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BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Stringsinger Date: 06 Oct 07 - 06:22 PM bush in the bush |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 06 Oct 07 - 07:14 AM I can imagine our young David Cameron waking up in a cold sweat, having dreamed that Dubya had endorsed him in the election we may be having soon here. It's not too likely though, since in US terms I would guess that the Tory leader would count as a lunatic fringe liberal... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 06 Oct 07 - 06:48 AM OK - Bush gone back into hiding as his appearance here only caused a further slump in Little Fascist Johnny's ratings... :-) Now a new tactic... How Dare You Call My Bigotry Racist? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 15 Sep 07 - 08:37 AM And now we get a 'two for one' deal - like Blair... :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 14 Sep 07 - 11:31 PM Some of you may have heard about the kerfuffle during Shrub's efforts at APEC in Oz. First the Shrub thanked us for sending "Austrian" troops to support his in Iraq, then he thanked our PM for organising "OPEC"; if I were an American I'd be blushing with embarrassment that my President should give such a perfect impression of being a klutz. Then the Chaser team (very game comedians) set up a faux motorcade that was ushered through all the security blocks, the video of which is here The also then demonstrated how much more difficult it was to enter the minimal (by comparison) security of the local RSL Club. All of the APEC stuff was supposed to enhance the stature (very short) and the status of our PM; this has all backfired. He has now had his colleagues publicly debating his ability to lead them into the coming election and whether he can even retain his seat in Parliament. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Azizi Date: 11 Sep 07 - 08:46 AM I'm just popping in to say thanks to all who have posted to this thread. It's been interesting reading comments and following links to articles from Australians the possible effect Bush's visit might have on Australia's election results. I look forward to reading more posts that may be added to this thread. Best wishes, Azizi |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 11 Sep 07 - 06:44 AM I loved the pic on the cover of the Sunday Telegraph, but I can't find it on line yet, tho - Dubya & Little Johnny in a photo op - George standing tall & John trying to look tall. The photographer caught him with chin up. I did find a similar pic published a few days earlier little johnny standing tall with chin out and this one where he's much shorter than Bush, obviously couldn't find anything to stand on! sandra |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 11 Sep 07 - 01:03 AM from teh SMH article above "If there is no APEC bounce for Howard in the polls, it will only partly reflect the disappointment that no mighty deals were done that would see this city join Versailles, Rapallo and Bretton Woods as spots on the map that have changed the world. A ho hum response in the polls would also confirm a sense that this week saw Howard reach a dead end in the politics of fear. Thank God we all got out alive. But by week's end it seemed we didn't need the kilometres of fences, the water cannon and armies of police. They were all a bit of a nuisance. Howard and APEC will be remembered for making Sydney feel grubby." Note: the next poll reflected an even bigger slump for Little Fascist Johnny. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 11 Sep 07 - 12:55 AM ... or Hugh Hefner... ROFL... questions like 'ya know, when ya look at all these hot chicks, do ya ever, ya know...?'... :-) the look on Hugh's face was priceless! The show is definitely worth catching - best of on DVD I do believe... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: JennyO Date: 10 Sep 07 - 11:14 PM I think we should bring Norman Gunston back! He might never have interviewed George Bush, but I'll never forget when he interviewed Boy George! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 10 Sep 07 - 07:15 PM Good fun, akenaton. As a little aside, the song mentions watching the telly news, which showed Gough listening to the Secretary read the declaration and responding with the now famous "Well may we say 'God save the queen' because nothing will save the Governor General!" One of the reasons the ABC has such good coverage of the moment is because there was a crew there to do a Norman Gunston interview. For those who may be bewildered, Norman Gunston was a character (played by Gary McDonald) who satirised the whole process of interviewing the rich and famous. The Dismissal definitely upstaged even Norman Gunston. What a pity Norman wasn't around to interview The Shrub. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: akenaton Date: 10 Sep 07 - 04:22 PM Thanks for that Rowan, I'll add it to my research....Did you like Roarin' Jack? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: John O'L Date: 09 Sep 07 - 08:29 PM Interestiing article here: "One of the lessons Sydney learnt this week is that no security 'precaution' is thought too silly in a country caught up in the politics of fear...Thank God we all got out alive..." