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Day to Day Politics: In case you didn’t know.

Friday 29 July 2016

1 The phenomenon that is Donald Trump and the vote against Brexit tells us that there is a worldwide dissatisfaction with the concept of historical party politics and democracy as we know it. The mass violent attacks in countries not so different to Australia lend themselves to the conclusion that there is a low dark cloud enveloping world politics. We live in troubled times where answers lay in peaceful internationalism yet we turn to a concept of closed nationalism.

An example of just how dangerous American politics has become is when Donald Trump invites Russia to hack American emails containing national security information. The implications of a suggestion like that by a potential President is staggering, if not lunacy.

Obama got it right when he said; “We don’t look to be ruled”.

2 From Stuart Whitman:

I don’t often agree with The Australian newspaper columnist Greg Sheridan but I do today. –

“If the Turnbull government does not nominate former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as a candidate for the position of secretary-general of the UN, it will illustrate once more the depressing banality and pitiless hyper-partisanism Australian politics has descended to.

The only possible reason not to nominate him is because of the most dreary, mean-spirited, low-class, provincial partisanism.

It would represent the triumph of exaggerated hostility and negativism over basic Australian solidarity and common decency. It would be a truly pathetic moment in Australian politics. “It would represent the triumph of exaggerated hostility and negativism over basic Australian solidarity and common decency. It would be a truly pathetic moment in Australian politics.”

3 The seat oh Herbert looks like going to Labor but it appears some army personal didn’t vote for whatever reason so Turnbull looks like taking it to the court of disputed returns. He has a flimsy case.

4 Senator Lambie thinks capital punishment for terrorists is a good idea.

5 That rather large chap in the House of Reps says that if you can’t get a job in 6 months then benefits should be taken away.

True. 170 000 job vacancies. 730 000 looking for work. Do the maths.

“Jobs and Growth”.

7 Antony Green is saying Labor 27 senate seats predicted. Coalition 30. Greens 7. Hinch 1. Xenophon 3. One nation 3. Four in doubt. Hope that totals 76. Lambie 1.

Michael Moore: “It is happening. And if you believe Hillary Clinton is going to beat Trump with facts and smarts and logic, then you obviously missed the past year of 56 primaries and caucuses where 16 Republican candidates tried that and every kitchen sink they could throw at Trump and nothing could stop his juggernaut.”

8 In the Religion section of the Census the words “no religion” will move from the bottom to the top of the form. In my view where it should be.

9 Michelle Grattan is right. Extremism and terrorism is often linked to mental illness. We need to be careful always blaming religion l would say. Although obviously a factor at times.

10 It is not just the accusations that were made on 7.30 last night. Police are investigating multiple child abuse allegations levelled directly against Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric Cardinal George Pell. I think the pub test has already failed him.

11 On the eve of the Olympics a new member has been added to the diving team. They couldn’t overlook Josh Frydenberg in the “backflip”. The new Environment and Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, has welcomed a declining role for coal in Australia’s future energy mix, talked up reliable green energy, and locked in the current 23.5 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, in a marked change from the avowedly pro-coal rhetoric of the Abbott government.

12 From the Roy Morgan daily newsletter:

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says people who have already exceeded the proposed $A500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional superannuation contributions stand to benefit the most if the reform is scrapped. Morrison has also warned that unless the Government’s super reforms proceed and spending is reduced, the nation will face higher taxes, a bigger Budget deficit and a blowout in public debt. The Government may agree to exempt certain “life events” from the lifetime cap.

Have to agree with that.

13 Maybe if we had a bill of rights the abuse that happened in the NT wouldn’t have happened.

“I had never seen the vision, it hadn’t come to my attention, hadn’t piqued my interest sufficiently” said a minister of the crown.

14 I have heard many political speeches in my lifetime and have admired many. Vice President Joe Biden’s recent speech in Australia was impressive. And for delivery and craft in writing Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic Party Convention was exceptional. Then Barak Obama steps up and gives a speech full of optimism and positivity in contrast to Trumps dark vile hate filled negative acceptance speech.

15 This week’s Essential Poll has Labor four points ahead. Meaningless but there it is.

16 From Jamie Cole:

John Lord’s defense of the ABC and programs bring to light stories in the public interest that MSM ignore or lie about. Australian Story, Monday night about a love story, between a refugee, and one that’s been returned to Nauru, has been cold heartedly ignored by Dutton. Four Corners, brought to light the shocking torture and abuses towards Indigenous kids and adolescents.’’

