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Showing posts from October, 2017

A farewell political singalong for a departing Senate President

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So it looks like the President of the Senate Stephen Parry will return to his family undertaking business. Another victim of section 44 of the Constitution. Not a happy day for a political singalong. The Owl thought these words from Daniel Johnston  of the Texas Instruments might be appropriate: Funeral home  Funeral home  Goin' to the funeral home  Got me a coffin  Shiny and black  I'm goin' to the funeral  And I'm never comin' back Too gloomy for a family website, ruled the social editor. Go for a popular funeral service anthem with a less morbid message. So to send the good President back home on the Princess of Tasmania join in with this: And the wake? Well he might be gone but he's not actually dead yet. Maybe his colleagues not  victims of the dreaded section 44 will take part in something like this:

Revenue of Murdoch's Fox News in the US takes a dive and links to other news and views

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Fox News’ ad revenue nose-dives, declining a whopping 17 percent  - Media Matters for America Hannity’s advertiser losses signal that Fox’s business model is not sustainable Angela Merkel and CDU struggle to form 'Jamaica' coalition  - Deutsche Welle Four German political parties — the Christian Democrats, Christian Social Union, Free Democrats and Greens — are now in their third week of talks to form a government. They disagree about more things than they agree on. Don’t overlook the Kremlin’s threats to our courts  - Washington PostI t is well understood that Russia is engaged in a strategic campaign to undermine support for democracy and weaken the United States. A key element of the West’s appeal is the idea of an independent judiciary that protects the rights of individuals and ensures the fair and consistent application of the law. This pillar of democracy is particularly vulnerable to information operations because it relies so heavily on public confidence

A happy looking Julie Bishop seems so close to all she wants for Christmas as Malcolm flies off with only 56 sleeps to Christmas

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Julie Bishop. seemed so comfortable in her designer running gear as she jogged along the beach for her first photo op as acting Prime Minister. Little wonder that the press are asking this kind of question: Would Acting Prime Minister @JulieBishopMP like the gig permanently one day? #abc730 #auspol pic.twitter.com/g4rNiuP91M — abc730 (@abc730) October 30, 2017 And surely the current state of the government makes Sportsbet's $8 about her leading the Liberals at the next election a value proposition? And snap up the $1.70 about Malcolm Turnbull facing a Liberal Party Leadership ballot prior to the next Federal Election. In the meantime singalong with this:

A British view of parliamentary sexual behaviour and other news and views of the day

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Complicity in the sexual abuse of women is built in to the heart of our politics  - The Guardian The archaic ways of the Palace of Westminster are well-known. Many become so institutionalised, including the embedded lobby journalists, that they are not questioned. So researchers, staff, assistants are all subject to harassment by men whose “wives don’t understand them” or with whom they don’t live most of the time. ... For a long, long time certain men have taken such complicity for granted. But something is changing. Women are speaking out. These men are not sex “pests”, they are elected representatives exploiting their positions of power. If disrespect for women is tolerated at the heart of government, it will be tolerated everywhere. Who wants to live in such a place? How Russian Propaganda Spreads On Social Media  - NPR Foreign Interference Has Bedeviled D.C. For Decades, With No Easy Reponse  - NPR Nations waged campaigns of influence against each other for cent

The French language is in 'mortal danger' and links to other interesting news and views

The French language is in 'mortal danger', say its own panicked guardians  - The Local And on Thursday night the Académie issued a "solemn warning" intended to grab the attention of the government. The immortals are furious about the rise of so-called "inclusive writing" which basically puts the masculine AND feminine forms of nouns in the text. While its aim is to promote gender equality and reduce sexist stereotypes to "make women more visible" in texts, the Academie called it an "aberration", which "now puts the French language in mortal danger for which our nation will be accountable to future generations." Previously texts have in French have only included the masculine form of nouns for example citoyen (citizen) consommateurs (consumers) or agriculteurs (farmers) but if inclusive writing was used the words word be written as follows to include the feminine and plural forms: citoyen.ne.s, consommateur.rice.s, agriculteur.

