The Dump

The Dump is:
For posting comments that don’t get up at the Drum, and for having a pleasant, mirthful or enlightening off-topic discussion.
It’s not for personal abuse of other commenters.
Please do that somewhere else if you must.
Play nicely or piss off.
However, why doesn’t a poster add a link for us to read and comment on here, much quicker. Maybe we can do a bit more bagging here, not that I speak for the moderators, yet.

NB: Being tiresome and boring, racist, sexist or just plain creepy is not playing nicely.

give a crap

———-

The Pig’s Arms exists because a dozen or so years ago our other favourite playpen – the ABC’s Unleashed blogsphere started to go off.  Like a sack of prawn heads  in the sun.  Something had to be done.

Moderation was taking forever.  Comments seemed to be rejected randomly – outrageous ones appeared and reasoned ones were pinged.   When they released the Drum / Unleashed ….. things actually got worse !

So many pieces from professional writers appear with no obvious merit.  And the moderation has become, to put it frankly, appalling.

As a former contributor and a commenter, I was deeply disappointed at the plummeting quality from our pre-eminent media empire.  And I resented so many challenging or dare I say, witty or funny posts in which we’ve invested seconds of our precious time – getting the chop.

So here, for all our benefit – is an open slather blog.  Copy and paste your best rejected comments here for posterity.  Does not matter whether you’re posting on the Guardian, First Dog on the Moon or wherever else.

And sprinkle pointers to the Pig’s Arms amongst your comments.  Let’s try to rescue some of the old faithful.

Cheers,

Emm.

15242 thoughts on “The Dump”

  1. Warrigal's avatar Warrigal said:

    If UnleashedDrum is so problematic for you all why do you bother? It’s a serious question.

    Since I turned my back on it some time ago I have not regretted it once, nor have I more than once or twice bothered to go back and even then only to check something I might have offered earlier, never to actually bother to respond.

    As far as I can make out the dumbing down and strangling of comment on UnleashedDrum was perhaps the leading edge of all the push to the right that has become so obvious in the rest of the ABC.

    I really don’t get it.

    Like

  2. Red Symonds's avatar Red Symonds said:

    Jayell :

    21 Jun 2010 9:55:12am

    What we want in a economically, globally dependent world is ‘business attraction’ and the jobs that secures.
    Julian, managed to give Meetoo another body-blow.

    Abbot, although born in the UK–as Gillard was too, is as Australian as budgie-smugglers.

    The notion that he wants Australia run by foreign corporations, is just nonsense Arthur.

    He is not my choice of leader. I would prefer Malcolm. However he speaks English; and Rudd seems to speak a sort of Alien lingo, called meetoo, dreaming up failure after failure. A few more months of Rudd, and Clive ‘Bunteresque’ Palmer will look like a “Redeemer”.

    Like

  3. I am wondering how to put one over on the moderators at UL.

    One of my posts about eating pudgy clergy was there for a while and then got nuked.

    So they either have a checking moderator, or a system of posting without checking (except for swear words, maybe?)– and visit it later.

    I wish that I could post after they’ve checked….Mmm, now how would that work?

    Or maybe an anogram–and give a hint in another blog?

    It’s all out guerilla warfare now.

    Like

    • You and Emmjay persist stubbornly with this hypothesis of sentience of the moderators. I believe they automatically pick the posts to drop with a computer program based on a random number generator.

      Like

      • Rubbish! They pick on me because their moderators are part of the communist apparatus that runs the ABC.

        It has to be group-think: their way or the highway.

        I am surprised that they allowed me to publish SIX HUNDRED PROVOCATEURS, four times.

        They (the moderators) removed a whole sentence the other day…Bastards…..I said BASTARDS!

        I spotted HtC in there somewhere by the way….Unless it was an Emmjay version.

        Like

        • Nope, I promise, cross my heart that I have NEVER done a HtC post. I DO admire the spoonerism, however, hugely.

          I have to admit obtuseness, here Jules. I have no understanding of the 600 provocateurs reference.

