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.
———-
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.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
Ah, don’t you just love the censorship practiced over on the Drum…?
I recently had a whole post refused; probably because in it I suggested our mental health system and its shrinks had turned into little more than pushers for the big pharmaceutical companies, and that, as a result of a lack of funding, even if they wanted to do more for their clients, they would probably be unable to do so…
Now, much though I disagree with censorship, I can at least see some kind of logic in refusing the above post, although the only state it threatens the security of is probably the state of mind of the current minister for mental health… But another little example of the Drum’s censorship has me laughing: in a side-discussion about music on the ‘religion and charity’ thread, I happened to send in a post saying that ‘My Irish rellies are fond of saying that the Devil had all the best tunes’… now this post
WAS accepted, but it was missing the adjective, ‘Irish’…
Now for the life of me I can’t figure out exactly why this word was censored… Was it because the Irish are politically incorrect? Does the word ‘Irish’ offend someone? Am I not allowed, as an Australian citizen, to have, or, having them, to mention, Irish relatives? Are the Irish now regarded by the ABC as offensive, or is it just their national adjective?
Can anyone make any kind of sense out of this one at all?
🙂
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Considering all the other rubbish posts they publish I cannot fathom why you were blocked and censored (not that it was
rubbish!).
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Hi Viv.
Like Warrigal, I’m pretty flat out at work at present and I just don’t have time to even visit Unleashed, much less comment, much less contribute.
I was surprised today when the Sydney Morning Herald included an insert titled “15 Questions the Election Should be About But Isn’t”. A glance suggests that the articles indicate that the authors feel it is understandable if not OK to write the whole affair off as Australia’s biggest bullsh*t festival ever, but that it’s important to think past the election and keep driving the real issues regardless of who wins.
Please make it anybody but Tony.
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Emmjay, my mantra too: anybody but Abbott.
Viv, T2, right now i am mighty miffed; four of my little posts did not get published this morning.
I even sent a cranky complaint about it being MY ABC as well…it will not make any difference but I feel better for sending it.
On Ellis blog I complained (yes, again) about how they put the most unattractive pics of Julia to accompany Bob’s mean posts.
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Helvi, even in your worst mood, I don’t think I can imagine you saying anything that would ever be worthy of censorship… The censors over at the Drum are on a power trip; ‘Chosen Ones’; know what I mean?
😉
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I am still close to giving up on Unleashed. So much mindless drivel in the articles as well as the posts.
Some of my posts never get up and a few have taken three days to go up. The negativity is depressing and I think it is the pits when they print Milne from The Australian.
The good news is that Lake Hume is now up to 35% full and rising a little every day. The 2010 wine vintages from Rutherglen are rippers. Home cellar restocked.
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Viv,
I’d really like to see you contribute a piece or two – anything you like – to the Pig’s. You have a small but appreciative audience of great people here.
And I need another contributor or two to help keep the interesting material coming in. If the ABC ain’t going to provide something positive, wise, funny or otherwise interesting to read / watch / hear, we have the perfect opportunity to do it ourselves.
Do have a go !
Regards,
Emm
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Thank you for your very kind words Emm. I will give it some thought. But, first – just how do I send
something to you other than posting a comment here. If I get inspired I could send a Word doc and even attach
a photo.
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Me too Viv… only reason I don’t is ’cause I feel someone has to put up some kind of opposition to what appear to be the ‘favored line’…
😉
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If anyone ever needed proof of the power of the religious lobby (or perhaps the scientology lobby) check out Lucy Saunders’ latest article; it was only posted today and comments were closed after only ten contributions…
Actions, they say, speak louder than words; this action speaks volumes about the degree to which this lobby cares about freedom of speech, and hence, democracy. That they can get away with such blatant manipulation of what is supposed to be a public forum astonishes me; I’m not surprised, mind you, merely astonished!
😉
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I’m miffed. This little bewdy didn’t get posted on Ben’s weekly wrap, I’m absolutely gob smacked
Hey Ben, You are a f#$king boring little s@#t. You wanker. Why don’t you remove your appendage from your boyfriends bottom and get a life, you f@#kwit.
See what I mean?
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The buggers and you were giving him a nice pat on the back and all too.
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Hungy, please, don’t hold back, tell us what you really think!!!
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Can’t see anything wrong with that. Can’t.
