Australia - you're standing in it

G'day Doggo, how's it hanging?

Anyway, just to get things straight from the get-go, is this an Australian politics thread (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) or another Dorothy MacKellar Oi! Oi! Oi! one?

Thanks cobber.

There would be very few Govt departments that have provided sensible or accurate or efficient service delivery in many a year especially when politics/money is involved.
Think Aboriginal Affairs, resource management, social security, military procurements, domestic affairs, EPA and waste management. etc, etc. the list is endless.
Australia is run by established morons.

The neo-liberal economic ideological individualist creed has seeped into the bones.

The mass majority don't give a toss about anything until the slurry is up against their own door step.

But remember...

"they who have put out the people’s eyes, reproach them of their blindness."

Chomsky used this Milton quote in Manufacturing Consent, his insightful work about the effectiveness of political propaganda and how it is managed by hegemonic media and other vectors of public opinion, which ultimately undermine democracy and promote a corporatocracy.

The media works through diversion and dumbing down. Popular energy is dissipated and voters infantilised.

Our media concentration is ridiculous and getting even more concentrated.

Shoot the messenger! Or at least riddle them with holes, and go Quincy style on the body politic.

Interrogate, don't regurgitate!

Don't hate the media! Become the media!

Chomsky has always been full of shit!

"Gee... That covid app sure did ok"

If people like you had downloaded it instead of thinking the government is out to get you, it would have done fine, if the download numbers were there any technical glitches would be worth working on and updating.

And we would be able to trace Covid cases much quicker, easier and have far less untraceable cases and everyone would benefit as would the economy.

But instead we are using a system that is completely outdated in a high tech era, absolutely crazy.

Who's fault is it the government's?.....no it's everyone who didnt download it and get behind it.

Cool bumper sticker, Lizard. Got one on your Hi Lux?

My bumper sticker on my pick-up says-

"Education is a system of imposed ignorance and shit happens!"

In Japanese I take it?

Nah, I was just trying to be clever. Tbh, it's the only Chomsky quote I can quote and I'm not entirely sure what it means. But if its as I interpret it, I actually disagree with it.

A bumper sticker is a lot pithier than the whole deal.

https://chomsky.info/warfare02/

Or even 7 minutes of Tube time.

hi-lux is an insult? got a problem with blue-collar workers factotum? if we are guessing peoples socioeconomic status I figure you for a divorced bitter old cunt living in a shed with a battered Camry out front

Sorry if you're not a grubby subbie, Lizard. 'Retired' early? Don't tell me...not another lap-top 'share broker' now?

Speaking of battered, sticker's on the ol' trouble & strife's Prado then? And you've got the "fuck off, we're full" one on the Landy?

Yeehaw, battler! Go LNP! Or Hanson??

Same same.

Facto, I watched your vid and not actually knowing much about Chomsky, went into it with eyes open, albeit half asleep as I've been working all day. In fairness to you, I want to read the article when my mind is clear and I'm rested. But, as far as the vid is concerned, I see a smart, articulate man but nothing that blows me away. Standard warm up the audience with a little luke-warm self deprecating humour, chuck in a joke about those that don't conform are labelled and go on to ruminate about the machine.

I'm tired, maybe shouldn't post about this now and in the light of day, might see things differently but for now- meh.

I liked that to and fro vid you posted a while back- two incredibly smart authors (fark, can't even remember their names atm) that was riveting to me.

I won't go as far as Lounge Lizard, but Chomsky is gonna have to step it up to impress me.

Btw, keep the links coming, I enjoy the reads without necessarily commenting on them.

edit: I can't bookend him on the strength of one vid so will delve further, but first impression left me wanting a bit more meat and a little less fat.

chomsky's better moments...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.opencult...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.c...

if only some of his deciples would listen

deflection facto, and once again you insult tradies . care to tell us what you are? not a tradie, too stupid to be a professional, glass jaw. like throwing it out but won't stand up for yourself. reminds me of that tosser at the uni nsw, forget his name, big on the anti-semitic dbs, disrupted a lecture and waved a 5-dollar note under a jewish persons nose, then denied it was an anti-semitic gesture.likes to insult then like a little kid runs away "I didn't mean it! you can't prove it! it wasn't me!" did I get the Camry right? and the rest?

