COAG met yesterday, the Prime Minister and the premiers of the states and chief ministers of the territories with Tasmanian premier, Will Hodgman, only allowed in after facial recognition technology was used as no one really knew what he looked like.
When the day came to an end, they all stood around backslapping for the cameras having agreed to everything the Prime Minister had placed on the agenda, including the creation of a national database of drivers’ licence photographs from across the country to give some muscle to photo recognition technology and continue the creeping sense of state surveillance on the citizenry.
It was a brief moment of political unity with Labor and Liberal leaders speaking as one.
How do we feel about this? The idea of a national voluntary non-binding postal survey didn’t get a look in this time, funnily enough, so we’re not quite sure about the national mood but it was one of those moments where clearly government didn’t give a damn what people thought.
Full column here.
Harry Harris, Mr Insider, possibly the long awaited POTUS Trump appointed Ambassador to Australia and as we read may not be without some controversy given his Military background. “The Trump White House is now carrying out consultations in Washington to test reactions to the appointment of Admiral Harry Harris as ambassador to Australia, and the reactions so far are strongly positive.This signals a rising likelihood that the four-star commander of America’s Pacific Command will be nominated to the post, a very deliberate message of commitment to the military alliance with Australia.”
http://tinyurl.com/y9zfd6d5
Adm Harris is more than qualified. An expert on the region.
Harry Harris?? Hopefully he’s smarter than his parents.
A spontaneous tribute to Tom Petty.
http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/watch-90000-american-football-fans-sing-tom-petty-in-his-home-city/
He was a huge Gators fan.
an american mate sent this, Tom Petty steered clear of the booze, but he sure did enjoy a gasper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvNe569Q9g
and he was funny.
“but he sure did enjoy a gasper”, that’s the understatement of the year, Camels too.
Nick Xenophon’s “SA Best” Party up and running, Mr Insider. Many like Nick, some don’t, not of to a good start with a Candidate being chucked out already. Nice place SA they just need a reliable Electricity supply.
https://sabest.org.au/
I am at a loss as to why Fairfax sacked Moir. I rated his as their best cartoonist along with David Rowe, Tanberg and Pope. OK he gets Saturday…BIG DEAL….without mentioning names, there are half a dozen left I would not feed. The Oz should snap him up in an instance.
I always knew Bassists were an odd lot. I love the quote in the article ‘rocks rumbly bottom end’. Sounds ’bout right.
http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/rushs-geddy-lee-to-release-fully-illustrated-love-letter-to-the-bass-guitar/
One of my Bass God’s….a brilliant musician. Up with the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2VucctDtu0
The government is going to introduce FaRT? I don’t trust it already.
Where is this ‘dark web’. I have a VPN I seldom use but I can’t find anything with it that I can’t find without it. I must be missing something.
Another “Barry Crocker” for PM Turnbull, Mr Insider, as he scores No 21 consecutive negative Newspoll. He’s only 9 away now from the all time “Champeen” the ex ousted PM Abbott and if Abbott looks in his rear vision mirror he will see the red faced Turnbull looming large!
http://tinyurl.com/y84gfp92
Henry – I have no doubt that Mal will eclipse Tones pollwise, because the Coalishun are fully on the nose. But – forget the magic number – Mal hasn’t scoffed a raw onion in public; he hasn’t knighted a British monarch; he hasn’t threatened to shirtfront Putin; he hasn’t unleashed hundreds of school chaplains on us (nor has he changed that one I’ll admit); his chief of staff isn’t an unelected tyrant telling ministers who they can or cannot hire. But you get the drift. Abbott had to go, not because of 30 dud polls. He had to go because he was (is) friggin’ NUTS.
Abbott was a nut alright Trivalve. Dear Milton likes him though but has never said why. Cheers.
What’s not to like, Hank. And don’t listen to Trivalve – nothing askew with anything on his list. And onions are good for you!
…….but he is still ‘preferred leader’ and this is the number he will use when his 30 comes up. It is a crazy argument but Mal is like that….remember he was all for climate change, renewable energy, free vote on SSM….hypocrisy abounds.