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Yes, I’ve got to stop holding back
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Here’s an interesterestng response to one of the stupider Unleashed articles. Not written by myself, but sounds good:
“The Author will no doubt know that given a false set of premises, if one applies strict rules of logic, one inevitably will reach a false conclusion. In this article, it appears Aron had the presence of mind to employ faulty logic, so there was at least a theoretical possibility that he could arrive at a valid conclusion. Sadly for this most important debate, he failed. “
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Not one, but TWO sledges ! Ace !
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Someone wrote on Lauren Rosewarne’s blog about us having to have an equal amount women writers, as many as male authors that is.
I wrote on the lines that we girls have start writing equally good books; until that happens my book shelves will be dominated by male writers.
I can’t see why it was rejected.
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Far too reasonable in an unreasonable world, Helvi.
😉
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On Michael Brull’s blog, about the academic strike at UNSW, Army God said “Michael, I’d like to thank you for a very perceptive and penetrating piece. Sadly it’s an elusive wish since my legs have both fallen off – suggesting a certain lack of, shall we say “drive”.
As you say, “drab”. Good description.
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What do you think of anon.
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Shh you said that too loudly.
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I think there’s far too many of him…
😉
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JohnM: One of my pseuds, agreeing with Craig James on Michael Janda’s article (not UL, just ABC news)
13 Jul 2010 1:41:55pm
I hate to be a smart-arse, but that is what I wrote about on Unleashed a few days ago.
All interest rate rise are passed on to the consumer, fuelling inflation. The higher rate combined with banks reluctance to lend, means that we are going backwards.
All this talk of jobs and confidence is a flash in the pan, with small numbers of mining and peripherally related business doing ok; the burgeoning civil service raking it in through taxes (which is why The ALP is so desperate for more), and any government building project. funded by the taxpayer.
Be a civil servant: the new-rich.
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Jayell :
11 Jul 2010 5:15:40pm
What we need gerard, are a few nice winter ‘moving recipes’. Pig’s trotters cooked on a one ring calor gas cooker, when all the crockery is in storage.
I remember a time when Tomokatu volunteered some beauties. Winter dishes that is.
…Or even a one-pot bolognese ragù, with lashings of supermarket Parmigiano.
I’m trying Gerard.
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Get your parmi or fav Italian hard cheese from a good deli in a piece. It is actually cheaper than any of the supermarket stuff and tastes better. I have just made a pot of spag bol with my ‘secret ingredient’ (cream sherry).
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That’s an interesting tip.
Mine is finely minced chicken liver.
It is crucial to mince, because it coagulates and goes a bit lumpy if you just chop it.
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Interesting call, Viv. I’ll try that next time. I use veal / pork mince in preference to beef and I add 4 bean mix and chickpeas – increases the fibre, lowers the energy a bit. The veal is scary, but I like a bit of danger in the kitchen from time to time 🙂
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So many spag bols to choose from. I try to make mine like Florentinos wine bar in Bourke Street, Melbourne – many years ago you could have spag bol and three glasses of wine for 90 cents.
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When I can get hold of good chicken livers I always use them for Elizabeth David’s pate.
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Vivienne, my Elizabeth David cook books are well loved and much used. I could not get rid of them; I gave many cook books to Daughter, but kept the favourite ones.
We went through a stage making chicken liver pate, but not for many years. I should dig out my recipes…too hard as everything is still in boxes, (I mean all my books)
Maybe you can put your chicken liver recipe here!
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My Mediterranean Food book by Elizabeth David is held together with rubber bands! Here is her recipe,
word for word. “Take about 1 lb. of chicken livers… clean well and saute in butter for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove the
livers and to the butter in the pan add a small glass of sherry and a small glass of brandy. Mash the livers
to a fine paste (they should be pink inside) with plenty of salt, black pepper, a clove of garlic, 2 oz of butter,
a pinch of mixed spice and a pinch of powdered herbs – thyme, basil and marjoram. Add the liquid from the pan, put
the mixture into a small earthenware terrine and place on the ice. Serve with hot toast.” Needless to say, you have
to decide how much is a small glass! I don’t use basil in mine as I have never been able to grow it and therefore
dry it (nearly all my herbs are home grown for fresh or dried use). I would probably smash up at least two
cloves of garlic (depends on size and personal preference).
I also think I go a bit heavier with the brandy and a bit less of the sherry (sweet or cream). Requires the cook
to do a bit of test tasting so I start off with less and add more etc.
