It’s hotter in LA since Andrew was there

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A year ago I wrote a piece for The AIMN titled “Andrew Bolt: the glob-trotting weather presenter” in response to an article – ridiculing climate change nonetheless – he called “Almost too cold to type this message to a warmist“. He wrote:

As it happens, I am in Los Angeles, freezing my backside off in an unusually cold spell . . . The world is not warming as was predicted.

Well, Andrew, LA ‘s damn hot a year to the day later. From conditions where you found yourself freezing your backside off . . . to this:

A record-breaking heat wave combined with gusty Santa Ana winds has created extreme fire conditions across parched wild lands in the Southland, forecasters warned.

Red flag warnings for Los Angeles and Ventura counties have been extended until 3 p.m. Friday with abysmally low humidity worsening already tinder-dry conditions. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph are possible in mountain areas, the National Weather Service said.

Downtown Los Angeles hit 85F (30C), tying a daily record set in 2009. Bob Hope Airport in Burbank recorded a high of 86, breaking by one degree a record for the day set in 1976.

It’s funny how the weather can change so much in one year. Or maybe you were just using “an unusually cold spell” to support your opinion that climate change doesn’t really exist.

Living with baboons

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It’s been a huge week in politics; a week that saw some absolute cock ups from the government. To briefly recap, we’ve had Tony Abbott’s decision to provide Sri Lanka with two patrol boats to help round up people fleeing the island nation, we’ve seen Tony Abbott upset the Indonesian president over his response to the 2009 spying scandal, we’ve seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets calling for action on climate change, and anybody who saw this week’s Media Watch would have been appalled at the government’s fanaticism at keep the public in the dark over asylum boat arrivals.

Indeed, it’s been a bad week for Team Tony.

You’d think that these big stories would be receiving daily coverage in the media, with dashes of scrutiny. But not so in the Murdoch media. These are all bad for Team Tony so any reference to them is silenced as quickly as the government’s news on asylum seeker arrivals.

As an aside, the Fairfax media is leading the charge but you”d be amused to learn that Andrew Bolt simply dismisses this as their jihad against the government. Yes, you may laugh.

The Murdoch media is of course free to write about whatever it wants. If they don’t want to write about the government, even when we are facing our greatest ever diplomatic crisis, then so be it. They did, of course, feel quite content on pushing all sorts of rubbish down our throats about the previous government, but apparently the current government isn’t newsworthy. It appears that politics is no longer of interest to them.

So what is?

Brace yourself, these are the big stories the Murdoch media think are the important page one issues of the day:

Canadian school rejects mum’s homemade lunch, gives crackers instead.

What kind of bored are you? Researchers discover a fifth type of tedium.

Snake Catchers Brisbane film marathon fight between two carpet pythons.

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge recycles a favourite Orla Kiely frock at London charity event

How a non-runner learnt to run.

Kim Kardashian appears topless in Kanye West’s music video for ‘Bound 2’.

I’m not suggesting that these stories are not of interest – to somebody – but we do expect some balance in political reporting. We also expect honesty. We are receiving neither. And something on the diplomatic crisis would be nice.

But I’ve saved the best for last:

What Australian biologist Mat Pines learned while living with baboons.

All I can suggest is that he’s preparing himself for life under an Abbott Government.

Have you ever wondered where journalists source their news?

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I clicked on a link to this Sydney Morning Herald article, George Brandis to repeal ‘Bolt laws’ on racial discrimination by Jessica Wright, who we are told, is a “breaking news reporter for The Age”. Here is an extract from the article:

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Attorney-General George Brandis will fulfil an election promise next week and introduce legislation to repeal a section of Racial Discrimination Act that conservative journalist Andrew Bolt was found guilty of breaching.

The repeal of the laws that make it unlawful to offend and insult people because of their race will be the first legislation Senator Brandis will introduce to Parliament, according to The Australian newspaper.

Senator Brandis told The Australian that he was certain that the changes to the act would be viewed as the government condoning racist behaviour, but said he believed ”you cannot have a situation in a liberal democracy in which the expression of an opinion is rendered unlawful because somebody else … finds it offensive or insulting”.

