On Tuesday night, Pasquale Barbaro was shot dead in his car in the backstreets of Earlwood in Sydney’s south.
On hearing the news, I first thought of the difficulties facing journalists working at news desks that night. The first question to answer was which Pasquale Barbaro had been murdered? There’s a small army of them and many are known to police. Two other relatives bearing the name had already been murdered. Another was serving a 30-year jail term over his role in the biggest ecstasy importation Australia has seen.
On this occasion it was 35-year-old Pasquale Timothy Barbaro who became the victim.
In 2003, Jason Moran a key combatant in Melbourne’s bloody underworld feud, knew he was in danger and with a contract out on his life. He came out of hiding briefly to watch his children kick a footy around at an Auskick clinic at Essendon in Melbourne’s north with his bodyguard, Pasquale ‘Pat’ Barbaro, Pasquale Timothy Barbaro’s cousin.
Full column here.
Dare I say it Dismayed, but has this new-format blog calmed you down a bit? How nice…
Just been busy travelling . I do not share your opinion on Trump. I see you too are happy to support the boasting of and sexual abuse of woman along with racism, bigotry and outright lies to get what is wanted. Your obsession is your own fault.
Another shocking negative Newspoll for “current” PM Turnbull, Mr Insider. and that makes 5 in a row now. Turnbull who ousted ex PM Abbott based on negative Newspolls surely must see he too is headed in the same direction with him in charge of a motely bunch of fools in his Lib/Nat Coalition.
http://tinyurl.com/hv9uewm
Trump is POTUS – like it or not. He seems to be rethinking his stance on the TPP. Why, he’s even looking presidential these days. Hair a bit better groomed and standing tall.
I think it’s in everyone’s best interests to chill and give the man the benefit of the doubt – for a while at least. Who knows he may pull a rabbit out of the hat. Friend of mine thinks that in 6 months or so when things have settled the markets will go gang busters. Hope he’s right.
Jean Baptiste – where are you? Who is/was Orville the Sun Dog?
Love it that we have our blog, big thanks to JTI. But do agree with the slight difficulty in chronologics. But I’m happy it’s here at all!!
Hi Yvonne. I’m a new poster here. An explanation of my strange name (it’s my real name btw) was posted on the wrong thread (Smoking out good Government) by mistake. Seniors moment there. Nice to meet you here.
That’s quite an unusual name. Are your parents American Indians with a fascination for aviation pioneers?
Pa was Native American and mum English Canadian. (I don’t, but some people consider ‘Indian’ offensive.) Dad played guitar and owned a Gibson, that guitar brand having been founded by Orville Gibson. I attended my first school, Thunder Butte Elementary School, using my tribal name, but when we moved to Missouri we lived under ma’s English name to avoid being tagged ‘injuns’. It didn’t work most of the time.
I reverted to my tribal (legal) name when I joined the Navy. My early years were on the Cheyenne River Reservation SD, home range of the Sans Arc, the white man name my tribe. Most NA’s have a white forename and tribal mid and last names. ‘Little’ is actually my middle name and should more closely translate as ‘from’, similar to the English name suffix, ‘-son’.
Trump’s just said that he’s not ahead with the TPP, as one of his early priorities.
Straws . . . grasping . . .
http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/presidentelect-donald-trump-could-be-impeached-over-his-hotel-soiree-with-foreign-diplomats-legal-experts-say/news-story/27453853c23e85f9241ee06ce1f569a5
I’m wondering if they can keep the hysteria going long enough to ensure a second Trump term. I think they’re going to try.
They keep this up, they just might guarantee him a second term.
Slap me Jesus, Mr Insider, PM Turnbull scored a small win at last when the “Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014” passed the Senate last night. Of course the man in the street wont notice a thing and Turnbull is still to get anything of substance thru both Houses , such a loser he is. Bear in mind he’s now been PM for nearly 1 and a half years!
http://tinyurl.com/h4ewrk9
You don’t consider the bill that was the cause if a DD substantial?
Not at all Razor nothing more than a smokescreen. If you hark back to the mega 8 week election campaign Turnbull had before almost losing office this year it did not feature once in that campaign. Turnbull is simply trying to implement Abbotts agenda to appease the right wing of his party.
Just saw Faf in town, looking for a lolly shop. Apparently his current mints don’t work with a pink ball.
Musk sticks required
But then again it could have been all Keating’s doing. I’ll let JOH guide me; he has a keen eye for the truth and a well argued case.
http://www.solidarity.net.au/unions/labors-love-affair-with-the-market-the-keating-years/
Did Keating run over your dog or something Milton?
And I just happened to stumble across this, which for some may be from a more palatable source:
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/paul-keatings-role-in-national-reform-should-be-taken-with-a-grain-of-salt-20161118-gssq54?deviceType=text
Interesting to see the abc publish a speedy response to the comments by Noel Pearson. Do they usually do this? Anywho, Noel’s my kind of parochial aussie!
As far as Keating being, in T Bramston’s view, the ‘big picture man’ i’m not so sure. He was not too holistic on gay equality and he certainly couldn’t see the big picture in the sense that by the end of his tenure he got rooted at the polls, and had his party sidelined for 12 years.
