Saturday, March 22, 2014

A message from the end of the earth, or is that the heart of darkness ...


Oh it's true, it's truly true.

It's the end of the earth, it's the new heart of darkness. There be an inke blackness and wilde beasts and a barbarian government that runs gulags, and there be many bogans, strange creatures in flip flops (let us not talk, in their primitive guttural snarls, of thongs).

Oh there are a few brave people in the west, shark killers, trying to bring civilisation to this remote, degenerate world, and a few more bravely digging it up and shipping it to more civilised shores. Have you not heard your warriors sing the Song of Gina, which is right up there with the Song of Roland?

A deviant foreigner, a mysterious American, is the chief singer of such songs, and does his best to spread enlightenment in this benighted land ... so remote, so ignorant, truly the end of the earth ...

Apparently there are some missionaries who have landed in this dark, deadly, remote land, more challenging than the hideous challenges faced by Dr. David Livingstone.

Apparently someone has exhumed Joseph Conrad to write the story, but in the meantime, we have to rely on Jeff Bleigh scribbling Baseball represents our countries' best shared values (behind the paywall because making people pay is the best shared value of all).

Sing your song, missionary man:


Indeed, indeed. And if anyone flings a bean ball at the pond, we promise to punch the shit out of them and indulge in an all out brawl.



Oh yes, the pond can share those values!

And speaking of the Red Sox, are we speaking of the Red Sex Abuse Scandal, or the values on view in the story of Pitchers hooked on beer, fried chicken and video games and Francona on pills?

Or is this pettiness, like pointing out the way the NRL and AFL have been drug havens of late. Should we go back to the good old days when moral giants stalked the earth, and the Black Sox Scandal showed the world the very best of values? But if that involved men in white sox, how on earth did they get called black sox?

It's beyond the pond, but that's what happens when you live at the end of the earth:

And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:10)

Is there any ultimate point to the pond's hysteria?

Well yes, the exceptional stupidity of the coverage of the loss of the plane, the fatuous headlines, the misleading stories, and now Tony Abbott joining in to keep the lather foaming and flying about.

The pond has resolutely refused to join in, though as a keen student of air crash investigations, we could mutter darkly about the Helios Airways Flight 522 with the best of them.

Enough already, because back in the real world - the heart of darkness at the core of New South Wales politics - there were a couple of interesting stories in yesterday's Fairfaxian rags.

First the ignorance defence was tested in Arthur Sinodinos told about donations to Liberal Party, says AWH investor (forced video at end of link).

And then came this masterful bit of understatement in Arthur Sinodinos' financial woes: Three children, two car leases and a harbour view to pay for:

The Obeid family excepted, politics is not a road to riches. When Sinodinos joined the Senate in late 2011, the salary for a backbencher was about $140,000. 
The new senator had a problem. He was paying almost $100,000 a year to rent a house in Dumaresq Road, Rose Bay, which enjoyed panoramic views of Sydney Harbour. 
He was paying leases on a Jaguar and a Mercedes, he had two children to put through private school and a socially ambitious wife, Elizabeth. Late last year Mrs Sinodinos, 39, already a director of Greek Young Matrons' Association, became a director of Betteroff Australia Ltd, which gives law firm Clayton Utz as its business address. Former state Liberal minister Ron Phillips joined the company on the same day. 
Even with his superior financial skills, Sinodinos, 56, was only too painfully aware that the figures didn't add up.


Oh dear, it's a quintessential Sydney story. It's the harbour views of course. The pond once lived in an apartment with "harbour glimpses" - yes it's a genuine phrase amongst real estate people - and was proud to pay for the pleasure.

And so today Mike Carlton gives Sinodinos a blessing, a benediction and a farewell in No Martha defence for Arthur Sinodinos.

While naturally Peter van Onselen is aghast at this star chamber, ruining the lives and the reputations of the innocent, as he explains in Modern star chamber must be brought to account (behind the paywall so you might need to get a good directorship to pay for access).

Why shouldn't the Obeids make out like bandits? What's wrong with snouts in trough if you need a harbour view? Where's the harm? How dare this star chamber make life difficult for genuine entrepreneurs helping the local pollies run the state in style! After all, it's a bipartisan effort, so let's not seek to make cheap political hay when there's real hay to be made ...

And speaking of benedictions and farewells, can it come soon enough for Cardinal Pell, as stories continue to flow like Royal commission: Pell instructed lawyers to fight Ellis claim 'tooth and nail':

An email from Dr Casey shows that in May 2008 Cardinal Pell approved the pursuit of Mr Ellis for costs, but wanted to "avoid any negative publicity associated with causing Ellis to go bankrupt or causing him to experience an exacerbation of his psychiatric condition".