Did you see what I saw? In case you missed it, here it is: “according to The Australian newspaper” and “Senator Brandis told The Australian“.

I’m sure that Jessica Wright is a good journalist who has no doubt produced some outstanding articles. I’m also sure she’s not the first journalist to source her story from another journalist, but you must wonder if this is the best our political journalists can do.

We saw this far too often in the lead up to the 2013 election, with the ABC being the biggest culprit. Obviously they aren’t alone.

So if you’ve ever wondered where journalists source their news, now you know: from each other.

The article, in the Sydney Morning Herald, by a breaking news reporter from its sister paper The Age, was based on an what had been said by a journalist in Murdoch’s The Australian.

Honesty in Language

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By now most would be aware that Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has instructed departmental and detention centre staff to publicly refer to asylum seekers as ‘‘illegal’’ arrivals and as ‘‘detainees’’, rather than as clients.

This has been met with a torrent of outrage across social media, not only because “illegal arrivals” is a term that is incorrect, but the term itself is one that dehumanises the unfortunate people it is applied to.

There is, however, one journalist who has jumped to the defense of Scott Morrison. Would you be surprised to learn that it is Andrew Bolt? Morrison’s application of the term says Bolt, is “honesty in language” and encourages that we support it. By “we” I don’t know who he means. Probably his thousands of readers who find it OK to dehumanise people or are happy to stand around the front bar yelling that these people are illegal.

And what would Bolt know about honesty in language anyway? He publicly ridicules anyone who has an opinion that differs from his own.

But if it’s honesty in language he wants, perhaps we can give him some.

Feel free to speak your mind.

That’s a load of rubbish, Andrew

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Following the drowning of four asylum seekers off Christmas Island yesterday, Andrew Bolt had the audacity to comment that:

. . . if these people drowned under Tony Abbott, especially after a boat turnaround, imagine the media uproar. Yet Rudd’s policy has contributed to the deaths of more than 1000 people and a complicit media lays no blame at all.

Well, that’s a load of rubbish, Andrew.

Why?

Because only a small section of our community are despicable enough to attempt to draw political mileage out of the deaths of innocent people. Most people are appalled at these deaths, whether they be Rudd supporters, Abbott supporters, or vote for Daffy Duck. And most people are intelligent or realistic enough to accept that no one person can be held responsible for these deaths.

You do not fall into that category.

The condemnation you received over your comment in 2010 that the Gillard Government had blood on its hands after drownings off Christmas Island have done little to thwart your spring-heeled eagerness to use deaths for political mileage. I’ve not encountered any other journalist so keen to do so.

No, the media isn’t complicit like you say it is. It’s just that even they have some morals.

For once I agree with Andrew Bolt

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My dislike of Andrew Bolt is well known, but it doesn’t mean to say that I shake my fists in disagreement at every word he mutters. Of course, most of the times I do. In my opinion most of what he comes up with is inspired by his tainted hatred of all things of the left and all that they stand for. His views on climate change and his continual mocking of those who stand by it are a case in point. So too are his opinions on Aboriginal issues. I disagree with his views and I would argue that they are based on ignorance, with a sprinkle of ‘hate for the left’ thrown in for good measure.

I find that he hardly writes about anything without resorting to his legendary ‘left bashing’.

I was directed to an article he wrote today titled Will Kevin Rudd be likewise asked to denounce this disgusting abuse? and whilst he grasped every opportunity to have a go at the left I feel his criticism of it was valid. The article is produced in full below.

Some crank carries a sexist sign at a rally against the carbon tax. Journalists and Labor turn on Tony Abbott.

A restaurateur creates a sexist menu for the private amusement of his son. Journalists and Labor turn on Tony Abbott.

A broadcaster at a private dinner makes a nasty crack (for which he apologises) about Julia Gillard’s father dying of shame. Journalists and Labor turn on Tony Abbott.

Anonymous trolls post abuse on the Facebook site of a Muslim Labor MP. Journalists and Labor demand a response from Tony Abbott.

The rank attempts to smear-by-association are offensive enough. Just as telling, though, is the hypocrisy of so many of the Left who hyperventilate over the insults of trolls when aimed at Labor, but cheer and book seats for even worse insults by prominent people when aimed at Abbott:

STAND-UP comedian Josh Thomas has been criticised after making sexually explicit remarks about Tony Abbott’s mother.

