It's the phoney war stage, and the Colonel Blimps are out and about, and featured in Fairfax offering sage advice ...
And speaking of terminological exactitude, the pond was shocked by this splash ...
Indeed, indeed.
Why call them concentration camps when 'gulag' is much more appropriate, matching as it does Stalin's treatment of anyone who displeased him? Besides, a comparison to Stalinist thugs is much more pleasant than raising the Nazi spectre ... and with less risk to the Godwin's Law swear jar ...
Why call them concentration camps when 'gulag' is much more appropriate, matching as it does Stalin's treatment of anyone who displeased him? Besides, a comparison to Stalinist thugs is much more pleasant than raising the Nazi spectre ... and with less risk to the Godwin's Law swear jar ...
Meanwhile, the pond was astonished to discover that Nick Xenophon clearly posed a real and present threat in South Australia ...
Yes, there's a measure of his presence and his danger, especially as the reptiles also honour him with an editorial ...
As for that $100 billion figure magically plucked from the air and handily rounded so that we could all be impressed by its enormity? Luckily the reptiles also provided a commentary on their commentary ...
Indeed, indeed. And silly figures plucked from the meaningless air add to the spin ...
But around this time in the survey of the headlines, the pond always hankers for some decent substance and as always the reptiles are here to help ...
Hmmm, that name rings a bell ... but please, carry on ...
Oh wait, that's beginning to sound awfully familiar, as cracked records are likely to do when they grind away at the shellac ... could this be the return of the Moran?
So it's not just Peta that's back!
Now we have some kind of context, please, do carry on Mr Moran ...
Oh indeed, indeed.
Climate science, global warming?
Phsaw, where did you pick up such nonsense ... certainly not from Mr Moran back in the glory days at the IPA, explaining how it's all nonsense and putting together a damn fine book of like feathered minds, getting together the facts, just the facts ma'am ...
Climate science, global warming?
Phsaw, where did you pick up such nonsense ... certainly not from Mr Moran back in the glory days at the IPA, explaining how it's all nonsense and putting together a damn fine book of like feathered minds, getting together the facts, just the facts ma'am ...
Strange that they don't list the Bolter - one of the world's great climate scientists - as a contributor, but for the full list and for an excellent review of the contributors, head off to Science deniers try to change the facts about climate ...
And now, because the pond is always into completeness, we should just complete that other Oz story, even if it shows up a little glitch in the system ...
Oh never mind the picture, the pond gets the picture, and how good of the reptiles of Oz to keep the home fires burning - coal fired, of course - even as the phoney war continues ...
But for those who want a picture, here's a Rowe, and more Rowe here, and there seems to be something sticking to Malware's foot ...
Moran is mentioned in a Monthly piece I happened to read this morning by Chairman Rudd after his falling out with Chairman Rupe. Rudd attempts to reinvent himself (again!) as always having been a true believing social democrat rather than in fact having been staunchly neoliberal up to the point in the breaking GFC crisis where Treasury set him straight with a plan he still wants credit for. It's a longish read, articulate, but who does the dud think he's kidding?
ReplyDeleteThe global financial crisis - By Kevin Rudd
Stabilising the financial system is a necessary first step towards preventing systemic collapse. But the collapse of the speculative bubble and the subsequent credit squeeze have already brought about a slowdown in economic growth, rising unemployment, and the possibility of a lengthy global recession. Neo-liberals such as Alan Moran, of the Australian Institute of Public Affairs, argue that the cost of the recession should be borne by employees, through wage cuts and retrenchment - exactly the position of US Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon at the outset of the Great Depression. Social democrats, by contrast, stress the central role of the state in maintaining aggregate demand, both for consumption and investment spending, at a time of faltering growth. That is, the state must involve itself in direct demand-side stimulus to offset the large-scale contraction in private demand. ..
Kevin Rudd and Rupert Murdoch: a brief history
Perhaps Moran needs to greghunt "Pigovian taxes", a method by which the failure of the market to set accurate prices for products is corrected. The exact level that a Pigovian carbon tax should be set to properly correct this market failure is necessarily open to debate, but the best estimates are in the $100 - $150 per MWh (low end for black coal, high end for brown).
ReplyDeleteSo what's the cheapest way to generate electricity again, Alan?
Of course, the very idea that a tax (boo!) could correct a market failure (wha...?) is sufficient to cause Alan's small intestine to leap up and strangle his brain, so I imagine he will go on beating his Tin Drum rather than grow up.