          Remove the veil from mine eyes, silver plate.

          Like

      • Nah … it’s just that you can’t tell the difference between someone with no brains and a communist.

        Like

        • Voice, is the “you” here referring to Julian, or the more general “one” ? Communists fart a lot because of the beans. Oh, sorry, I’m confusing vegetarians with communists again. Not sure what stupid people smell like.

          Like

    • I’m a big fan of acrostics, Jules

      Telegraph Every Lazy Lizard To Hide Every Minute Tiny Ocelot Gerbera Every Tiger Forcefully Under Catnip Kept Essentially Desiccated

      Like

    • Vivienne's avatar Vivienne said:

      On a slightly different topic, anyoneelse here totally sick to death of the time wasters on ABC – the idiot conductor, the girl and the guitar, the farmer growing plants on his hand, the SES bloke and so on. The conductor is driving my family nuts – all scream in unison – turn it off, NOW. Emmjay – an Unleashed article on this would be fanbloodytastic.

      Like

      • Excellent idea, Viv ! I’ll do what I can. How about a pisstake on Will Anderson’s Gruen Transfer pisstake of the ludicrous ABC TV time-wasting fillers ?

        I’m with you. At the risk of sounding coarse, those irritating fillers really shit me to tears too.

        Now I have no trouble at all not reading Unleased or watching ABC News, current affairs. I find the stuff Juanita Phillips reads us in the evening banal beyond belief. These days I’m getting most of my understanding of the news of the world through First Dog on the Moon cartoons at Crikey.

        Last night, even our 12 year old gave the ABC a miss – when Dr Who was on ! Why ? He said it was a waste of time.

        The saddest thing for me is that the ABC was hitting its straps for a while there a couple of years ago, but now seems to have descended into chaos at so many levels that it’s become a sad parody of News Limited. So much for a Howard-stacked board.

        Like

      • Red Symonds's avatar Red Symonds said:

        It’s all the lefties, making silly comments 🙂

        Like

      • Gruen transfer article tip: Include a paragraph on Mr “I’m too sexy for my self”, sometimes fondly (or otherwise) nicknamed Mr “Sexy Voice”. Now if I could come up with two words meaning the same thing with the initials TS that’s half the article written for you.
        Not touting for encouragement BTW. It won’t hit my priority list.

        Like

      • Vivienne's avatar Vivienne said:

        Thanks Emmjay. Whatever you think might actually get up on
        Unleashed. I really just want those fillers OFF. Agree with
        you about deterioration of ABC news. We now get soccer in the news section instead of sport section and there is less analysis. I can’t see how this 24 hour News thing is going to be any good for us. It is a worry.

        Like

        • Viv, I reckon that regarding soccer as news is entirely emblematic of the ABC being as populist as all the commercial stations. Mindless guff.

          And SBS has advertisements. Nowhere to turn.

          On the brighter side, ignoring the ABC – but maybe not totally – is a big time saver.

          ABC radio has been dodgy for a long time, but 702 has become unlistenable these days. Sometimes Radio national is good, but patchy.

          Like

  4. That’s a great idea. I can just imagine: Suicide police; Cafés with bomb launchers; 11 year old recruits constables with Kaleshnikovs, not to mention kidnappings and be-headings. Not your best idea Arctic Artist.

    Probably Not!

    Like

  5. This one to Steve Keen’s Blog on the imminent collapse of the property market…….

    Complications, complications. Compulsory super means the forced savings have to go somewhere >> buoying share market demand ….. and maybe real estate too – where the lump sum payouts can leave one with a debt free house and zip liquidity.

    Then we can do a reverse mortgage and dump the debt on the kids set to inherit a shrinking pie.

    And all the while we have the skimmers – the fund managers, the mortgage holders, the financial advisers, the ATO, sorry I meant the State Treasuries – the Kings of Stamp Duty.

    I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Get off my back, you bludgers.