And this from Anne Byan:

“Totally agree with you John. For a while the ABC was targeted as ‘pro-right’ and sure – it has made its mistakes ( haven’t we all ) … but in the long run it asks the right questions, and demands the right answers – while trying to do some form of balancing act. I complained recently to the ABC Vic. ( a real go at them – 6 paragraphs ) about very disturbing visual impact for particularly children, on a recent prime time News broadcast. I had a 9 paragraph answer direct from their Audience & Consumer Advice division, written specifically ( not an automatic reply ) to me in answer. That was CLASS. Not many would do that. An excellent answer which explained a lot. Will always turn to the ABC for better information – overall.”

17 A review of all the Polls in the Federal election shows that they did remarkably well except in individual seats where they did poorly which has always been my contention.

My thought for the day.

Never be afraid to step over the shadow of your negativity”.

 

29 comments

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  1. David

    The USA has been white-anted, and despite what Obama says, it is obvious that congress and the White House have lost control of the USA. Netanyahu summed it up nicely. Closer to home, I am wondering if the PM is planning to turn Australia into the next Greece. Goldman Sachs (his former employer) certainly did a thorough job on the Greek financial system and their entire economy. You are right about the dark cloud. I am beginning to think our political systems have been hijacked and politicians around the world are being bribed, blackmailed or bullied to divide and rule their constituents. The consequences of a Trump or Clinton presidency is stuff of nightmares. As Vern Gowdie said in the “Daily Reckoning” yesterday – We have the spectacle of two of the most disliked and least trustworthy people in the US vying to be president…the person who is supposed to lead by example. Rather than the emotion stirring a rallying cry of ‘God Bless America’, it should be replaced with one said in forlorn hope — ‘God Help America’. Perhaps the best option is to cancel, the US Election and keep Obama as interim president (or Emperor if some people have their way)?

  2. Kaye Lee

    Frydenberg revealed that it was Morrison and Dutton who argued vehemently for Rudd not to be endorsed. Nasty little bastards they are.

  3. Don A Kelly

    David……The Australian Government is a Monetary Sovereign – not a business, not a household, not a State Government, and not Greece or Spain. The Australian Government has nearly always had a budget deficit. As has most other countries. A monetary sovereign is a currency – issuing government, we are not on a ‘Gold Standard’ and we haven’t been on a fixed exchange rate since 1983.
    The government deficit ought to be higher – A budget deficit allows for a Private Sector surplus and injects demand into the economy. It does not burden future generations. The idea that it does is a myth.

  4. Terry2

    “ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie says she wants the ABC to strive harder to appeal to all Australians, not just children and older audience members……..”

    So, does that mean that we pander to the lowest common denominator with a version of The Bachelor or My Kitchen Rules or eternal home renovations ?

    Think about what you are saying, Ms Guthrie.

  5. Kaye Lee

    I think her decision to can Fact Check was very revealing.

  6. Jaquix

    I would love to know how Guthrie was chosen. Meddling Malcolm may well have had a hand in it. New Matilda February 2016 article re Nick Ross/NBN affair, shows he has definite form. Guthrie’s grounding with Murdoch makes her suspect from Day 1. Axing Fact Check on arrival, just in time for the election campaign MT had called, is indefensible. It was the best form of scrutiny of political utterances that we had. Now she insults her audience.

  7. helvityni

    The emergence of people like Hanson, Lambie etc. in Oz politics, Ms Gutrie’s appointment to ABC’s top job, the endless talk of terrorism, when we see one in every lost Muslim boy, when the ABC girls make cakes and chat friendly with people like Morrison and giggle with Mal on 7.3o …and, and, and…I lose interest ,I want to hear some positive stuff happening, all I get is child abuse, by the Catholic Church, the Anglicans, in the NT, in Nauru, on Manus….

    Now let’s see if our PM will support another Aussie for this prestigious international job. Sigh, cry…

  8. Matters Not

    The dispute over Rudd and whether he should be endorsed (or not) reveals a lot about Turnbull’s problems. Seems to me, it doesn’t matters a bit because Rudd ain’t going to get the job but it provides an opportunity for some ‘payback’. First there’s Rudd. Second, there’s an opportunity to give Bishop a ‘slap’.

    She and Rudd were friendly (out of the public eye) and the conservatives resent how she abandoned Abbott in his hour of need. (Yes he was always in ‘need’ and the use of ‘hour’ was an unnecessary qualifier). So two birds with one stone. Backhanders to both Rudd and Bishop. Public humiliation all round.

    And Turnbull doesn’t know which way to jump. Love it.

