A Plucky Woman.
The punters predict we’ll have a change of NSW Government happening this Saturday. It should not happen, but change is ‘in the air’, the pundits are saying. In fact a ’rout’ is predicted. It has always been a mystery to me that people change political sides when it comes to Federal versus State voting. The philosophical difference between parties become secondary, and alliances or allegiances are thrown overboard at the drop of a hat or election.
Perhaps for many, the slip and slide from one to the other are chained to their ingrained notions that whoever promises the most in material wellbeing will get their vote. They, the voters, are indeed an unpredictable lot and don’t seem to have much of an idea of remaining faithful to their beliefs.
Of course, anyone with even the slightest notion of judging people would never waver when it comes in a choice between the present leaders of the NSW main parties. No matter what the past or indeed the future; it is a no-brainer. When it comes to sheer power, strength, determination and a core of unwavering strongly held beliefs, KRISTINA Keneally is heads above any other possible choice. Despite all odds against her, she stays the course, totally un-perplexed of fazed. She is a winner even if she loses.
Most people that change their political alliances do so because they have been told by the opposition that things are bad or will become even worse if they stay with the present government. In state election, the opposition parties demonize and demolish, but rarely come with better policies. We have always known that.
Voters also sit in traffic, trains, or busses, for hours and hours, and blame the prevailing political party. They are miffed about relationships, the loss of their favorite football teams, the cost of bananas, and blame the present party. All of a sudden though, like a conjuror pulling fifty porkers out of a hat, promises fly like pigs from all sides. The wavering voter takes it hook line and sinker and changes; vote in the party with the largest bag of promises. And so it goes…
Desperately trying to fend off stroppy feminists who seem to gravitate to insults whenever women are praised for their sex; dare I say also, that at no stage in Australian politics has a female ever displayed the charms and cheer pizzazz on a level of Kristina.
Ok. Let fly now, become ropeable and give males heaps.
She carries herself presidentially and looks into the camera without fear or hesitation. Her dress sense is superb and at no stage is she at all concerned about how she comes across. She KNOWS her stuff, walks like a model but nothing is deliberate for effect or even votes.
There is no doubt we are looking at a future premier in Kristina, if not now, next time around. That’s if she sticks around on NSW but I wouldn’t like to wager that she might cast eyes federally, if not presidentially as well. We might be running ahead here a little but…. What would Australia be like, finally taking the jump and govern on own feet, ditching the Governors and get our own Head of State?
We love royal weddings and he is a Prince Charming, but would he mind if we dumped the lot of them and go for one of our own. Kristina would be as regal as anyone. Make her a queen if you like. Better still, a future President.
We’ll watch this Saturday’s voting in NSW, (with baited breath,) but am betting Kristina will be the winner even if she loses.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
Who says people don’t like plucky women; this one has got 150 comments and it has been clicked on 389 times, hopefully also read that many times, there is so much of the other nothingness in there…nothingness or silliness that we piglets are so good at 🙂
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But all those for whom the word ‘Socialism’ is not a hollow sound but the content of their moral life – forward! Neither threats nor persecutions nor violations can stop us! Be it even over our bleaching bones the future will triumph! We will blaze the trail for it. It will conquer! Under all the severe blows of fate, I shall be happy as in the best days of my youth; because, my friends, the highest human happiness is not the exploitation of the present but the preparation of the future.”
— Leon Trotsky, ‘I Stake My Life’, opening address to the Dewey Commission, 9 February 1937 [60][61]
Sadly, ‘a sever blow of fate’ for Leon Trotsky was the ice pick embedded in his brain by an assassin sent by Stalin all the way to Mexico.
Frida Kahlo sobbed for years.
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It’s a wonder he did not die of hyperbolic rhetoric.
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5:15…and cruisin on the coast with your resident DJ.
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From The ABC: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow believed that foreign powers did not have the right to arm the rebels under the mandate approved by the UN Security Council.
Russia had an arms supply contract with Gadaffi worth $1.8 billion…signed recently.
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And in other news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12900555
Special correspondents, ant, Mulga and granny, have said that it is a CIA plot.