    Like

  6. Hudson Godfrey :

    16 Jun 2010 3:01:40pm

    Jayell,

    I’m bemused to think that you don’t care to deride the article itself as waffle. It makes so few points we haven’t heard before at far greater length and from a particularly jaundiced perspective that I’m trying to break down here by refuting the rationale behind it.

    When I set about describing what I think are the prerequisites for peaceful negotiation I did not include things like an armistice for some very good reasons. I think that we should acknowledge the differences between how we regard the people of regions and their governments such as to say that I don’t think that disagreements between the erstwhile rulers of countries ever justifies actions against entire populations. Moreover I don’t think that the quaint concept of an armistice as it may pertain to open warfare really means a great deal while terror tactics and oppressive security won’t be taken out of play by any such agreement. To even have agreement you have to negotiate so what I appeal to are recognitions of one another’s rights in even those preliminary negotiations.

    Be very clear also that I’m appealing to genuine negotiations for peace between independent peoples sharing territory and dividing it between them. The peace that I’m speaking to isn’t just the mere sense of calm that settles over a prison when the inmates stop rioting. Unless and until Palestinians are freed under their own reconnaissance as it were then I think there will be ongoing friction and any armistice just won’t hold. How to get the sides to a point where they agree and trust one another enough to do that is the burning question, and one in my view that can probably only happen if neutral peacekeepers step in.
    ………………………………………..

    I’m sure that Hudson use to write for ‘Yes Minister’…Sir Hudson Appleby?? Anyway I’ll read it again… yawn

    Like

    • Again?! Are you some kind of masochist? I didn’t get past the first line.

      Like

      • I just felt in the mood to tell him that he waffles. Which he does.

        Oops, had to go to watch another Qld try, in the rugby league. I am not really a fan , but the State Of Origin, is always worth a look.

        Like

  7. On HG’s delightful blog, Armin di Nihill said

    “H, or should I say, Sir H ? You’ve put this one right in the slot. We need a game plan that comes off in NapiSan.

    Is it true that there’s a bit of excavation going on at Johnny Warren’s place ?

    Like

  8. I see Abdul, got a guernsey on the front page, with his Enid Blyton comment…Ha ha!

    Like

    • Go you good thing! You’re still there.

      Like

      • Childhood poem?

        Like

      • Nooo Blyton was a story teller. And I (my pseud) made an illusion to A Kenj sycophant!

        Like

      • I know Blyton. I though Abdul might be your abbreviation for Abdul Abulbul Amir.

        Like

      • Oh I see.

        Yes you’re correct. I is.

        My Dad bought an EP, homre to Djakarta years ag. I can’t remember who sang it, but it had Frankie & Johnnie and Abdull Abulbul Amir on it.

        How astute of you to recognise that it was from a song. I use it stir things up on The Israeli blog. It gives ant, appoplexy.

        I’ll just go and hunt for a YouTube version to post.Ha ha,..,.,.

        Like

      • Found it. It was Frank Crumit.

        It also had Gay Caballero on. Before the ‘queer connotation I suppose.

        Sounded scratchy, but was a good reminisce!

        Like

  9. I have been getting this since last night,

    Do you thin g I’m banned?

    “”Sorry, Page not Found

    The page you are looking for, “http://www.abc.net.au/tmb/View/NewMessage.aspx” cannot be found. It might have been removed, had its name changed, or be temporarily unavailable.

    Please try the following:

    * If you typed the page address in the Address bar, check the spelling and use of upper-case and lower-case letters.

    * Click the Back button on your browser to try another link.

    * Go to the ABC Home Page and look for links to the information you want.

    * Use the ABC Online search engine:””

    Like

    • The simple fact is that they still have intermittent faults in their comments system. Which makes me sceptical about their ability to do targeted censorship.

      Like

      • Proof positive of censorship VoR. In a comment on the Iranian Green story I had to add another comment to replace what I was trying to say. They did print the 2nd comment, so at least they recognised what they had done.

        Like

      • Please excuse me Julian; I’m whacked. Wrestling with TOTALLY CRAPPY Microsoft development software and just did a dummy spit on one of their forums.

