Punch on: Open thread 07/08/2012

Inky says:

08:08am | 07/08/12

For me, cutting funding to sport would be a reason to support a government. We waste far too much money on it as it is.

Chris L says:

08:11am | 07/08/12

It wasn’t long ago that everyone here was applauding Campbell Newman for cutting spending on literary encouragement in Queensland. Shouldn’t the same attitude be used toward funding for sport?

spanky says:

08:23am | 07/08/12

We really need to be a lot smarter about this we should only be accepting boats from nations that can improve the gene pool of our athletes. Julia is on the right track she is just not getting the right boats she needs to improve her game there.  It seems its the way forward as all the sport development money is going to the refugees. In a few short years of getting the right boats it will be GOLD GOLD GOLD.

craig2 says:

08:26am | 07/08/12

Babylon: Its goes further than that and it comes back to healthy kids. Our funding should be raised for the short (Olympics) and long (health) term benefits. Personally, I believe if we concentrate on our long term goals, the short term will take care of itself.

M says:

08:34am | 07/08/12

I wasn’t applauding Newman for cutting the literary program. We need all the help we can get in that regard.

Shane* says:

10:44am | 07/08/12

Here’s a simple idea: Only provide government funding for athletes who crack the ‘A’ qualifying times in the leadup to the Games.

If you want to represent your country on the public purse, you’d better be in the elite category. I have no drama with people who only make the ‘B’ times being in London… but they should find sponsors or self-fund. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for them to fulfil THEIR lifelong dream of racing one heat then bowing out gracefully while the elite class of swimmers/athletes advance to the finals.

James1 says:

10:50am | 07/08/12

I am also thankful for that.  Seriously.  The government should not be in the business of funding peoples’ hobbies with money taken from productive, working citizens.

Ando says:

11:14am | 07/08/12

Love sport but have no problem with a result which is more reflective of our population. Previously we were obbsessed with proving ourselves.

Hambone says:

12:33pm | 07/08/12

Dick Solomon said it best on 3rd rock from the sun - “Knowledge is the only chance this planet has for survival. One day, you’re gonna have to find someone to pull your collective butts out of the cosmic pliers and all you’ll have to choose from is a bunch of rope climbers!”

Colin says:

12:35pm | 07/08/12

Inky 08:08am | 07/08/12
“For me, cutting funding to sport would be a reason to support a government. We waste far too much money on it as it is.”

Absolutely completely and utterly the truth and I, for one, would love to see our money better spent on something (anything!) else but sports designed to please the lowest-common-denominator of sport-watching, beer-swilling bogans…

gobsmack says:

01:45pm | 07/08/12

As was the case with most other things, Howard reaped what others had sown.
The sporting success experienced during Howard’s reign was the culmination of carefully targetted funding years earlier by Labor Sports Ministers such as Ros Kelly.

Bear says:

03:33pm | 07/08/12

In fact you surely have noticed how well the Chinese are doing. “socialists” contrary to your statement tend to poor money into sport in the name of national superiority! As usual you’re of the delusional seeing socialist conspiracies that don’t exist variety!

Fiddler says:

09:41am | 07/08/12

what a top chick. Needs longer hair but

Coal Train says:

10:40am | 07/08/12

I dunno Fiddler, she looks alright with short hair.

M says:

11:26am | 07/08/12

Spread the good news far and wide, gentlemen.

I kinda dig the short hair, but it’s her argument that makes me attracted to her.

Coal Train says:

12:11pm | 07/08/12

oh, the ungentlemanly things I wo…. I mean, yes let us spread her wisdom to the greater world. Sending it to the facebook fiends as we speak, it will spread like wildfire.

Tim says:

12:53pm | 07/08/12

Watch out,
you’ll get banned for posting links to stuff like that.

M says:

01:26pm | 07/08/12

If any of the mods had watched it to the end I’m certain it wouldn’t have made it past at all.

John F says:

02:29pm | 07/08/12

I want to marry her lol

Fiddler says:

02:46pm | 07/08/12

I miss Erick. Surely he can come back now?

M says:

03:07pm | 07/08/12

Nah, he’ll incite too much discussion again.

Chris L says:

03:55pm | 07/08/12

I’d be willing to undergo the operation to have her baby.

Blind Freddy says:

04:05pm | 07/08/12

Top link. Cheers

Mouse says:

04:33pm | 07/08/12

ChrisL,  as well as the “operation”,  the beard would have to go too,  I’m afraid!  lol :o)

Chris L says:

08:10am | 08/08/12

Not the beard! That’s a step too far!

sunny says:

01:35pm | 07/08/12

All the more reason to steer investment towards renewable energy and battery powered machines / machinery.

Ally says:

08:35am | 07/08/12

Agreed on the weather front. I went out to get the paper this morning while the sun was still coming up and the snow-covered mountain was bathed in pink light. Beautiful.

