The Dummkopfen are Doubling Down.

G'day Petals,

This week we have seen another virtual race-to-the-bottom as the country's Ruling Rabble scramble to outbid each other in demonstrating that there is no barrier to just how stupid, anti-intellectual, unethical or corrupt they are.

"Stubborn and ardent, clinging to one's opinion is the best proof of stupidity."

Michel de Montaigne

A starter in his first race, The Gravy Train Hurdles, newly appointed race discrimination commissioner Chin Leong Tan confirmed for his connections that he was not "inclined to commentary or advocacy" and would let "clinical dispassion" and "balance" be his running orders in his $600,000.00 P.A. trifecta box. Unfortunately he fell at the first hurdle trying to avoid the hazard of whether Potato-Head Dutton's dog-whistling on African youth was racist.

But... fair suck of the Sav... he couldn't win a ruling rabble pre-selection, so he deserves a consolation prize... doesn't he?

Running soon after in the Group 3 "Jumbled Thoughts Handicap" at The Drum, was Parnell "Gibberish" McGuiness  where no-one could fail to notice her discomfort with the social saddle within the first furlong as she upped the defence of middle-class welfare to the more deserving "upper-class" when pressured by the filly Caro in the straight of the  school funding debate. Seemingly, she is a fully developed (I won't say grown up) version of Princess Daisy Cousens but as a contrarian/libertarian who rivals the intellect of Loopy Leyonhjelm, Parnell cantered off into ethical oblivion by opining that it was a good thing that drug takers died from overdoses as "... it was a victimless crime which didn't affect anyone but themselves..."  thereby proving that she should be either scratched or put out to pasture.... or perhaps be volunteered to an ambulance team picking up the pieces of victims, their family's and first responders for a month or two and then be allowed to prattle about how sanguine she feels about not having drug/needle centres.

Competing for relevance ( again... or should that be still?)  in The Middle Harbour Yacht Club Stakes was one Crackers Kelly. 

Galloping all over the track with *his pudding basin head wobbling to and fro and his eyes rolling about like two raisins in its bowl ,* Crackers' Lippizaner antics kept the "intellectuals" attending this ungrouped event entertained as he explained that fossil fuels have "kept us safe" and that "even the climate has changed in space" and that "The reality is today, we live in a time where our generation has never ever been as safe from the climate at any time in human history!"

Unfortunately for Crackers, 91 scientists from the IPCC have declared his race run! 

And as 90 % of the worlds coral reefs will die as we fast approach 1.5 degree increase in global warming, and that unless all fossil fuel usage is curtailed, we are all headed to the knackery, not just Crackers!

Protesting the stewards call on Crackers was the oxymoronically titled environment minister, (Draught Horse, division) Melissa, Pyrites Price who declared that having not read the full IPCC report that they "were drawing a long bow" by  saying Australia wasn't going to meet the Paris Accord emission targets and further, it was "...just their opinion... " that the world is entering a dangerous phase. Senior Nationals stable-hand, McCormack emerged from shovelling Barnyard's droppings to declare "...we will not be dictated to by some sort of report!" ...and scurried back into the gloom of his little stable. 
"It's all nonsense.." sermonised Scummo the Happy-Clapper Hypocrite and base-ball capped prime miniature.. and  "we have too much wind and solar in the grid " piped up the colt ( or should that be clot) for Hume, Aggie Taylor as he found what might have been a another brown paper bag to fill to ensure his continued preselection as the the demise of these bound together Dinosaurs who are determined to take us all with them to oblivion is portended in the storm clouds gathering.

Running on a different track was Stuart, Rolex Robert. 
Rolex, 'cause he purported not to know the difference between a real and fake one when gifted one "doing deals" with the Chinese. Like his boss Scummo, Rolex sees himself as a devout xtian who although criticised for state electoral fiddling and is currently under investigation for possibly defrauding the commonwealth over his internet usage and signing his dad up un-knowingly as a company director; as a good xtian he would probably have cast a benign eye over the money-lenders in the temple given his "prosperity gospel" fetish/ beliefs.