    When speaking of ‘Cabinet’, we should be careful to use the plural (Cabinets) because the use of the singular masks the reality. ? ? ?

  9. michael lacey

    The U.S. manipulates foreign elections all the time and now Clinton machine is using Russia to cover their own fraud !

  10. helvityni

    ” And Turnbull doesn’t know which way to jump. Love it.”

    Me too, MT, who needs shows like House of Cards, it’s all happening in the good old Oz. I noticed the smirking Cormann in one corner…

  11. jimhaz

    I’ve never voted LNP in my life, but I wouldn’t endorse Rudd either. More so if I thought he had a chance of obtaining the position. Like Latham says, his has a huge ego problem and is not a people manager, so stuff him – the same reasons I wanted him replaced by Gillard.

    I’d most likely endorse Helen Clark though. Don’t recall her having any major issues.

  12. James O'Neill

    John two brief responses to your list. Re #13 Bill of Rights. I am a strong supporter of a Bill of Rights. Its existence would not necessarily stop the abuse of which the NT’s youth detention centre is but one example. It does however, give individuals or groups a means of redress through the Courts. That is its great strength.
    #15 Labor 4 points ahead. It is notable for a number of reasons. It reflects dismay at the election outcome which left us in a worse legislative position with Hansen and her ilk in the Senate. It will discourage the LNP from challenging the Herbert result. It will discourage Turnbull from going back to the polls with another general election.
    It appears that Parliament will only sit for seven weeks in total between the election and Christmas. That is a disgrace, but has received barely a mention from the msm. It confirms that the LNP do not have any policies worthy of the name, and what few they have must avoid parliamentary scrutiny at all costs. As Bernard Keane said on ABC612 Brisbane yesterday, they haven’t hit the ground running because they have nowhere to run to.

  13. Jaquix

    Good points James O’Neill ! Especially liked that the Essential Poll figures this week show voters remorse, and will discourage Turnbull from challenging Herbert. And Bernard Keane saying they havent hit the ground running because they have nowhere to run. No wonder SSM is put off yet again. Another 3 years of this? I like the fact that they are poised on a razor-sharp knife, should keep them on edge (so to speak) every day they have left…..

  14. helvityni

    jimhaz, Rudd is not going to get the job anyhow, so it would just give Turnbull a chance to appear a bigger, better person than he is when endorsing his old enemy.

    I always thought Helen was a good choice for the job, people sense there’s a real person when they meet her, not a self obsessed narcissist like Kevin.

  15. jimhaz

    I see Lambie as a sort of door-opener for Hanson. Had Lambie not been there, I can’t help but think Hanson would have got half the vote she did. Lambie was interesting for those not interested in politics and the public wanted more of this.

  16. Möbius Ecko

    http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/political-donations-by/7671958

    Oh, the corruption in the Federal Liberal Party. Seems their money laundering doesn’t stop at channelling developer donations that are illegal in NSW to the NSW Liberals, but also mining donations to the Queensland LNP.

    I can only hope that one day the whole Liberal crooked donation edifice comes crumbling down to crush them.

    And then you get the right wingers like Neil of Sydney response to the blatant deceit and turbidity of the Liberals, “Labor”.

  17. Möbius Ecko

    Looks like not at all Dan, unless Rudd tells the public what Turnbull said to him.

    It was all bull from Turnbull and obvious he’s under total control of the extreme right wing of his party. If he used his own threshold test on past Liberal appointments then Downer wouldn’t be in the UK and Hockey in the US for starters.

    The bullshit penny dropped when firstly he repeated “threshold” several times to over emphasise it and secondly on shutting down every question on what the reasons for denying Rudd the position were.

    So whenever you see Turnbull fronting parliament and the public advocating policies and decisions you know for certain you are looking at a faceman for Bernardi, Morrison, Abbott etc. and not Turnbull.

  18. helvityni

    ME,

    ‘So whenever you see Turnbull fronting parliament and the public advocating policies and decisions you know for certain you are looking at a faceman for Bernardi, Morrison, Abbott etc. and not Turnbull.’

    He had a chance to prove that he’s different from his henchmen. He’s not, and has never been different: many of us have been delusional in thinking and believing that there’s a bigger and a better man somewhere hiding in him. There isn’t….

  19. Matters Not

    unless Rudd tells the public what Turnbull said to him

    No doubt the conversation was ‘private’ and not for public consummation. And Rudd never leaks. ? ? ?

