Australia - you're standing in it
. I
"Jesus you'd be pissed quick playing that... but no worries, Stu has him on a short leash. Stay out of the forums and he gets published."
that's a shame, I'd rather have him in the forums...
"Not that I'm complaining. It's kinda relaxing not be trolled. I might even give it up myself, go back to posting genuine comment... but maybe not. Who would have guessed it was so much fun to be a troll?"
can't really say I've noticed any difference, in content or toxic vitriol, across the various profiles tbh
I had "." on my BBB card. Does the above count?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We on to the SBB now?
Very powerful post uplift. Up there with the Wolf who suckered Romulus and Remus and then thought it might be good to sit beside the fire of the man
Herc Returns ..
&t=36s
He hasn't got much of a chance Assange has he.
Gotta love the romans... all those elite phrases and school mottos. Not to mention the pope, he's got the best criminal lawyers in the world, but then, he can afford them! What a system it was, and look what its become. Just a few problems doing another lap! They loved a great epidemic too! And a good espionage story. And who could forget the Crucifixions! Still, its all just exaggerated they reckon.
The beat goes on. Business as usual... as long as the pubs stay open... not to mention the footy, cricket... fuckin' entertain us we'll do anything you say... plus we're starving to death... give us more, we want more... flavours, shit just give us more... of everything. We don't need to know the details... just keep it coming... Who... yeh, bummer, but we're alright Jack... Julian... whatever... shit, sorry mmmaaaayyyteee, surfs up, and oooohhh nnnoooo, a farkin camera's down!!!
https://explorethearchive.com/worst-roman-emperors
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/secrets-of-the-colosseum-75827047/
https://www.ancient.eu/Antonine_Plague/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-change-and-dis...
.
I reckon Stu might be checking his pocket for yellow and red cards about now.
Aye, just deleted much of this page.
Well there's always something going on up at the point, or in the sheds. But I missed all this. Just a couple of quick questions before I shoot off.
Did I get knocked out... again...????!!
And just asking for a mmmaaayyyteee stupe', but could I interest you in a good 'backstory'???
All your comments remain as is, Michael. Untouched.
Backstory is good. Surfing related would be better.
I feel I've made progress on Stu's naughty list. Surely I'm no longer in the bottom three bad children?
Ye, righto then, that'd be right... here we go, don't tell me you've come up with a knockout 'backstory' as well VL!!??
MB, I haven't improved my behaviour much, and I don't have a knockout backstory. I figured the way BB, Indo, and blowin have been carrying on lately, I've gone up a few places in Stu's leaderboard.
Hah! Missed it by that much.
What, though?
Talk about Seppo style. I dunno if comments and commentators have been 'extraordinarily rendered' or someone 'special' has got a direct line on the 'super secure presidential phone', got a 'presidential pardon', and is now in 'witness protection'.
Wrong thread?
Get smart, ol' Swellnetonians! And carry on...
.
Bingo!
Eyes down for a full house tonight.
Bingo!
https://thenewdaily.com.au/federal-budget-2015/2020/10/07/budget-2020-mi...
From these threads in 2016:
"Let's really release the LNP Kraken in times of global economic meltdown, or at the very least a more localised recession.
Let's see what they're really made of. More importantly, let's see what we're really made of.
Let's see what the 'lucky country' is really like when the luck runs bad...and the LNP is in charge.
Shiver."
gladys berejiklian the koala lover is a phony. In fact, I'll go as far to say the gladys berejiklian - john barilaro feud was a completely staged event. Now we have this;
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/07/nsw-will-allow-la...
Sorry wrong thread as the Vic Lockdown thread is not up not up but cant help but post this latest from the BBC.
Trying to deny the fact that Covid is here to stay with all of us for some time is as simple minded as Donald Trump. It will be back!!! Please stop banging on about how well we have done as it really means nothing in the long term.
But we have to live without lockdowns fools.
"Thousands of scientists and health experts have joined a global movement warning of "grave concerns" about Covid-19 lockdown policies.
Nearly 6,000 experts, including dozens from the UK, say the approach is having a devastating impact on physical and mental health as well as society.
They are calling for protection to be focused on the vulnerable, while healthy people get on with their lives.
Critics have pointed out:
A more targeted approach could make it difficult to protect vulnerable people entirely.
