releases.
00
Somewhat O/T but noteworthy:
WWF study calls for urgent new builds of fossil-fuelled power stations.
In an article in Germany’s Handelblatt discussing imminent power shortages because of lack of real generating capacity I read what translates roughly to:
I’m finding that difficult to believe. but checking further back, there’s a reference to the WWF study in an earlier article in Handelsblatt and in other publications.
Did anybody see that reported in mainstream media in Australia?
40
Those with time and interest might find it rewarding to dig into the ABC Advisory Council mentioned by Manfred above. http://www.abc.net.au/corp/abcac/
About 4 years ago I was disgusted with the dismissal of years of difficult science by agricultural chemists, with the ABC over stressing organic farming and near-routinely naming almost every every agricultural chemical a poison.
For organic farming, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture
There was some back and forth with a barrister who was in some complaints section of the ABC that was dissolved before we reached a conclusion. I had submitted about 10 pages of complaint with dozens of references, that passed beyond some time requirement and went stale. Before he departed, he advised me to go for a vacancy on the ABCAC.
It was then I found that member Rena Henderson had a hobby – “an organic vegetable garden, selling the surplus at local farmer’s markets. She is interested in the way the free-to-air media will meet the challenges and needs of rural and regional Australians.”
There seemed to be the makings of an answer about the difficilty in getting science discussed instead of superstition in farming. So I came to the conclusion that the ABCAC was a little like Micheal Jackson’s child in the South Park session http://southpark.wikia.com/wiki/Token_Black
The kid was named Token. The ABCAC seems to be a token body that allows the ABC to claim that it listens to the voices of ordinary people.
…………………….
Apply for a job (the pay’s not bad). Use FOI to get correspondence between the ABCAC and the ABC masters. It’s not healthy for public administration to have dark corners wherein lurk bodies of unclassified function and significance.
30
How many people would the ABC employ if it was run as a commercial organisation?The ABC offers smug news items about commercial competitors shedding jobs whilst its sits safe in its taxpayer funded featherbed.I look forward to the next conservative government removing this blight from our backs.Perhaps they[ABC]should be made to go back to how ,I believe,they were started,that is as regional radio only.
20
Roland Tichy, Editor in Chief of the German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche responds to the collapsing print media in Germany:
(quick-and-dirty translation)
Global Warning:
Not only the German media.
Not just the print media.
00