Then, a real race! 
Something made up yesterday in Sydney called Everest ( of Himalayan fame) and said to be worth $13 mill.
Well, Toilet-Boy Jones, geriatric shock-jock who apparently likes to write "nice" letters to young boys and regularly is sued for damages (and loses his employer big money) got his frilly's in a knot when Opera House CEO Herron wouldn't agree to him and his turf club mates using the Opera House as an advertising billboard for the race. 
His microphone spittle-flecked reached the whole country as he ranted at Herron like she was some underling, demanding her obedience to his wishes and threatening her position by going to the state's premier, Gladys the Bogan. 
His tirade had its effect and the lily-livered Gladys genuflected to this over-opiniated slime-ball and the event went ahead. 
But not before one man, appalled at Toilet-boys scummy behaviour and that a world heritage building was being used for advertising set up a petition which gathered some 300,000 signatures in three days and many were the inspired thousands to turn up at this crass cevent with torches and lamps to obliterate the offending  images projected on the Opera house.

As one person wrote, it's been a week when all that you thought happens is suddenly exposed as the truth that does happen: generally out of sight but this week, this scum of a ruling rabble have been exposed as never before... .. we are in a bad place petals and need to act to remedy the situation.

Hoor-roo Possums,

Shane

PS.  and now we have the prospect of freedom of religion but also their freedom to limit yours.... sigh!

 * ...* was a paraphrased sentence from 60's Sydney  columnist, Ron Saw.

Further unravelling the Nation…

Shane in defensive fence

G’day Petals

I’m  preparing for another Ballarat International Foto Biennale, August 22 –19 September.

Title of show: “Dancer.”  And some of what I’m showing.

Dancer: Lawrence Winder

Dancer: Lawrence Winder

More detail, closer to the event.

Wombat Droppings

The chronicle of Australia’s descent from Egalitarianism to Fascism.

What has become known as “Chopper-gate” is still maintaining a focus on the dishonesty and fiddling the public purse, which looks to have become endemic amongst the ruling rabble.

Speaker Bronny Kero-Pompadour Bishop attended another wedding under the cover of a “secret meeting” with an “undisclosed academic” in the Deep North.

If this sounds a bit like Two Weddings and a Funeral you would not be mistaken as the publicity surrounding Bronny’s and other pollies rortings have wiped another 3 points from the ruling rabble’s poll figures in a week and many of them are becoming nervous that the prospect of being a “oncer” is looking ominously possible and their snouts will be removed from the trough.

Deputy Prime Miniature Warren Ploughman Truss it turns out, spent $21,000.00 on chartered aircraft to fly to a meeting (again in the Deep North) to tell pensioners to tighten their belts… or “…we’ll all be rooned.” His explanations as to the unavailability of commercial or RAAF craft sounding somewhat thin and self-serving. 

Then his boss Rabid the Hun, kitted out in his best “Top-Gun” Cos-play gear probably spent another $12,000.00 for a flight from Brisbane to Darwin in a RAAF chopper.

Apparently for “a number of official briefings with our armed forces.” 

This unpublicised event also included visiting a Party Fundraiser for 30-40 attendees.

The deliberate blurring of the lines between official and unofficial business where the taxpayer is footing the bill for Party-Political purposes is plainly dishonest. It shows that a disdain for ethical behaviour can be the only outcome from the pursuit of power and a lack of real leadership.

When pretend Treasurer, Joe Eleventy Hockey visits his farm (in the Far North, again) 13 times and claims it as “official business” on top of paying $270.00 per night living-away-allowance “rent” to his wife for her home in Canberra you know clearly, things are rotten.