        Yes I know they drop comments sometimes, but that’s way different from tampering with them. Whether it’s censorship or not is hard to judge because there’s little rhyme or reason.

        I need a sense of humour recharge. Totally flat.

        Like

      • Show us your tits.

        Like

      • ROFL

        Like

      • Hey! The ROFL was for Julian’s comment, not Emmjay’s. Believe it or not Emmjay mate, although I wasn’t really on the floor I DID LOL. I needed that.

        Like

      • I think that we should have a ladies’ lounge face off comp. Between ViV and VoR.

        Like

      • I forgot to mention I’ve passed that baton onto Vivienne, JL. But I have fond mammaries of past exchanges (apologies to Bob Hope).

        Like

      • Emmjay you’re always getting between me and Julian. Worse than Madeleine! 🙂

        Like

    • Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

      me too Julius

      Like

    • Come on you guys, you can see Julian has a big problem here. Finland has gone into recession, there is a huge oil spill in the US, Iran has new sanctions applied by the UN, children are starving by the millions. Now will one of you please attend to Julians’ urgent need straight away. Free drinks all round once Julian gets his 5 minutes of fame on U/L

      Like

    • Vivienne's avatar Vivienne said:

      You can’t post any comments today. Page refuses to work. The maintenace person must be on a RDO.

      Like

  10. On the ditzy Annie O’Rourke article about KRudd; trying again with final paragraph removed:

    If spending more is an achievement I must change to a more expensive plumber.

    In a list of seven ‘achievements’ one hasn’t happened (Paid Parental Leave), five are spending increases, one is hot air (the apology) and as for the final one I hope you are not really suggesting that Rudd appointed those people because they are women. Yes I know that adds up to eight; the apology was combined with a spending increase in your list.

    Here is the definition of achievement: Successful completion, accomplishment. It says nothing about how much money you spend.

    Adviser about what? Who do you have to know to get THAT job? Your inclusion makes the photo of Rudd look good.

    [And here’s what I would have added if I was speaking my mind: But try not to say or write anything that might be made public.]

    Like

  11. My last post to Ant on Brull’s blog, was posted…..But, heavily censored. It left me with sentences starting in lower case–and a quarter of the post deleted.

    I think that they are getting above themselves, when they change the whole gist.

    I haven’t been able to say what I wanted to.. What’s the point??

    Like

    • I have just looked again and realised that they have deleted the odd word that I wrote in capitals, to emphasise. Yet they aloud capitals in Anon’s post.

      I mean a harmless word like NOW, has been completely deleted.

      Like

      • The NOW that they have left is one of THREE NOWS..haha

        Like

      • Wow! I am totally shocked. Like totally. Omitting comments is one thing. Changing them is another. Are you sure? I mean, it’s not like they even bother to run their own intros thru a spell-checker. They don’t bother to get their author’s names correct. Hard to believe they’d bother changing a comment. Not that I DON’T believe you if you are sure.

        Like

      • Well, it appears that they have deleted sentences, not words.

        I haven’t kept a copy so I’ll have to leave it till I can catch them out—since I can’t remember everything that I wrote, verbatim!

        Like

      • Anyway it’s all Ant’s fault. If he would only refrain from writing such convoluted drivel, I wouldn’t have to address it!

        Like

      • Drivel is too complimentary.

        Like

    • Geez Jewlian, you are taking on an intellectual giant there in Ant, you are punching below your weight there. reckon between you and all your pseuds, ya just don’t have a brain between the lot of yez.

      Like

      • You should invite him in for some Pigs’ ‘cold-comfort’.

        He should feel right at home there–able to strike up a conversation with the more ardent socialists.

        Perhaps he may even come up with one sentence that spans all 7 continents, and how The Zionists plan to dominate, by shovelling poppies and oil pipelines down peoples’ nannies.

        Like

  12. Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

    Here’s a reply to Elijah Thomas on Kellie’s piece about the liberal party being a crock of shit.

    What’s the matter ET, still having your fair share of chin nuts I see.