Nah LL, I reckon Facto has a company lease.

My guess, Landcruiser or something along those lines.

Maybe way off but that's the impression I get.

you ain't margaret river if haven't got a land cruiser, ...not sure about the company lease bit...

not sure about the land cruiser actually

I'm thinking he's a more subaru / vw personality

not that there's anything wrong with that...

or maybe a great wall hilux copy, ...fringe benefits and ideologically sound

Hard to call. Facto's been around so I'm gonna run with the Landcruiser on a fleet lease.

Failing that, some sort of old ute and his missus drives an X5 or similar and he drives that whenever they go somewhere together.

Hats off, Zen. Truly.

You watched that 7 min snippet vid. Huzzah!

Of course, there's no fireworks ala the infamous Vidal/Mailer ego off, but then Chomsky isn't in that ego league. He's not an artist. He's an academic, a groundbreaking intellectual, and a public intellectual (although until the internet, not a lot of public space or public) in all matters social, cultural, and political. For decades!

I don't know if a heavyweight bout like the one between Chomsky and pre-eminent French philosopher and thinker Michel Foucault (1971) serves much purpose at this stage, but go with the following if you're keen.

Gets a lot of mention on here...no doubt, there are some previous readers (great book. Seminal!) and watchers too, and absolutely no doubt there are more here that haven't read the book or seen the doco (Seppy, I'm looking at you, pardner).

Absolutely handy tool for the 'political' posts on here.

Lizard, cool story bro. I don't know what it's all about, but go with it! Got you all fired up!
Who doesn't love a Howard/Hanson 'battler'/Tony's tradie/Scotty's Scotty (Morrison & Cam show)?

All hail!

Yew!

Re: cars, wasn't there a thread on here with pics and stuff? Dream cars or some such?

Hee hee.

And yes, Doggo, SA should've been the lesson learned from 20 years ago.

Actually, a big part of the last WA state election hinged on this. Lab, no. Lib, yes.

You'd be surprised how much of your stuff I read/watch Mr. Facto.

I still reckon your missus drives an X5 or Tiguan or something along those lines.

Close?

Yikes!!! Stupe’s boyz are goin’ ‘ard... again... but...

Really... ‘we’ll really, get... hizz farkin car aaaauyyee... really aaayyyee but...

Really... it sounds a bit swillnutty... agin’!!!!

And zenny... not again... you said you’d learned to choose your words more carefully, after that last, we’ll, ‘that incident’... and yet, here we go... again and... again...

And sykpply ‘owning’ Margaret River... really, now that would be hilarious... again!!!???

Carry orn’ swillnuttin’!!!!

I did choose my words carefully. I wasn't casting aspersions. I just reckon Facto seems like a Landcruiser kinda bloke is all.

Liberty wagon, maybe a Forrester if he went all butch.

Well, to be fair, Zen, that may be my next new wagon purchase, sooner rather than later. Depends what happens at my place of employment mid next year. I figure that should see me out till I'm not allowed to drive anymore or shuffle off this mortal coil.

Then again my old man was driving up to last year! Where I'm going, there's not much traffic, but.

Haha! Wanna see God laugh? Tell him your plans!

ps I always choose my words carefully.

"Please don't understand me too quickly" - Mailer via Andre Gide.

Andy, I can feel some projection there, champ.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Again, dream car thread, people! There be some answers! True!

Hee hee haw!

https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/464144

And maybe this car fetish talk should get driven over there? This is going off Doggo's track...but then again, what is more Strayan than men talking about their cars?

Brrm brrm.

"News just in!!!!!! You're either for gas, or you're against gas."

Yes, Doggo. Reminds me of that old GW Bush false binary, "you're either with us, or you're with the terrorists!"

Hah!

One thing I can never promise is to choose my words carefully.

It's a blessing and a curse.

I like how you get protective Facto, it's very sweet.

OK...........................

For anyone who can't get enough Chomsky, this is strongly recommended:

https://rubberducky.org/cgi-bin/chomsky.pl

It's simple and brilliant.