Moreover all the big picture ideas he had were not his (as I will continue to repeat ad nauseum) as they were shopped wholesale from the Campbell Report.
See: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/the-deal-magazine/son-of-campbell/story-e6frgabx-1226666946175
But don’t be shy in making your own inquiries. As such, Keating has Fraser to thank for being such a pusillanimous waste of time and not allowing Howard to implement these reforms, and for Hawke to give him a hand up and oversee his development. But if Keating was a big picture man then his true peers are Thatcher and Reagan (nothing wrong with them) as has been dutifully observed by a few. Of course not everyone is going to be pleased, so I’ll add and old favourite:
http://www.solidarity.net.au/mag/back/2012/50/labors-accord-how-hawke-and-keating-began-a-neo-liberal-revolution/
ps I wonder if old mate, Roz Ward reads solidarity or if she’s just a red flag type of gal?
Gawd you’re a broken record Milton. I’ll let you on a little secret about government policy – it regularly comes from reports like the Campbell one. Does it matter who has the cojones to implement them? Do you think that Keating did no other research or canvassed no other opinion? Honest mate, I’d love to see you alone in a room with PJK for half an hour. There’d be nothing left for the hyenas.
PJK only ever does rehearsed lines that he thinks up late at night and memorises, or else he plagiarises them. The shiver looking for a spine comment has been said by both Harold Wilson and Piggy Muldoon whilst PJK was still in shorts. But you may be right, listening to Keating talk about himself, whilst re-writing history for half an hour would have me tearing my innards out. History has provided a lot sharper tools in the shed than Bleating; Churchill, Whitlam and Vidal for starters, Paul’s just the biggest tool – a damp squib if ever there was one. You are one of the many under his spell.
You and your batman theory about Paul Keating, Milton. You seem to be fixated on the man. Given Keating’s form, I’ve no doubt that he’s always been his own man. As for “rehearsed lines that he thinks up late at night and memorises”, how would you know? They seem spontaneous to me. Anyway, he’s way ahead of any of the current crop of politicians, in terms of quick-footedness.
Politics would be better served if there were more of them that ran with sensible economic policies developed by public servants, including Ken Henry’s report. At least Keating was smart enough to understand good policies when he saw them.
TO – I agree Keating was a very good treasurer and like Hawke, Howard, Costello and plenty from Hawkes cabinet and a couple from Howard’s cabinet they are vastly superior to the crop of husks running around today.
Are you Winston Smith from the Ministry of truth using your Memory hole to revise history? Then again you don’t have Smith’s rebellious streak.
Agree TV, it is becoming tedious Milton.
I know, Penny I even acknowledged it but I believe it helps my development by letting it out. If it helps. Btw I liked your endorsement (!) of my man Abbott. Everyone thought Abbott a dickhead, hated him and had low expectations of him and he never once let them down (i’m joking there). Turnbull made the mistake of believing his appeal to the qanda crowd was universal, and mistakenly many a person had high hopes for him (though a few on here realised he was a populist dud), only to be left disappointed at best and seething at worst. He has revitalised mediocrity.
Milton, I hadn’t seen QandA for years although we do get it here in Penang, but generally the day after it has aired so all the outrage by the Newscorp media has generally run its course. So I was always going on my memories of Malcolm Turnbull which were always quite positive. I never hated Howard, in fact I thought he was quite good, never loved Kevin Rudd, but from where we stood as expats in Kuwait he came across quite well and he (believe it or not) was well liked by the Australian diplomats in the Middle East. Move on a few years and we have decided to spend six months here in Malaysia and six months in Australia, so feel now able to comment on Australian politics. Malcolm Turnbull is a dud, a disappointment, a failure, a fraud and and I would have to say the worst PM we have ever had. His pathetic performance on election night when he blamed everybody but himself for almost losing the election…..this is after keeping his supporters waiting until after midnight. So now you know what I really think, I will allow you a few more Paul Keating rants and then let’s compare Turnbull’s performance over the next few months to Paul Keatings record as PM
Simon T:
Yes, Bhutan is very lovely St. One of the last frontiers possibly. Cannot go anywhere without a Bhutanese guide.
I am planning to organise a private trek next November. Met up with the guide before I left.
Plan to do the Jhomolhari trek which is probably Bhutan’s equivalent of Everest base camp. Altitudes 4000-5000m Then go further north to Lasa before heading out via Gasa. Hoping to get 3 other takers. It’s a tough one. But beautiful remote scenery and villages. Will have to train hard. The altitude got to.me a little this time at 3500m but acclimatisation generally works and I did not take Diamox
The trek where one might see a snow leopard is the Snowman Trek. (google it) . But that is 23 + days. Bloody tough and possibility of having to abandon because snowbound. My guide this time says he saw one on that trek in the past – and numbers are increasing. There is no specific “leopard sighting” trek to my knowledge.
The beauty of Bhutan is that they do not allow anyone to attempt to reach summits. They are sacred. Bhutan has the highest unclimbed peak in the world. Hence no chaotic and ridiculous overcrowding as they have in Nepal nowadays.
I look forward to returning.