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Thanks for that Viv, now in search of good chicken livers…
I used to read Elizabeth David for the local flair and differences between regional cuicine; I loved the little drawings of all those French utensils…
Gerard is taking her advise very seriously and is still looking for that perfect hare/rabbit, preferably from higher altitudes and of nervous disposition…I suppose to match the nerves of the highly strung cook 🙂
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We have plenty of rabbits and hares free ranging on our property and on many surrounding
properties. We have baited but it wasn’t 100% successful. We have shot some rabbits but the hares
are so lovely (!) we can’t bring ourselves to aim in their direction. That hare recipe is a doozy though.
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Bill :
08 Jul 2010 10:03:32am
Matthew, good to see you again. You have been missed.
………………….—————————__________________
Somebody wrote that in reply to a Mulga post in the Aron Paul piece.
Any ideas?
Mulga’s punctuation looks sloppy?
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How strange! They’ve pulled the article. It’s not even in his list of stories, under ‘contributors’. Or am I missing a link?
It was the one about population increase in Australia.
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I haven’t checked the particular case, but in general articles don’t go under the Contributors list straight away. (Yes, really stupid. Not to be confused with “Yes really, stupid”.) There’s a period of time for which it is neither on the main page nor the Contributors list, and you can only find it by date.
Having said that, I DID take a few seconds to find it successfully in Google, searching on “Unleashed” followed by a copy of your quote above.
Yes, brains and the rest. If the brains part is too annoying I can always disable it for your comments. 🙂
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I knew that you would sort it Voy.
But trust me I looked a few times. Maybe what you found was logged up to the time it was pulled.
Anyway holding my breath and going for another dive.
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No, it’s not there…
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Google on:
Unleashed Matthew, good to see you again. You have been missed.
It is the top link.
Voyla!
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Found it. But, through google. Not the abc site. It must be in limbo..
Posted this:
Well we would have to repel them with force.
I suggest playing Jimmy Barnes, through some Fane Crescendos.
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Now…which pseud shall I use to top up gerard’s comments?
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I fancy “Fane Crescendo”.
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I have just been dreadfully snubbed. They have posted a post later than mine.
I know, I’ll cut and paste and submit it again—in five.
….
Actual that’s not a bad pseud, thanks. Fane’s off to Gerard’s story.
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Actually, I’m losing the plot. It did get up, but I confused myself with a post about lion-tamers on Greg ‘Doc” Clarke’s blog.
I think I’ll have a lie down.
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Yep. That’s what I do when I start chasing myself in circles.
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Mulga doesn’t sound like Mulga. Maybe she has a cold?
And who would Matthew be?
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If you are interested, Google:
Mulga Matthew
I haven’t done it. But I recall vaguely from ages ago that someone in cyberspace had a theory that Mulga is Matthew someone.
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Mulga is definitely back – on Hewson’s piece. Wonderfully written.
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No dudette-multi-party democracies in market capitalist economies are a sham and a farce. The real power is the money power, as the bullying,lying,intimidating mining kleptocrats are currently making plain.Political ‘contributions’ by the plutocrats, in reality bribes, make any notion of ‘democracy’ a sick joke. Expenditure on lying, vicious, cynically hypocritical political advertising is almost always successful for those with the deepest pockets. Moreover the mass media is entirely owned by the Rightwing plutocrats, and operates as a crude brainwashing system, of which product you seem a pathological example. I think a one-party system,like China, much preferable, where those inclined to have a real effect on national affairs simply join the party of power and rise through their talents and efforts. Asa result Chinese leadersare technocrats, engineers, scientists and the like, while we are represented by the cream of the suburban solicitors, ‘merchant bankers’ and Rightwing trade union hacks.In our polity membership of the real party of power, ie the owners of society, is mostly hereditary, and the few who rise from the rabble do so by displaying those ‘virtues’-contempt for others, unscrupulousness, supreme egomania, contempt for the truth- that are the hallmarks of the pathocrat. As for being rid of the Right I mean it entirely in terms of reforming politics to remove the dominance of the parasite class and their minions, cleaning up the Augean filth of the Rightwing media hatemongering and untruth disseminating apparatus and by educational reform where anti-social and psychopathic tendencies and ideologies are not indoctrinated into children, but actively discouraged as the spiritual poison that they truly are….
