Trump

Problem gambing is a problem but it ain't just restricted to pokies. You would have to include AFL, NRL punting also plus others. Maybe Wilkies dollar limit is a start. Blaming clubs or pollies is a bit hard. It's a general social issue as are many addictions.

No worries bb, sarcasm just does not work alot of times in print.

you should think about getting your hips done, had a mate just done it, used a 3d printer to make a copy of the original, if you get him to talk about it, it's like asking a born again about god. Rehab is no worse than hobbling round,cept it gets better

My old man's fake hip became his strong one after recovery finished

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Yesterdays wave of the day pic..theres 2 strong ones there...as new .

@stu, your comment about numbers of pokies in NSW. I've heard similar claims about AU as a whole but if that isn't scary enough I've also heard that we have the highest bet machines in the world by a country mile (current maximum bet is $10); many machines overseas are very low bet machines like 5 or 10 cent bets. So comparing over numbers of machines to other countries can never be an accurate comparison in terms of the harm potential.

ive come full circle on pokies. these days i couldn't care less if people want to waste their pay on it. its everyones right to blow half a weeks wage on expensive machines if they care. but at the same time its also my right to demand that my tax dollar doesnt reach those same people in welfare. sure its keeping the economy going around but its the wrong element of the economy in my opinion. if folk want to engage that element then fine, but not off my money thanks.

You talking about pensioners then, Happy Arse? The pokies favourite punter...

" but at the same time its also my right to demand that my tax dollar doesnt reach those same people in welfare. sure its keeping the economy going around but its the wrong element of the economy in my opinion. if folk want to engage that element then fine, but not off my money thanks."

Happy, it's not "your right" at all.... If an old age pensioner wants to blow their pension on the pokies, then have to scrape through on baked beans for a fortnight, that's their choice, not yours.... I don't like it.. But it's not my choice.... It's theirs....
I'm amazed at people getting their knickers in a knot over the portion of their tax that goes to pensioners, disabled, unemployed, but are mute when it comes to billions on our war participation in Syria, or handouts to Billionaires like Rinehart, or the countless dollars burnt on "housing affordability" enquiries that btw recommended NOTHING, or helicopter trips, or pork barrelling.......
But I suppose pensioners are easy targets... And it makes you "feel superior", it empowers you, even if that feeling is fleeting... And it a damn sight easier taking pot shots at those on the ladder rung below you than those above..... Aye, champ.. ;)

Happy, to the best of my knowledge, gambling/pokies are addictive in the same way that drugs are.
If pubs and clubs were making money out of people by getting them into addictive drugs, where would you stand then from a moral and ethical point of view?

Andy - pretty sure that already goes on.

It's known as a liquor licence.

Sheepy - it's possible to have an opinion on two seperate issues at the same time.

I've heard some people can maintain a stance on many topics for a variety of different reasons !

Crazy, huh ?

Blowin I stand corrected.
I was thinking about "heavy" drugs but it's really easy to argue that alcohol fits into that category.

SD. i should have clarified. im not talking about pensioners. in my mind the significant majority of the elderly pensioners have earned it. they can do what they please, their working life and economic contribution has passed and its our job as the taxpayers to repay them for their contribution by helping them. if their vice is the pokies then thats fine. rather, im talking about unemployment welfare. that type of welfare is not "earned". it is there to keep a basic standard of living for people so that they can get their lives up and going again. throwing it down the mouth of a machine whilst downing 5 beers does not help that cause.

Doggo, nailed it...the strine-whine of the down-ward envying, coward-puncher...

TT. since im atrociously slow. you'll have to explain to me step by step how it is cowardly.

andy. same same. but im not talking ethics. im talking those blowing unearned cash on booze or pot (all 5 middle aged neighbors of my olds at that game) living in govt housing while treating the community and neighbourhood like shit and laying about all day talking crap while getting stoned. every couple of years its a different bunch. but nothing changes.

Just came across them but love these guys video's, tells it like it is.

And he's a friggin' Aussie (singular)? Jeez. "Telling it like it is!" Right....................

I reckon that tech-nerd mug would be hate-wanking the skin off his nubbin over that Seppo chick as we speak.

"Take that, leftie bitch...fark yeah"

"Todd, what are you doing down there?"

"Shit...nothing, mum...just...just playing [insert kid's game of your choice]"

Happy Arse, punch up...not down. Cheap shots are for scaredy-cats...and cops.

very funny indod

very very funny, that voice sounds like the guy usually bagging turnball, I thought he was a bit of a lefty, but clearly people are all over the shop these days.

watched his waleed video down the page also, very good interpretation. I like waleed but this guy sums him up beautifully re. manipulation and putting words in peoples mouths

should I know who that Lacey character is?

glad I don't

Yeah i watched the Waleed one also, i never use to mind Waleed and i use to hate Steve Price but since he has become the main man on the Panel his head is so up his arse and that's no easy feat and i actually like Steve now...not that i watch the Pannel very often.