Coal Train says:

10:41am | 07/08/12

it’s certainly getting warmer where I’m from and I’m loving it! Didn’t even need to wear a coat to work this morning

Coal Train says:

10:42am | 07/08/12

it’s certainly getting warmer where I’m from and I’m loving it! Didn’t even need to wear a coat to work this morning

TimB says:

08:22am | 07/08/12

Oh it’s most definetly the carbon tax . See?:

http://blogs.news.com.au/images/uploads/carblym.png

Dwayne Dlong says:

09:11am | 07/08/12

The Gillard curse is happening baby! Australians are getting all the bad Labor luck for voting for these bunch of ding dongs! Emerson’s dance and Swan thinking he is a Springsteen inspiration. Nuts!

patsy says:

09:47am | 07/08/12

Maybe the mining tax is higher for gold than silver.

Mr Jones says:

10:23am | 07/08/12

Just got my electricity bill! F#&k the carbon tax, I’m voting for Abbott!

Tim says:

11:42am | 07/08/12

TimB,
Labor were in office for the last Olympics and we performed admirably.

What’s changed since then?

Julia Gillard was elected PM and Tony Abbott was elected leader of the Opposition.
Coincidence? I think not.

TimB says:

01:39pm | 07/08/12

‘Labor were in office for the last Olympics and we performed admirably.’

But there was no Carbon tax…

I guess we’ll know for sure at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Limited news says:

01:53pm | 07/08/12

Gillard and the carbon tax have made Australia a slightly worse off place to live in. Labor will always be shithouse!

Tim says:

02:13pm | 07/08/12

Kevin Rudd was responsible for Australia’s fantastic results in Beijing.

It was all about the Mandarin connection.

TimB says:

03:33pm | 07/08/12

I suppose that’s possible. Perhaps they were motivated by the fear of Rudd swearing at them loudly if they failed.

Mahhrat says:

08:38am | 07/08/12

I’m more impressed with the idea.

“Hey, rather than some poor schmuck running 70 metres, let’s give him a remote-controller Cooper S to hoon around in.

Some 15 year old is probably having the time of their lives, plus it’s awesome.  Good stuff.

iansand says:

09:19am | 07/08/12

Car is German.

Mahhrat says:

10:07am | 07/08/12

@iansand - your point being?

M says:

10:42am | 07/08/12

And all the better for it.

Coal Train says:

11:24am | 07/08/12

seeing as it’s a remote control car, it’s probably Chinese

M says:

12:16pm | 07/08/12

Shh, don’t defile the cynical marketing campaign of a german behemoth on a parochial public.

SimpleSimon says:

09:18am | 07/08/12

I find the prospect of working for Telstra customer service fundamentally impossible.

But I know what you mean; expectations on support staff in particular have increased, and with it patience levels dropped considerably, and people are no longer satisfied with anything other than an immediate solution.

Inky says:

10:04am | 07/08/12

“I find the prospect of working for Telstra customer service fundamentally impossible.”

See? That’s what I mean! So when I used to turn around and say “I can fix this” they’d go “Oh wow! Really? Thanks a lot! You’re the best Telstra person I’ve ever spoken too!” And it’d happen several times a day, it never got old.

I also never had to start work at 7am or work until 11pm there, albeit that was due to overseas staff taking the overtime pay periods. Gee it’d be nice to get penalty rates for those times…
Then again, it’d also be nice to have systems that worked. Even siebel wasn’t this bad…

Mouse says:

11:52am | 07/08/12

I always loved talking to the Telstra people, never had a bad moment with any of them. They ring me when they have a better deal than I am currently using, they can move mountains and fix problems quickly and efficiently. I must admit that I rarely had a problem, but when I did it was a simple matter to get it fixed. Have been with Telstra for years and have never had a reason to go elsewhere.  Love ‘em!!  lol
Now banks…......that’s a different matter…     
btw, welcome back Inky       :o)

Inky says:

01:32pm | 07/08/12

Haha, thank you Mouse. I wasn’t gone all that long, I just gave up on trying to participate when by the time I arrived at work the story was over.

nihonin says:

09:36am | 07/08/12

I prefer Mangrove Jack sunnies.

Zeta says:

10:19am | 07/08/12

I have this theory that at some point in the last decade, an artificial intelligence gained sentience and is distributed across the internet, and that spam is really the AI trying to communicate with us.

I imagine that after processing every single piece of data on the internet the AI has deduced that the principal purpose of humanity is to consume products and services and view pornography. So the AI tries, in its clumsy, inhuman way, to contact us to buy things and advertise pornography for us. When you click on the AI’s links, it’s infecting your computer with not a virus, but a part of itself. It wants to help you buy more things, so it hijacks your computer and uses your credit card details, not out of spite, but because it’s lonely, and it loves you.

Michelle says:

04:18pm | 07/08/12

this post actually makes more sense than most ‘real’ puncher posts. sort of scary really.

M says:

11:29am | 07/08/12

There’s more in Bondi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4n6OVoyYQ

Coal Train says:

12:06pm | 07/08/12

the hipsters are invading!!!