I was reading this the other day Viv, plus some stuff on SMH. The responses from some of the more articulate writers are match though.
Maybe she has been away on holidays in Russia, or China….And just let her punctuation slip for UL.
It used to be soooo perfeck.
But I suppose if one blogs 24/7. one’s punctuation slips
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I imagined Mulga to be a bit of an old male raconteur.
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Viv, does “raconteur” refer to a French kind of racoon ? If so, I agree !
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Or an intellectual leftie version of Julian (with a bit of Chomsky thrown in).
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Photos are blocking your names and not helping those of us who haven’t memorised names and pics.
Can someone assist with the layout?
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On Peter Curson’s article:
Oh for crying out loud, can’t Unleashed even get a link correct? The SMH article is still there to be found, but your link to it goes nowhere.
You don’t run your intros through a simple spell checker, let alone proof read them. You get the names of contributors wrong. Now this link is dead. A sorry state of affairs.
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I saw that. And someone replied.
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Farr Keroff commented on Catherine Deveney’s demolition job on Bettina Arndt
” Catherine, I want to thank you for going to the trouble of reading Bettina Arndt’s piffle in the Herald yesterday. And for your magnum opus diatribe demolition job.
But as you say, who does give a rat’s about the opinions of a fading sexologist – whose recent advice to women was “put out a bit more, even if you don’t feel like it” ?
Anything for a bit of exposure.
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I noticed this one got up Emm. I’ve tried posting as Lardars and they haven’t let it through so I was suprised that a handle like “Farr Keroff” gets a guernsey.
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This is weird, I’ve just posted two posts on Niki Sava’s piece at unleashed and one was put up in less than two minutes. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything posted in less than two minutes at UL. I think the other might be a little difficult for the moderator as its two paragraphs long.
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And it got a soapbox mention. That’s two in one evening.
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Hero
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Oh I do like colony advisors gesture……reminds him of a constipation tester. Obsessed with colons I C
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I don’t care what Julia wears when polling in Canberra suburbs, but I sincerely hope she donates the weird looking coat, she was wearing yesterday, to Smith family. It was made of pair of Eighties’ curtains and made her look like she came from Kyrgyzstan.
I hope Stephen Smith will advice her not wear it if/when she goes to France!
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*WARNING*
If you get an email titled, “Nude photo of Julia Gillard”, do not open it under any circumstances.
It contains a nude photo of Julia Gillard!
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Mater Bates can I have fries with that?
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I’ve been observing what goes on at U/L and here at PA, it seems that jayell is totally obsessed with whatever granny posts. I mean he is embarrassing himself now, more than ever before, but then he has given up on ant. He needs to find a friend somewhere.
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How much is it worth to you to make it work? 🙂
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Une boutielle de vain rouge, la prochaine fois je visit Sydney.
Excuse the grammar. I’m winging it.
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Oh oh spotted a couple of errors….Never mind. the sentiment’s there.
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You might fall out with the perpetrator of the complaint though. The ‘observer’, I mean.
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Done. I’m sure she’ll understand. A bottle of red wine. I had no choice, really.
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A whole bottle don’t forget. I haven’t had a drink since….O let me see now…..15th June 2008.
I must be mad!
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HOO, don’t you like Ms Razer?
I’m surprised that UL publishes your ‘love letters’ to her. Well, she did look cute on QandA 🙂
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I do my best H to get some balance with her stuff
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Argus Tuft said to Aron Paul today ….
Well, Aron, for an historian, you’re remarkably selective with your facts – Geoffrey Blainey-style almost..
A little Hawke / Keating amnesia I see.
And your considered view is that faceless backroom power brokers are at the root of the replacement of Rudd ? How refreshing is that ! At least you’ve not sought to ascribe political decisiveness to a reversion to the traditional “reds under the bed” right wing horsesh*t.
Here’s my take, for your benefit. A drover’s dog could get rid of any party that created WorkChoices. The expediency of dealing with the GFM led to some poor implementation of policy and an autocratic approach to dealing with that PLUS poor communication skills was what undid Rudd.
Notwithstanding the rubbish being churned out by the press and the mass media, sadly the ABC and other conservative apologists, Tony Abbott is not the hero of the right for taking Rudd’s scalp.
Tony Abbott is “rolled gold” dead meat. Can’t wait for the barbie.
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Did you notice that Farkhim Hoff said:
“In the interests of fairness and left-right balance, I think Joe Hockey should challenge Abbott again. If they hesitate to behead him, I think they should.