I checked out the watched vids from that guy, which took me to this one, that was also pretty good.

And so the noose tightens ..........

America gives 35 Russian diplomates 72 hours to leave the US and closes two Russian compounds ...... all because of their proven interference in the recent election.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-election/us-expels-35-russian-diplomat...

Further, many Republicans are urging Obama's White House to take further action against Russia, which the White House is promising, all in defiance of the President-elect fucktard.

Oh the sweat irony of those Ruski hating Christian god loving dimwits voting just the way Putin wanted ... as they say only in America.

I'm still with BB, if he lasts the 4 years it will be a miracle.

Gold, Jerry, Gold!

http://junkee.com/us-media-going-wild-claims-donald-trump-took-part-gold...

While I am aware of the formal steps required to remove a president its hard to see Donald Trump lasting the distance. If he does its probable that the senate and congress will block his excesses to the point where he becomes a, I think the term Americans use, lame duck president. Easy to see China and Russia taking advantage of the situation, or at least attempting it. What a mess America and perhaps the world is in.

http://www.psychalive.org/practicing-with-trump/

Good breeds good, bad fuels bad

We can all thank Trump U2 aren't putting out their new album because he was elected.
http://downtrend.com/71superb/u2-wont-release-new-album-because-of-donal...

I have found there is so much hate about on Trump's election mainly from his supporters. Its a really dark time.

Any, I like this post for two reasons; it shows how well Obama can body surf and Lou Reed's lyrics.

"When asked what he thought of “Western civilization,” Mohandas Gandhi is said to have replied that it sounded like a good idea. I think the same is true of “liberal internationalism,” "

"The trouble all along was that liberal internationalists overestimated the ease of turning a great power into a great defender of freedom—something that became even more difficult after the 9/11 attacks pushed the country back toward the kind of direct intervention it had rejected after the catastrophic war in Vietnam. It was difficult to “stay high” in the age of the War on Terror, and Obama ultimately failed to do so—unless raining security from the skies counts. And whether it came to constitutional, statutory, or international law, Obama’s lawyers always gave him a free hand to fight so long as he kept it humane—always a frightening legacy for future generations, but one that has become far scarier far more quickly than anyone imagined. Great power may not corrupt absolutely, but it rarely advances moral principle unerringly. And now Trump is in the cockpit of the American power liberal internationalists romanticized."

Anger guysmiley...there's quite a lot of anger around....hate is the wrong word....and besides...it's become too partisan anyway...

https:
//www
.dissentmagazine.org/article/left-foreign-policy-beyond-liberal-internationalism

After Sippy's use of 'Dissent' above, here's one for you, Blindo...see what you think.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/02/07/the-choices-for-the-left-in-the-a...

The view from Russia? Lemons? Make lemonade!

Great article Turkey.

Blindboy won't respond because the article puts him nicely in his box .

But please BB , don't think you're being mistaken for the elite , you're more of the follower than the leader - "Surprisingly, the majority of “critically thinking” intellectuals turned into an easily managed and manipulated mass, without any personal opinions or will. "

But don't feel down , you're not alone .

Don't get too apoplectic/ecstatic there, Blowie. You do realise that 'Counterpunch' (like 'Dissent') are of the left...the real US left...not Liberal or Democrat?

I think the Russian bloke's big hole in this piece is in his kinda naive belief in taking Trump, & by default, Bannon, at their word.

I mean, "Trump also hinted that he is interested in educational reform, but did not offer any details" as a positive?!

Hello Boris...Betsy fucken DeVos?!

Anyway, gettin' you to read some Counterpunch, Blowie...can't be a bad thing

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/02/07/authoritarian-populism-viewing-tr...

I'll read anything and appreciate it on its merits , Turkey.

Did you do the political compass test that was on one of these threads ?

I landed not far from Ghandi on the political spectrum so I'm not opposed to a bit of " left " thinking at all, in fact I wouldn't ever consider myself "right " except on positions of immigration whereby unless you're for unfettered cultural genocide then you're granted Conservative status these days.

In fact , as a blue collar sort of fella , I have more in common with the traditional left than the new fish hand wringers that mistake identity politics for societal progress.

What's your position ?

I never realised that this article could have been complimentary with your views and I assumed that, like BB , you'd rather shut your mind than consider any alternative opinions.

Very good article by Boris Kagarlitsky, such a relief to read something measured, thoughtful and free of nonsense and hysteria - Russians can be pretty good like that.