The TV star courted controversy after he publicly tweeted to the Opposition Leader’s official account: ”Stop the boats? I would prefer it if you stopped YO MOMMA from comin’ round my place at night for sex. #Political”.

Thomas’ comments were yesterday broadcast to his more than 220,000 followers.

Should Kevin Rudd apologise for creating this climate of hate?

Should Rudd, Gillard and Labor generally denounce and distance themselves from this small sample of the vitriol hurled at Abbott and his family – and not just from the usual anonymous Internet trolls, but from ABC guests, ABC guest presenters, former Fairfax columnists and assorted others of the Left, so sure of their superior morality that they feel licensed to be more cruel and vicious than anyone they denounce:

And then there’s the utterly vile abuse from Labor speechwriter Bob Ellis, who deserves to be sued again by Abbott as he was before.

The hypocrisy is as sickening as the hatred.

UPDATE

The hypocrisy of the Left…

The ABC says it is deciding whether to allow Piers Akerman to return as an Insiders’ panelist after he (correctly) noted Canberra press gallery journalists had some time ago discussed false rumors about the sexuality of Julia Gillard’s boyfriend.

But it is happy to keep employing as an on-screen book reviewer Marieke Hardy, who wrote one of the above tweets and published something far more evil:

Marieke Hardy… is hired by the ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club as an expert in literary culture.

That alone tells us so much about the parallel decline of both our branch of that culture and the ABC itself. Here, for instance, is Hardy’s tweet on the Opposition Leader at his campaign launch:

“The most conservative instinct of all – the instinct to have a family’. Tony Abbott, I hope your cock drops off and falls down a plughole.

This now passes for sophisticated discourse among our fashionably educated barbarians. And so do these readers comments on her blog which Hardy to this day has refused to remove, despite being repeatedly reminded she should do so (the deletion of expletives is mine):

Lawrie said…
You mean you were within 5 metres of [then Opposition Leader Brendan] Nelson and you didn’t glass the c..t?You dropped the ball Fits…

Margi said…
I agree with Lawrie. You should have “glassed the c..t” Nelson. You should have taken a piece of glass and torn his face to shreds, only leaving trails of bloody skin dripping from his ugly face and then you should have glassed his ass and balls so much, you castrate him so he could never procreate with his wife. Furthermore, glass the c..t wife and their children, while you’re at it, because they don’t deserve to procreate and have any children themselves, those blood-sucking Liberal c..ts!

The hypocrisy. And with it the viciousness – endorsed by the political party which caters most to a tribalism which strips the “enemy” of their humanity:

When Howard was PM, Lindsay McDougall, of the band Frenzal Rhomb, got musicians to contribute to Rock Against Howard, a CD that included tracks such as John Howard is a Filthy Slut and Gun Him Down.

H-Block 101 sung this advice on handling such politicians:

F…ing c…, here’s a stunt.Kick him ‘til he’s dead.

Now guess who endorsed this muck?

Answer: Labor’s national president and a former premier, Carmen Lawrence, sent McDougall a warm note, declaring “It’s time to put an end to (Howard’s) regime of fear.” Greens leader Bob Brown also blessed the project, telling these barbarians how “mean, nasty and repressive” Howard was instead.

Even Peter Garrett, now Education Minister, said the CD was a “good idea”.

If I must be critical of his argument, it is his own absence of condemnation against the equally disgusting performances of those from his own side of politics.

But that’s not my point. It has long been the belief in the Fifth Estate that the ‘nastiest’ types generally dwell on the ‘right’ side of politics. I strongly believe this too and am one of the first to condemn the questionable behaviour that has become their trademark.

It is they who have set the bar of decency low. Whilst I don’t believe Andrew has made any attempt to recognise this, let alone condemn their behaviour, he has made it clear that he does not accept similar behaviour from the left.

Neither do I. I expect better from us. I don’t from them.

Tony Abbott’s pearls of wisdom

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Tony Abbott says some amazingly stupid things. His brain fart comments on gay people, women and climate change are some examples. Strolling around the internet I’ve managed to find some more pearls of wisdom that haven’t had the exposure of his more famous gaffes, and I happily present them here for your enjoyment.