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 09 Sep 07 - 07:46 PM For Akenaton A couple of stories from my past that others might find amusing. Like most in Oz I can recall where I was when I heard the news of the Whitlam dismissal; I was the Director of Steiglitz School Camp, about 60 miles west of Melbourne, and was running a camp for Moreland High students. There were several ways of driving from Melbourne to Steiglitz and Moreland students usually came via Bacchus Marsh and Staughton Vale. One of the teachers had, instead come via Geelong, as he had been in the RAAF Reserve and wanted to drive past Pt Cook RAAF Base. His hobby was aircraft identification and he was surprised to see a large jet (I think he said it was a Boeing 707) with US markings which identified it as Air Force 2. This was a couple of days before the dismissal and he had commented on it when he'd arrived at the camp. Curious. Some time after the subsequent election, which saw Malcolm Fraser installed as PM, some friends of mine returned from a trip though France. They had watched a bit of TV while there and had caught a French newscast of the Coalition celebrations in which Tamie Fraser (Malcolm's wife, also from the Melbourne 'upper crust' and supporter of Malcolm's Western District and patrician image) had been interviewed. Shades of Kevin Rudd's (the current Opposition Leader) recent speech in Mandarin to the Chinese President at APEC; Tamie was interviewed by the French journalist in French. My friends assured me that the French used in the following snippet could not be translated in any other terms than; Journalist: "To what do you ascribe the unprecedented nature of this landslide victory?" Tamie: "When in doubt, the people always turn to the aristocracy!" Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: akenaton Date: 09 Sep 07 - 01:49 PM Sorry that was the wrong link....tryTHIS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: akenaton Date: 09 Sep 07 - 01:45 PM Sorry if this is drift, but I've just been doing some research on Gough Whittlam and the dissolution in 1975...Looked like a right bloody carve up!! I thought you Aussies were "Pretty straight sort of guys" just like Tony Blair! I found a great song about it by a group called "Roaring Jack"...the singer is a Scot called Alastair Huwlitt. I love it...Up the Aussi revolution...Ake listen up |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 09 Sep 07 - 09:03 AM ... and issued them clothes pegs for their noses - or do the sewers empty somewhere else now? :-P Appears a chief inspector was caught without his numbers... Why can't they embroider them on the coats, and shirt pockets? or attach an embridered patch - why does the number HAVE to be metal? Firies no longer have brass helmets! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: JennieG Date: 09 Sep 07 - 02:20 AM You have only just thought of that Robin? We Sydneysiders knew it all along.....Sydney is not the capital of Australia, although it likes to think it is. Canberra should have been the venue. They could have had a nice boat trip around the lake! Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 09 Sep 07 - 01:11 AM I now know WHY Sydney was chosen... Johnny wanted to grandstand and show off using the Opera House for the meeting - and have the fireworks on the Harbour Bridge. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 09 Sep 07 - 01:07 AM Well, today, they nearly shot down a light plane who couldn't hear his radio... The 'Official Dickheads' now say that the Police chose not to wear id 'for their own safety'!!! What are they DOING to be worried? Ah - their badges are allegedly taken and used as weapons... evidence? List of charged people? The guy who jaywalked and was detained for several hours is now being charged with 'resisting arrest, and assaulting police' - ah! the good old thuggish standbys... even if you are falsely arrested, the bastards still will smear you and destroy your character... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 08 Sep 07 - 09:14 PM Yes Rowan, I noticed that on the TV - ranks and ranks of them, no badges. We had that game in Qld under 'Uncle Joh' (his preferred wish what to be publicly called!). Swapping of numbers was also rife too - "I wasn't rostered for duty - haha!" Any wonder people used to buy bumper stickers with the blue/white check stripe that said "Queensland Police State" :-) We also had the infamous '3 is a crowd' leglislation! Any 3 people walking together was legally an 'illegal crowd' and they could be dragged away and arrested - anywhere, anytime - just for 'being a crowd' - they didn't have to do anything else! African Dictators play that game still... And the Fitzgerald Enquiry proved that the whole Qld Police Force was seriously criminally Corrupt! Hmm - 18 arrested yesterday - including an elderly gentleman who just walked across the street in front of a motorcade - held for several hours. It's normally an 'on the spot fine' about $50. Many loud claims are being made about 'over the top' & 'out of control'. It is very likely to hurt Little Fascist Johnny badly - even though the (Labour!) NSW Govt was 'in charge' and supplied most of the black unformed Thugs. Sydney has been under effective Martial Law. I don't think the Aussies who experienced it like it! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 08 Sep 07 - 08:45 PM And the Shrub thanked Honest John for the "OPEC" meeting. The reaction of the press and public wasn't quite at the same level as having a pork chop in a mosque but it was still full of ridicule. Which doesn't do Johnny any good. And now there are claims that whole hordes (in the anthropological sense?) of police have been filmed with their identifying badges removed so they couldn't be named for investigation of breaches. The Police Commissioner has done a "Mr Mirror" in response. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Peace Date: 08 Sep 07 - 05:29 PM And to top it off, Bush thinks he's in Austria. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 08 Sep 07 - 11:49 AM Well, the testosterone riddled Keystone 3500 Police - all in full black riot gear, some of them on pushbikes, 1500 Soldiers (thought they were all in Iraq!), a brand new black Riot Water Cannon truck, choppers, snipers fighters, and a partridge in a pear tree... Full "Martial Law" by the look of it... First, there were a few guys dressed up in black, hoods, and masks, etc, dancing around waving rocks, trying to excite the crowd to start being violent. They were laughed at by the crowd, and in spite of doing this in the clear view of the "Testosterone Thugs", were NOT arrested. Some Aussies will smile at this, as recently some video footage was broadcast which outed Police as similar provacateurs. The Police Minister mumbled publicly something lame about 'undercover cops' only waving rocks around 'to blend in' with the demonstrators... ROFL... at least this time they wore masks!!! Well, the very large crowd was being quiet and peaceful until the "Testosterone