Punch on: Open thread 05/01/2012

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

11:04am | 05/01/12

Daniel,
Wasnt cryptic enough. Muddled and secretive in google got me the 1st result. After 12 months finally I claim the honours. Nossy sorta like Tony will soon. :D

nossy says:

11:39am | 05/01/12

@Semi Concerned Citizen   congrats Semi!

mick e mause says:

06:52am | 05/01/12

care factor scale 0 to 10 mmmm zero

Shane From Melbourne says:

07:58am | 05/01/12

@ mick e whatever- you might care a little if places start banning Aussie tourists, charging higher prices or whatever because bogan aussies export their behavior overseas. Bad enough that people have to put up with them here in Australia

AdamC says:

08:33am | 05/01/12

She sounds like a complete dill. After all, it is one thing for a tourism official to dislike drunken Aussies, quite another to slag them off in public. In any event, surely we can’t be any worse than the low-rent chavs from the UK?

SimonFromLakemba says:

09:03am | 05/01/12

I don’t have a problem with what he said, sadly Australians are turning into louts overseas.

But Australia has a big Croatian population as well, so I’m sure they are mindful of that.

Fred says:

09:22am | 05/01/12

Fair call. So can we give them all our slavs back?

Hamish says:

09:38am | 05/01/12

After spending three months backpacking around Europe a couple of years ago, I can safely say Aussies are easily the worst tourists in the world. I basically tried to avoid them. It’s not so much the drunkenness, it’s the complete lack of respect for the customs of the country they are travelling in (being loud on trains/trams, wearing completely inappropriate clothing, whingeing about the way other countries do things and just being generally ignorant). Americans are way better and generally more educated and informed about other countries. Actually one of the things that annoyed me the most was when some dumb Aussie bogan was talking about how ignorant, etc, American travellers are. Pot, kettle seriously.

I actually found Kiwis better than Aussies partly because they were often older. A lot of Aussie travellers are about 18 or so and it’s really too young. Also, and this is going to sound a bit bad, because Australia is relatively prosperous at the moment, travel even to Europe has become within the means of certain types of relatively uneducated bogan who in the past wouldn’t have been able to afford it. What makes it worse is that a lot of Aussies think people in other countries like Australians. I think this used to be the case but now everyone thinks Aussies are the world’s worst travellers by some margin.

AdamC, even the chavs have nothing on some the Aussies I met.

AdamC says:

11:35am | 05/01/12

Hamish, well, that is unfortunate from a national pride perspective.

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

07:54am | 05/01/12

Erick you linked this page?
HAHA the bad guy is not nuts. Oh woe is us. I think i argued on your side on that one Erick.

TimB says:

07:55am | 05/01/12

Erick, I think your link is broken (or you copied the wrong address). It keeps linking me back to this exact open thread.

It’s an infinite loop of linkage.

Tim says:

08:02am | 05/01/12

Erick,
Didn’t the psychologists find him criminally insane?

Elphaba says:

08:03am | 05/01/12

I thought it was clear that most killers weren’t insane.  Otherwise, there would be a lot more cheating the death penalty.

Howdy Punchers.  I am NOT thrilled to be back at work. :(  Christmas was awesome.  I hope everyone stayed safe and ate and drank way too much - I know I did.

Cookie Monster says:

08:14am | 05/01/12

Tim B - is it loopy then?

Erick says:

08:18am | 05/01/12

Oh crap, I’ve created a space-time lens that makes the link in my original comment undetectable! Sorry guys - I hope The Punch doesn’t disappear into a black hole, like the last time ... Ahem.

I’ll just have to try again.

“Experts monitoring the Norwegian killer, Anders Behring Breivik, say they believe he is not psychotic, contradicting court-appointed psychiatrists.

“A team of experts reached the conclusion after monitoring Breivik in prison, said the public prosecutor who submitted their report to the court.”

TimB says:

08:28am | 05/01/12

Ditto Elphaba. Been back three days and already I want another holiday.