The Guardian's Katharine Murphy as guest selector for today's political singalong chooses Chris Isaak and "... did a bad bad thing"

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The Owl was delighted to see that the Guardian's astute political writer Katharine Murphy has joined the happy band using song to describe the political scene . She writes: So if you are a prime minister who might, periodically, be entranced by the mirage of a knockout blow (an instinct which has gotten Turnbull into trouble in the past), or even if you aren’t after a KO but are in the market for some momentum and a sense that fortune has turned in your favour, you will peck away at Shorten, hoping to convince voters that their hesitation is well founded. So this pecking away happens constantly, often on the theme of  Bill did a bad, bad thing  ( to borrow from Chris Isaak ; sorry, yes, my musical tastes really are that sad). Just a little backing track. And so you can singalong, the lyrics of the chorus: Baby did a bad bad thing Baby did a bad bad thing Baby did a bad bad thing Feel like crying I feel like crying Oh feel like crying Feel like crying O

And singalong for Malcolm Roberts

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How every twitch of government should be considered as an opportunity to manipulate the public and other news and views

Bloated, glossy $212,000 federal budget cover a fitting symbol of modern government  - National Post, Canada It isn’t the document obviously, that’s the problem. It’s the underlying attitude of which it is an expression: that every twitch of government should be considered as an opportunity to manipulate the public — that the symbols and practices of a great and democratic state, hard won through centuries of struggle, should be reduced to a billboard for the party in power — that every last shred of institutional dignity should be pureed into the same mush of adspeak that now envelopes all of Canadian politics — that absolutely bloody everything that can be politicized should be. Mundane end to historic reform to recognise indigenous Australians - Chris Kenny in The Australian An energy crisis? My Hat! - Pearls and Irritations The present ‘energy crisis’ is symptomatic of our nation’s leaders to obfuscate the truth to avoid doing what should be done. The Doctrine of Trumpal

A song for Barnaby - I fought the law and the law won

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Singalong as "Australia's best retail politician"* has Friday, and a whole lot more, on his mind

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Is it the High Court high jump for Barnaby Joyce at 2.15pm on Friday? Thanks to Michael Danby MP for this singalong * as described by sometime commentator Anthony Abbott See the Owl's earlier singalong on this subject  Hey Little Girl 

It's raiding nostalgia time at the Owl - Is Michaelia "the looks of a super model the voice of a wharfie"* Cash the new Lionel Murphy?

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*thanks to Nikki Savva for the Michaelia description. And how astute of Michaelia to have the police tackle a trade union when the Police Commissioner was explaining how there was a shortage of resources preventing drug raids and the chasing of pedophiles. For those not born when Lionel Murphy was Attorney General (and that's probably the majority of the Federal Press Gallery) a little history lesson via a segment from the ABC's 'This Day Tonight', first broadcast in 1973. Using the popular program, 'The FBI', it satirises the raid on the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation by the Whitlam government's Attorney-General, Senator Lionel Murphy.

The public's right to know, acid-dropping activists trying to levitate the Pentagon and links to other news and views

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Barnaby Joyce and the public’s right to know  - Sydney Daily Telegraph ... politicians (and, indeed, certain members of the Canberra press gallery) believe the gallery’s role is not to report but to conceal. And the story that started the debate: Barnaby Joyce battles vicious innuendo as Coalition fears citizenship woe  - Sydney Daily Telegraph 'Impossible To Save': Scientists Are Watching China's Glaciers Disappear  - NPR The Three Students Who Uncovered 'Dieselgate'  - Der Spiegel The diesel emissions scandal has already cost Volkswagen 25 billion euros, and no end is it sight. But how did it start? In a corrugated iron shack in the forests of West Virginia, discovered by a trio of university students. Club Fed - Why the government goes easy on corporate crime - New Republic Fifty Years Ago, a Rag-Tag Group of Acid-Dropping Activists Tried to “Levitate” the Pentagon  - Smithsonian.com The March on the Pentagon to end the Vietnam War began a turn

Political sex scandals - an historical perspective

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I'm not sure why Malcolm Fraser and his visit to Memphis did not make the historical list published in t he Melbourne Herald Sun a few years ago but it's a starting point. Jim Cairns and Juni Morosi, Gareth Evans and Cheryl Kernot, Labor PM Ben Chifley and his secretary, Bill Snedden and SA Premier Mike Rann. Wonderful memories. In Britain, where the press is less inhibited than journalists in the Canberra press gallery, provides some wonderful examples. There's a lively little summary on the BBC website looking at " Why MP sex scandals no longer shock " and the record of the Conservative government of John Major puts the Australian examples in the shade. But it was the government of John Major in the 1990s that is perhaps best remembered for its fallen politicians. In 1992 the national heritage secretary David Mellor resigned after his affair with the actress Antonia de Sancha continued to dominate the newspapers. "The particular difficulty on that

Parliament House Canberra's Song for Today

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Up there on the hill they might be writing about something else but that's what they're talking about.