These people are incapable of leadership: they are compromised, mired in a morass, a deceitful swill of their own making and their only defence is, “Look over there…it could be quota for more women in Parliament…” or “How dare Labor steal back a policy we stole from them …”

Labor, playing the game of Lowest-Common-Denominator looks as if they will maintain the Refugee Concentration Camps that are disgracing our nation and have also decided not to have a Federal Independent Commission Against Corruption, a move that many in the community see as absolutely necessary and well overdue.

The further breakdown of this country is evident in the racist treatment of Adam Goodes an Indigenous football player who is now routinely booed by racist opposition crowds. This behaviour has been aided and abetted by, guess who?  All the shock jocks and right-wing journo’s like Blot-on-the-Landscape, Bolt the Dolt!

One, Toilet-boy Jones even went so far as to ludicrously claim that Goodes was “playing the victim!”

It’s interesting that amongst these unctuous ravings about Goodes being a “sook” for shaming a girl in the crowd who called him a black Ape during a game some 12 months ago nothing is said of those sport “stars” who have bashed their wives or G/F’s, had adulterous liaisons with team mates wives, raped, taken drugs, were thugs on the field and generally just been Bogans.

Let’s bash the minorities, the disadvantaged, the poor and needy… targets that can’t answer back against the power of the Ugly American’s press.

I said years ago, this is the Age of the Aspirational Bogan where the Free-Market values of the right wing IPA rule.

Poor fellah, my Country.

Hooroo Possums,

Shane

...ranting into the Abyss of the new Dark Age

G’day Possums,

This is me with Jeff (“Boof-Head”, “Foot-in-Mouth”, “Bully-Boy”) Kennett: The Dorian Gray of Tardis State (“Where-All-Goes-Backward”) politics. It was made some years ago as a fund-raiser item when this eminence grise’ was leading the Liarbril pack and selling off the most profitable, publicly owned bits of the Tardis State (“Where-All-Goes-Backward”) to overseas private interests so he could destroy Unionism. 

Ya wanna complain ‘bout your electricity, transport, water, councils, building approval times, hospital waiting lists, emergency ward crisis… see “Boof-Head!”

He has Hob-nail Boots …all the better for kicking you when you’re down. He’s sitting on a coffin with a “V” on it… an explanation shouldn’t be necessary.

He’s also either opening a bottle of Liarbril fund-raiser wine, allegedly, sold illegally from his parliamentary office (shades of “Fiddles” Shaw)…or he’s ..  well let’s just not go there, eh?

And he’s got a bunch of Crown Casino chits in his back pocket;  although now is not the time to depress you with the social costs of 
gambling or back-scratching, is it?

Again…see “Boof-head”… he’s got a sinecure; the Farthest Azure.

I’ve been thinking it might be time to re-constitute the clay and model a Federal series a’la “Rubbery Figures” meets “I am not an Animal” for filmic purposes….. …contributions as to characters, content, chorus, costume, cynicism and scenarios most welcome.

I viewed the Ballarat Photographic National Show t’other day at BFAG. Whilst I can be positive about this show to the extent that all the work exhibited was very worthy, very well made, very solid technically and very well presented, I could only hear conversations about HDR technique and lenses and cameras. Nothing in this exhibition struck me as having a feeling for an idea or concept that was pursued with that brio of aesthetic vigour which allows chance, happenstance, influence and that tenuous personal search for the sublime which informs and creates something that exists independently outside of you.

It was all too formally correct, too overworked and ultimately, repellingly dull.

I’ve no samples to show here, as BFAG in its wisdom, A/; wouldn’t allow photo’s, although B/; I didn’t have a camera with me but would have used it if I had; C/; wasn’t willing to part with $12.50 for an illustrated program and D/; I’m not intending to return. 

It’s a good photo show but it ain’t what art is made from!

Them following are some of my favourites from work this year...an eclectic selection

The sleep of reason..outdoor gallery Ballarat exhibition

 Personal highlights re this blog from 2013: Fairfax journo writing about the bitchy, vituperative election campaign and the 3 years preceeding it …bemoans “Sophie Mirabella  being called “Pit-Bull”…. I think I was the first with that phrase.  And some weeks ago on Late-Night-Live with Phillip Adams, (may he be well),  “…and now let’s go to the Tardis State of Victoria…” Eureka!

