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Punch on: Open thread 17/08/2010

Lucy Kippist

by Lucy Kippist

17 Aug 05:35am

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Filed under: Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinksy, Open Thread

27 comments

Then United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky today in 1998.

Clinton and Lewinsky behaving themselves in the Oval Office

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27 comments

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    • Brad of Bentleigh says:

      07:41am | 17/08/10

      Wow, every time Julia opens her mouth, we have a Punch peice about it… Tony Abbott faces a tough crowd in a labor heartland, and the ALP branded Tony Jones, prevails, and looking on the Punch you’d swear it never happened…
      It took about 30 minutes for Juli Gillard to get a policy based question on Q&A last week, Abbot had to work the entire time.
      I was anticipating the usual rubbish from Tony Jones and the Q&A producers (especially the spanner who controls the tweets that are displayed) - of course, I was right. Tony Abbott though, was self assured, assertive when required, polite and I hate the term (have never heard it used so often), looked Prime Ministerial.

      This campaign could be won or lost in the final week.

      Reply

    • Biteme says:

      08:43am | 17/08/10

      Tony looked very tired last night on Q and A. He did OK I thought, but I think it’s taking it’s toll on both of them.

    • fairsfair says:

      11:23am | 17/08/10

      I have heard people state that Tony Jones is “labor branded” in the past and I have never agreed with it. I really did notice it last night though. I found him to be a little rude with the speakers also - more so than usual. I think the other Tony is also very tired.
      I expected a crash with subsequent burn, but I was pleasantly surprised. I also expected a piece dedicated to TA’s performance (much like last week) and have to say I am surprised by its nonexistence also!

    • TheRealDave says:

      07:49am | 17/08/10

      Is there any reason why, a week later, we still haven’t seen a single in depth punch article about the disastrous Coalition ‘Broadband’ policy?? After all, we’ve seen countless ‘Jooolya’ stories, how the ‘battlers are rising up against Labor and how Abbot is going to win etc Yet stony silence on this very important issue?? We the punters have been discussing it in various threads and its going to be a huge election issue as to which way votes will go - yet the Punch is strangely silent?

      Who’s going to step up and write a piece on this? Explaining both ‘plans’ put forwards, the benefits, the differences, how industry people are commenting, the poor state of the current copper networks, limitations etc

      Bueller?.............................Bueller?!?!

      Reply

    • Jenny says:

      08:25am | 17/08/10

      Mobile towers every 500m will be required to support the Coalition Broadband plan of at least 12 Mbps, has been reported in the Australian.  If this is true what hope will local communities have in rejecting sites of these towers?

    • Harriet says:

      08:12am | 17/08/10

      Abbott prefers cars to trains for commuters, see Abbott’s own words on the issue . So Sydney commuters don’t expect any money from Tony Abbott’s Liberals

      Reply

    • The Scarlet Pimpernel says:

      08:37am | 17/08/10

      Harriett

      My understanding is that he was commentating on the fact that people prefer their car. They ‘‘get a sense of mastery’’ is one direct quote from Battlelines.

      That said, most of the federal parliamentary Liberal party do seem to be of the opinion that Sydney’s public transport woes are a state government issue and it is difficult to say they are wrong under our current system. If the state government are not investing in improved public transport (and the NSW Govt obviously is not) and they are not improving health facilities (ditto) or education (ditto again) - then what the hell are they doing with all that GST revenue?

      Perhaps when we finally manage to do away with state governments, we can get some sort of regional-based transport thinking started.

      For the record, I am a member of a public transport users association, a keen believer in rail as the only viable mass transit system and have been a daily commuter in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne. I’ve lived in Canberra a few times, but never used public transport. That’s one city where a car is essential, regrettably.

    • Harriet says:

      11:35am | 17/08/10

      @ The Scarlet Pimpernel apparently Abbott’s views are a reflection of Howard, who pushed for the move from rail to road.

    • Biteme says:

      08:20am | 17/08/10

      I think every government decision involving more than $250 Million should be put to an online referendum.

      Reply

    • sue says:

      11:07am | 17/08/10

      Must include Defence spending.

    • Reg says:

      11:20am | 17/08/10

      That’s one way of ensuring they’d become adept with shanghais and cross-bows.