The risk of long-term complications from coronavirus mean many others are also at risk.
But the movement - known as the Great Barrington Declaration - mirrors some of the warnings in a letter signed by a group of GPs in the UK.
Sixty-six GPs, including TV doctors Dr Phil Hammond and Dr Rosemary Leonard and a number of medics who have held senior roles at the British Medical Association, have written to the health secretary, saying there is insufficient emphasis on "non-Covid harms" in the decision-making.
And the declaration has now been signed by nearly 6,000 scientists and medical experts across the globe as well as 50,000 members of the public.
The UK-based experts who have signed it include:
Dr Sunetra Gupta, an epidemiologist at Oxford University
Nottingham University self-harm expert Prof Ellen Townsend
Edinburgh University disease modeller Dr Paul McKeigue
They say keeping the lockdown policies in place until a vaccine is available would cause "irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed".
The health harms cited include:
Lower childhood vaccination rates
Worsening care for heart disease and cancer patients
And they point out the risk from coronavirus is 1,000 times greater for the old and infirm, with children more at risk from flu than Covid-19.
As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all - including the vulnerable - falls, they say.
And this would be a much more "compassionate" approach.
The declaration recommends a number of measures to protect the vulnerable, including regular testing of care-home workers, with a move as far as possible towards using staff who have acquired immunity.
Retired people living at home should have groceries and other essentials delivered, it says.
And when possible, they should meet family members outside rather than inside.
Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when sick, should be practised by everyone.
But:
young low-risk individuals should be allowed to work normally
schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching
sports and cultural activities could resume and restaurants reopen
What do other experts say?
While clearly "well intentioned", the declaration has profound ethical, logistical and scientific flaws, University of Leeds school of medicine associate professor Dr Stephen Griffin says.
The vulnerable come from all walks of life and deserve to be "treated equally".
And "long Covid" is reported to have left even people mild infections with problems such as fatigue and joint pain for months.
University of Reading cellular biology expert Dr Simon Clarke, meanwhile, says whether herd immunity is even achievable remains unclear.
"Natural, lasting, protective immunity to the disease would be needed," he says.
"And we don't know how effective or long-lasting people's post-infection immunity will be."
Some say the most likely scenario is immunity is not long-term but future reinfections then become milder.
Scotty from marketing, and Frodo the work experience kid, dance the fandango.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/10/08/michael-pascoe-josh-frydenber...
Or in layman's terms Facto
Under a Liberal government, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is their core ideology, it runs through every decision they make.
This should surprise no one.
That's garbage the majority of the last 25 years has been under a liberal government
25+ years ago i had nothing me and a mate even had to go to a social worker once and get food vouchers as spent all the money we had on bond for a rental.
25+ years ago all my friends had nothing, myself and pretty much everyone i know are now successful financially and in other ways, the only people i know that were poor and are still poor are people that always blow all their money on alcohol and drugs gambling etc
It's not the governments fault they are poor they will always be poor because they are bad with money, one guy i know even got a big inheritance and blew it all.
The biggest turning point for everyone i know was the Howard years, it went from a recession to a strong economy.
The most important thing at the end of the days is jobs, when people have jobs they improve their life's, no job and you have no chance to improve yourself financially.
The rich pretty much always get richer though, doesn't matter who is in power, that's because it's easy to make money when you have money not to mention apart from those that inherited wealth those that are self made and wealthy are wealthy because generally they are motivated, smart & hardworking.
Liberal government policies are designed to shift wealth from the poor to the rich. This is exactly what their tax policies do, this is exactly what their IR reforms have always done or tried to do. This is exactly what their welfare policies do.
That's a lovely anecdote about your life Indo, how pleasant for you. You just keep on wealth worshiping cobba.
Fancy you banging on about compassion in the other thread.
'The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.'
Keep telling yourself those people are poor entirely because of their own moral failings (and hence deserving of the pain and suffering inflicted upon them). Keep generalising your anecdotes to the entire population. Your business if that's how you excuse your selfishness, you've got a media empire to help sandbag your misguided opinions.
Lots of data from around the world showing the growth in inequity between the lowest and highest paid since the introduction of neoliberal economic policy. The facts cannot be disputed but give it a crack info.