Yeah, been posted before. Sickballz! Yew!

Importantly, what kind of car you got, VJ?

Ever had a VJ?

Although I was trained to read that kind of thing, I still find Chomsky almost unintelligible; he's a smart fellow though.
VJ Valiants were pretty awesome but I never owned one, I owned an unregistered 245 Hemi VG coupe for a little while, $800 well spent. Drove it unregistered (permit) 150kms to farm after I fixed it up. It flogged girlfriend's 253 WB ute! Then it became my farm rocket. Australia at it's best.

Had an old regal peeling black vinyl roof 245 hemi powerful -working outback then but next one better zf Fairlane 350 V8 jacked up suspension for dirt roads some good long miles in that old girl singing along with the boss. This thread is about Australia yes?

Nice H20, those ZFs were quite choice. Though I miss the Hemi, managed to save a 302 XW, love it, it's all so simple & they float along with intent on the highway.

Mates sweet old dad had a stock standard XC Fairmont in metallic blue with cream interior. Absolutely immaculate. Gave it away to goodness knows who a few years ago. Think it might have been the 4.2 so was that a six or small block V8? Not sure. Anyway, reckon it'd be worth a packet these days.

Facto, been poking around reading and watching a bit of Chomsky in my spare time this arvo. Mostly recent stuff and his thoughts on today, not disregarding where he's come from. First- I like him. Second- I reckon BB has a poster of him on his bedroom wall. Third- I find it real hard to agree with him on many things but hard to disagree on many others. I don't like his language too but I certainly respect a man who has devoted his life to his craft. I think he doesn't think anyone of a certain persuasion is capable of thought.

Also, as opposed to what you said earlier, there's plenty of ego there, no question of that.

Anyway again thanks for tuning me into something new and yep, I've come to this conclusion over about three hours and a few beers being the intellectual giant that I am.

Certainly worthy of further discussion.

Btw, I still drive a Subaru.

Drove a $1500 2 door Valiant convertible MEL to PER for Americas Cup 87 with 2 mates.
Actually a wrecker had chopped the top off and we bought a canopy for another $750.
I'm hopeless with models but it was a white slant 6 (we replaced the exhaust gasket/manifold) with red pin stripes down the side and silver moon disk hubcaps.
Boot was big enough for 2 surfboards!
It was a Fkn hot looking motor and it got us a LOT of attention over there at the time.
Scored the best goey from the Angels before we left MEL hence didn't even leave until after midnight and ran outta petrol at Nhill and had to wait till morning to get going again. So many stories from that vehicle and that trip ;-))))

Now that sounds like a road trip.

My next old car purchase will be a Val. A Safari wagon or a VE ute.

Though I've had my eye on a SA made Chrysler Royal a bloke up the road has been trying to sell for a while now.

Haven't had an oldie for a few years. They rule.

Cars, that is.

Boom tish.

ps So you had a look at that dream car thread, Zen? My old new old Subie! Sold on now, but still cranking round town. Up there with the longest car I've ever had since my very first, I think. I've had 7 cars since I got back into Oz in 2009. And 2 of those written off! I go through 'em!

Lest we forget that Assange is an Australian.

Trial Day 13.

"Friday gave us the most emotionally charged moments yet at the Assange hearing, showed that strange and sharp twists in the story are still arriving at the Old Bailey, and brought into sharp focus some questions about the handling and validity of evidence..."

Including testimony from fellow Antipodean Nicky Hager, veteran New Zealand investigative journalist

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/09/your-man-in-the-public-g...

views that's an epic road trip! VF had slant 6. You would have seen me as a little kid watching the boats go out, and you would have seen Dad in the Freo pubs with his mates. He loved that time. My Valiant had just done the inland trip down from Darwin when I bought it and was full of .22 cartridges and tinnies. Facto, those are mint wagons, I drove a VF wagon with 160HP 2 barrel slant 6 and it had some poke. Zen XC would have been a 6, 250 Crossflow. The oldies are the best, so simple. Advance the timing, harden the valves, replace rubber bits on the fuel lines and you can run them on ethanol. Liquid sunshine.