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“She is a winner even if she loses.”. That’s a very lovely sentence for me. I want to be a winner even when I lose. It’s a difficult place to be, a losing place. There are as many if not more moral quandaries to deal with, in a very different way. Small decisions to make but all as important and life-defining as the decisions one makes from a high place.
There seem to have been some disagreements on this page. Would anyone like a drink? I’ve got some cheap home-brew here.
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Gerard I was very interested to read the article. Kristina has a fine public speaking manner whatever anybody thinks of her politics and behaves as we were taught to at Rostrum and Lions, debating clubs and societies, presenting ourself at piano examinations and so on, using the microphone easily and addressing people and the camera in a manner that is conscious of grace and diplomacy. She appears to be physically fit and walks in a natural and pleasant way, manages stress well, clearly.
It is not usual to give credit where it is due in so much that is current in our Australian society and I thank you for giving me the pleasure of reading something that is pleasant starting point for a conversation
I am always disappointed that squabbles about Unleashed being good or bad seem to inevitably find their way to the Pig’s Arms Bar. I honestly believed when I joined the Arms that a number of people who are patrons of the Arms were emigres from Unleashed, who were disenchanted with any environment where people call each other ‘”Fool!” and say things akin to ‘Your wit is not worth custard.’ I have to exercise levels of tolerance I had not expected of myself reading sometime eruption of problems regards Unleashed. Usually I disregard them having just read any reference to Unleashed.
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Well,
Thank you Shoe. I am not always so benevolent. Kristina is so much out or above the ‘norm’, that I wanted to say so. Watching Q@A last night I was also struck by Tanya Plibersek MP
Calm, confident and direct.
The abuse by some leaders, especially T.Abbott is just beyond the pale and I have trouble not thinking he might have a physical problem. It could be hypo or even hyper thyroiditis. Those with the glandular trouble can sometimes react badly or over react. I had a sister in law who used to scrub floors and have the cloth dryer going day and night without reason.
Also Abbott’s gait seems to get worse and this could also be linked to thyroiditis or, if not that, a shocking case of an out of control and roaring Jock-itch, whereby the rocking walk from side to side might give some itchy testicular relief.
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Nobody has insulted anyone in here.
Vivienne disliked my reference (from T.SMH) to the cover up of the real debt that the ALP had incurred. 2 or 3 billion dollars (I think).
She took it personally for some reason, so I am left wondering if she or a close member of her family is part of The Labor Party apparatus.
It is the ‘first time’ in here that anyone has been reprimanded for posting an opinion── and then includes Hung’s Shiraz blip.
We are all friends. Nothing is personal: except a fraternal love!
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It was the mindless comments prior to and after the link to the SMH which annoyed me together with your follow up which was personal. I think slanging off the Labor Party rants should be left to Unleashed. I also think comments here should be informative, funny and friendly. And I repeat, there is no $2, 3 or $4million debt – a shortfall in GST and a couple of other items – I just can’t stand repetition of a headline exaggeration when the contents are a totally different story.
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Umm, Vivienne. Oh, never mind. Only … did you mean to say slanging off ANY political party? Or did you really mean to say slanging off the Labor party? Because, from where I stand, that would look like political censorship. Don’t you agree?
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Yes, Labor or any political party.
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The solution might be that we forget about party politics and try and get results on a basis of getting good administrators on board.
The party system,especially the Westminster method seems to get bogged down on verbally fighting to gain power. Listening to the English Government yesterday, it was the same sort of shouting at each other, leering and sneering, and generally behaving in a bullying manner.
Also a similar figure,seated somewhat higher, also keeps saying ‘order,order but no one does. It just seems a ritual based on something very ancient and ‘Knights of the round table’ kind of thing.
I mean, looking at Abbott, he seems to suffer from hormonal imbalance, yet I know that as a man, he couldn’t possibly be suffering from raging pre- monthly troubles or anything like that. So, it has to be that (some) leaders, when they gain power, get hormonal surges anyway and go all bananas and ga ga and totally forget what they are therefor in the first place.
A bottom up governing never happened when communism rose to power, instead dreadful and very menacing repressive governments took control.