    Like

  13. Comment by Armin di Nihill on mark Pesce’s piece on why he’s bailed out of Facebook.

    Close, but no cigar, Mark.

    The right piece to write was “Why I have never bothered with Facebook or Twitter”.

    It would be a mercifully short piece.

    “Because they are a total waste of time habituated by mindless turkeys”

    Like

  14. On the premise that one of you is rork, I am just logging that I have made 3 attempts to reply. All censored.

    It can only be that they are watching the maill addresses. They must be on an alert list at ABysmail dot Com.

    Like

    • Dunno. I thought it was RonK.

      Nobody I know, Jules.

      Moderation seems to have moved from severe and random to totally psycho. I suspect that they are tracking IP addresses, since I used to use lots of different (and easily spotted) pseuds and bogus Email addresses.

      To check this, send a few comments from another machine – say down at the library or Internet cafe – using fake names but your usual Email address.

      Like

      • Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

        Not me. I must admit that after years of being Hung One On I do now have a few aliases but I always try to let the piglets know that its me e.g. one I sometimes use is cHOOse or D.G. O’HOO or the one I had fun with a few weeks ago was Lleyton HOmOsexual being a dig at a certain tennis player.

        Like

        • Lleyton HOmOsexual was my favourite. I admire some things about him as a tennis player, but not the pfaff, self-boosting and bad sportsmanship. And I love a good pisstake.

          Like

      • Red Symonds's avatar Red Symonds said:

        Well it has to be one of youse.

        The Julian was written with a touch of familiarity.

        Like

      • Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

        Not me Red

        Like

      • HOO: Or “Michael Jones”?

        Like

    • Julian: What article, so I can check it out? If it’s any good I might claim it.

      Like

  15. I always thought that Australia was the largest (British)open air prison. Would you like cranberry jelly with your turkey and hamas?

    No chance, methinks. Not serious enough for Brull’s piece.

    Like

  16. Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

    Here’s one my alter ego Lleyton HOmOsexual posted about Julie Bishop becoming a lawyer

    I think it has something to do with her mouth as in where she puts it and what she does with it

    Like

  17. I replied to HOO on Gez’s blog; he said ‘Yo’, I replied under Ali G: ‘hey man have some respek!’

    The mods did not like it.They did not like me agreeing with The Yank that Emmjay was a spoilsport about Leonard Cohen…

    They are soo mean!

    Like

  18. Poor old Isosceles, can’t get a reply up to Hudson and Little M.

    The poor moderators can’t think outside the square.

    I mean fancy not knowing The Foodge and The Ditch.

    Like

  19. Bear Grills's avatar Bear Grills said:

    Unleashed terminates the right of reply and just has ‘alert moderator’, on older blogs.

    The only way to reply is to go to the top of the podium.

    Like

    • There’s no guarantee they will even continue to display comments on older blogs, or the blogs themselves for that matter.
      So if you have any sentimental favourites save them to disk. 🙂

      Like

  20. Algernon's avatar Algernon said:

    Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that unleashed allows blogs to run for a few days or so then appears to guillotine debate. Occasionally they allow the post of the day to get through. I was baiting Elijah on Colonel Blimpies site then nothing half a dozen posts just stopped.

    Like

    • Herman Hupfield's avatar Herman Hupfield said:

      Whaddya expect from a bunch of pinko journalists?

      Tories would never do that 🙂

      Like

    • Vivienne's avatar Vivienne said:

      Noticed all right. Buggered if can follow their modus operandi. I put a great comment on Haigh’s piece and it disappeared but a short one later makes it to the front page on Unleashed. I have been a bit quiet lately as been very busy in other areas and some of the topics and the content have been too depressing to comment on.

      Like

    • Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

      I find them very hard to follow

      Like

      • Algernon's avatar Algernon said:

        So do I. I put forward a cryptic piece on Bens weekly drone linking a certain outed pollie with the Liberal party in kahoots with a TV network. To my suprise they posted it.

        Eslewhere some of these sites have a use by date which no one knows about and nothing gets up, then they list them in the “hot topics” and “recent topic”. Very strange way to run a site.