Let’s start with this one:

The Opposition Leader said roads were critical to improving life across all facets of society.

“Better roads means better communities; better roads are good for our economy; they’re good for our society,” he said.

“They’re good for our physical and mental health.

“They’re even good for the environment because cars that are moving spew out far less pollution than cars that are standing still.”

So next time I feel a mental breakdown or the flu coming on I’ll visit a road. They are good for my health. We should all do it. Roads do good things for Australians.

I know what he was really trying to say, but let’s face it, he stuffed it up. This next one is a real gem:

Ever since I was old enough to understand the term, I have regarded myself as a conservationist.  As a child, I used to play in the gullies and creeks surrounding the Lane Cove National Park. I wasn’t as careful then as now about protecting fauna, such as the red-bellied black snake, but I loved the bush for its potential for adventure and sense of solitude.In the valley behind our house, I first learnt to sleep under the stars. On canoeing trips, I learnt to read a map. On student bush walks, I developed a sense of direction.

As I said over at The AIMN, he no longer kills red-bellied black snakes and despises people who keep lights on. No wonder people such as Andrew Bolt rate him more credible than most of the world’s scientists. Scientists spend at least three years studying at university to become knowledgeable in their field. Tony Abbott reads maps. While floating down a river. How could you doubt him? How could you doubt a person who has a sense of direction because he walked in the bush yet needs a map to paddle a canoe?

This one is interesting:

Tony Abbott says he now has the “authority” to keep election promises. He admitted he had broken them in the past but said it was not his fault.

Well whose fault was it? Blame that ‘carbon tax’ I suppose.

I like this one:

Someone who’s earning $50,000 should be encouraged to move to $100,000.

Sounds fair enough to me. Tomorrow we’ll all line up to see the boss and ask for a $50K raise. Just tell him that Tony encouraged it (not that we’d need much encouragement).

This can’t be true:

Look, people should be polite to the Prime Minster. It doesn’t matter what they think of her policies or her government, they should be polite to her. That is the respect that the senior leadership of this country ought to be given and people certainly shouldn’t be disruptive of the Parliament.

Must be the new Tony we keep hearing about.

This is more like the old Tony:

Well, Kochie, I think the people of western Sydney want a plan, not a visit. They want a plan to ease cost of living pressures, a plan to ease traffic congestion and a plan to make the streets and community safer and the Coalition has real solutions to all these issues. We’ll build the WestConnex, we’ll end the carbon tax, we’ll stop the boats, we’ll stop the guns. Now, I think this is a big step forward for the people of Sydney.

Wow! How long have the boats been making it all the way to Western Sydney?

During a visit to Western Sydney (yes, the place where people shouldn’t visit) he said:

“We will bring in more trees and better soils, there will be incentives, not penalties and a green army for our degraded bushland and waterways under pressure”.

Where the hell are they going to pinch the trees from. Bring in from where? Maybe he’ll introduce a policy that all boat people have to bring a tree with them.

And finally:

I’ll be going to the National Press Club tomorrow (31 Jan). I’ll take questions then. Joe Hockey and Christopher Pyne will be taking media queries this afternoon.

History shows us that he ran away from questions asked.

I really don’t think Abbott tries to be an idiot. It just comes naturally.

(Tony Abbott – digital. Original 1200 x 1200px . © 2010, Andy Dolphin)

In my street there lives a German . . .

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The dust has settled somewhat over Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison’s suggestion that police to be notified when asylum seekers are released into the community. Well, almost settled. I understand that Julie Bishop defended him to the hilt on QandA last night, but I didn’t watch it for the sole reason she was on it. I hate the thought of someone staring daggers at me through the TV. In an act of self defence I might have kicked the TV all the way to the next postcode.

Despite the howls of protest that his comment attracted, Morrison has felt the need to defend it. As a community minded Australian I will jump to his defence and suggest that his dreamworld police state cover more than just asylum seekers.