Stupid Dad not choosing the right lotto numbers. Bah.

Anubis says:

08:33am | 05/01/12

@ TimB - maybe it’s just time cloaked (see today’s Punch story). It linked but you didn’t see the page open because of the time cloak

Elphaba says:

09:15am | 05/01/12

@TimB, we bought Lotto tickets too.  Grrr…

Even worse, now begins the fight to convice work to give me a couple of days for Christmas this year.  They’re all going back to Cairns again - work will have to give me something, they can’t expect me to celebrate Christmas on my own…

AdamC says:

09:30am | 05/01/12

Erick, I think sometimes it is easier for people to assume someone is insane rather than accept that they quite deliberately committed hideous acts of violence without the benefit of delusions or voices in their head. To me, it is certainly conceivable that Breivik is quite sane. After all, historically, there has been no shortage of political extremists who use terror to advance their aims.

Erick says:

11:14am | 05/01/12

@AdamC - Exactly. Some would rather believe the most unlikely things than admit that people are actually capable of being evil.

Another pet phrase I dislike is when terrible criminals are called “in human”. No, they’re not non-human, they are humans who do very bad things.

There are of course some who are genuinely insane in the commission of crimes - who don’t have any idea of what they’re doing or whether it’s wrong. But they are much less common than plain old bad people.

The righteous one says:

10:27am | 06/01/12

definitely agree on this one, he is just a bad bastard, bit narcisitc perhaps but basically bad

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

08:25am | 05/01/12

Ron Paul, seems to stand for smaller goverment less military from what little i can read about him. He also says some things that make sense. He won’t win the nomination.

Bob Higgs says:

08:41am | 05/01/12

Ron Paul is an old guy who says US is bankrupt, can’t afford wars anymore, corporations should be distanced from power and and there are too many unproductive public servants. 
What a crazy guy.

Hamish says:

08:44am | 05/01/12

Highly doubtful Santorum will get close to winning the candidacy race. He’s way too conservative to win the election and most primary voters factor in the chances of someone actually becoming president. If Santorum did run it would mobilise pretty much everyone who’s not on the rather extreme right of the Republican Party to get out and vote. That’s probably Obama’s best chance of winning. Hopefully what will happen is Romney will lurch a bit more to the right. I think it’s basically a message from the voters to Romney that they think he’s got a chance, but he’s too much like a Demo-rat.

Still I think pre-emptive action against Iran’s a pretty good idea. Those scumbags need to be put in their place a bit more. The other interesting aspect is how little coverage Santorum got in the lead up. Yet another example of how the media in the US (and Australia) is infested with lefties. They just couldn’t believe someone like Santorum would have a chance in Iowa.

SimonFromLakemba says:

09:07am | 05/01/12

Has 7 kids and has home schooled them, hes the poster boy of conservatism in America.

And you thought Bush was bad, this guy is more nuts.

Ron Paul is a crack up, wants American troops, bases shut down, go back to putting the dollar against gold, wants a very small Government, no preemptive strikes against anyone.

Id vote for Ron Paul personally. The media in America barely give him any airtime, especially Fox News, you would think he wasn’t running.

James1 says:

09:41am | 05/01/12

I saw a list on Daily Beast of the ten “most outrageous things Ron Paul has said”.  Apart from the idea that we should deny healthcare to cancer patients with no pre-existing insurance, I found none of them to be outrageous.  If he is as libertarian when it comes to individual social freedoms as he is when it comes to economic freedom, I’d vote for the guy.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/28/10-outrageous-ron-paul-quotes.nafta-superhighway.html

nossy says:

09:53am | 05/01/12

@Shane From Melbourne   given the ragged line up facing Obama Shane another 4 years is in the bag. The real fight will come in 4 years time when Obama is gone and the Presidency is up for grabs - hence the 4th rate republican Candidates now.