What a sordid, sorry mess it was and is, yet no doubt the ignorance defence will be given a fresh outing on Monday ...

Is there any upside in this vale of tears, this land of darkness teetering on the edge of the end of the world?

Well of course you can always rely on the reptiles at the lizard Oz for comedy, and who better than chief knob polisher and hagiographer Dennis Shanahan?

It's so grim at the moment - what with the head barbarian doing a grand tour of his gulags and outer dominions - that Shanahan has hit the nostalgia button, and cranks it back to 2007 in Unexpected blow turned out right for the future PM (behind the paywall because hagiography shouldn't come cheap).

Look, look, first there's an EXCLUSIVE:


And naturally, having touched the hem of the great man, it's time to simper a few grateful words, inspect the runes and the tea leaves, and predict a grand future:


As always, the sole point of the reminiscence seems to be a chance for a little hagiography:

During the past 20 years Abbott has been consistent above all else, from his maiden speech in parliament and his time as a backbencher to the periods as minister, then opposition leader and eventually Prime Minister, his consistent themes have been a recognition of Christian values, support for the family, belief in small government and the idea of promoting business and the free market to boost the economy and create jobs.

What a bold, brave, consistent St. George. Now can anyone decode what the chief hagiographer really means?

... he is too conservative, too Catholic, inflexible, old-fashioned and, of course, a misogynist. 

Oh okay, the pond did a naughty cut, just like a sub-editor or letters editor at the rag. So delicious, such a guilty pleasure ...

But you see, right at the moment, as things continue dire for Abbott, the chief hagiographer and knob polisher is already talking of a second Abbott government:

No doubt some have seen the consistency as inflexibility and being “too conservative”, but the Prime Minister thinks the basis for a second Abbott government is based on delivering on the promises of the election campaign, not taking anything for granted and not making further commitments until the electorate has given him a mandate. “I suppose the challenge often in these situations is to do nothing in haste because what you do in haste is often the wrong thing,” he says.

Sheesh, it must be grim, if the reptiles and Abbott are already starting to dream of the next federal election, which in the usual way of things, double dissolutions etc exempted, must be held on or before 14th January 2017 ...

But that's the way it goes for hagiographers. Talk about the future, go misty eyed about the past, but ssshh, don't mention the many fuck-ups of the actual present ...

And finally the pond is vastly relieved.

For a minute there, the pond had fancied that Gerard "prattling Polonius" had disappeared down a black Murdochian hole, but there he is, as bold as brass and sounding just as stupid as ever, as you can read in 'Freedom' marchers trample on hopes of real refugees (if you managed to score that directorship and can now afford a sub to lizard heaven).


Uh huh. As opposed to prattling Polonius blithely marching on in ideological rage and prejudice and Catholic zealotry.

There's no doubt that Henderson is a much reduced figure, now that he's just one of the cacophony of reptile voices at the Oz, one in a long conga line of sycophants and hagiographers.

What's bizarre is the way Henderson continues to parade his fixation, his obsession with the ABC and with Fairfax, his former home. There's something weird about this, but perhaps it was most poignant when it came to Henderson saying Aly seems blind to the horror involved in death by drowning.

Indeed, indeed, but what of Henderson seeming blind to the horror of being bashed to death in a gulag?

For that you might have to revert to Fairfax and read Manus Island: Reza Berati was struck, fell from stairs and was hit over head till he died, say inmates.

That's the way, teach these economic refugees a lesson about the heart of darkness ...

Can anyone conjure up the heart of the darkness?

Take it away David Rowe, and remember there's more Rowe here.



13 comments:

  1. I give you the 1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident, and mysterious last words STENDEC.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_BSAA_Avro_Lancastrian_Star_Dust_accident

    And if you're interested in disappearing planes -

    http://www.theweek.co.uk/world-news/flight-mh370/57683/mystery-flight-mh370-7-other-planes-vanished

    ...which includes the B52 found on the moon. (although I doubt if the Sunday Sport could be regarded as a newspaper of record).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the other hand -

      Kay: We're gonna check the hot sheets.

      [Kay pulls up to a newsstand and buys a pile of supermarket tabloids]

      Jay: THESE are the hot sheets?

      Kay: Best investigative reporting on the planet. But go ahead, read the New York Times if you want. They get lucky sometimes.

      Delete
    2. thanks for those links Anon. The pond was pleased to read today the latest in the no news is the news routine today with "nothing suspicious in pilot's flight simulator". In further no news, there is no new news ... but let's keep saying it ...