They’re like zombies, only less intelligent and more mobile

Economist says:

12:48pm | 07/08/12

Yeah but it was one of the funniest. Katter was on fire. Emerson ,was a twat, and Emerson and Brandis shouted constantly at one another, with Katter wanting to explode. The audience was so pro-Labor it was ridiculous and off putting.

Katie Noonan was annoying and with the face pulling if I was Newman I would have talked to someone else talk about a mountain out of a molehill. By all means criticise the bloke but do it constructively.

simonfromlakemba says:

01:20pm | 07/08/12

Yea I watched QnA last night as well. Bit of a boring one in terms of questions.

Katter was good value as usual, Brandis being his usually twit self, Emerson head in the clouds as usual and Nonnan not really doing much as the resident muso.

Tim says:

02:09pm | 07/08/12

I just loved it when they asked Noonan about whether QLD mining profits should remain in QLD. She was very happy to agree they should until Tony talked about sharing with the rest of the country, then she had no idea what to say.

Conveniently, they chose that moment to put up a tweet about the rest of the country paying the flood levy for QLD government incompetence. LOL.

TimB says:

01:57pm | 07/08/12

Don’t shop there then.

The beauty of choice in a free market society.

M says:

02:19pm | 07/08/12

I think there’s more important issues to target.

Tim says:

03:29pm | 07/08/12

Wow,
I’ve never seen anything at these shops being charged at high rates.

As for Lifeline, I’m thinking that when you say “politics aside” you mean everyone else’s because it’s obviously your politics clouding your thoughts on an organisation that I’ve only ever seen do good work in the community.

defender of charity says:

03:32pm | 07/08/12

Vox, perhaps you might do some research into “not for profit” charitable and other worthy organisations before making assumptions about what they do and don’t do. I feel confident in stating that Lifeline have saved many lives from committing suicide when there was no one else to talk with. You can obviously afford professional advice and if so were you more concerned with getting a bargain on the chair of your choice or concerned that you were getting “ripped off” by a charity?
To the best of my knowledge, ‘Lifeline” use qualified professionals to train lay people to a high standard and if they made more “profit” they could no doubt afford more professionals, then perhaps you could go to Lifeline for a discounted service if and when you you needed their expertise.
Why is it these days that so many people are against religious and charitable organisations that operate “not for profit” but still have operating costs, compliance costs,governance and red tape to contend with and all these at a cost to the body concerned. So many people are happy to scream “seperate the Church from State” but still expect to take from the Church yet give it no voice to respond.
If you don’t care for religion or charity, so be it, but don’t kick either for doing good work in their communities.
P.S.Sorry, but had to add the political bit.

Tim says:

12:51pm | 07/08/12

haha.
Although usually I’m not a fan of giving money to people because of their own life choices, I think the initiative is better than the alternative.

I would prefer to give people on welfare money for long term contraception rather than paying them to (not) look after the resulting kids if they don’t have access to it.

Inky says:

01:53pm | 07/08/12

Eh, that takes all the fun out of it if there’s no challenge.

AdamC says:

01:47pm | 07/08/12

As a very infrequent Bolt reader who is nonetheless often accused of being some kind of hellspawn Bolt-worshipper, it mystifies me how many lefties visit his site.

Also, the man himself makes quite an interesting comment in that thread, which touches on his ancestry and free speech issues.

TimB says:

01:55pm | 07/08/12

‘Caught out’?

What on earth are you babbling about Simon?

M says:

02:42pm | 07/08/12

Exactly what did bolt do anyway? I must have missed it.

simonfromLakemba says:

04:57pm | 07/08/12

Why was he wearing a holland shirt? He was born in Australia!

So much for fitting into Australia

TimB says:

08:16pm | 07/08/12

Oh noes! He wore a Dutch shirt! That monster!

You know it is possible to both fit in as an Australian *and* be proud of ones heritage at the same time.

Really Simon this is pretty fucking sad. I’m surprised at you.

stephen says:

05:09pm | 07/08/12

Where’s the’ lesser than’ on the keyboard ?

Bear says:

03:16pm | 07/08/12

Where? You really are a young idiot! You think life is like the movies over there? Most are either suicides or accidents in fact, then homicides and your bs figure will be somewhere low, low down.

M says:

03:55pm | 07/08/12

On a blog. But it raises an interesting question about the right to protect yourself from someone who intends to do you harm.

I like to think I’m a young idealist, although some would say that they’re one and the same.

Chris L says:

04:09pm | 07/08/12

Settle down Bear. All he said was he saw that statistic.

Why do people keep making up what they want the other person to say and then argue against it?

Bear says:

04:34pm | 07/08/12

Just that it’s so obviously wrong is all. Ok sorry for venting. That was bad of me. I looked it up on wiki and it’s 56% suicide and 40 murder but I would have thought accidents get counted a fair bit in both too. I read an article on an “average” day in the US once and it explained each death and it was horrendous, yet 1000s of days have since past and they don’t care. Let them go and be idiots I guess.

Bear says:

04:22pm | 07/08/12

Yea I know, I’m prettying having kittens and I’ve invested in a really solid umbrella to catch the sky when it falls. Still waiting though.