AdamC says:

09:58am | 05/01/12

I like Ron Paul, in a sort of constrained way. I like the idea of small government, I even like the idea of reverting to a gold standard currency system. The problem with Ron Paul is that he advocates what some people call a ‘Jeffersonian foreign policy’. Based around an extreme ‘isolationist’ approach, the policy bares little resemblance to the foreign policy Jefferson actually adopted while he was President. More importantly, it also studiously ignores the geopolitical reality in which America (and other states) exist.

I don’t like policies that fail the ‘reality test’. That is the problem with Obamacare, among other things.

John says:

10:07am | 05/01/12

The system is rigged, Ron Paul is the only legitimate runner, the rest are puppets to the death and destruction cult. I was watching our own media today talk about Iowa and they didn’t mention Ron Paul. ABC, SBS is just like the US controlled by the death and destruction cult. I suspect vote rigging in Iowa. What it seems the republican runners except Ron Paul are following a script, when the elections come the death and destruction cult media, will most likely put another puppet in power to continue their death and destruction policy’s. The entire system is rigged, the media is distorted, polls are manipulated, voter counters changed.

American’s need to wake up, or their nation is finished.

James1 says:

10:25am | 05/01/12

If Ron Paul got in, everything he said about foreign policy would be discarded after his first classified briefing from the CIA.  Happens every time.

Shane From Melbourne says:

12:21pm | 05/01/12

@nossy- I don’t think Obama is such a shoo in. The American economy is still in the pits after four years and the unemployment level is unacceptably high. Obama may have sold himself too well in the first election and dashed a lot of expectations. To the Republican voters he is demonized as socialist while to the Democrat voter he is demonized as part of Wall St establishment. Also some of the taint of George W Bush that rubbed off on the 2008 Republican candidate has faded enough not to influence the 2012 election.

AdamC says:

12:23pm | 05/01/12

James1, maybe. Obama certainly seems to have responded well to the CIA’s little dose of reality. His foreign policy has been far less disastrous than one might have expected from his campaign rheoric. Thank heavens for ‘The Company’!

James1 says:

12:47pm | 05/01/12

Shane, if Romney gets the nomination, anything is possible.  Conservatives are going to vote conservative no matter who is nominated.  I can’t see the Tea Party voting Democrat because Bachmann didn’t get the nomination, for instance.  But Romney could possibly get the vote of the independents as well, and in the US it is the independents that swing elections.  Should be an interesting election, despite the lack of hilarity that will result from Bachmann bowing out.

AdamC says:

01:34pm | 05/01/12

Romney should be able to beat Obama. The man’s not FDR, Americans tend not to re-elect Presidents when the economy is in such bad shape. That, and Barack’s been quite a disappointment to moderate and independent voters. After campaigning as a great ‘hope and change’ unifier, he has been an ultra-partisan President who dropped the ball on the economy in the middle of his term to pursue his own ideological agenda. Any credible Republican rival should be able to capitalise on that.

Hamish says:

02:06pm | 05/01/12

I agree AdamC. My take is that Romney will try and get more of the guns and bibles types on side and eventually he’ll get the nomination. Assuming he keeps it together on the campaign trail he should beat Obama easily. Both Paul and Santorum are basically unelectable on a presidential election basis, but their popularity in the Iowa vote sends a clear message to Romney that he’s too left for the Republican heartland.

Elphaba says:

08:29am | 05/01/12

I do both.  I bought cheap books on my holiday, and I have a Kindle as well to try and save some space on the bookshelf.

I don’t usually lend books though because my taste differs from my friends, so I can’t help you there.  I haven’t read up on the lending of books via a Kindle.  But is sounds like it might not be the best choice if your tastes are all similar and you share books.

Lily says:

11:18am | 05/01/12

You can each put multiple kindles on your account, up to 6 I believe and send purchased books to all devices permanently for no additional cost.. For example when I purchase a book I can also send it to 4 other family members for zero cost if I think they would like it too. This is completely different to lending. I think it is on the amazon website under sharing, or google it.