The gap between rich and poor will always get bigger that's NOT because the poor get poorer it's because the rich always get richer because they use their wealth to create more wealth, it also becomes generational, but the good thing is the poor can also become rich we all know the rags to rich stories be it a well known person like Richard Branson or just on a local level.
It's like a running race, if you had 100 people and you did a 100 metres race the gap between everyone would be minimal but off course there would naturally still be those in front and those behind.
If you then had a race with the same 100 people over 10km the gap between everyone would be much much bigger.
Time is the same as distance.
And you an see it in everything the more things move forward and advance the faster the effect is seen.
Not to mention equity in opportunity does not equal equality in outcome.
The reality is the systems of the west work's that's a big reason why we are developed countries.
Not to mention on a worldwide scale pretty much every area of life is improving
"23 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better"
https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health-crime-liter...
If you think communism or true socialism is better or whatever, you could always move to one of those countries yeah sure things will be more equal between everyone but you will be poor too..
BTW. the funny thing is about your people, im sure many are on pretty good incomes, and im betting you have shares etc in these big companies you despise so much, hence you are helping them get richer if you do.
Bingo
"they use their wealth to create more wealth"
Yeah with focused legislation and policy from right wing governments.
"If you think communism or true socialism is better or whatever, you could always move to one of those countries"
Gotta love a false dichotomy.
Oh Bingo Bingo Bingo, so many false equivalencies. Gotta love the old 'Go and live in a communist country then!' - you've got nothing do ya.
Interesting to see how you morally justify your selfishness though.
By the way Indo, I'd consider going and living in one of the Nordic countries, you know, the ones who have adopted democratic-socialism, y'know, those ones that consistently top the list for the best countries to live in. Dunno if I could cope with water quite that cold though.
You could be one of those amazing, god like high wealth individuals like Angus Taylor, we - the tax payers - paid him and his company $80m for something which was likely not even worth half that. He promptly moved that money offshore. What an amazing individual, such a contribution to Australian society.
Seeing as you're such a fan of conservatism and conservative economic policy, you could move to the US, they are much further along the conservative economic path than us. It's practically a utopia there right? I mean all the freedom! Never mind the riots, police killings, far right groups stalking the streets, domestic terrorism and of course the spectre of civil war 2.0. What a towering achievement of conservative economic policy. How's the US 'system of the west' working Indo?
Inverted Totalitarianism, look it up cobba, it's where the US is at and where Aus is headed under the Libs - if we aren't already there now.
BTW, I do have shares, in a managed ethical investment fund. I use what meagre wealth I have accrued to try and influence the changes that we need to ensure a cohesive society. Much to Scomo and his fellow conservatives chagrin.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/09/global-funds-mana...
Y'know, wasn't one of the Liberals 'principles' the 'free market' interesting how quickly that goes out the window when it might effect the wealth of their members and donors.
Such a silly argument Indo, I don't know why you would bother to construct such a flimsy pathetic strawman.
No one is arguing for bloody communism, stop pretending that any of us are. Stop pretending that there is no middle ground between North Korean 'socialism' and neo-conservative economics. It's a spectacularly weak move, I dunno maybe it looks damning and unshakeable in the comment section on The Australian, but not in reality
One thing you are right about though, wealth accrual will naturally happen over time. But it is governments job to keep this under control. If governments do not do this, where do you see the end game going? Regardless of it's causes, Inequality erodes social cohesion, and it is social cohesion that keeps a society together.
If they wanted to cut taxes, they should have raised the tax free threshold. This would be a much more effective stimulus for the economy, but that wasn't the purpose of the tax cuts.
I don't normally weigh into political arguments and I don't agree it's always one party's fault over another. But this time Dan Tehan and the Libs have got it wrong. (This is about a bill to make some Uni courses more expensive than others). Distribution of wealth is a complicated conundrum. I grew up working class, flunked secondary school and went to uni as an adult student. It wasn't for free but I was allowed to borrow money on HECs and paid it back in small increments over time. IMO, the key to improving your lot in life begins with education. I'm not talking about financial wealth necessarily, but a way to choose a better life. If you have access to cheap (free) education combined with hard work you get to choose. I don't agree with everything Jacqui Lambi says, but I reckon she hits the nail on the head here. Apologies to those who don't have facebook.
Thanks icandig.