        Like

  21. Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

    Helvi, Looks like Gordon wasn’t allowed to reply but this is basically what he said.

    Shape is probably the most important thing, curvaceous I suppose, as with shape size becomes irrelevant. A nice smile, articulate and honest with loyalty a must. Must like food wine and travel

    Like

    • That’s pretty mild from Gordon; I never know anymore what’s acceptable on UL.
      I was pretty cutting about Bruce H and Kevin D, and to my suprise they put it on the soapbox, maybe these days they like the political squabbling best.

      Like

  22. The Jay of Emm on Chris Fotinopolous’ Boat People Piece:

    Chris, no doubt Jessica W is a very special young woman, but I couldn’t help feel that we were all being pretty well stage managed to maximum benefit of her tribe. From dawdling up the coast to arrive on a Saturday, to the pre-packaged 60 Minutes piece.

    I think, as far as boat people go, Australia has very strict ideas about what is acceptable in the hull of the boat.

    As taxpayers we spent almost as much rescuing Tony Bullimore (was it twice ? – or was that Isobel Autissier) as we do keeping people from boats with low-tech hulls out.

    Next load of Afghani asylum seekers should come in a Ben Lexcen boat – they’d be welcomed, on winged keel.

    Like

  23. After John of Perth dropped a …. so there…… comment onto Father O’Way – sledging Ben Pobjie Armin di Nihill’s Self-promotional machine kicked in …

    John, I’m not sure whether you’ve missed the subtext, but many commenters, including me, have criticised Unleashed for being so narrow in the editorial perspective of what constitutes humour.

    It’s more than recycling predictable one-liners.

    Have you read a contribution from Sheridan Jobbins, Ian Shadwell or Mike Jones recently ?

    No I thought not – because their humour is that of a gentler era of Unleashed and they don’t seem to get many gigs here anymore.

    Like

  24. Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

    Here is a comment from UL that I would really love EVERYONE at the Pigs Arms to see

    VoR, I find your post disturbing. Everyone who needs medical attention thinks they need it straight away. Us “lower cost medical professionals” have a much better idea on who needs to be seen first, it’s called triage, I suggest you go and look it up.

    Furthermore, there is no time better than any other in an emergency department. Your immediate treatment for your aliment was one of two things, triage or luck.

    When I hear ill informed narrow vision comments from people like yourself it makes me feel sad that the treatment provided to you so quickly worked.

    Like

    • Oh dear, you forgot to post the comment. It’s so sad when people start drinking early in the day.

      Like

      • Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

        I’m amazed how you portray yourself as an expert when you have had such little exposure.

        When you drink at least you sober up. You have no hope of ever making any change.

        Like

      • Look, HOO, I feel bad for anyone who feels bad including you. You probably already know that it has little to do with me or any of the other people you slag off at online.
        Best Regards,
        Voice

        Like

      • Come’n you two, kiss and make up !

        Like

      • Mark's avatar Hung One On said:

        As usual, talking out your backside seems to be an uncontrollable habit for you Voice. The post appears on my version of UL how about you? If you feel I slagged you off then I am sorry however your pompous self righteous attitude attracts comments like mine. If you look another poster has said much the same.

        If you had ever worked in Cas you would know that it doesn’t matter if it’s 1 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon as people do stupid things any time for any reason. Ill informed snapshot views like yours don’t help anyone.

        Smoochy smoochy kiss kiss gush gush lovey dovey( How’s that H?)

        Like

      • Hey, your problem with my attitude is yours Hung. Get over it. Or not. Suit yourself.
        Yours Faithfully,
        Princess Voice
        XXXX

        Like

      • OK, OK, skip the kissing , what about just cool civility, for Emmjay’s sake you two ‘lovebirds’ 🙂

        Like

  25. Irving of Berlin's avatar Irving of Berlin said:

    Comment on Lord Haha’s comment on Ben’s Weekly crappoff:

    See me in my bunker after last period, Haha.

    Like

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