Elphaba says:

12:23pm | 05/01/12

Sounds like Lily solved your problem, redvixen.  Enjoy your Kindle, they’re so pretty…

redvixen says:

01:00pm | 05/01/12

Thanks Lily, that’s very helpful.  I’ll look into it.

Cate says:

02:57pm | 05/01/12

Can anyone help with Pico Life BK7002 e reader,  Colour? Maybe I should have got a Kindle.
The way I look at it, it seems you have to get a new download and new book price each time.  Unless there is some kind of sale.  It’s like buying 3 new books.  I don’t really know, just guessing.

Justin Patterson says:

02:59pm | 06/01/12

Buy a Kobo, or other non-Kindle.  you’ll be able to download pirated books for free.

TChong says:

09:34am | 05/01/12

Well get cracking there Mr Smith.
Let us know what you find out.
or
Relax and watch the cricket - plenty of time to down load your LNP Powerpoint presentation.
( Oz is on holidays from Melbourne Cup till Australia Day)

nossy says:

09:34am | 05/01/12

@Mr Smith   agree Mr Smith - the buying up of our rich agricultural land by people from overseas is appalling and why the government is allowing it to happen is beyond me. We shall soon be the food bowl of China. Lets all write to Gillard and tell her to pull ger bloody finger out and stop it all!

AdamC says:

09:48am | 05/01/12

Mr Smith,

Japanese whalers are not ‘invading’ anything, and the Southern Ocean is not Australia’s ‘territorial waters’.

Red Anna, not Red Julia, operates the QLD police force.

What is wrong with ‘foreigners’ buying land in Australia? Preventing overseas persons and entities from buying Australian land would reduce the value of land, limit primary producers’ access to capital and, ultimately, reduce food production. That seems like a food security fail to me.

We do agree, though, on asylum seekers. It is time for action, Prime Minister!

Mr Smith says:

09:49am | 05/01/12

Mr TChong I can see that clearly you only seem to make statements in a vain attempt to show people everywhere that you have the ability to use a keyboard. Thanks for your pointless statement and I hope that if you have a job that pays you, you should thank your lucky stars for plain dumb luck. Cherrio!

Tator says:

10:00am | 05/01/12

Sorry Mr Smith,
the Queensland Police force is actually a QLD ALP State Government responsibility and the Feds have no control over that whatsoever.  The person you need to complain about is the Qld Treasurer and Police Minister who are not forecasting that extra funds would be needed to pay for the legitimately negotiated EB.  (on a side note, here in SA, the Superintendent in charge of my branch failed to allow for the 2010 EB when asking for her budget and seeing wages costs went up by 10% this financial year so she has been very embarrased by this as she had to go cap in hand to the director of business services for more funds so she didn’t blow the budget just with the increased wages bill)

NicoleG says:

10:04am | 05/01/12

I don’t correct spelling mistakes because I’m possibly one of the worst at it, but what really shits me to no end? People who morph ‘than’ in to ‘then’. It’s bloody ‘than’ Mr Smith, not ‘then’.

/
Rant over!

Anubis says:

10:11am | 05/01/12

@ Nossy - The Govt is allowing this to happen because one of the Independents that they rely on to keep Government is involved in said sale of productive farmland. Tony Windsor has been implicated in the purchase of farmland in and around his electorate and then onselling said farmland to Chinese and other foreign concerns (mainly with mining interests). It has been further alleged that he has been making exorbitant multi-million $ profits on the transactions. This was reported in a number of papers throughout last year, but always buried in the inside pages. where very little attention was paid to it. The main stream press never ran with the story (similar to the way the press has dropped issues such as Craig Thomson and other potential Labor damaging subjects)

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/independent-mp-tony-windsor-buys-up-nsw-farms-with-prospects/story-fn59niix-1226083773219

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/anti-csg-tony-windsor-fine-with-coalmine-on-family-property/story-fnaxx2sv-1226184066736

http://annamariacom.blogspot.com/2011/06/tony-windsor-sells-property-to-coal.html

TChong says:

10:12am | 05/01/12

Exactly right Mr Smith, I got a job on “the public purse”, so yeah I am sitting pretty.
And, as you guess, since I’m a proud unionist, I can be totally incompetent, and get away with it !!! HaHaHaHaarr !
You can also go to uni, get a qualification, and do the same.
Try it , with mature age entry, you’ll manage it. One day.
Now I’ll get back to my public paid for flexie day.
You have fun too. 

