A week ago today, I attended the memorial for Bill Leak at the Sydney Town Hall.
As I scanned the crowd, an eclectic group of people who had known Bill one way or another, I had to ask where were the Labor people? Where was Shorten, Plibersek or Dreyfus?
In the wake of the 2004 election, with the Howard government enjoying a majority in both houses, there was no opposition in the parliament. For at least two years, the worst part of Coalition MPs’ days was opening up The Australian and flipping to Bill Leak’s cartoon, to see another hilarious lampooning of their leader.
I would have thought some of the Labor people might have made an appearance simply out of gratitude for those dark days. It bothers me they stayed away and it speaks of a faddish clannishness the old Labor people would regard with contempt.
Bill Leak embraced everyone he met. Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, it didn’t matter. He genuinely enjoyed the company of people but it was more than that. If he spied someone feeling awkward or a bit uncomfortable, Bill would bound up and make a fuss of them. He not only had the ability to make people feel special but he brought a sense of fairness and equity to any table.
It is a politician’s gift but Bill was not on the ballot. He wasn’t trying to sell anything. He simply loved people.
Full column here.
Geez the pitch is starting to talk. Aussies hitting back. First innings specialist Lyon getting traction off the deck. SOK has them guessing at the other end. I hope Mr Warner decides it is time to do some damage with his bat.
Yairs Dismayed. As I have advised previously it is a critical factor in achieving victory to score more runs than the opposition team. That means the batsmen must apply themselves and stop making foolish mistakes like the letting the ball hit their wicket or hitting the ball to fieldsmen on the full. Some of them still do not understand that remaining behind the crease line when there is a chance of a run out is essential. That is the sort of thing the coach should remind them of just before going out to bat,
Covering our backstopper bloke with a thick layer of a sticky glue like substance might be worth a trial too.
blutack n velcro for all wk’s
Geez, Wade runs SOK out yesterday and today letting catches go through his legs off his bowling by standing up to soon as usual.
Nothing compared to what’s running between your legs you persistent shitstirrer.
He stood up to the stumps because he needs to, let one go through that skidded but sure didn’t look pretty. BTW it was byes off O’Keefe, not a snick. O’Keefe ran himself out, way too slow to respond, and it was a direct hit from side on to boot.
Glad you overlooked Wade second top scored when it looked like Australia was about to crumble, indeed already had.
You haven’t got a clue.
Open your one eye idiot. It was given 4 runs off the bat. You obviously don’t understand the game. All keepers stand up to the stumps for spinners. Wade “stands” up too early as the ball is played by the batsman. Probably because of his back issues. that is why he misses so many and the ball hits his pads more often compared to other keepers down low and on the leg side. Healy has pointed it out numerous times. All the commentators were saying Wade ran out SOK. He hit it behind square on the leg side straight to a fielder and took off. Your need to attack me does not allow you see anything as it is. You may need to invest in a new TV get rid of your Rank Arena and buy something with Ultra high definition that way you will not embarrass your self as often. That is probably why you are 40 years behind in everything you say. Pathetic. FFS.
Strong words Dismayed, be more gentle. Some of the old fellers are at risk of cardiac events.
I understood what you were saying, from what I recall the correct technique is for the wickie to stay in the crouch till the ball pitches and rise in accord with the nut.
Mind you that’s from the days of eight ball overs, so I am happy to stand corrected, but soon, I’m creaky to remain in the crouch for long these days.
I have the feeling you do not like Wade.
Dunno where it comes from.
Trust you pair of old geezers to wade in with yer shallow opinions.
You realise that with Shorten’s proposed amendments to 18c I could take offense and have you up before the HRC.
My go away price would be that you would have to campaign nicely and effectively for One Nation until I cark it or $250,000.
I’ll give you two bucks to buy yourself an ice cream, otherwise I’ll have my attorneys troll through your remarks you cheeky old sod.
18D and all that. Being a reasonable fellow I see no problem with JB’s comments. You lose and will pay cots for wasting the courts time.
You’re right you know Dismayed! I’m withdrawing my generous offer. Let the chips fall where they may!
That would be assuming you are a “reasonable member of the relevant group”!
Let’s hope that Shorten never gets to implement his vision of .. well whatever his vision of .. is
I want to know where you can get an ice cream for $2. I will take chips instead – I think I can get a small packet for that.,
John O’H – nobody on this blog, with maybe the exception of your good self, would pass any community based test.
JOH. I believe so. It’s relative. The rest of the group being right wing lunatics.
Thank you Mr JOH. Good point.