Trump's bullshit about the media, Australian journalism's freak show and links to other interesting news and views

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Nearly half of voters are buying Trump's bullshit about the media  - Media Matters for America Australian journalism’s freak show: how a serious newspaper deals with its enemies  - Crikey Intellectual Property for the Twenty-First-Century Economy - Project Syndicate Developing countries are increasingly pushing back against the intellectual property regime foisted on them by the advanced economies over the last 30 years. They are right to do so, because what matters is not only the production of knowledge, but also that it is used in ways that put the health and wellbeing of people ahead of corporate profits. Post-Brexit, the U.K. is becoming a hotbed of far-right violence  - Think Progress Hate crimes and Islamophobia are rising, and security services are overstretched. With fast-charging, electric cars will soon match or beat gasoline cars in every respect  - Think Progress Quebec Enacts 'Religious Neutrality Law' That Curbs Full-Face Veils In Public  - NPR

Singalong as Julie "Tora Tora Tora" Bishop attempts to rebuild trust with Jacinta "can't work with her" Ardern.

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The Owl warned her. Back in August we warned that Jacinda Ardern put Tora Tora Tora Julie Bishop on notice following poll surge in NZ election race.  "You're so Vain" we suggested as the appropriate political singalong. And now it has come to pass. Jacinda has the top job across the ditch and Julie will have to play please forgive me. The diplomats who were shocked at the strength of Tora Tora Tora' s outburst at the time, now claim "the bilateral relationship is strong and broad enough to bear the strain". Perhaps a chorus or two of this might make things easier.

Singalong as Tones makes Malcolm "do things I don't want to do" in the great power debate

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Yeah yeah yeah yeah He makes me do things I don't want to do He makes me say things I don't want to say & even though I want to break away I can't (stop saying I adore him I can't stop doing things for him)

The irrelevance of opinion polls a long time out from an election

While updating my table of The Australian's Newspoll results today (you will find the collection HERE ) it struck me once again just how irrelevant poll results are a long time out from an election. The table below compares Labor's two party vote 15 months after an election (like the one this week) with Labor's actual vote at the following election. Labor on Newspoll 15 months after an election Labor vote at next election Difference in percentage points 55 49.3 5.7 43 46.5 3.5 58 50.1 7.9 48 52.7 4.7 49 47.2 1.8

The Australian's Newspoll from 2016 election to present

--> Date ALP Coalition Green OneNat Other 2 Pty ALP 2 Pty LNP 13/11/2017 38 34 9 10 9 55 45 20/12/1971 37 35 10 9 9 54 46 15/10/2017 36 37 10 9 8 54 46 24/09/2017 36 38 9 8 9 54 46 3/09/17 38 37 9 8 8 53 47 21/08/17 38 35 9 9 9 54 46 4/08/17 36 36 11 8 9 53 47 24/07/17 37 35 9 9 9 53 47 10/07/17 36 35 10 11 8 53 47 19/06/17 37 36 9 11 7 53 47 30/05/17 36 36 10 9 9 53 47 16/05/17 36 36 10 9 9 53 47 24/04/17 35 36 9 10 10 52 48 3/04/17 36 36 10 9 9 53 47 20/03/17 35 37 9 10 9 52 48 27/02/17 37 34 1

How long does the typical political party last? And links to other interesting news and views

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The typical political party only lasts 43 years  - Quartz The following chart shows the number of parties that have placed in the top two in terms of seats since 1950. Only the 21 countries for which the database has data going back to 1950 are included. The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, and Australia are notable for their stability. How long do parties usually last? To calculate this number, we used a statistical technique called survival analysis (pdf). It is a method for estimating a person or organization’s typical lifespan when some of the people or organizations that are part of an analysis are still in existence. We found that the median major political party lasts around 43 years, and one third of parties don’t even last 20 years. Why Spy Now? The Psychology of Leaking and Espionage in the Digital Age - CIA Don't turn doctors into killers  - Eureka Street How Facebook’s Ad System Works  - New York Times Jockeying for cash: North Korea allows racetra