Hamish says:

10:53am | 05/01/12

I think Gillard’s figured out that the less she does the less she can f@#k up. The asylum seeker incompetency is getting to pantomime level now.

WTF is up with people getting such hard ons for whales? Indonesians illegally fish the crap out of our waters and no one cares. Yet the Japanese want to bag a few minkes and everyone’s up in arms and some dick gets to endanger lives by throwing crap at the whalers, getting deliberately run over for publicity, etc. What’s the story? I mean, we obviously need to make sure we don’t whale too much, but seriously a few whales which they’re allowed to catch under international agreements? Where are all the international human rights lawyer/asylum seeker advocate types arguing we must let the Japanese whale because we’re signatories to the international whaling whatever the thing’s called?

Aitch B says:

11:02am | 05/01/12

@TChong

What is it with you? In your mind anyone who criticises Gillard is automatically a LNP stooge.

John Smythe says:

11:02am | 05/01/12

AdamC, I was reading one of the New Zealand online papers a while back and they had an article on the Chinese buy up of their dairy farms. I don’t know the extent of the buy up, but it indicated that all procedes of the dairy farm (products and cash I guess) went straight back to China. So in that respect, the buying up of dairy farms, was, if any truth in the article, indicated that NZ was not only “losing” land, they were also losing a %age of their production capacity.

I believe they were trying to push the government to ensure at least some %age of production was left for domestic sales.

That sort of buy up is counterproductive, and indicative of short-sighted governments out for some immediate cash.

John Smythe says:

11:31am | 05/01/12

Hamish : WTF is up with people getting such hard ons for whales? Indonesians illegally fish the crap out of our waters and no one cares.

Totally agree. You drift into protected waters while fishing and can potentially lose your boat, license and all. Indo fishermen…..slap on the wrist, dollars in their pocket and sent back to indonesia.

I think it was The Cairns Post that had aerial photographs of these fuckers having a nice BBQ of sea turtles and reef fish on one of our remote islands too.

Seems the people who want to be all righteous for their warm fuzzies, are selective in how they get their warm fuzzies. Pathetic!

nossy says:

11:42am | 05/01/12

@Anubis these Independents are the same coves Anubis that Dr NO tried desparately to get onside with him fella - nossy did not come down in the last shower my good man/woman.

T.Chong says:

12:05pm | 05/01/12

no aitch
its the old “the govt did/didnt do this that or the other” without the slightest attempt to distinguish little details such as federal and state responsibilities, that makes me question the adhomminen nature of the outrage.
I dont think i make the claim ( stooging) too often, any more than made about me.
maybe I should have overused a to convey my usual flippancy.

Anubis says:

12:12pm | 05/01/12

@ Nossy - it is irrelevant if Dr No tried to recruit them to his side or not. They were eventually purchased by Gillard and now represent the dark side. That has no affect whatsoever on the morality of the goose Windsor buying up farm land to sell to miners. What this particular thread is about is why the Government (Labor, greens, indies & bottom of the garden fairies) is doing nothing about securing Australia’s food supply and our national wealth for future generations.

May the force be with you Nossy (cause it sure aint with the Government of the day) BTW - Nossy, how are the preparations for your relocation to convict central going? Is Gavin distressed that his budgie-smuggling running mate is departing the sunny climes for the dirty and polluted Bogan central that is Sydney? Poor guy is probably inconsolable to be losing such a wise campadre.