He is NOT the best keeper Australia has and certainly NOT in conditions where he has to stand up to the stumps for long periods. His batting is not what it was a couple of years ago. His decision making has been shown to be ordinary, he has a history of being involved in run outs and his advice on Decision Reviews has shown to be very ordinary.
And the silver medal goes to Australia: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australians-worlds-2nd-biggest-meth-users/news-story/a24e3d0de898708105e155b8af13f998
National Wastewater Drug Monitoring?
Well blow me down with a feather, Big Brother is everywhere!
Honestly, I did find that creepy Bella. “Let’s grab a gallon of water from the holding pond and see what’s in it!”
Would it be possible to recover the drugs from the waste water for recycling? The drugs I mean.
I read about the hormones in recycled water in England causing men to grow breasts.
One of the biggest problems with our waterways is antibiotics.
We pea out gallons of the stuff and it is starting to have an adverse affect on some ecological systems.
That’s fair comment, JS. Antibiotics are loaded in practically everything we eat – unless you grow it yourself.
I note that an unnamed country town here in Tassie has the highest ecstasy usage in the country! Not good. I was surprised. Would have thought the city slickers would be consuming far more. Sort of got me wondering if the size of the sample (the ratio of waste:water) has something to do with it. Surely Tasmanian concentrations would be higher than say, Sydney?
All the unemployed youth that have nothing to do and all day to do it in, I guess. As someone here remarked – no rehab facilities means no end to the problem.
Dragging on a bong is something to do isn’t it? Hanging around the mall is an activity surely?
Judgemental elitism Boady.
No it’s not judgemental elitism, JB. I find it depressing to see couples in their teens, generally overweight, wandering around the city pushing a pram. A common sight here.
Northern Tasmania has the highest teen pregnancy in the nation I believe. Not a suitable ”activity” for kids.
How one breaks the cycle of dependency, God only knows.
If you call that elitism, the you’re welcome to.
Better education, better outcomes. You’re seeing the by product of the society in which we live. Be prepared to change that society or stop judging those society leaves behind.
On the bright side there are probably about 2 billion people in the world who would give their right arm to be overweight and wandering about the streets pushing a pram.
Yvonne, Over the last couple of generations childbirth has been left later and later in life. You seem to have an issue with people having children at an age you and your generations probably started procreating at. Your generation of woman probably were not employed either when they started producing. I recall reading and hearing about woman being concerned about being old spinster’s if they were not married off and producing by their very early 20’s at the latest. By having children young does this not give the young lady an opportunity to join or return to the workforce in her late 20’s early 30’s to work for an other 40 years? to enable her to accrue a decent Super amount? What is you problem with the younger generations doing as you and your generation did? On the weight or fitness point. I do agree many younger Australians are not as healthy as they should be. That is a whole other discussion point. We have seen article by JTI against the idea of salt or sugar imposts. I say go for it. I know my grocery bill would be little changed.
I would say it would be better to get an education – which would give one a much better chance of getting a decently paid job – than to have a baby at 15, Dismayed. If you think having babies at the age of 15 so that one can rejoin the workforce in one’s twenties is a good idea ………….- well good luck with that. In this part of the world they don’t go back to school or work. I’m generalising. Obviously a few exceptions to the rule might. But of course, you are entitled to your opinion, however crazy it sounds.
Um – I didn’t have children when I was 15. I was at school getting an education and going on to Uni. Which stood me in good stead. Not sure which part of the world you are referring to. Maybe third world somewhere?
Regarding the unfortunate obesity issues, it is prevalent in the lower income demographic. Again generalising, but it is a proven major issue.
Elitist judgementalism and ignorance. There but for the grace of God, ie sheer dumb luck of the draw go thee Boady.
If you’d been born with their genes and experienced their environment and inputs there is no reason other than some mysterious “betterness” you seem to believe resides in yourself, why you wouldn’t have been wandering around the mall too.
You just don’t “get it.”
hehehe ….fish r happy I’m happy…
https://www.rt.com/usa/333543-fish-cocaine-seattle-puget/
Great TV Show on SBS at 5.35pm today, Mr Insider, for those like me who like Military History and its called “Nazi Megastructures” and I quote: “Lightning War Machine,
In the first years of WWII, Hitler’s Germany crushed its enemies in a series of lightning offensives. Extraordinary ruins scattered across Europe tell the story of a revolution in tactics and weapons which almost gives Hitler the chance to create his Thousand Year Reich.”