    • Biteme says:

      08:52am | 17/08/10

      How is it that a Public Servant and Chairman of the ACCC has $50,000.00 invested with big business? Grahame Samuels today talks about losing $50 Million in the collapse of DFO. Are there any Public Servants out there that are actually for the Service of the Public?

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      11:08am | 17/08/10

      So public servants are not allowed to invest money now?

    • Biteme says:

      12:06pm | 17/08/10

      So RealDave, you so see no conflict of interest that the Chairman of the ACCC has $50,000,000.00 invested in a big business. So that investment would play absolutely no part in any decisions he makes? You must also think Julia hair is natural.

    • A Bob says:

      01:56pm | 17/08/10

      It was invested in a blind trust. Meaning he had no idea where the money was invested until he got told he was likely to lose it.

    • Paul Neri says:

      09:31am | 17/08/10

      The gentleman charged with recent shootings in Melbourne suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

      In the current clamour from mental health experts to provide more resources to the mentally ill, one wonders whether the public interest is being given sufficient weight?

      I think it’s unacceptable that the public safety hinges on whether a person with a propensity for violence remembers to take medication.

      If the Media has an investigative role any more it would inquire into the situation to determine whether our mental health experts are a little too close to their specialties to make an objective judgement as to whether it is in the public safety to have a mentally ill person living amongst us, particularly if the line between safety and danger is merely ... medication!

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      10:57am | 17/08/10

      The Head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (aka the corporate watchdog) is set to lose millions in a dodgy investment deal; and they say God does not have a sense of humour.

      Reply

    • The Scarlet Pimpernel says:

      11:05am | 17/08/10

      Well, I’d probably vote for a republic myself, provided we followed the American model :

      1. The public elect the President, not a bunch of politicians
      2. The President must be born in this country, no split allegiances

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      11:27am | 17/08/10

      Oh dear! Complete with the “Electoral College?”

    • stephen says:

      11:55am | 17/08/10

      Some bloke wroke a piece in The Australian Today saying we should throw money at Pakistan and their watery problems, to show them that we’re fighting for them, and we care.
      I’ve got a better idea.
      Lets ask them who they want money from : us, or the Taliban.
      (Or do they dare ?)

      Reply

    • Biteme says:

      12:15pm | 17/08/10

      How come theres no people protesting in the street about an 83 year old woman being beaten to a pulp by an Indian national taxi driver in Melbourne?

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      12:23pm | 17/08/10

      I know a few Indian cab drivers and i dont reckon they coulda done it.
      (Think it was Get Up ! doin a skit.)

    • acotrel says:

      12:44pm | 17/08/10

      Somebody on this forum the other day, was extolling the value of idelogy.  The Liberal party are typically ideologues with no vision.  Ideology has a lot to do with belief, and experience .  The trouble is that everything then becomes like driving a car looking into the rear vision mirror. We need goals, and politicians capable of managing the risks.  Abbott is not one of those!

      Reply

    • Harriet says:

      12:57pm | 17/08/10

      Tony Abbott at the Press Club is terrible. He just admitted his only vision for Australia, reducing welfare dependency,  has been borrowed from Noel Pearson.That was it , the rest of his speech was running down Labor. What a shocker, I am so underwhelmed!

      Reply

    • dale says:

      01:31pm | 17/08/10

      The best part was that he has no vission for Australias future, he wants the government to provide communities with the tools to see there individual visions?

    • Vick says:

      01:10pm | 17/08/10

      What do I think of a party that uses taxes from my $30,000 pa income to subsidise women on $150,000 pa?  What do I think of a party that gives tax breaks to multi-billionaire international mining corporations? What do I think of a party that says buy a car and stop complaining about the peak hour traffic chaos?
      I say try again in three years time.

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      03:46pm | 17/08/10

      I see the TAC are celebrating 40 years of seat belt laws.

      I recall as a young underage teenager at a pub one day, a guy telling me that the seat belt laws are the most dangerous laws ever introduced into this country. His believed that those laws would open the door for Government to start interfering into peoples personal lives and space..

      40 years on, i would say this guy was right…

      Ps. We should all wear seat belts, it’s the safe thing to do. However we don’t need people telling us to do it, and fining us for not doing so….

      Reply
 
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