Of course Trump is no threat to capitalism but the big question is, is he really a threat to neoliberalism as supposed by Kagarlitsky - is this the real reason why such a storm has been whipped up by the media? Correct me if I'm wrong but there was no storm like this when we invaded Iraq based on an obvious pack of lies. The media were almost totally compliant.
This to me says volumes.

And the last paragraph is absolutely spot-on and crucial. Unless the left divorces itself from political parties and to an extent political processes as controlled by the elites (how can you possibly call yourself "left" and support Obama/Clinton/the Democrats or for that matter, Australian Labor), they are doomed to be pawns, especially in such right-wing two-party systems.

Turkey -
https://www.politicalcompass.org

Again, fellas, for the umpteenth time, let's not conflate the US, or the UK for that matter, and us too much.

It seems the Kagarlitsky article struck a chord, hey? I still think it's got some major holes. Mainly giving too much credence to what Trump and Bannon have been bleating about regarding workers and their concerns. Fuck, look at some of the appointments for starters, and extrapolate from there. Let alone their previous form. And what's not mentioned by Boris is anything about the environment. With Pruitt heading the EPA, for instance, how can you reconcile, Andy? Methinks, capitalism can rest REAL easy in their hands.
UNLESS!
The clown/horror show leads to some real change from without. A mobilisation. A real left mobilisation. The Democrats can adapt, remake, or die. Occupy Democrats! The BIG Takeover (now there's a soundtrack!)

How was the other article? Not floating the CB* boat?

How the corporate media over there is reacting is insane...and insanely entertaining. Will it take Trump for them to give someone like Chomsky some real air-time??
Strange daze, indeed.

Implications for here in Oz? Because we're not as degraded politically as the US, we can learn and avoid...hopefully. The whole neo-liberal experiment is under the pump. Labor are finally moving away from this tired 'third way' crap. It's glacial but the signs are definitely there. The policy positions have shifted noticeably in the years post-Rudd, mark 1. The move leftwards, economically, is happening. Frustratingly slow in this 'immediate' world, but there it is.
And on the other side, we have the unrepentant Turnbull, neo-liberal 'free marketeer' par excellence, with the same old failed economic dogma. Well, I say failed if we're referring to the majority of us. It works fine for its intended beneficiaries. Mal being the top percentile poster-boy of that pack of real deplorables.
While he blows a gasket in a fit of 'psychological projection' yesterday, his party gleefully shaft the little people again.

As for your compass tool, I always thought stuff like that was handy for people that are usually uninterested in politics (both big and small 'p', party political or personal). Engagement is good at whatever level, huh? And what happened to the ABCs version again??

And ain't waaaay left of Gandhi a good place to be, comrades.

*confirmation bias

Just briefly, it doesn't seem unreasonable to point out some obvious comparisons between Australia, the U.K. and the States - all two party systems, all parties at least centre right and the party more to the left in all countries still does not represent social democratic ideals nor even many small "l" liberal ideals.
Turkey as I've said and as you also pointed out, capitalism is under no threat from Trump.
But when you ask me how I can reconcile Trump's appointment of Pruitt (with my environmental beliefs I assume), you infer that I support Trump.
Where did you get that idea from?

It's far from being unreasonable, in fact it's useful, maybe even crucial, to point at comparisons between Western democracies, and what can be gleaned from them, just don't OVER-conflate.

For example, the Labour party in the UK under Corbyn has shifted noticeably to the left. Definitely moreso than the Labor party here. But then things are more dire. Witness the corporate media's treatment of Corbyn! And don't get me started on Scotland!

And in the US, Sanders has been a phenomenon in the context of their politics. I don't think I would've imagined in my lifetime a major candidate ever uttering the word 'socialism', owning it (even though it is a mild 'socialism'), and not being torn to shreds by the media over there.

Things are afoot (left).

Trump as nothing more than catalyst in the US? Is this where your previous statement, "Trump's the best thing to happen to world politics for a long time" fits in, Andy? Short term pain, long time gain? Strap yourself in, it's gonna be real bumpy.

Frankie Boyle on the bampot in chief:

"I actually think Donald Trump is going to prove a lot of people wrong, but sadly not George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, or whoever wrote the Book of Revelation. It says a lot about the man that building a giant wall isn’t even in the top five most Game of Thrones things about him. Of course, presidents always enter office with something to prove, it’s just rarely their sanity."

Read it and weep. God blast America!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/08/donald-trump-obnox...

just realised I don't give a fuck......buuuurp.

I just learnt a great new word.

Fremdschamen .

Here's looking at you , BB !

blindboy wrote:

The most perceptive piece yet written about him.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/america-tyranny-donald-trum...

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"Be afraid........very afraid. God fuck Amerika "

Blindboy.

Blindy's got a stalker, Blindy's got a stalker...