Golly Henry! Another WW11 doco from SBS! How astonishing is that? Did you see the recent series on Hitlers favourite apple strudel? The childhood experiences of it’s creator Frau Hildegaard Oberkuken were particularly poignant. The war might have ended much sooner if “Hildy” had not become suspicious of the waiter, intercepted and personally tasted the Fuhrers serve of her delicacy moments before his arrival at the Kaffe Fettsack.
This was immediately after the commencement of Operation Barbarossa and many historians believe after that day Hitler, forever hence clinically depressed, lost his mojo as a tactician.
You may already be aware that Colonel Custer was also extremely fond of apple strudel, and believe it or bugger off, he loved it served with custard. That’s quite amusing eh?
It has been on History Channel for years Henry,
What those maniacs did at a huge cost in the lives of slave labour is incredible.
Some good shows in the series though.
Been meaning to ask, Jack. How’s your NBN going? Happy?
I’m too scared to even look at my tipping score after last night 🙁
It’s good. No complaints. Fast. Maybe not fast in five years but it’s fast now.
Sitting here in the sleepy burbs of the insular Peninsula Jack, and happy on the good old BigPond Cable, we kind of hoped they’d forget about us and life could go on as normal.
Then I read on the new NBN website we’re scheduled for torture around October. Then I spotted three blokes in high vis with sinister looks marching down the street with clipboard in hand. Enquiring what they were up to was answered with “don’t worry mate, we’re here to do an NBN audit. Hee hee”.
How long will a prescription for Valium remain valid? I’ve got plenty of wine stored, but what if installation requires a breath test?
You big sook.
Same here Lou, Optus isn’t perfect but it’s reliable the dreaded NBN notification arrived in the mailbox, will only change over when we have to.
Good footy tipping Penny.
Just get it. It is brilliant.
Brace yourself Lou. A long and tedious process. How many years ago did Gillard announce that Tasmania was to be the pilot?
They are still running it out here. I was fortunate to get the real NBN – fibre straight from the pole through my lounge wall. But it took 5 visits from various contractors to achieve it. And they are still digging up previously dug up pavements in my suburb! Watching holes being drilled through my solid brick wall, I expressed doubt that a total roll-out would ever be achieved at that rate. The Telstra guy was the last (5th) contractor I was chatting with – he just laughed – and agreed with me!
That’s Tasmania for you. Here, they were men and women on a mission, in and out in a flash. Had one brief conversation with a bright young feller who didn’t stop working for moment while dispensing comprehensive instructions for a T Box thingie which was never used.
One of great infrastructure projects in the nations history, and highly amusing to see the lengths the conservatives go to find to something negative to focus on.
Nah nah n’nah nah!
Oh rubbish, JB. Yes, if one has it installed, it’s great.
But the rollout is nothing short of disastrous. Thanks Mr Conroy.
Thanks Mr Turnbull I think.
The coalition have been in government for 3.5 years. They are responsible for the destruction of the BN Yvonne. The coalition took what would have been then best productivity enhancing, business building infrastructure the Nation had seen and turned it into a disaster that will now have to be overbuilt with in the decade. Conroy should be applauded for getting the project off the ground.
We’ve had a comment here and another on the last blog from the socialist fraternity, complaining that people are using the death of Bill Leak to make political comments regarding s18C and the whole free speech debate and pretending to be concerned that his memory is being dishonoured.
Well, I have a message for you, comrades: Bill was angry as hell about his treatment by the Inhuman Rights Commission Star Chamber. He was outraged about being chased into hiding by Muslim terrorists. He was enraged by being portrayed as a racist.
And it’s a funny thing, you know; the puffed-up hypocrites now crying a river about Bill’s memory didn’t have a good word to say about him when he was alive. They were happy to see him vilified and persecuted and his life threatened for taking chunks out of their sacred cows.
So, you know what? Go to hell.
tbls. Oh my your own anger and hatred seems to be the issue here. You could consider looking up the term “irony”.
No, the issue is you and Jean Baptiste are f*cking idiots and I’m tired of being polite about it.
In the opinion of a Two Dollar Shop Hunter S Thompson.
tbls. Ah so the issue is always someone else, anyone else but YOU. Typical cons trait. You have the CROD, conservative renewal outrage disease. Whatever it is, it is the fault of the left wing, gay muslim, hipster barristas who victimise you. .Get your Bex out and have a lie down watch your Mike Walsh at lunch time and Brian Henderson for the News on TCN9 in your Bizarro world and all will be ok. HAHAHAHA poor old thing
Particularly nasty personal comment TBLS.
2.10am? Get some sleep & get over yourself.
Yep, irony thy name is Dismayed.
did you find your tissues?
Very true but the message will fall on deaf ears.