Someone is reading.... and the image below featured on ABC's website as an illo for their French 100 Classical music...

Tuilleries

Wombat Droppings or Low-Down Australian Politics

Australia quickly need to take stock of what sort of country they want because the one we are fast getting is not how I think we would generally define ourselves.

We are allowing one of the worlds best health systems be “Americanized”, our environment blasted for multi-national profit, our education system being ripped to privatised shreds,  a welfare system that succours the middle-class, not the needy and a incompetent pretend government too willing to sell off our sovereignty.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

Jack And Alexandra

Some think that “choice” in Education, Health, Services and Transport is essential for the well-being of society when the opposite is true. 

Lake Mungo Dunes

Choice is about selectivity, exclusivity, class and ultimately, selfishness. It is a definition of division within society and a tacit acknowledgement that some are “better”, more worthy and of more value to the society than others primarily because of their wealth.
 

Olivia and Gus

It is much easier to think this way when wealth is spread disproportionately. Your belonging to, being in and only having to consider a small group is much easier to deal with than having to reasonably consider society as an equitable whole. The exclusiveness of your group defines its simpler parameters, its notions of  “well-being”, like its wealth cannot to be shared, as that would deny it the charm of its exclusivity.

It is therefore a self-referential, selfish system.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

St Kilda

A divided society is neither a happy one nor a safe one. Historically, inequality fosters resentment and ultimately, retribution. All that is not new but what is it’s sad to say is that the arguments for maintaining contemporary inequality that have been raised to near philosophic levels are: “Individual Aspiration” and the “Economy”. It’s now almost a holy virtue for an individual to “Aspire” but unfortunately as the “Economy” can only afford so much Individual Aspiration there is not enough of it to go around. Ergo: most will have to miss out.

There is a sense of mindlessness in this place and when the inevitable backlash occurs our ugliness will be fully revealed.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

Frogmore, Trentham

Scott “The Drone” Morrison goes to water over high court challenge to his visa changes for refugees and hides from journalists by not having weekly (or should that be weakly?) press briefings. Were the journo’s not laughing at his “stand-up “ any more?

Advance Australia Fair

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

The Dalai Lama’s answer to the question of what surprised him most about humanity was: “Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”    There's a person who has made a real choice.

Mildura, Grand

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

Myrniong

“John Howard and Julia Gillard both had their share of haters.  Alas, I fear many otherwise decent Australians have become angry little haters. It is easy to think that who and what we dislike says something about us. In a small way it does. The narcissistic think it important that the world knows their view. They are in fact talking about themselves.” Amanda “Il Patrone” Vanstone (she of Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon infamy, amongst other indiscretions as a minister) obfuscating hypocritically and inaccurately again.  Perhaps Mandy was really thinking of Scott Morrison, or Cory Bernardi or even Steve Ciobo. Maybe even Alan “Bondi’ Jones or the Queensland restaurateur and his sexist, misogynist menu? Or perhaps this is a pathetic attempt to tell us subtly that Andrew Bolt is a decent writer and requires more freedom to express himself?
And for Mandy to equate the vileness meted out to Gillard by the Murdoch press and minions with the treatment “Little Johnny” received only indicates her sheer political (liarbril) blindness to actuality.  Which parts of the vile torrents pouring from her conservative side of politics could she  compare and contrast with Labor's actions?
 
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

Heather “Leer” Ridout, Peter “Children Overboard-Rottweiler” Reith,  Michael “Thug” Kroger and Peter “I-Had-a-Baton-Once” Costello came to mind t’other day when Coca-Cola-Amatil, owners of the Ardmona  canneries in Shepparton sacked 70 of its full time maintenance staff to replace them with contract workers. CCA did this it seems to curry favour with “Rabbott” in order to get $25,000,000.00 as a bailout package.