Bman, the number of coalition voters that want abbott to quit politics has jumped from 18% when he was outed to over 38%. He is the same one trick tony. Wreck wreck wreck. He and his acolytes will ensure Australia does not make progress in any area.
No one talks about his wife, a seemingly hard working decent woman who has to put up with this leech.
Can’t stand to listen to Turnbull on any topic.
He started out a man of many words but became a man who never kept his word.
What a true coward. I actually wonder how he sleeps at night. 🙃
Show me the minister who claims they don’t need any further powers and I’ll show you a minister about to lose his or her portfolio.
The whole surveillance society is a classic case of the tyranny of small decisions. Each step in itself seems small, and always for our own good. At the moment you would have to be deranged to think there is a microchip implanted in you. In ten years perhaps you will have to be deranged to think there isn’t. But it will be for your own good, of course.
Well waddya know….here is Malcolm going the terror scare. Now that didn’t take long did it “Malcolm Turnbull has accused Labor of trying to walk away from a bipartisan approach to national security.” Straight from today’s Oz. When a hopeless mob with no policies for the nation have nowhere to go they go here or kick the refugee can. Pathetic!
List of R&R Hall of Fame nominees for 2018. A few oddities.
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/10/rage_against_the_machine_radio.html
Yes very interesting this-many thanks…
Well folks off to the reef again to frolic. Won’t be back for a week but also have decided to withdraw from conversation on this topic because quite frankly JOH, BASSY, DISMAL and to be honest JTI, you have no idea of the hard work people are doing to make you and your children safe. This legislation is crucial. Why is Shorten, who has access to National Security briefings, supporting it? Why at COAG, did even Daniel Andrews, that lunatic from the right, support it? More research JTI……..
You all don’t know how lucky you are.
Bye.
Before you go tell me what you think about this: https://www.vg.no/spesial/2017/undercover-darkweb/?lang=en
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes…..as always
Very disturbing Jack, very. Found it hard to keep reading through it.
It’s a real dilemma. On one hand excellent police work, a lot of arrests, particularly of producers of this awful material. On the other, police were running a child pornography site for 11 months, receiving and on some occasions showing child pornography. What interested me was that Australian police have the powers to do this while those powers are not available to police in US, UK, Europe, Canada, NZ.
Agreed Jack, passing strange isn’t it. If it was me, thinks I would tell the boss to shove it if the assignment was offered to me. Sometimes the end just does not justify the means.
Not sure where I come down on this. Doing evil to catch evil. Pretty slippery slope for me. Utilitarianism or Formalism? I’ll have to drink on it.
Me too, Dwight. A real dilemma.
my instincts are that in spite of some good results it is not a good call.
the rule of law means the same rules apply to everyone, as much as that can be achieved.
and once coppers start doing this how do you get them to stop, that seems to be the experience with police drug stings as well.
Tend to agree. And how did we get to a point where Australia is the only jurisdiction where this can be done?
Not that I’d care a zot how the police catch paedophiles, but could this be characterised as entrapment? Do we have laws against entrapment, or could an offender use that as a defense?
Not really entrapment as the prucers and sharers of the material are doing so regardless. It is an ethical dilemma.
It certainly is, but in this instance if it means locking up for good the perpetrators and saving children from this most vile of crimes then I believe it would get majority support, and certainly from me. Of course the concern would be if it reached into other matters, though delving into terrorist activity I would also support. And it too was wondering about entrapment. A sordid business.
Hope you have a great holiday…..and don’t forget we want a blow by blow description of your fun when you get back…..er safe from what? Snake bites…..they have killed more people than terrorists…..look at the road toll….we are not pouring billions into that….a much more worthy cause than following the Americans around the world in dubious wars Bald!
Big day yesterday with many thousands of peaceful protesters in 40 locations around the country standing up to stop the Carmichael mine.
Nobody would even buy a car from Adani’s con merchants let alone letting them carve up our environment & let them loose on our water.
Polls are showing 70% of Australians do not want Adani operating here.
Palaszczuk’s mantra “they will be held to the highest environmental standards” means nothing. She forgot to mention that Queensland has zero standards now.
Blind & bought.