Here’s one for him: A German lady lives in my street. She was a toddler when WW2 ended but I’m not taking any risks. She was a German in 1945 so that makes her a Nazi. Pay no attention to the fact that she’s lived in Australia for over 50 years and drapes the Australian flag over her gate on Australia Day and is the sweetest lady you’ll ever meet; she is a natural born killer. All Germans born before the end of the war are inherent murderers and lust to kill again. I’ll peep through her window to see if she wears a Gestapo jacket and report her to the police. I might just report her to the police anyway, after all, she has a distinctive Aryan look about her. And here’s the clincher to show how evil she is . . . she knows some Aborigines. She must be planning an uprising.

And speaking of Aborigines (and Andrew Bolt would love this one), how about we paint all ‘fair skinned’ Aborigines black so we know where they live? That would make me feel safer as I could avoid them or spend my days taunting them when I have a few mates around. They might be hard to see during the night so can we issue them with fluorescent jackets? I want to know if I need to cross the street if I see one approaching? Like all the LNP policies, this one should be a hit with the redneck voters. Perhaps we can paint Germans black too.

I’m not sure if many people in my street attend Church. This must go against Morrison’s ideology so can I suggest that these heathens be marked for life? Perhaps we could paint them black as well. I’d like to know if an Aborigine, German or heathen is loitering in the neighbourhood or standing near me in the check-out aisle at Coles. Disgusting people, these blacks.

Goodness, imagine a nation of black people.

OK, I’ve been silly with my suggestions but I invite you to do the same. Have some fun. 🙂

Tony Abbott: raising the bar of stupidity

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I must admit that I admire Tony Abbott for having the courage to continually demonstrate his extreme level of stupidity. Over the weekend he has leapfrogged local clowns such as Andrew Bolt, Alan Jones and Piers Ackerman and now sits alone on the top of the idiot tree. On the international scale, he is now in reach of George W Bush.

What put him there?

This, during his address at the City of Holdfast Bay Australia Day Awards and Citizenship Ceremony in Adelaide:

The first lot of Australians were chosen by the finest judges in England . . .

He really has raised the bar of stupidity, hasn’t he?

Mr Abbott, not only did Australia have an Indigenous population for 60,000 years, but the white settlement here in 1788 was to establish a penal colony. For goodness sake, even new-born babies know that one.

If only Mr Abbott would have listened to little Johnnie way back in 2007:

Prime Minister John Howard has described the “neglect” of history teaching in Australian schools as “shameful”, announcing that he would make the subject compulsory for all students in years 9 and 10.

Mr Howard said students would be made to attend 150 hours of Australian history lessons over two or three years from 2009.

The history guide, to be distributed across the nation, says it is intended for study in years nine and 10, but the first three of the 10 topics could start in year 8, it says.

Mr Howard said compulsory teaching of Australian history would be a condition of the next Commonwealth schools funding agreement with the states and territories, which begins on January 1, 2009.

Yes, Mr Howard, it is shameful. Just look how Tony Abbott turned out . . .

STUPID.

The village idiot

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A clearly agitated, nay disturbed Andrew Bolt thinks that Julia Gillard dumped Labor Senator Trish Crossin because she’s not black. Her replacement, Nova Peris, is. From his high horse dear Andrew cites how this flies in the face of the Racial Discrimination Act. He knows all about that Act; he himself having been found guilty of breaching it.

He might consider his ‘not being black’ statement to be a master-stroke of subtle revenge, but his subsequent rant about Julia Gillard’s contravention of the Act is a claim laced with extreme hypocrisy.

What did he have to say about this:

Mr Abbott said he was “very proud” that Mr Wyatt had entered federal politics as a member of the Coalition but said he hoped Northern Territory indigenous MP Alison Anderson would also join his team in order to better represent “the ancient cultures of central Australia”.

Mr Abbott flew to Alice Springs on the weekend to try to persuade Ms Anderson to run in the Country Liberal Party preselection race for the federal seat of Lingiari

It is understood Mr Abbott approached Ms Anderson about standing for preselection in Lingiari over breakfast on Sunday.

Absolutely nothing. It’s only a problem when the Prime Minister seeks an Indigenous representative.

Andrew Bolt is an idiot. Mike Carlton of the Sydney Morning Herald goes so far as to call him Melbourne’s village idiot. But Mike doesn’t go far enough.