Elphaba says:

12:15pm | 05/01/12

The Australian Government can’t do a thing about whaling.  The IWC is responsible for implementing the farcial ‘scientific whaling’ loophole, they need to fix it.  And since the Japanese aren’t going to quit whaling anytime soon, it’s time for the IWC to think about sustainable whaling.

If it were up to me, they wouldn’t whale at all.  But sometimes the most practical solution is not the ideal one.

Hamish says:

12:43pm | 05/01/12

I don’t necessarily disagree with you Elphaba, but why do you care so much about whales? People kill things all the time, yet everyone seems to get upset when someone kills a whale. I’m really more on the Japanese side with this one. Why shouldn’t they be able to kill a few whales as long as they’re not endangering the species?

Elphaba says:

01:28pm | 05/01/12

Errr… Hamish, did you even read what I wrote?  I just said basically the same thing.  I’m not big on the wholesale slaughter of any species, but I just said that such a position is not always practical.  The world is what it is.  Humans eat meat.  Japanese people eat whale meat.  As such, if they want to legitimise the industry I’d prefer they did it under a sustainable agreement, not a ridiculous excuse.

As it stands, the Japanese pretending to be whaling for scientific research is not endearing the industry to anyone.  Put in place a practical agreement and maybe some people will calm down.

Hence, why I’m wondering if you read my post…

Hamish says:

01:52pm | 05/01/12

I did read it Elphaba, I guess I must have misunderstood what you meant. My apologies.

Elphaba says:

02:03pm | 05/01/12

@Hamish, apology accepted.

Sith Nihonin says:

02:05pm | 05/01/12

‘They were eventually purchased by Gillard and now represent the dark side’.  Anubis she is not of the darkside, she is of the flip side (so is the other saviour, a man named Abbott, as I am lead to believe through the use of the Force).

oooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Markus says:

09:40am | 05/01/12

Times have been grim for Newcastle ever since Shearer’s dodgy knees finally gave out back at the turn of the century.
It is great to see them a force in the EPL again, and what they went through just makes it that much more satisfying.

Happy G says:

12:08pm | 05/01/12

Didn’t look too flash against the mighty Reds last time out though did they ? Admittedly N’cle have performed better this campaign than many expected but for a big club they’re perennial under achievers.

Rowdy says:

01:10pm | 05/01/12

@HappyG…no they did not….but we got a goal against the scousers and were doing ok until Gerrard came on….and at least it wasn’t 3-0 like you guys against Citeh….that was terrible form…

SimonFromLakemba says:

09:42am | 05/01/12

There’s nothing going to stop Tony from getting his daily photo op!

nihonin says:

02:16pm | 05/01/12

I noticed a certain lady shown at the cricket this morning as well, talk about photo opportunities, nice to see our fed taxes wasted on developing sporting grounds, I think the NSW (or any state gov) and the body controlling the field, would have enough money between them to do any upgrades required.  I consider roads and fed amenities a little more appropriate of money raised.  But nice live shots on the tv of the PM spruiking how wonderfully wasted our taxes are.

Elphaba says:

09:46am | 05/01/12

It was lovely.  I’ve been a couple of times, but I thought this time was a stand-out. 

I love that lagoon area, it’s gorgeous.  We went a few times.  And it was pretty good on NYE.  We only stayed for the kiddie fireworks though.

Now comes the fight with work to be able to do it for this Christmas.  We’re supposed to take turns.  I only want 2 days off, and I think that the fact I come to work every day and not take sick days (don’t get sick) should be taken into account.  Not like the f*cktards who call in sick 2 times a month and don’t provide a doc’s certificate, and management still sees fit to employ them.

Still, I have an ace up my sleeve.  I have 6 weeks annual leave and work is sweating about it.  If they want me to use it, they can start with Christmas Eve off.

Othewise I’ll keep hoading it - they can’t make me take it.

Elphaba says:

09:58am | 05/01/12

Grrr… *hoarding.

fairsfair says:

10:12am | 05/01/12

I am glad you had fun!

