There it was yesterday. A plethora of Australian journos standing mic in hand in front of the Champs Élysées or the Eiffel Tower reporting on the French presidential election.
The trouble was what they were doing was not reporting. Or to be more precise, they started with a little reporting and then moved quickly on to speculation and opinion.
Welcome to Australian media’s version of the Kon Tiki tour. With elections looming in the UK and the French National Assembly in June and elections in Germany in September, it’s all aboard the bus. When you get there, don’t worry so much about factual reporting. Tell us what you reckon.
On last night’s ABC News at 7.00pm, the ABC’s European correspondent, Lisa Millar, spent the first five seconds repeating the result and then moved full steam into divination. To be honest, it wasn’t her fault. She faced questions posed from the desk in Sydney from newsreader, Juanita Phillips, all of it demanding a “What do you reckon?” response.
Ms Millar spent the bulk of her report waxing on what might happen by Christmas and beyond.
Full column here.
POTUS Trump standing firm on the sacking of FBI Director Comey, Mr Insider, and so he should too. Comey has been going on like a “gurly man” in the last few months, almost having a big sob a few days ago on TV. Out you go Comey “Youre Fired!” says Donald. Of course the Democrats are going on silly as usual, making out that Trump was somehow errant in his actions. Desperation politics Democrats, time for a “glass of concrete to harden the F#$k up!”.
http://tinyurl.com/m6jlmdo
Dustin Hoffmans part in Wag The Dog described the situation of the President in profound terms. Trump is now in that situation. Perhaps he will confect a war to try and extricate himself as well. Why not, he’s living in Hollywood land.
Democrats aren’t the only ones that are disappointed in The Donald’s handling of James Comey.
What does it take to impeach a POTUS?
In Trumps case it would be a very large peach.
BOW:- Glad U like bass guitars. Most don’t know what they can do! Welcome to the world of bass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w0JZpaHDz4 Young girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa7h9fnqfjE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrSdJPZLss
I used to dabble a bit myself but my bass went the same way as the cornet, trumpet, French horn and electric six-string as just one more thing I wasn’t very good at. I have an acoustic six-string I occasionally torture although not at the moment because my fingers are in a bad state from installing insulation and servicing fire extinguishers.
I’ll have a look at those clips tonight to accompany a cleansing ale or ten. Cheers!
Perhaps one of these would be more your speed. The instrument is a Turkish kanun. The song of course is Hotel California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV7GLSy1ZLk
Nah, cant play bass!
Maybe?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uie4YqrhNHQ
Full of cymbalism.
Brilliant…shame it was mimed though…wld loved to have heard it “live”
There’s another version of it floating around the net somewhere of a live performance on stage that was superior to this version but I couldn’t locate it. The kanun is usually played on a table top, and occasionally as a lap instrument. This is the only guy I’ve ever seen play it upright like a guitar. The only other things I know about the kanun are, they don’t make lefties, there are no electric kanuns (a great shame I think) and you need deep pockets. A good one is upward of $2K.
I just want to know why it was listed in the category of ‘Animals and Pets’?
The bass player in the clip is playing a six string bass.
Victor Wooton’s amazing “Amazing Grace”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA-ZKDOoBnk
I see Howard and Costello are screaming about the budget. Especially Howard in The Oz who sees the budget as “a divergence from conservative ideals”. Well tally ho…this is just the thing that might save them come 2019. Howard told them to govern from the middle. They are doing it and he derides them. Madness. Now wouldn’t he just complain. This is the bloke had rivers of revenue pouring in and did not have to govern in tough times-no GFC…oh please don’t mention the Asian thing.
Part of these tough times were caused by him and his profligate spending-especially his $90billion structural deficit he bestowed on Rudd/Gillard/Rudd/Abbott/Turnbull. It is still a high taxing budget. It just does not tax the least able to pay as much the 2014 fiasco did. The budget is still spending $1.09 for every dollar it collects. Howard had tax revenues of 25.4%. Now go away John this is Turnbull coming out of his shell and in reality throwing down the gauntlet to Abbott, Abetz, The Undertaker and Co. Turnbull has wedged Shorten as well as Abbott.
Jesus, BASSMAN, let not anything stop the comeback of Tony Abbott to the PMship fella!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJXKG4IB20
yeah well executed…so what have they done to the real malcolm??
I know I am most likely being politically incorrect for laughing, Mr Insider, but that was one doozy of a Pie that QANTAS Ceo Alan Joyce took ON the kisser. The 3 Stooges could not have done better.
http://tinyurl.com/ldffmqf
Yeah hahahahah! Talking about “stooges” Enery, how about this for the biggest and most dangerous stooge in the history of the planet.
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/executive-order-proves-trump-just-a-fossil-fuel-industry-stooge-with-a-presidential-pen-greenpeace/
Bless you my child you are indeed a recidivist but we forgive you. Actually quite refreshing to read the “other” point of view, Mr Baptiste. Next thing you will be telling us is that Neil Armstrong never walked on the Moon! Cheers to you.
Nobody has walked on the moon Enery. Just how thick or ignorant are you? If you ever do make even a half arsed enquiry , rubbing your two neurons together, you will soon see how ridiculous the proposition is.
Start off by listening closely to the few Neil Armstrong interviews ever made, before he left NASA and led a dignified and obscure life, refusing to discuss Nixon’s great fraud with even his close friends.
AGW deniers really are the rednecks of the universe Henry.
http://catholicclimatemovement.global/
I’ve got a cartoon for you JB, but because I can’t link it you’ll have to close your eyes and imagine, I know you’re good at that.
Scene is suburban back yard, two housewives talking in front of two poles with a line strung between them and washing hanging off the line.
One says to the other I’m using the most modern of technologies, solar and wind.