It has an eerie resemblance to an interstate plastics manufacturer who, back in 2005 bought a second business in “The Tardis State” (Where-All-Goes-Backward) and was promptly conned by the afore-mentioned to “experiment” with Industrial Relations by “offering” his workers the “choice” to be self-employed. 
This was gleefully abetted by “The-Coots-with-Queer-Ideas-from-a-Parallel-Universe,” the IPA.

Rehearsal

Needless to say the “experiment” failed. The business folded and 80 workers lost their jobs. Sadder to note, the original interstate business, a family one, of 60 years productive service folded the next year, with its 80 workers losing their jobs, too.

I’m sure the ideological mongrels from the IPA were well satisfied with their “experiment” as were Ridout, Kroger, Costello and Reith!  Pity they've never had to run a business or feel responsible for 160 losing their livelihoods.

Let’s keep an eye on Shepparton and the tenor of the town.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

Cheers Petals,
Shane.



Sitedfgures

...Whelan is here.

G-day Petals, 
Mrs Wombat and I have been away for a few days so I'm late and because of that this is a looooong one.

Shane behind the Wire

 For overseas readers the title may need some explanation.

Here in Melbourne there used to be a building demolition firm called "Whelan the Wrecker".
 When on the job they would place signs saying "Whelan is Here" and on finishing the demolition leave one saying, "Whelan was Here" .

No further explanation will be needed on this or Shane's Pic on reading this weeks Wombat Droppings.

Mrs Wombat was cold in the burrow and wanted a holiday in warmer climes. Shane needed to do some topographical research in Mildura and on 2 RAAF OTU.
Voilà... Congruence.

Lake Tyrrell, Mallee National Park

Mallee Wheat

Mildura and surrounds is the prime area in Victoria for Wheat, Oranges, Citrus and Grapes. It is irrigated from the Murray, and water conservation, its allocation etc have been a "hot-political-Potato" over recent years. It is also near the confluence of the Darling River in nearby Wentworth, N.S.W.

Murray-Darling: painting by Jade Temby

Which we visited..... and found Wentworth's Post Office to be architecturally much like our Ballan Mechanic's Institute.

Wentworth P.O.

Just up the road, well, Darling Street, you'll find Jade's Cafe which has very good coffee (and scones) and interesting artworks... that's Jade's painting above,  also fascinating art-works by Roger Clarke who'll also teach you Didgeridoo if you stick around long enough.
Good conversation, too....ta, you lot.

Jade, Steven, and Roger, Jade's Cafe, Wentworth, NSW

 In Mildura, a bonus for me was wandering around at dusk to photograph bits and pieces under street lighting; something you can't do much of in the burrow.

Deakin St, Mildura

Mildura, night

Jacks Corner Chinese, Mildura

The Sentinals, Car Park, Mildura

The Grand, Mildura

We took a 100+ km trip to Lake Mungo, 80 Km of which is on a "good weather" track.
It's not the Emu, Kangaroo, Cows or other assorted wildlife which are a problem on this track but humans, those with a distinct lack of "country-road-nouse".

One Way. Lake Mungo

For the American reader who like and trust the veracity of their bible stories: this place is very old.

For anyone else: cremated Aborigine remains dating back 40,000 years have been found here.
It is a significant place.

Lake Mungo

And then there are the Sand Dunes ... lord-only-knows why this fine pale cream sand hasn't been mined and shipped to wherever?
Bloody Greenies, always trashing the "Brand".. as recently elected Senator for PUP Jacqui Lambie (ex soldier) opined t'other day.
Methinks she's better suited for destroying things than waxing philosophic or instigating a judicial enquiry into why people are trying to protect the environment!

Lake Mungo Dunes

Lake Mungo Dunes

We also saw this idiosyncratic piece of spatial awareness in the car-park at Mungo.
I mean, you really have to wonder, don't-cha?   There were only two other vehicles and they weren't in front of this position.
But like I've said before, they do things differently in the Far North!