I just looked at Jaquie Lambie's page and saw a few things I liked:
"Today I was joined by colleagues from the House and Senate to call out the Labor and Liberal Party for collusion on Donation reform.
"We all know that every time the Liberal and Labor Party get together to work on our donations law, they end up going backwards, not forwards.
"And we’re seeing it happen again this week.
"This is the latest in a long line of betrayals of the public’s trust and it’s called the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020.
"The two major parties are always looking for new ways to hide big donor money from the voters and this time they've come up with a doozy."
https://www.lambienetwork.com.au/hidepoliticaldonations
She says she doesn't accept donations from lobby groups and "I'm proud to have the most transparent donations policy in the country."
https://www.lambienetwork.com.au/donate
Her record/achievements in parliament:
https://www.senatorlambie.com.au/myrecord
More importantly that Filth Fkn Frydenberg is suggesting International borders be closed until late 2021!!? Because the assumption is there will be a vaccine by then.
Oh I'm sorry does he know something we dont'???
What if there is no vaccine? Then what?The virus mutates? LOOK at AIDS which has had a fortune thrown at it.
Rural Australia needs tourism (and its not enough just being Aussie), be it coastal, indigenous or other.
Hey Josh, how about we grind everyone in rural areas into the dust and then we can offer jobs, jobs, jobs in coal mining, fracking, selling your land to the big boys, etc.
Sooner or later we WILL have to grasp the nettle knuckleheads.
Myopic IS the word!
‘nettle knuckleheads’
Interesting.
Aka... ‘swillnuts’...
"If you think communism or true socialism is better or whatever, you could always move to one of those countries"
I'm reading this more and more lately. The kneejerk reaction to anyone who'd wish to tap the brakes of corporate capitalism is threatened with the modern version of 'love it or leave it.'
Fella I'm friends with on FB, smart guy, though prone to dubious flights of fancy, is publicly asking his friends why they follow Marxism, socialism, or communism.
Now, the guy doesn't mix in inner-city circles, isn't a playful thinker, the question is a transparent response to how he currently sees the world, where anyone who doesn't bide by the current state is a Marxist, a socialist, or a communist. It's very similar thinking to ID above. We've long crossed the pond of centre-aligned politics and every major party is now firmly on the right, yet they still need a bogeyman....so, pump some air into old those old commo tyres despite no-one claiming to be a communist.
Boggles the mind how they can't see rising inequality being an issue. The Libs are ceding govt sovereignty to corporations as parliament becomes a mere holding pen for their future lobbying positions in the private sector. They refuse ICAC, are stripping money from the Audit Office, also from anyone who dares expose their transgressions. We're being played for fools.
At the same time, many of that political persuasion longingly look backwards to an idyllic time, post-WW2, the country of the fair go, egalitarian, mateship, the thirty-year long boom, when Australia was....what? A welfare state. Far closer to socialism then anything proposed now. While over the ditch, there's universal agreement that FDR's New Deal saved America post-Great Despression - again, demand-side policy.
Never mind climate change, social inequality will be the greatest moral challenge of our time. America is suffering from inequality right now, and if we don't correct the course then it'll be Australia's turn soon enough.
stunet,
The powers-that-be have always needed an enemy to keep the plebs in line.
It was easy during the Cold War when the godless commies needed to be feared. Next up were the dictators in Central America and the Middle East. It's hard to keep people scared about those tin pot dictators so we are back to the commies and the CCP.
Simple minded folk are so scared of their enemies (perceived or real) they give the powers that be a get out of jail free card..
It's another example of this radical increase of really simplistic thinking,
I think the Yanks have led the way in this regard for decades, they've been brainwashed into it since WWII, it's made it infinitely easier to control the conversation and to advance U.S. imperialism in its various forms.
And naturally. U.S. imperialism and neoliberalism in Australia are related.
And now we're running with this binary thinking and these false dichotomies more and more in Australia, fuelled by a corporatocracy and its media.
The so-called Left are into it too and it suits the right wing governments in Australia (i.e. all of them) just fine.
You could be on the money Stu, climate change is a show-stopper in the longer term but meanwhile the effects of neoliberalism will be more immediately destructive.
The politics of exclusion, fear and division creates power.
The right understand this very well.
A small illustration of this is how Morrison and his ministers are describing critics of his budget-the critics (not the government) are pitting the winners and losers (in the government's budget) against each other .... yeah budget losers suffer in silence!