Will Tony be drafted and be top of the pops again? A singalong as we consider if Tony Abbott will make a comeback

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Explained: How Liberal leadership spills work - ABC News Here ... is a guide to how a spill could work. Any member may move a motion to spill leadership position(s) When the party meets in the party room, any member can move the motion to spill the leadership position. He or she would rise, with or without prior indication to the leadership group, seek the call and move a motion to spill. The motion would normally specify whether the spill was of leader, deputy leader or both. A seconder would be called for, but is not technically required if the leader chooses to let the discussion proceed. The leader invites speakers 'for' and 'against' the motion An exhaustive discussion and debate will follow. Members will indicate, usually to the leader or deputy leader, their desire to speak. Speakers will often be called in alternating order; a "for" followed by an "against". In the past, members have spoken, offered commentary, but neither de

Giving Thomas the Tank Engine some female friends and links to other news and views

Thomas the Tank Engine gets two female trains as show is overhauled for a new generation  - London Daily Telegraph Bannon: 'It's A Season Of War Against The GOP Establishment'  - NPR Harvey Weinstein was protected for decades by the cowardice of the press  - The Guardian ‘Mind-boggling’: Daniel Barenboim on Jacqueline du Pré – and speaking out  - Financial Times Christopher Nupen’s short film The Trout endures as an important, and charming, group portrait of talented young musicians on the cusp of greatness. It follows Barenboim and du Pré, together with Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta and Pinchas Zukerman, during their rehearsals and live performance of Schubert’s Trout Quintet as part of the festival of South Bank Summer Music (of which Barenboim was artistic director) in 1969. In the matter of Peta Credlin v Julie Bishop, the minister wins  - Janet Albrechtsen in The Australian Balance of power: Shift toward renewable energy appears to be picking up steam

Some interesting links to news and views with a moron edition of the political singalong

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Paul Krugman's Friday night music: moron edition Since what prompted Rex Tillerson was, reportedly, Trump’s desire for a tenfold increase in America’s already civilization-destroying nuclear arsenal, the obvious: Which bank could give Australians a better bang for their buck? The RBA - Nicholas Gruen in The Guardian The thoughts of Chairman Xi - Xi Jinping is tightening his grip on power. How did one man come to embody China's destiny? - BBC News “I Hate Everyone in the White House!”  - Trump seethes as advisers fear the president is “unraveling.” - Vanity Fair Silicon Valley’s Religious Drive  - New Republic The engineer Anthony Levandowski has reportedly founded a religion led by bots, the latest manifestation of the tech world's spiritual underpinnings. The First Anglo-Afghan War shows us how the same pattern follows whenever Afghanistan is invaded  - Dawn Triumph of the Shill - The political theory of Trumpism  - n+1 Is This How The Trump Adminis

Peta Credlin, the Grace Jones of Australian politics, turns on Laura Jayes for talking "piss and wind"

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Grace Jones knows how to deal with lesser people And so does Peta Credlin as she gives a verdict on her Sky News colleague Laura Jayes When a lefty journo thought it was safe to go on #pmlive from her safe lefty day shift at Sky & ends up sitting next to #PetaCredlin 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/4YDdDAaxZn — timjbo (@pleaseuseaussie) October 11, 2017

Eminem calls out President Trump in today's political singalong plus other news and views

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Eminem wasn’t just calling out President Trump. He was talking to his fans  - Think Progress Tuesday night during the BET Hip Hop Awards, Eminem essentially initiated a rap battle with President Trump. He also, as he put it, “drew a line in the sand” for anyone who loves his music: You can’t be a Trump supporter and an Eminem fan. Mr. Trump Nails Shut the Coffin on Climate Relief - New York Times editorial Nick Xenophon's tantalising gambit  -  John Warhurst in Eureka Street In An Effort To Get People To Tune In, Government Agencies Try Podcasting  - NPR Trump Continues To Use Twitter As Main Form Of Communication  - NPR Climate outlooks – monthly and seasonal - Bureau of Meteorology In Pakistan, Growing Concern Over Tensions Between Military And Civilian Leaders  - NPR In China, Scholars Are Being Punished Amid Growing Squeeze On Public Expression  - NPR