Fairfax is full of articles about the watering down 18c is about opening the floodgates for bigots.
There is nothing about the selective use of 18c to shut down debate on pet subjects.
There is nothing about the trial by process of the students and Leak.
It is totally biased in one direction only.
There are two types of people in this country – those who get their news from Fairfax and the ABC, and those who get it from other sources.
The former have very strange ideas as to how this country works.
The former have a very good idea on who controls most of the media and determines much of the direction of the nation. That would seem strange to you, no question about it.
Nope! I have a rusted on Labor mate who reminds me all the time.
A normally sane and intelligent man loses all perspective when he gets on to Mr Murdoch.
The Left’s hatred of the man is intense – I can understand why as he stands in the way of all the bullshit that emanates from it becoming gospel.
I find it interesting that the Left complain about Murdock when they control the Unions, the education system and its syllabuses and pretty well all of the “soft” faculties at University.
With all that within their grasp, they still complain about Murdoch – maybe they need a reason why the majority ignore their message – they cannot understand why the majority ignore them totally so it must be Murdoch. Admitting that their message is crap would be akin to the trauma that they went through when Stalin’s efforts were revealed.
You’re living in cloud cuckoo land JackSprat. You are beguiled and bewitched unbeknown to yourself. There was a tectonic shift in conservative Australian media when Kevin Rudd had the audacity to attempt to keep some of the pillage by the multi nationals for Australians. And of course the matter of a tax on carbon.
The establishment and the oligarchs do not brook that sort behaviour from their vassal states and woe betide anyone who does not put their shoulder to wheel in the common cause of overthrowing and keeping down the Bolsheviks.
That’s a message from the real world, where it has always been so and always will. You can rationalise it any way you feel comfortable with.
Who “controls” most of the media? What you mean is, News Corp owns a third of the mast-heads and sells two-thirds of the papers in this country.
That’s not market control. That’s people buying what they want to read; no doubt a totally strange notion to people who want everything controlled by the Politburo.
Don’t worry, comrade. When Power Bill becomes PM and his legal attack-poodle, Dreyfus finishes the “unfinished project” us deplorables will be off to the nearest re-educations camp.
Scratch “re-education” amend to “education.” And the sooner the better.
Newspapers? The power is in radio and television. Newspaper readers these days are the least susceptible to manipulation.
If his new friends had made it about honouring Bleak’s legacy and not about themselves above all, then I’d agree more.
Who or what ar you talking about Rhys? At first blush your comment is offensive, heard that before?
I’m guessing you didn’t watch Bill’s memorial service, go find it. Leak didn’t have new friends, he had a surfeit of old and loyal friends.
TBLS is dead right. The lefties laughed their arses off when Leak was getting up the Howard’s and co, turned feral when he held up the same torch of lampooning to the idiots of the RGR era, and ended up so shell shocked they didn’t even notice when he rightly turned his sights on the Turnbull. You couldn’t in all seriousness expect him to have left Short on facts out of the series could you?
It is sad so many lack sense or humour, not to mention a sense of humour. Sad cafe indeed.
Name them, Rhys. Name these “new friends” about whom you have doubts as to their motivations.
Just because you haven’t given a shit about these issues until the last three minutes doesn’t mean the rest of us have been asleep.
Why do you need enemies to hate. Why even think about who did NOT turn up? What does it achieve? You are using Mr Leaks passing as a reason to push your own hatred of various things and groups. You should consider having a good hard look at your own motivations.
Yep, that’s about the strength of it. Eager to please and serve too! Just wind him up and let him go.
Give ’em heaps Dismayed.
Mad Barnaby Joyce said the most sensible thing he has ever said since he has been in politics-those down at the pub don’t give a hoot about 18C. It is just not on their radar…what IS on the radar are cuts to pensions, family benefits, cuts to overtime wages of the poorest paid in the country, the billions we are wasting on planes/submarines, the C.Link Robot, and the massive debt ‘our grandchildren’ will inherit from this incompetent lot of spivs and spinners-$207billion more than it was in 2013 under Labor. Morrison must go…but not to a luxury post like Hockey. I suggest Ambassador to Iraq.
For 6 yrs day in and day out we had a daily lecture on ‘Labor’s debt’. It is much worse and now hardly mentioned. How do they get away with it? Easy…mad distractions like 18C that nobody is concerned with. As I have said, down at the pub they see 18C as a vacant room upstairs. If 18C lost its credibility “a long time ago”, as Turnbull asserted in Parliament, why did he repeatedly insist before last year’s election that he had no plans to change it? Who wanted it left alone more than anyone according to Credlin when Abbott was leader? Turnbull! Repeat-HE DID NOT WANT THE WORDING CHANGED. A hypocrite on climate, a hypocrite on a carbon tax (he crossed the floor remember), a hypocrite on 18C.