There has to be some sample of good governing somewhere that we can look to. Is Cuba fine, Finland better, Japan?
I still think for Twiggy to have become the richest man in Australia just because he got his hand on a resource that I would have thought belonged to all of us, isn’t right.
So, Capitalism in its extreme form as practised here and in America isn’t, can’t be working when most of the wealth ends up away from most.
In Norway, most of it’s wealth of resources, oil and gas, goes directly back to the Norwegian society. People still get rewarded for individual efforts. Obscene wealth such as that of Twiggy, is just not possible there.
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Law of Logical Argument – Anything is possible if you don’t know what you are talking about.
My ire and subsequent short tempered response, was a probable, latent, discontent with some of the posters in UNleashed.
The incessant name calling, and derogatory descriptions of Abbott, Howard, Costello and Downer, haven’t worried me one iota. In fact it is right up my street and I have chuckled immensely over the last three years, or so.
Some of the language and invented adjectives and nouns, have been just beautiful to behold. And I can assure you, that I have a treasure chest of vocabulary of my own, that has not seen light of day. Mainly because I write quickly and don’t go looking outside of whatever comes to mind. And I’m too stubborn to change it.
However what has recently got my goat in UL is all of the nerdy, bumptious, prigs calling the voters rednecks, stupids and more.
I have talked to some of them. Tradies who do stuff, Pub people from all walks, shopkeepers, wait-persons, hairdressers, ect, ect.
They do NOT understand AGW, or how the tax will fix it. Insulting them will drive them into Abbott’s codling arms.
Of course anyone who knows me, realises that, my belief is that will translate to a Victory for The Liberals and a leadership (Liberal) change. I don’t know when that will be of course .
But I will hammer it home by fair means or foul.
OK.
It is hypocritical to do that while denigrating the Pollies, using even worse adjectives.
So I have vented my spleen: there; and here.
Capiche?………………………….. Great to see so many responses to gerard’s clever article . Congratulations.
Cook off at 20 paces Viv? your cooked crab v my crab souffle?
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Of course I meant that it was hypocrite to complain about Abbott, and then take umbrage when the voters hold up placards.
Nobody blamed Tony Benn for the Gerald Scarfe visages and flag burnings at his rallies. It’s just the voter’s antics.
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Nup.
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Cook off?
Nup!
A wise decision.
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“The solution might be that we forget about party politics ”
OK, whoever you are. Stop using gerard’s name and email.
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Good morn, Voice,
I left you a note (in this blog), to assuage your concern obout the recounting of my nocturnal work to my progeny.
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I suppose that I should say projies, in Oz?
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Really, JL! No, I had no concerns for the potential corruption of the morals of your young. Like most people, I was really thinking about myself.
My father used to tell some stories of his youth, and I was thinking now I’m older that I wish I’d been more interested at the time or asked some more questions.
Not that I’m sure I have a lot of interest in all the details of my father’s early life, because I still see him more as my father than as a human being, if that makes sense. But apart from having some good stories, it was a window into a hugely different bygone era that no longer exists, although it wasn’t so long ago at the time he was telling the stories.
Although I am going to confess to the vaguely moralistic thought that if you could drink even half that much and still walk, that would be a worry.
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P.S. I think Warrigal WOULD have been interested about the band stuff, but now the page has been split he’ll never find it. It doesn’t seem that it would take that long to post it as a story. In fact, I wouldn’t put it past the literarily perfidious Emmjay to do just that, removing the opportunity to flesh it out from your control, if you don’t get in first. 🙂
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(Twiggy) Andrew Forrest also imported the first (second) batch of alpacas which he then promoted to the legal world and others as a handy tax scheme. Trouble was, the law on farm income changed and you had to show a profit on the alpacas before you could claim losses on other income.
It folded and his half sister here in Bowral is now running the Alpaca Shop& shows, and flogging the remainders of herd and progeny.
The real hero of alpaca importations was a bloke called Charles Ledger who took herds across the Andean mountains and imported them into Australia back in 1885. Oddly, enough they also ended up near the Oostermans on a property now run by NSW Uni, called Arthursleigh. The stumps of the shed were they were shorn still exist. He also discovered the benefits of quinine. His grave was discovered not long ago at Rookwood.