Parking, Lake Mungo, Far North, Q'land Style!

 There are plenty of restaurants in Mildura...

Rendezvous Restaurant, Mildura

The Rendezvous being one of the oldest licensed restaurants in regional Victoria..... 1953...and in a delightfully refurbished 30's cinema, the Mildura Brewery Pub....

Mildura  Brewery Pub

 ...where we took hold of a copy of issue 2 of "The Dura", a quarterly; and met its originators, Harry Rekas and Brendan Nasoufis.
The mag is eclectic, partisan, local, exciting and particularly ignorant of that-which-must-not-be-said in a conservative regional city, which makes it a really good and relevant read.

The Dura

Mention must go the the photographer for the cover and other portraits in the Mag...  ...Jayhan Uhanik, a 17 YO, doing his Cert 4 in Imaging at Sunraysia TAFE ... watch this name .. he's good!
Which makes you wonder why ex-premier of the Tardis State (Where-All-Goes-Backward) "Big-Bird" Baillieu (Genus: Silvertail Incompetens) cut $800,000,000.00 from TAFE when there is talent like this in our regional centres which need nurturing.

We finally, on our last day made it to the the reason I was in Mildura: and went out to the RAAF Museum for No:2 OTU.

RAAF Museum, Mildura

The volunteer staff couldn't have been more knowledgeable, helpful and accommodating. A fascinating and informative, even if, at times depressing place, as any museum to war can be.

On the trip back to the burrow we stopped of at the Mechanics Institute (1918) in Kurting...

Mechanics Institute, Kurting

.. and as you can see there is nothing ... nothing around, nothing behind... I can only surmise that Kurting may have been part of "Soldier Settlement" land after WW1 and that their land was bought/appropriated on failing to make-a-go-of-it ... and the building, in surprisingly good condition, is all that remains...Concrete block-house with buttressed corners a'la Walter Burley Griffin and Federation Style. Chimney at North end; entrance at South

A fine time for three days; Mildura's good warm weather, new interesting people .. moving landscapes and a better appreciation of how vibrant our regional cities can be.

Wombat Droppings or The Low-down on Politics in OZ

 It’s been a tad more than 50 days and Prime Miniature “Rabbott” has decided it’s time to celebrate his Liarbril / Notional Party Government’s achievements.

100 Days used to be the norm for this sort of assessment but as you will see one of the reasons for “going early” might either be what follows or that in being  “…open-for-business”, this is just the entrée and the main is still to come.

So what has happened?

1/ Steve Bracks and family, "shafted" days before taking up a post on New York: another fine example of Liarbril pettiness and vindictiveness.

2/ Prime Miniature “Rabbott” mouths off against Labor and its policy’s to American journo’s.
International studies expert Clinton Fernandes said “Rabbott’s” comments to the Washington Post left behind an image of “coarseness, amateurishness and viciousness”.  
  
Former diplomat and senior public servant John Menadue said it remained to be seen whether “Rabbott” could ''make the transition from a critic and opposition attack dog to a responsible and constructive prime minister''.             

Rabbott's performance was to the highest of Sir Les Patterson’s diplomatic and cultural awareness standards; and I’m sure the Brits will be particularly happy quoting it back to us at every suitable opportunity. (Yanks who read this might have to Google The Right Hon. Sir Les to ken the point) 

3/ Anti-Environment Minister Greg “Ozone-Hole” Hunt quotes Wicki at Brit journo to support his Prime Miniature’s assertions against linking Global Warming and the NSW  Bush-fires. Andrew “the Dolt” Bolt, writes supporting both …Can't even read Wiki and get it right. Nuff said!

4/ “Rabbott”  tell UN rep for Climate Change “…she’s talking through her hat!” ..and later, “… that Carbon Pricing is a Socialist plot.”
 More channelling of the spirit of Sir Les!