    Turnbull is but a marionette.

    https://www.google.com.au/search?q=marionette&biw=1097&bih=460&tbm=isch&imgil=epKnx5c-buUljM%253A%253BDQuG5iL0m-sz8M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fcompanyofmarionettes.com%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=epKnx5c-buUljM%253A%252CDQuG5iL0m-sz8M%252C_&usg=__h6kaDSrqOcVxExbYmWt4ow6oAH8%3D&ved=0ahUKEwj42pGP6JfOAhXKq5QKHchhBtAQyjcISQ&ei=fdiaV7ioLMrX0gTIw5mADQ#imgrc=epKnx5c-buUljM%3A

  20. Kaye Lee

    The really scary thing about Turnbull’s decision is that his deputy leader and foreign minister advised him to recommend Rudd but it was Morrison and Dutton who said no way. Dutton has, of course, been brought back into the national security fold. It seems Turnbull is putty in their hands and an even more empowered Dutton is a really bad thing.

  21. Matters Not

    Cabinet is now best described as: A meeting of Ministers held on a Monday to see if they have anything in common.

    And as they rarely do, the important, decision-making body now meets on Tuesday in the Monkey Pod room with Shogun Abbott in the Chair.

  22. Terry2

    Turnbull probably said to Rudd :

    Kev, mate, if the criterion for supporting your nomination was that you had been a Prime Minister of Australia we would have to use that as a precedent for supporting somebody like Tony Abbott in the same situation and clearly that would never happen…………it’s not about you Kevin “

  23. win

    I found the juxtaposition of the Australian story of a modern day Romeo and Juliet , followed by the 4corners expose chilling . I now begin to understand how the Nazi horrors were born . Humans are capable of great good , but also extreme evil, and Australia is facing the wrong way. Time for all citizens of good heart to speak out before we get worse.

  24. Kaye Lee

    I agree win. They are seriously pissing me off. This has gone way beyond political shenanigans. We are at a tipping point where we go the Hanson/Dutton route or say STOP!

  25. jimhaz

    Might be a bad time for someone like Rudd to be Secretary-General. Could be too much an irritation. Nor do I see any need for people to support Rudd simply because he is a an Australian.

    Putin Issues Desperate Warning of WWIII

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMMscY7Btus&feature=share

    The commentator, Alex Jones appears to be a total raving christian loony with a focus of scaring people for sales of paranoia equipment.

    Still what Putin says is reason for concern. No idea how much gamesmanship is involved – Putin is playing the dictactor type and this is the sort of play they make – but don’t see why Nato/the US has to stir the pot.

  26. Matters Not

    jimhaz, your link is to Alex Jones:

    Alexander Emerick “Alex” Jones (born February 11, 1974 is a radio show host, documentary filmmaker, writer, and described by many media outlets as a conspiracy theorist. His syndicated news/talk show The Alex Jones Show, based in Austin, Texas, airs via the Genesis Communications Network] and shortwave station WWCR] across the United States, and on the Internet in video form.

    Jones has been the center of many controversies, including his controversial statements about gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. He has accused the U.S. government of being involved in the Oklahoma City bombing, the September 11 attacks and the filming of fake Moon landings to hide NASA’s secret technology. He believes that government and big business have colluded to create a New World Order through “manufactured economic crises, sophisticated surveillance tech and—above all—inside-job terror attacks that fuel exploitable hysteria.” Jones describes himself as a libertarian, paleoconservative and an “aggressive constitutionalist.”Mainstream media sources have described Jones as a conservative, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, and a libertarian.

    New York magazine described Jones as “America’s leading conspiracy theorist,” and the Southern Poverty Law Center describes him as “the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America.” When asked about these labels, Jones said that he is “proud to be listed as a thought criminal against Big Brother.”

    I think there’s better sources.

  27. jimhaz

    Sure, totally agree, but what Putin said is most likely to be correctly translated.

    The missile thing has been going on for some time. Here is a BBC article from 2007.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6583587.stm

  28. wam

    labor is lamb(e)s to the slaughter. They treat their own with contempt by accepting the disgusting treatment by their colleagues opposite and eventually add more pain(thomson, gillard) but avoid any below-the-belt direct attack on the lib individual.
    The turncoat government wouldn’t support their lord for the UN because of his ‘leftness’ or any labor pollie and whilst I think sheridan describes the libs perfectly, he is a lib has no idea of labor. Nobody should support rudd because he is a lemon and not suitable.

  29. Kaye Lee

    “The NT govt has withdrawn counter claims against two of the boys who were gassed but will continue to defend civil claims in court.”

    I assume they have been forced to concede that the two kids playing cards who then cowered behind their mattresses weren’t rioting.

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