      Delete
  2. DP, so Henderson is of the opinion the “March in March protestors marched in ignorance”. Henderson is so bloody dumb, and so is Andrew Bolt who expressed similar loopy myopic remarks, here

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/barbarians_march_in_march/

    He sniped at all the marchers. A photo which depicted two men holding a banner with the words “RESIGN, DICKHEAD” was captioned by Bolt with the words “I really do mean vicious hated:”

    The marcher who created the banner responded to Bolt and what a pleasure it is to read:

    http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/tony-abbott-andrew-bolt-and-resign-dickhead,6296

    He should send a copy to Henderson.

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    Replies
    1. Bit of a wake up at SMH. I suppose even a small wave of subscription cancellations is now become an alarmingly big wave goodbye? http://www.smh.com.au/comment/march-in-march-two-sides-to-the-story-we-didnt-run-20140321-357tg.html#comments

      At the limited news dot con far fewer comments on a similar response and pandering tokenism displayed there earlier in the week: http://www.news.com.au/opinion/opinion-march-in-march-was-big-on-people-power-and-it-had-a-point/comments-e6frfs99-1226858342518#comments

      http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/03/18/a-march-in-march-media-blackout-how-to-get-your-protest-covered/?wpmp_switcher=mobile

      Oh yeah. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BigRZo2CQAAiOmS.jpg

      Delete
  3. DP, there's a lovely post by P Z Myers on "climate change denialists are a bit thin-skinned; they’ve also been exposed as a bit on the wacko side" The paper they don’t want you to read!. Good for a giggle.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chris Kenny has quit Twitter. He discovered life can be tough outside the Murdoch clubhouse.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/why-the-unbearable-darkness-of-the-twitsphere-has-made-me-quit-twitter/story-fn8qlm5e-1226861618055#

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    1. Kenny doesn't tell you why, what, nor especially when the going he alludes to got so supposedly tough. The ponce is full of crap.

      After setting up "Twitter's strong green-Left bias" it turns out it's the Twitter right that are his Twitter problem for two reasons: The Twitter left dominates the right, he reckons, and it's the twitter right that are the particular nasty arseholes in his excuse of a story. It's just not fair, not how things ought be, so just watch him play around with it.

      The incident he uses as his cover in fact occurred six months ago on Sunday, September 15, 2013. A left of centre feminist was set up as the odd one out amongst a Sky News panel of rightist chauvinist men to discuss topics such as guns, Julia Gillard, and Abbott! She had no prior television experience of this kind. They obviously knew she'd attract a very heavy "profane, violent and sexist" twitter pasting "largely from the right of centre", but, whada ya know, they didn't inform her before the show of that side of their business as usual. She was vaguely warned about what would happen by the show host before leaving after the show, and told to ignore "anything ugly"!

      Kenny would take unto himself the pain and suffering and resulting huge upset this woman suffered as a result of a Sky News business as usual neocon bearpit where no men were exposed and hurt, yet at the same time says "I usually rail against the whole “misogynist factor” meme." WTF? He would have you believe he has suffered similar abuse inflicted by Twitter. He hides behind her, he puts her story out as his own! Excuse me while I retch.

      Kenny, like all those grubby bullying murdochians and related slime can dish it out from a privileged and protected position, but can't take it. And just what he can't take he hasn't actually told us.

      He's tried to change Twitter's policies and business practices it seems, so he might shut it down and stand over tweeters from his protected position, but to no avail. So until Ol' Rupe fixes it up for him by forcing a right power imbalance he's left Twitter. The arse.

      Here's Georgina Dent's story, the story Kenny wants you to believe he shares in equally... "his" story:

      http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/editor-s-agenda/what-tv-taught-me-about-men-who-hate-women/201309182917

      Now, I'll betcha it's the Twitter and f/b pasting he likely got last week immediately following some print stories and this lame performance that has him quitting Twitter:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjaM3Iegw7M&feature=youtu.be

      Delete
    2. Look on the bright side. How soon before Kenny quits public life altogether and enters a nunnery?

      Delete
  5. Ahem, just movin some flem.

    http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/malcolm-turnbull-suggests-resident-move-house-for-decent-broadband/story-fnjwncel-1226861253264

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    1. Great link Anon to a most amusing story. (If you can find it in your heart to laugh at a truly tragic fop).

      Delete
  6. Funny about Van Onselen! ICAC was all fun and games until Liberals started to put their eyes out; now, it's a Star Chamber. But at least he's given Madame Kerosine, er, Speaker a blast

    ReplyDelete

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