Australia - Week 162 - June 2-9

Man.  I haven't been this excited about something in a while.  A comment was left here last week that I just loved.  I'll share it with you, so that I don't have to write anything myself this week:

Orstralia calling here. Just wanted to give you the hands up that our recently elected PM is winging his way towards your bonza country on what can only be fact finding mission on the wonders of conservative government in Canada. Now Tony Abbott is the leader of the Liberal party of Australia but don't be confused because that's our version of the conservative party in Oz ( might be because we live in the opposite hemisphere).
Unfortunately for Tonnes his recent budget hasn't gone down to well with the general public. Those lower class types are getting upperty about inequality between the rich and the other ninety percent of the population. Even the septic tanks south of your boarder have made fun of him.

Now if Mr Harper could just show him some of the nuances on how to rule within a conservative framework, just some pointers well....it would be much appreciated. Having said that he does have a handy guide put together by the Institute of public affairs of Australia, a prestigious group of Bankers, Miners, Captains of industry all thought to be under the guiding hand of our very own Rupert Murdoch.

Even though Rupe has gone on to bigger and better things ( now an American citizen by crickey ) I like to think he still reminisces of his early days at the Adelaide Advertiser. Just wondering if your fair country is lucky enough to have any News corp publications or is it just us with wall to wall Murdoch media. Anyhow I better get out of your way now. Oh! If you do run into Tonnes he's the kind laconic bloke who will fell right at home with a cheeky greeting of ' Cheers big ears '.

The second link is a work of magic, and perhaps the work of a sociopath.  Who else could spend the first few paragraphs talking about all the wonderful left wing changes of the past and how they've become thoroughly appreciated (Universal Healthcare, free tuition, etc.)...and then prescribe these changes as the way to move Australia forward?  Banish the carbon tax, pull out of Kyoto, abolish the Department of Climate Change and the Clean Energy Fund, abandon parental leave, privatise, privatise, privatise.  I mean, it's some kind of Koch Brothers wet dream.  Anyhow.  Thanks TaxiLurker...I really needed that.

On with the real news.

Perhaps this was the plan all along, but it seems like the Robocalls trial is coming to the conclusion that Michael Sona is guilty as hell, but not capable of executing without help.  And probably some help on a National level from the party.

Ha ha.  I almost just pasted this link in.  And I'm going to share it anyhow.  Because who doesn't want to read about the trainwreck of the Kimye wedding?  A lesson in the excesses of the 1%.

Damned scientists.  Getting in the way of progress again.  Here pointing out that the science used to justify the Northern Gateway project is "flawed".  The logic too.  And again with the Scientists....Great news on Fracking in Canada.  A University of Waterloo report finds that wells are poorly capped, barely monitored, and leaking all over the place.  Thank god our decisions aren't peer reviewed, says Steve.

Jesus.  This is a bit troubling.  The "Government" is imploring its departments to track every protest across Canada.  The Optimist would assume they want to keep their fingers on the pulse of Canadian opinion...

So the Cons have unveiled their prostitution bill.  The "Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act".  Man.  What's their budget for thinking up over-the-top bill names?  Anyhow.  I'm not sure people are going to buy into this one.  It seems to make everybody angry.  I guess I have some Libertarian in me.  It seems like making things that people really want illegal is kind of stupid.  Doesn't it make sense, as New Zealand has done with prostitution, to accept that things will happen and bring it out in the open?  This Nordic model sounds like a step in the right direction, but seems to add an unnecessary shroud over things.  How can you ensure things are safe when people are still forced to do it in secrecy?

More veterans more angry with the Conservatives.

Don't worry.  Nigel Wright is going to be okay.  Mike Duffy probably won't be.

Vice chimes in on our "You're not a citizen any more" legislation.  Pointing out that it sucks.

There's just so many links about why we shouldn't buy the F-35, I don't even know where to start.  But apparently, we're going to.  Okay.  One link.  Basically, this airplane is so complicated and compromised because of the vertical takeoff/landing requirements.  Which Canada doesn't need.  So in summary.  We're spending insane amounts of money on an airplane because some variants require something that we don't, and the whole design is kind of compromised because of it.  Well done.

Somebody from Peter McKay's office is most likely behind the "bozo eruption" recording.  More Peter McKay (christ, what an asshole).  The Conservatives still seem intent on making the Marc Nadon fiasco about anything but them.  Peter McKay suggests documents were leaked?  How does that in any way impact what happened? 

Harper found an actual Quebec judge to appoint to the Supreme Court.

Quebec has passed some form of right-to-die legislation.

Steve seems to have "ruthless dictatorship" confused with "communism".

Elections Canada hasn't made up their mind about NDP guilt with respect to mailouts.

People give Garth a tonne of shit.  But this post is really beautiful.  He lays out quite clearly how our Real Estate costs can have an impact on where businesses set up.  And that we shouldn't be excited when a factory closes down and we build over-priced condos on the land.  "In Canada, this is progress. Who needs useless, noisy, downscale factories full of people with rough cuticles and bad tats when all we need is to sell real estate to each other at ever-higher prices with ever-larger mortgages? Then everyone benefits. Obviously we’ve found a new economic reality. It’s so good to be different. And smart."

I really don't understand what Steve is going to accomplish with his Russian saber rattling.  Send more troops to Europe?  To do what?  With what?  It's a bit of a symbolic sham of a gesture.  Especially when we still seem happy to take the money of Russians when we really need it.

A study has shown that states that primarily vote Republican have a far higher dependency on Federal funding than do states that vote primarily Democrat.  Damned Liberal freeloaders, keep wanting to give money to real 'Merican 'publicans.