Presidential obstruction of justice: The case of Donald J. Trump - and other news and views for the day

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Presidential obstruction of justice: The case of Donald J. Trump - Brookings Institution The public record contains substantial evidence that President Trump attempted to impede the investigations of Michael Flynn and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including by firing FBI Director James Comey. ...  The fact that the president has lawful authority to take a particular course of action does not immunize him if he takes that action with the unlawful intent of obstructing a proceeding for an improper purpose.  ... While the matter is not free from doubt, it is our view that neither the Constitution nor any other federal law grants the president immunity from prosecution.  How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. Politics  - New York Times Wicked gambling firms exploit the weakest  - The Times, London Yes, People Still Throw Animals Into Volcanoes To Please The Gods  - Forbes Has Tony Abbott jumped the goat? Singalong politically

Has Tony Abbott jumped the goat? Singalong politically to appease the volcano gods

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Well that's a story worth singing along with. Fancy some other political singalongs? Click HERE

Socialism is back and would Kim Jong-un rather be obliterated then give in? News and views links from the Owl

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Socialism with a spine: the only 21st century alternative - John Quiggin in The Guardian Socialism is back, much to the chagrin of those who declared it dead and buried at the “ end of history ” in the 1990s. ... The soft neoliberalism represented by Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Paul Keating has exhausted its appeal, and not just in the English-speaking world. Throughout Europe, new movements of the left have emerged to challenge or displace social democratic parties discredited by the austerity politics of the last decade. ... The idea of a socialist economy with unconditional access to basic incomes and greatly expanded provision of free services might seem utopian. But in the aftermath of neoliberal failure, utopian vision is what is needed. To re-engage people with democratic politics, we need to move beyond culture wars and arguments over marginal adjustments to tax rates and budget allocations, necessary as these may be in the short term. The Madness of Donald Trump -

The political logic of bickering and other news and views for the day

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Polarize and Conquer - The New York Times Bickering with people who are in the news has a political logic: It deepens the country’s polarization ... The main objective of hating is to incense your critics so that they hate you back even more. Insults tend to provoke more extreme postures. Cash, T-Shirts and Gallons of Booze: How Liberian Candidates Woo Voters  - The New York Times Why the NBN is a fiscal debacle  - The Australian Denmark jumps on 'burqa ban' bandwagon  - Deutsche Wells Why Bitcoin’s Bubble Matters - If there’s a price crash in the cryptocurrency, it could hit the tech sector—and more - Wall Street Journal The mainstreaming of right-wing extremism  - Washington Post Tory nuts cause mayhem as Prime Minister's leadership is dead  - London Daily Mirror

The naughty Murdoch News Group and links to other news and views for today

Murdoch’s News Group admits benefiting from hacking of army officer's emails  - The Guardian This is a dramatic new revelation in the saga of criminality in Murdoch’s media empire  - Labour Press Tom Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,commenting on News Group’s admission of computer hacking, said: “This is a dramatic new revelation in the saga of criminality in Murdoch’s media empire. Despite being asked about the use of private detectives by the News of the World at a parliamentary committee in 2011 it’s taken a five year civil case for the company to admit to further illegal behaviour. “We can now add computer hacking to the long list of criminal activities undertaken by Murdoch’s operatives. We know from experience of phone hacking that there won’t just be a single victim. So my question to Rupert Murdoch and his subordinates is this: Who else was hacked? Trump explains why he’s different than Harvey Weinstein  - Think Pr

Melbourne the innovator - a report from the Brookings Institution and other news and views

Innovation districts down under: A postcard from Melbourne, Australia  - Brookings Institution I recently returned from a fascinating week-long visit to Melbourne, Australia, where I spent time with key representatives from the state of Victoria, the University of Melbourne, the city of Melbourne, and other key stakeholders to learn how Melbourne is advancing innovation districts . Frankly, I was surprised by the level of work underway: there are multiple innovation districts (or innovation precincts, as they are often called there) in various phases of development, which cumulatively has the potential to create a broader innovation ecosystem—or innovation spine—across the city. In short, Melbourne is a city to watch. ... Yet the biggest takeaway from Melbourne was their ambition to develop innovation precincts in multiple areas across the city. ... To conclude, while Melbourne is at the initial stages of developing a cluster innovation districts, their work-in-progress offers a gl