The lagoon and esplanade is fantastic. Though I have to say I have never swum in the lagoon. I am lucky to be able to walk down there every day for lunch. Quite spoilt. I was watching a rerun of “The Pacific” last night and well, I really do live in a beautiful part of the world.

I thought NYE Cairns was pretty good this year too. We did the same - watched the kiddies fireworks from the office roof after dinner and then headed home for some drinks and watch the Sydney fireworks. In bed at 2am, so I think I did pretty well in my old age.

Thats a bit tough if they don’t give it to you - particularly if you go away. Good luck if the others have kids though - thats a losing battle. Santa may be for kids, but Christmas is a time about family (which shock horror, even childless people have) and being deprived of that is not totally fair. Particularly when others don’t actually go away. I have no idea why people would choose not to work the three or four days in between when they are just having a Christmas at home. Such a good opportunity to catch up. I am so far ahead with my work this month purely because I worked those three days without the phone ringing etc.

AdamC says:

10:19am | 05/01/12

“Back to reality though - this week, though short is really dragging.”

I second that!

Elphaba says:

10:33am | 05/01/12

@fairs, I know, it’s crap.  Just because I don’t have kids my family time is somehow less valid.

Oh well.  The boss tried tapping me on the shoulder once about my accrued holidays.  With a very cool gaze, I replied “Can you make me take them?”

Him: “Well… no.”

Me:  “Alright then.  I’ll get back to you when I’m ready to take a break.”

I’m going to push the boat out as far as I can.  3 months, I’m aiming for…

SimonFromLakemba says:

10:43am | 05/01/12

‘Back to reality though - this week, though short is really dragging’

+3, yesterday was death, thought it would never end!

TimB says:

11:37am | 05/01/12

“I have no idea why people would choose not to work the three or four days in between when they are just having a Christmas at home. “

When you have a birthday tucked in between Christmas and New Year you *really* don’t want to be at work then .

I don’t think I’d catch up on all that much anyway, there’s always stuff going on here :( .

fairsfair says:

12:10pm | 05/01/12

Oh I forgot your promised birthday poem… my bad.

A belated HB TimB.

Those of us who have a mid year birthday (say.. May 1.. jot that down) don’t get time day off. So why would you expect to get time off for your birthday? See and you would use that as a negotiation point if you were ever in a position to have to rotate christmas rosters. Nobody would care TimB!

TimB says:

12:56pm | 05/01/12

Well approximately 2 years out of every 7 my birthday is rightly declared a public holiday . Toss in the weekends, that leaves about 3 in every 7 years when I have an issue.

I make damn sure I’m on holidays those years .

If it makes you feel better, I forgot about the poem too .

fairsfair says:

01:31pm | 05/01/12

I won’t lie to you TimB - I’m shocked.

I thought my poetry really connected with people.

TimB says:

02:24pm | 05/01/12

Course it does Fairs, we’re all just distracted by holidays is all.

By all means, take your time with a late entry. Bust out a masterpiece. I look forward to it

SimonFromLakemba says:

10:28am | 05/01/12

Shes a good one Mrs Bachmann. First God tells her to run for President then she comes next to last and says that God will have something else in store for her.

What I will find interesting is that she tried to play herself of as being an Iowa Girl, but represent Minnesota in the House. Glad shes gone though, she made Palin look like a moderate.

Shane From Melbourne says:

12:30pm | 05/01/12

The world sighed with relief when Michele Bachmann bowed out of the race…..

nihonin says:

02:37pm | 05/01/12

Shane From Melbourne says:

  01:30pm | 05/01/12

  The world sighed with relief when Michele Bachmann bowed out of the race…..

Your part of the world perhaps, but my little part of the world, didn’t care either way Simon.

nihonin says:

03:38pm | 05/01/12

Apologies to Simon, my reply was directed to Shane.

fairsfair says:

03:17pm | 05/01/12

I haven’t heard much about the reinsurers thatmosis. They have not yet fully accepted it as a rating criteria.