Photographs appeared of Mr “Rabbott” in volunteer fireman clobber “saving” the country from bushfire... except the pics were taken much earlier in the year;  and though it’s nice to know there’s enough time when running a country to play “hero” in a fire-truck you would have thought that the "real"  job he has might take  a bit more time?.
He then denied any link between these fires and Global Warming saying that fires are endemic in Oz at this time of year….

“In pointing to our history of fires, Abbott rattled off a list of historical bushfires, and the dates were: the 1850s, 1939, 1968, 1983, 1994, 2003, and 2009 and now, 2013. Ignoring, for a moment that none of those other fires were in October, take a look at the gaps between those events.

80 years, 29 years, 14 years, 11 years, nine years, six years, and four years. Abbott may have thought he was talking about Australia’s proclivity for catching alight, but in fact he was reinforcing the point that these fires are getting much, much more frequent. Furthermore he displayed the shallowness of his intellect.”        John Lord in Café Whispers: http://theaimn.com/2013/10/25/three-more-years-of-this-you-say-fair-dimkum/

5/ A quarter (that we know) of the federal front bench including Attorney General “Loose-Lips” Brandis have been found to have rorted the public purse in travel allowances, and other perks over the years. 

The Prime Miniature being one of the worst.   
A more compelling display of the totality of their dishonesty, hypocrisy, flagrant disregard of public office and in the Case of “Slippery Pete”, “Ashby-Gate” and “Thommo”, their obscene absence of ethics is hard to top.

“Senior figures in the Abbott government were among those who enjoyed ''free'' travel on VIP military aircraft to fly to Canberra for parliamentary sitting weeks, amassing a taxpayer bill of more than $2 million, Defence Department records reveal. Former ministers in the Howard government including Peter “I-Had–a-Baton” Costello, Nick “Hypocrite” Minchin and Amanda “Il Patrone” Vanstone used ''special purpose'' VIP military flights to commute to Canberra with private staff members, despite having unlimited business-class air travel with Qantas as part of their ministerial perks. Empty military planes, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars each flight, were sent from Canberra to capital cities to pick up the Howard ministers, despite on many occasions regular commercial flights being available. Among those to ''catch a lift'' with Mr Costello were MPs including Kevin “Aborted”Andrews, now the Minister for Social Services, and Bruce “Who” Billson, now the Minister for Small Business. The former treasurer was joined on VIP flights by his team of private staff, who included Kelly “Shaduppa-ya-face” O'Dwyer, who succeeded Mr Costello in the seat of Higgins. Empty military planes, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars each flight, were sent from Canberra to capital cities to pick up the Howard ministers, despite on many occasions regular commercial flights being available. : mostly quoted from…. http://www.smh.com.au

6/  Joe “Oh-What-a-Feeling” Hockey lied about the budget crisis ( oohhh, really, truly) and now lies about the last treasurer and the RBA and then extends the country’s debt another $8,000.000.000.000.00. and doubles  the borrowing limit to $500 billion. Now there's a a budget crisis!

 Right-Wing economics commentator, Judith Sloan said of Chris “The-Whyne” Pyne in his mincing, giggling and garbled defense of this, “You are economically irresponsible!”

Pyne-the-Wyne, the Perfect Prefect.

7/  Scott “The Drone” Morrison, No-Immigration minister, has, quite apart from displaying his overweening arrogance at his weakly newspeak (from Sydney and not Canberra where most of the journo’s are) of announcements about his “Illegals”    has also provided more evidence of the dearth of feeling and humanity successful Liarbrils must have to attain the higher ranks… 
 “..four families, all with new born babies were woken and taken at 5am to Christmas Island yesterday. They have been told that they will then be transferred to Nauru.
The Minister's new rule to deal with babies born in Australia is that all babies born of mothers who arrived post July2013, are to be sent at 6 weeks of age to Nauru.
These babies were born in Darwin under rules from the previous minister:  new minister: new rules.
 Live babies are to be transferred to Nauru at six weeks of age, unborn babies are to be sent for birth on Nauru. These little ones may struggle to survive in tents in 50 degree Celsius heat in communal tents in a camp with no running water.
 