The ALP is not a right wing party
Is it just me or has the term ‘Right Wing’ started to be used as though it describes something sinister, malevolent and intellectually inferior, instead of the term defining a part of the political spectrum. Sure some people use Left Wing as a general derogatory term but nothing like how the term Right Wing is used. The Right Wing is comprised of people of all kinds, just like the left, just because the believe in lower taxes, property rights and may have some issues with things like abortion does not mean they are morally suspect, lacking empathy or intelligence.
I do not align with right wing politics on many issues but I understand it is a part of a belief spectrum that we humans as a race have been blessed with. However it is making me sick to see the way the media derides anything Right Wing as despicable because we’ll... it’s Right Wing. Then you here people using it in conversation like it’s a fact that Right means bad and left means good. It’s bullshit it is sad people are so easily fed such rubbish and believe whatever the read in the embarrassingly biased news media.
Never waste a crisis.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/10/09/pandemic-redundancie...
Sickaz, the outcome of right-wing policies speak for themselves.
I would've actually said the oppsite to you, Sickaz, but I guess it just depends on what circles you move in.
Sickaz,
any discussion of what represents left or right wing needs to consider the historical political spectrum. It would be the view many that before Thatcher in the UK, Reagan in the US and Howard here in AU plus or minus both sides of politics were either centre right or centre left political parties. Politics was played in the middle (where the electorate liked it) and the extremes on both sides were rightly dismissed as ratbags.
Neoliberal political theory / policies changed all that and it is reasonable to say the political spectrum has drifted incrementally to the right on both sides of politics ever since.
With a focus on Australian politics today the policies of the ALP these days typically mirror those of a centre right political party (pre Howard) and the policies of the LNP range now from centre right to far right, denial of climate change is an excellent example. Further, the LNP, via the preselection and subsequent election of far right religious conservatives that started during Howard's pm-ship has ensured this drift to the right for the LNP will continue making social progression difficult on any modern day issue.
Only my opinion, hang around for info's bum splatter later ...
Agree Sickaz
And yes Guy as per normal is way off, it has nothing to do with right/left political party politics, most people don't view the two major parties in a right or left way, if they view politics in a right left way they really only view the fringes in that manner like One nation Right, Greens left wing for example.
It has to do more with social politics and the negative connotations associated with the right that come from the far right.
Let's face it there is some bad arse and dangerous aspects of the far right some of the most violent groups in the world are far right wing you could even go as far as labelling extreme Islam under the far right wing umbrella, then through history you have the Nazi's, KKK, you can include all kinds of violent groups like biker groups etc
While on the far left, although their beliefs are society destroying and they are generally complete nutcase's with some out there stuff, they are generally not violent or law breaking etc (bar law breaking annoying protest where they only get a slap on the wrist anyway)
Antifa is a rare exception but because of the way left groups has been historically viewed even media and politicians don't want to accept the violence.
This is why groups like Proud boys have been banned from social media etc but Antifa a far left group with quiet a history of violence are still able to operate on social media.
The problem is where to draw the line on what is moderate and what is not be it left or right, for the left it doesn't matter if a far left group is labeled left or gets associated with media, company, celebrity etc it wont have much of a negative backlash.
But when it comes to the right there is a danger of a far right group being labeled as moderate right or associated with media, or brand celebrity etc it could cause big image issues.
You can see this happen with Joe Rogan who in the past has had right wing people on his podcast, but now its' moved onto Spotify a number of right wing interviews won't be available on the new platform, even though the content from these interviews doesn't break any rules/laws etc
All that said as the far left get more extreme and ridiculous in their ideas they are also getting a negative connotation associated with them, but it's more an eye rolling thing.
Was only watching this yesterday which is kind of related and although over a year old more relevant than ever.
Haha. Did you say "bum splatter", Guy?
Bingo!
Yeah Bingo right above, the bum splatter troll himself
GS is on the money and to add want a measure of the shift in left / right world remembering politics is suppose to be about serving the people, the winding back of workers rights, conditions then you have casual employment.
Bend over young people you are here to serve literally.
Interestingly when the guano hits the fan the right suddenly become all socialist and throw money around like drunken sailers......to their mates.
The "I can't believe it's not politics" thread.