Don’t you just love it?
Um, er um, DUH! Guess you had to be there Lou.
overheu as one stooge does the work of 3….no surprises
BASSMAN on THE BUDGET… a great big tick from me on the whole except for these GLARING wastes of money. Defence going from $32billion a year to (wait for it!) $58billion a year…yes…you read it correctly…$58billion a year EVERY YEAR! Bloody madness! There are many more important things to spend money on than this.
Next the pork barrel of the century…the inland railroad which will cost $10billion by the time it is finished. All to shore up Un National Party seats. Remember Howard last inland rail effort? No one uses it! A huge waste of money and a white elephant. The Un National Party sees the figures differently, leaving us with the question of who should be trusted with such large investments – a body somewhat like Infrastructure Australia, or a bunch of straw-munching farmer-politicians with considerable self-interest? There are many unfunded projects like The Snowy 2.o and the billions to Big Business. Strange nothing in the budget about climate change or investment in wind and solar energy.
This budget is a 180 degree turnaround from the toxic 2014 Horror Budget. The Abbott legacy is gone forever. “Debt and deficit crisis, budget emergency” are words you will never hear again….unless of course a Labor government is re-elected. Turnbull is determined to shift his party back to the “sensible” centre-ground of Australian politics. As Howard keeps telling his Looters “That is where the votes are”.
Morrison has done something past governments would never do. Hit the private schools. Another policy stolen from Labor. Both Labor and the Greens have been gazumped. They are speechless. Medicare; schools; banks; public investment; housing affordability all that were once owned by Labor and previously mocked by the Liberals are now Liberal policies. All the issues associated with the 2016 election that dogged the Liberals- housing affordability, Medicare, Gonski, the devil-may-care attitude of the banking sector have been neutered and in some cases have even bettered Labor. Even the Zombies have gone!
Had Labor attempted a needs-based school funding model or a rise in the Medicare levy they’d have been howled down by the Looters, The Daily Telegraph, The Australian and their army of right wing shock jock cheer leaders led by 2GB and Jones. Shorten and Bowen are completely stumped. They have nothing to complain about! Morrison is a much better salesman than Hockey and Abbott ever were.
Well done Looters. For the times this is a great budget. Sort of an election budget eh? Hee hee
Re the railways Bassy, bullshit and bullshit. I don’t know who stated the inland railway concept but Albo was pushing it and it’s a *very* good idea. As for no-one using the N-S railway, that’s not true either, by a long shot. This country has allowed too much emphasis to be put on road freight since the sixties – rail is good. (Like coal maybe 🙂 )
Hope you are right Bi. I will add another bomb….I will be very surprised if it is ever built.
The business case for the inland rail project does NOT stack up. It says it will NEVER pay for itself. It is the continuation of Regional Rorts 2.OH my FN goodness. Purely to shore up seats against phony and Labor lite.
Link?
Treasuries note in the budget states so.
Typical bullshit from Dismayed. The only numbers in the budget papers are Federal capital expenditure. It says nothing about economic return from the infrastructure, which industry has being crying out for. Plus the road transport taken off the roads.
Noss, on the topic of interesting news, what do you make of this?
http://nofibs.com.au/santos-chairman-admits-business-plan-assumes-4c-globalwarming-reports-takvera/
Bollocks, Mr Baptiste! “This is at odds with commitments outlined in a statement on climate risk disclosure in April to investors”
Have you had a logic bypass procedure Henry? Simply because a statement is at odds with a previous commitment doesn’t mean the statement is impossible. Different strokes for different folks.
Ah Henry, do you think this US$15 trillion worth of smart money is also “at odds”?
https://www.ft.com/content/3cf1bb58-3171-11e7-9555-23ef563ecf9a
don’t rely on a STO business plan during your morning ablutions…..too many holes brus
Again we see the coalition trying to claim to be into Infrastructure but their spend is over 10 years at $7.5 billion a year which is less than what abbott had proposed to spend and shows a continued drop in infrastructure spending. Can you imagine the screaming from all and sundry if Labor had produced such a big taxing big spending budget? Oh the hypocrisy. Now apparently it is a good thing?
So this proposed inland rail that Infrastructure Australia says is NOT good debt or a priority due to it not being able to produce economic benefit starting during the forward estimates or out into the never never? Strange the proposed route travels through many many marginal coalitions seats. Surely this is just more Regional Rorts on an Epic scale?
Will the largest group of welfare recipients who take more than 65% of all welfare be subjected to drug testing or is it ok to be a druggie addict bludger once you are on the pension?
The bastards are raising the tax on my cigars!
To arms! To arms! They’ve raised the tax on my pipe tobacco too. My daily pipe now costs about the same as pot (well – not quite – $70 for a 50g pouch – Ouch). It’s criminal. The Liberals should change their name to the Kelly Gang. ScoMo should be clanking around the Parliament in armour. Turnbull should grow a big bushy beard.
Beer and Ciggys up.
And rollies Dwight, the last refuge of the downtrodden desperate smokers.
How about the tax on one of the most efficient industries we have, banking, introduced by a coalition government, and of course attacked by the new CEO of the ABA, a former state Labor premier, who herself was pretty good at bank bashing. Monty Python couldn’t have come up with a funnier episode. Then little Billy says, well we’ll support the tax and in the same breath attacks the government for the inevitable cost transfer to bank customers and borrowers. Madness.
BTW, if Morrison can rationalise that a $6 billion tax on one industry will strengthen its capital base, he must be smoking the tax free dreaded weed. He also forgot to mention the banks paid $5billion in fees for the post GFC government guarantee which they never had to use.
Your plight Dwight has touched my heart so profoundly I have descended into a deep melancholy from which I may never fully recover. I think you have a very worthwhile case for a crowd funding appeal.