Farkhim Hoff.”
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I posted this on the typical lesbian dribble from Helen Razer at UL, can’t see it getting up. Helen is so predictable I might write her next article.
Yes true Jen, I mean look at the bisexual bum puncher in NSW recently, I mean was he good at his job or ousted because he is a biological anomaly?
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Also to Bob:
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OOOooohh clever!
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Tits too.
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OOOooohh.
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testing from nokia 97
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Hey it worked. For the techs, I connected by wi-fi, NOT HSDPA (expialidocious), or WAP .
It costs nothing; as long as one is near a transceiver. Of course one needs the code, but thats’s available at airports or favourite cafe.
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Love your work, Voice.
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…. and the legend of your tits …..
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To Bob the Aging Irrelevant on his sour article about Julia Gillard:
You and Abbott have a lot in common Ellis. Still harking back to the clever-boy student political skirmishes where keeping girls out the game improved your chances of scoring.
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I see HtC, on Sparrow’s opinion piece.
Unless it’s U MJAY?
I know I keep writing that, but you are adept at psueding 😉
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Jules, I too have spotted HtC quite a few times at UL, and have replied to his posts. I think he writes differently to Emm…
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MJay is a chameleon.
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Cross my heart, spit my death, I have never commented as HtC ! PLEASE !!!
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Who is HtC ?
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A wit. To wit, one Hunt the Coward, hence Upper and lower case. As it is a name, a juxtaposition of letters and nouns.
VoR, will elucidate.
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And Julian has just posted to him addressing him as Huttocks. A nickname attributed by WM, if I am not mistaken.
But we don’t know who you are Vivienne. This site and UL is full of intrigue. A tangled web, a mire of conspiracy, obfuscation and clandestine forgery.
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I am the only sane one here—-apart from Algy.
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It’s a spoonersim Viv. He bailed out of Unleashed quite a while ago, to indulge in more useful pastimes, but his wit is nostalgically missed.
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Thanks Voice.
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De rien.
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Thanks for the information. I wasn’t wanting to know exactly who
he/she was but knew I was missing someone which you all knew.
It is a wonderful spoonerism Voice. For those who may have
missed what happened to me, I posted as Vivienne (my reall name) for a long time and then another Vivienne (strange and religious) started posting and would not go away. I finally changed to Stuffed Olive.
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Most of the media commentary has been pathetic. Yes, we saw it all for ourselves you nincumpoops. Julia and Nicola sorted out the ABC’s O’Brien and Jones beautifully.
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Boy, she sure did sort KB out. “Nice try, Kerry”, and then finished by making him laugh with a quip about a big day for redheads. She was grand, Viv.
Lets hope she smashes the mad monk. Best chance labour has had in ages.
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One fly in the ointment there. THEIR reign is littered with corpses.
Now, if you thought that I meant from the roof debacle, I didn’t. I meant, dead, dead cert proposals.
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Viv, as I wrote on UL: You got to love a woman who said as a teenager; I don’t need women’s liberation, I was born free!
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You getting worse than me Helvi. With the semi and full colon.
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…there, there Jules, it’s hurting now , but one day your Julie too will be PM…. I’m serious 🙂
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Yes Viv, he didn’t even ask her what her cup size was?
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Maybe he was close enough he didn’t have to ask. Glad your
mind is on important matters.
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I have only just found out she grew up in SA, and I was just starting to like her 🙂
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Commenting on Mark Brahnish’s piece on the Media and the Labor coup, Rudi Stickoff said:
Mark, you are right to throw the big question about the media’s role and modus operandi in this coup.
We watched the live coverage of Julia and Wayne’s press conferences. It was refreshing to see who was in charge. It wasn’t the media ! Julia did it US presidential style. “I’ll take your question next, Michelle, and then you, Chris, and then the folks up the back !”
Hooray ! A leader who leads ! Back in your boxes you insolent curs !
But we left the TV on too long and then we had the by now usual nonsense of one ABC hack interviewing another – or really several other ABC hacks about their take on what EVERYONE had just heard directly from the Power Fox’s mouth.
Thanks but no thanks. We got it in the first take. I thought it was classic ABC “journalism”. Rehash of already known facts with no value add.
After that, your piece drifted off into some bushes and got lost, Mark. Go out and edit it and hope the thrust comes back.
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