Babies and children under 5 years in Nauru are more likely to die than babies and children in Australia: UNICEF REPORT into Child mortality 2012

There are 40 deaths per one thousand babies born in Nauru to 2 deaths per thousand in Australia. Pamela Curr Campaign Coordinator Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

  

refugee mothers and babies

8/ Aside from kow-towing to the Chinese and Indonesians, insulting Vladimir Putin, chopping 
 anything to do with a scientific analysis of climate change and being the first government in 86 years to not appoint a science minister and planning to privatise state education, to sell of the profitable medicare private  followed by the again, profitable Australia Post… the first fifty days has been, by Liarbril standards a roaring success.

So to celebrate these “achievements” “Rabbott” threw (we believe at taxpayer expense) a dinner party whose “….. guests included Andrew “The Dolt” Bolt, Piers “Toad Hall” Akerman, Alan “Bondi” Jones (he of London Toilet Fame), Janet “Wasp”Albrechtsen, Miranda Devine, Chris Kenny, Daily Telegraph editor Paul Whittaker, and News Corp editor Col “ Pot” Allan, who is believed to have flown back from New York in time for the intimate gathering of friends. The Australian editor Chris Mitchell was invited, but told Fairfax Media he was unable to attend. Fairfax Media columnists Paul Sheehan and Gerard “Sycophant” Henderson were also invited to the knees-up, which was orchestrated by “Rabbott’s” chief of staff  Peta “Bloody-Idiot” Credlin who will not verify who is paying……or publicly verify anything else for that matter. 
Will it be a ''a circus'' and… ''scandalously wasteful''? 
We will never know because as “Rabbott” has only fronted the media eight times in his 50 days and Credlin is telling Ministers when and where they can talk. 
An interesting version of Democracy isn’t it?

9/  Alan “Bondi” Jones (he of London Public Toilet Fame and acolyte of “Rabbott”)  shock jock from Sydney, has been told to get his facts straight before mouthing off on air.  Station responds with, "….we pointed out to ACMA that this new requirement (to verify the factual accuracy of reports in other media) is burdensome, uncertain, ambiguous and impinges on editorial freedom".

It would be funny if it weren’t true.

Ahh, Democracy in Oz.

Back around 2005 there was an animated serial from Britain on TV titled, “I am Not an Animal.” It begins in an animal/ human vivisection lab where research into Frankenstein-esque type beings is taking place.

An accident occurs, some of the “animals” escape and they try to find their way in the world, thinking they are normal.

I am Not an Animal

It’s a macabre comedy that came to mind because it has so much in common with the present Government. 
In both, there’s a real disconnect between reality as it exists and reality as a perception. 
This perceptual dissonance is what The-Coots-with-Queer-Ideas-from-a-Parallel-Universe (aka The Institute of Public Affairs) develop to feed  Liarbril’s thought-bubbles masquerading as policy by pushing their sponsor’s lines. You know, the likes of Big Tobacco, Big Mining, Privatised Health, Big Pharmaceuticals, Coal Miners et al. And we are supposed to believe that we are governed for the good of the people and nation. 

What Bullshit!   
Welcome to the wonderful, wacko world of the LNP/ Murdoch government as promulgated by the IPA.''

So there you have it. …. no wonder the ex-seminarian (aka “The Mad Monk”) “went early” with this premature ejaculation of a “success” spiel  because who knows what horrors and incompetence await us in the next 50 days and subsequent two years and eight months?

It’s also interesting to note that this is probably the first federal government since Federation that has not had a “honey-moon” period following its election: It went “on-the-nose” from day one and looks like only getting worse!

Cheers, Possums,

Shane.

A Rose by any other name.....with thanks to Harry from "The Dura"

PS. On Yer Bike, Tone

 










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