From Wikki: Ledger returned to South America in 1864 and turned his attention to another problem. The cinchona tree, the bark of which yields quinine, grew in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, but the export of either trees or seeds was prohibited. The trees were being wastefully cut down without being replaced, and there was some danger that they might become extinct. Some seeds and plants had been introduced into Europe and Asia by Hugh Algernon Weddell in 1848, and Sir Clements Markham went later to Peru, and Bolivia, and succeeded in acclimatizing trees in Asia and the Dutch East Indies.
Ledger, however, found a better variety for producing quinine, now known as Cinchona ledgeriana, and in 1865 under great difficulties collected several pounds of seed and sent them to his brother George Ledger in London. For his share in this work Ledger’s servant, Manuel, was arrested in Bolivia and so severely beaten that he died. The seed was sent to London where some of it was purchased by the Dutch government. Seeds were also sent to India and Queensland but the trees do not appear to have been grown in Australia. In 1883 Ledger went to Sydney again and in 1884 took a farm 20 miles (30 km) from Goulburn, New South Wales.
Gerard Now: This farm was Arthursleigh where Ledger also took his alpacas. We, almost lived next door to that place.
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http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/state-election-2011/labor-cooked-the-books-20110328-1cdjl.html
Just as the sun comes up and goes down….sooo doth Labor screw this (and my old) country.
Rudd/Gillard the same. It’s a never ending saga of incompetence and lies!
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It’s Barry’s predicted figure over 3 or 4 years. The actual current shortfalls are probably within the normal fluctuation cycle.
I’m finding your recent comments here rather offensive. Better save them for Unleashed. I think just repeating Liberal slogans is very unimaginative.
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THIS ARTICLE IS WRITTEN ABOUT THE NSW ELECTION.
So my comment is relevant. This is not a left or right site. It is open to all comers..
You can go and write about food in the appropriate blog.
If you want me to be offensive, I can. …..But do not try to censor my posts.
If there is any part of that, that you do not understand, I cannot help you further.
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Maybe so but you have managed to bring in Federal politics, AGW, carbon tax etc into comments on the NSW election. Now you bring up the stupid furphy of my wanting to censor you and I said no such thing. You can write what you like but I don’t think you need to be impolite to make a point. Nor do you need to insinuate that I have no understanding or that my place is just my food column. Shouting is also unnecessary.
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110317102552.htm
You both might like to look at this. Seems to be pretty apt to me. Apparently we become kinda hardwired about “others” and no-where is this more apparent, in my humble view, than in the arena of politics. We are, all of us, too quick to parrot the simplistic slogans of our political allegiances. too slow to be stirred to serious debate about actual problems.
Bad politics is our responsibility. We allowed it. Shouldn’t we be able to revoke the license?
The first step is to think for ourselves and then demand that those that are given the privilege of representing us, actually represent our views, not some knocked together bit of jimcrack spin designed to hide the fact that the old power game continu8es behind closed party room doors.
Party politics is the problem not the solution.
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Thanks for that Warrigal – interesting stuff. I still think we should all endeavour to remain civil, polite and original in all we say here. Maybe I expect too much.
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i don’t mind political bantering when it stays humorous, but i absolutely detest the ugliness of abbott’s latest stunt which was really aimed to reach the lowest of the already low …
then reading endless articles by some gavin and the rest, on the abc, yes on the abc ,makes me want to puke…
our governments and the opposition fight and prevent anything good from being achieved, then the opposition wins the elections and it starts again…
ps. surely the liberals have better behaving people than abbott, he makes me dream of howard…
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Exactly so Helvi. It is just that you know who is not bantering or showing any humour. Abbott is just showing his true self and it is not a pretty sight – just very bad behaviour.
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I’m off to walk the dogs. At least they don’t disparage the working class for not understanding AGW.
Love Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mitch & Titch!xxx
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What is AGW, Checky Munkee. I am myself not the working class having generally my feet up somewhere at first opportunity, but I am not good with acronyms.
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QED.
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