I guess it is similar to the Bank’s and their ability to amend rates seperate to the Reserve’s activity. The direct market insurers will almost have free rein. What do you think will happen? Do you think the reinsurer’s will follow suit “because they can” or do you think that they will continue to hold out on change until the “science is settled”? (for want of a better term. I am not seeking to spark a debate on Climate Change - just that is how the situation currently presents itself).

Interesting times ahead anyway. Premiums are so expensive as it is (in my neck of the woods)  and I am not exaggerating when I say that I know quite a few people that are happy to remain uninsured knowing that should they be subject to total loss - they will just turn on the tears to ACA and cry poverty or rely on some sort of “premier’s fund”. I personally could not do that, but that seems to be type of society that we are conditioning.

TimB says:

01:30pm | 05/01/12

Nope. The electorate may respond to a leadership change but not enough to topple the Coalition’s lead.

Without drastic policy change, the ALP is going nowhere, let alone into the lead.

nossy says:

03:12pm | 05/01/12

@TimB -    Overheard in the corridors of power recently Tones Abbott was talking to someone the other day and he said “I am going to come up with a Policy!” and the other person said “NO” in disbelief and Tones said “How did you guess” hahahahhahahahahha nossy is on fire in 2012! whoa whoa!

TimB says:

03:49pm | 05/01/12

“nossy is on fire “

Now there’s a nice image .

nihonin says:

04:09pm | 05/01/12

It may or may not have been funny the 1st time nossy.  Now your recycling your old material, seems just like the Labor party, you’ve run out of material to throw up in defense of the ineptitude on display.

Future Prime Minister says:

04:09pm | 05/01/12

I disagree.

Tony Abbott is clearly John Howard’s anointed successor by none other than John Howard.

I think most Australian’s would give their eye teeth to have John Howard as Prime Minister of Australia under the current uncertainty facing Australia.  Australians know that it was John Howard who put Australia in its current position of strength (outside of the external factor that is China) by tackling the government debt and they also know he was tough on Border Protection.

But since John Howard has retired then we go for Tony Abbott.  The Australian people are slowly being to realise this and more and more people are looking to Tony Abbott as the future Prime Minister.

Against the Man says:

04:31pm | 05/01/12

Watching Gillard comment on the cricket today made be realise she has given up all pretence of actually caring about her actual job. She knows her days are numbered and she looks to be trying to get as much media attention before her down fall. Poor Gillard from worst fake PM to Kylie’s trophy carrier to media hog, so sad in a funny way

John Smythe says:

04:50pm | 05/01/12

Thanks Nihonin I was going to say the same thing. Bad enough the article topics are repeated regurgitated….even worse when the comments section is full of the same comments over and over and over….

nossy says:

04:56pm | 05/01/12

@nihonin getting under your skin am I nihonin!  hahahaha plenty more to come fella - say do you work for the Liberal party like TimB does?

nossy says:

05:00pm | 05/01/12

@John Smythe   would you like a hanky or a glass of water Johnny boy!  nossy is hot to trot in 2012 - last year just a warm up girls!  Ohhh how sweet it is!

nihonin says:

05:27pm | 05/01/12

@nihonin getting under your skin am I nihonin!  hahahaha plenty more to come fella - say do you work for the Liberal party like TimB does?

Nah nossy, don’t work for any party, nor am I a rustie, sycophant or member of any party, you’d never get under my skin nossy, I just hating seeing re-runs the day after they first aired.  I prefer some of your more original material.  But I’ve obviously hit a spot with my comment….cheerio.

John Smythe says:

05:35pm | 05/01/12

Not at all nossy. You’re welcome to carry on like a complete idiot as much as you like.

Shane From Melbourne says:

06:42pm | 05/01/12

@Future Prime Minister- John Howard was Australia’s worst Prime Minister. Single handedly built Australia’s middle class family welfare system that Rudd and Gillard expanded. A rotten socialist and a shame to the Liberal Party.