The most puzzling aspect of the campaign to repeal section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act is why any reasonably normal person would want to insult, offend or humiliate someone else in the first place.
Those who want to change 18C, mainly wealthy upper class Looters, will never have to worry about being insulted anyway-except in parliament. Now, suddenly, it is okay to “offend, insult and humiliate” someone on the basis of their race, so long as this does not amount to “harassment and intimidation”. Now harassment is gonna take some defining isn’t it? Another fortune for Looters’ lawyer mates to rip of us.
It is more than interesting that Barnaby Joyce’s advice to the party room re 18C is ‘It will cost us votes’. It seems votes transcend any harm as a result of the abuse, insults and humiliation that may be hurled at people no matter their race, colour or religious beliefs.Is this the standard we want ‘our grandchildren’ to inherit in the land of the fair go?
For the same reason why Labor and the Greens keep on about gay marriage (which the general population could not give a stuff about) – they have no idea how to fix an economy that is spiralling into oblivium.
As Keating said “It is all about the economy – stupid”
Great post again Bassman. You sure do your research.
As time passes with Turnbull still more than willing to remain a captive to the extremists in his own party, it’s got to the stage where he’s become an unedifying spectacle of a man once so solid in his beliefs.
When his government sticks the boot into our poorest citizens by a myriad of cuts, I wonder if he’s able to separate himself at home at night from the muzzled hypocrite he’s morphed into. Sleeping pills on repeat perhaps.
What becomes of the mind of such a man? Seriously.
The guy just looks so ‘old’ now.
Regards, Bella
Good morning Mr Insider and Bloggers. “Horizontal Fiscal Equalisation”, any thoughts on that meaty matter? Mmmmm as bad as understanding or caring about 18C which the electorate is ignoring in droves. We live in boring political times here in Australia, stupefying under PM Milton Trumble, the wally of wallys.
Talk about serendipity, Jack. One of our profs just announced a thylacine hunt up in Cape York. I think the locals are spinning a yarn.
I was wondering about that – someone’s been reading Jack’s work up there.
Just on the joint replacement rehab, mate: do whatever the medicos tell you. One of the locals here got a knee replaced a couple of years ago and instead of staying on crutches for the two weeks he was told to he was walking about unassisted after three days. Clots formed in the new knee and he ended up having a stroke when one lodged in his brain. He’s OK now, but not quite the full quid, especially when he’s on the turps.
Speaking of which, I succumbed to temptation and cut my ninety day no-booze, low-carb diet short after eighty days last night. Lost 17kgs and celebrated with my traditional drought-breaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Car_Bomb
Was totally rat-arsed after half a dozen drinks – totally out of practice!
Ahh without the carbs you were not producing the serotonin and dopamine. this is probably a contributor to your disagreeable demeanour.
Bit like the fox scat someone planted down here, apparently as a hoax, Dwight. Millions were spent on an eradication program that did not find one single fox! The money would have been better spent on eradicating feral cats – of which there are many – some of them reputedly very large.
The guy who planed the fox scat was prosecuted recently. Tosser.
Bloke should have planted a fox too. People these days have no idea how o work a good scam.
Does anybody mind if I break into The Bombers theme song tonight? It may not last this winning thing, but my goodness it felt good tonight.
Tipped them as well.
Dwight, go well with your recovery….I’m reading that good old Debbie might hit Cardwell, no Christmas decorations for them this year…..did you see what I did there?
Was waiting for this Penny. I feel oddly pleased with it and I can understand what it must feel like to have the team back and…kicking goals. More to the point, it was Hawthorn. Well done.
Great for Penny and the Essendon mob, TV. I watched a bit of the game and Hawthorn looked ordinary.
Well done Penny!
My comment comes direct from the Townsville Disaster centre Penny. Cardwell is looking OK but Ayr and Home Hill not so good…………..
Interesting Razor. We were up there last year and intend to go again this year. Going to catch up with Dwight hopefully. We’d never been to sugar cane country before and really loved it. I hope everyone stays safe and not too much property damage is done.
i had always placed GS Chappell and Ricky Ponting at the top of my list of Aussie batsmen that i have seen, just ahead of Border, but the current captain is edging into that group as well.
Well there you go. I just said he was in that group for mine. He is special.
And initially picked as a leggie who could bat a bit? Who saw this coming when he first made the side? (And why doesn’t he bowl?)
Ahem.