Lessons in Cynicism

Shane incarcerated...

G'day Possums,

a few shots from the town of Clunes illustrate this week's rant....

Christian Porter, channelling his inner Scrooge, has decided that reducing the time unemployed people under 25 have to wait for benefits from a proposed six months to one month is a real winner!  Belying his Christian name, Scrooge Porter also thought that young carers have, beyond their caring role, a "mutual obligation" to attend courses and do "work-for-the-payment" which will, he prophesied, eliminate "inter-generational welfare dependency."

Scrooge didn't elaborate on where the jobs would be found for these who have  "... a great ability, particularly for young people to find jobs quickly.” He also made no mention of the fact that most new jobs are part time and many are now being filled by 457 visa  overseas entry people or that there is currently one position for every 17 unemployed.

In a previous incarnation Scrooge was the State Treasurer and Attorney General of Western Australia, a state which despite it's mining boom, during his tenure, was going broke.

He is also one of the most prolific users of his parliamentary "entitlements" racking up some $229,579.27 since 1-1-15 on top of his $250,000.00 p.a.  (approx) salary.

A fresh idea...

Another Sand Groper (aka, West Australian) making his presence felt unnecessarily is ex SAS officer with  a colourful past,  Handy Andy Hastie.

Handy has stuck his head above the parapet to fire a few blanks about religious freedoms being under attack if the Marriage Equality plebiscite is won by the "yes" vote.

"The government was interested in marriage because it produced children", he said, "....with broken marriages leading to increases in welfare and bureaucracy." " We are not seeking to redefine parliament. We are seeking to redefine marriage."    What any of this has to do with marriage equality and human rights is anyone's guess... but Handy Andy's fundamentalist religious background  means that he feels oppressed if we all don't think like him.

The ABC's "Gruen"  did a superb analysis of the advertising methods that will be utilized, particularly by the likes of Handy Andy and his faithful followers if the plebiscite goes ahead and it really blew this lot out of the water.  Perhaps Handy's hardly credible, confused spoutings  were an attempt at a  pre-emptive strike ?

 

perrenial values...

More of Oz's Xtian values were on display with a poll showing that 49% of Australians think that Muslim migration be stopped!  And that, had The Harriden, Hanson's supporters had more brains in their voting behaviour, One Notion could have had 6 senators elected instead of four.

To add to the ugliness permeating  the country, Truffles told the UN what a role model we are for the rest of the world with our excellently cruel concentration camps for refugees. Truffles explained, "...you don't have the public licence to have a generous humanitarian program and of course you are simply providing a product for people smugglers to sell and we must deprive them of that – as we have done so in Australia." He also cynically indicated that we will take Xtian refugees from South America instead the Muslim ones we're currently torturing on Manus Island because they are probably no longer in a fit state to be anyone's neighbour. ... and that even though, we still have around 9,000 of the 12,000 Syrian (Xtians) to process that Rabid the Hun said we'd take 12 months ago, we are still in his mind a humanitarian and egalitarian beacon of the first order.

 

Clunes

"There are two things that I have always observed to be in singular accord, supercelestial thought and subterranean conduct."    Michel de Montaigne.

Hoo-roo  Petals,

Shane

Ahoy....

G’day Possums,
The old truisms that travel broadens the mind and history repeats itself became apparent t’other day when reviewing photographs from the trip and was reminded how delightful the sculptures of Honore’ Daumier in the d’Orsay were and just how little things have progressed since Daumier visually excoriated these blundering pollies and legals in the magazine “La Caricature” and got himself six months jail for his efforts.

Hmmm... shades of the recent Oz legislation to incarcerate nurses, doctors and social workers who attempt to
inform the public of the reality of conditions in our refugee concentration camps.


“Our zeal works wonders, whenever it supports our inclination toward hatred, cruelty, ambition.” (Michel de Montaigne)

What surprised me most about these sculptures, apart from their delicious handling was just how much they looked like members our present ruling rabble, so it is with a little bit of malicious humour I present....

Senator Eric Abetz by Daumier

How many things served us yesterday for articles of faith, which today are fables for us?”

Jeff "Foot-in-Mouth" Kennett

“No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.”

Senator Cory "Bestiality" Bernardi

“It is putting a very high price on one's conjectures to have someone roasted alive on their account.”

Senator MacDonald

“We are all blockheads.”

"Reboxetine" Robb

“We should tend our freedom wisely.”   (Michel de Montaigne)

 .......and it’s all Wombat Droppings,
the chronicle of Oz’s slide from egalitarianism into Fascism.

The rust-bucket SS Liarbril is still floating... and although there seems to have been some improvement in it not sinking as quickly, its passage is still a confusingly circuitous one.

Captain Rabid-the-Hun faced mutiny in the officers mess when he  had  his Parrot “Dodo” Dutton attempt  a promulgation that not only passengers with dual nationality status but also single state Orstryans be stripped of their nationality if they had holidayed in places the Liarbrils don't like.
This was immediately followed by a leak so monumental in detail as to make Rabid-the-Hun’s captaincy look as weak as it actually is and officer solidarity non-existent.

The innumerate Bursar on SS Liarbril, “Eleventy-Toyota/Cereal-Killer” Hockey had earlier in that week’s voyage, been slapped down by Captain Rabid for suggesting that women’s sanitary goods be freed from the GST. “I’ll have no bleeding Hearts or whatever on my ship,” he fumed and then avoiding reality, found a photo-op cuddling a child just after foreclosing another Women’s Refuge. These Bligh-like autocratic tendencies just might backfire if the growing push over his own dual citizenship gets greater publicity and as Rabid is a poor “Off-the-Cuff” performer, throwing him overboard is still an option for a crew that is looking and sounding less than chuffed at how they’re sailing.

It was interesting to note on return to Oz just how much more critical the press seems, almost as if the they are sick of reporting the repeated same old three word slogans as it becomes more obvious that this is really an incompetent rabble or .....it could still be the West to East jet lag they are suffering from, too.

Apart from stripping Orstrayans of their nationality, if you want an Arts Grant you have to apply direct to “Bookshelves” Brandis whose taste in all things looks greater than the Sun King’s derriere and for a medical prescription, Sussan “Bimbo” Ley will decide how much more you’ll pay, while Chwissie “the-Whyne-and-Perfect-Prat-of-a-Prefect” Pyne will organise a maths course for you. (Pity that he couldn’t enroll "Eleventy” Hockey for a arithmetic refresher).
We wont bang on about Officer “Hayseed” Joyce interfering in a private legal matter or “Bestiality” Bernardi making a mess of Halal products or Captain Rabid retreating from the gales presented by the mining lobby or the whole rabble’s childish retreat from a Private Members Bill on marriage equality or questions in Parliament being ruled out of order before they are uttered by the psychic (should that be psychotic?) Speaker “Pompador” Bishop ...it’s just good to be back in this still nearly lucky country...

.
Hoo-roo Petals

Shane.


PS and one of BH in a rainy  Battersea Park a couple of weeks ago....

...and the bloke with all the quotes...Michel de Montaigne