Thugs" suddenly charged into the crowd, knocking down and 'accidentally' stomping all over a very elderly gentleman with a cane, grabbed two guys - who are on the public 'watch list', and the cameras clearly showed them being punched in the kidneys while lying face down with their hands held behind them! They were arrested, and a young lady who yelled at them for beating them up was roughly arrested in full view of the cameras too. Suddenly Red Faces! They had been arrested because the Keystone Kops 'thought they had violated the secure zone'!!! Ooops! They were outside it! The Thugs were wrong - again! It's called 'False Arrest' - their lawyers are reportedly suffering itchy palms! I hope they get a fortune! Footage was shown of elderly women berating cops with braid (Officers) about just how disgusted the normal citizen was with this behaviour. Appeared to have all the effect of water off a duck's back! The Official Wankers have now had the hide to claim that the demo was only peaceful because of the 'police precautions' taken.... ROFL!!! - or should we take that as 'intimidation'... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: John O'L Date: 08 Sep 07 - 02:21 AM Sydneysiders were given Friday off as a public holiday, and apparently there has been a massive exodus from Sydney this weekend. I know the Great Western Highway has been chock-a-block since yesterday morning. Word has it that all accomodation has been taken up in the Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Bathurst, Mudgee and even Dubbo. It hasn't been like this since the olympics, if then even. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 07 Sep 07 - 05:43 AM "been freaked out by suddenly seeing all these police snipers taking aim over the building parapets!"." Bloody Hell! And other people have had their visas refused for less aggressive militant activity! Ah - the Chaser boys struck again. Motorcade number 2 - the Playschool Motorcade! The 3 guys each wearing a cardboard box with paper plates for wheels walked up and down a street outside the 'zone' - and were stopped by Police! This time they were released without being arrested. BTW, apparently Police forgot to catch the 2 motorbike riders from yesterday - they are now trying to FIND them to arrest them to charge them too - 6 months in jail... Sure the Chaser had been 'warned off' - but these are the guys whose first 'election special' featured prominent Coalition Elected members on camera on National TV telling the Chaser Team "F*** off or you'll get your face smashed in!"... :-) The chaser guys did not intend to 'enter a secure zone' - the Security Police waved them in and did not stop them - with passes that basically read "This is a joke"!!! Apparently every car in sight was stopped today... Well the cops finally had a real 'success' - the cops arrested a guy who was wanted for charges from the Melbourne G-riot several years ago - he was on a public 'Naughty persons banned from APEC list' - something which appears to be illegal and unconstitutional. The former head of the Melbourne Riot Squad said that one of these guys 'deserved to be on that list because he had been arrested many times' - but the magistrates had found him guilty of nothing, and had commented that the Police had assaulted innocent people and behaved in an intensely provocative manner - to which Mr Ex-Official-Dickhead replied publicly "Well that just proves that they put special sympathetic magistrates on these cases..." he was howled down on the TV before he could get any further! It seems that the attempts by Johnny & George to 'lead' global warming talks has met with utter contempt from the other leaders for their refusal to sign Kyoto.... :-) ... and the beat up goes on ... la la la la! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Bob Bolton Date: 07 Sep 07 - 03:55 AM G'day again Fooles, How can someone who can't walk down the road unless they are being followed around by thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars of hi-tech equipment, consider themselves to be free? Yes ... and what about someone else who thinks they are free to walk down that same street? I didn't see this - it was mentioned on Wednesday night by another at the Sydney Camera & Image Collectors meeting. Apparently, one of the TV news programs spoke to a woman who had been on one of our public streets when the shrub did a brief "meet the people". Bush had spoken to her ... and the broadcasters asked what he had said. Her reply was (~) that she "... didn't remember - she had been freaked out by suddenly seeing all these police snipers taking aim over the building parapets!". Regardfully, Bob |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 07 Sep 07 - 01:34 AM Another one from the Aussie 'technical press'... Securify This! by Munir Kotadia A hard look at the latest developments in IT security with a real world perspective. http://www.zdnet.com.au/blogs/securifythis/soa/Sydney-is-far-too-unsafe-for-President-Bush/0,139033343,339277529,00.htm If Sydney is so unsafe that during his visit, the US president has to be followed around by a huge black helicopter that blocks mobile phone signals, I think he should stay at home and use videoconferencing instead. When George Bush comes to Australia for the APEC summit later this year, US military-owned helicopters will be buzzing around Sydney, roads will be diverted and train stations closed. The presidential security circus will, no doubt, leave Sydneysiders in shock and awe as they hail the "leader of the free world". What a joke. How can someone who can't walk down the road unless they are being followed around by thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars of hi-tech equipment, consider themselves to be free? All that hardware and personnel are supposedly in place to guarantee Bush's safety. One thing I have learned is that as you increase security, you reduce flexibility -- and freedom. If I wanted to absolutely, completely and utterly guarantee that a laptop would never catch a virus or be hacked, I would lock it in a safe and throw it into the sea. Of course the laptop would be rendered useless but at least it would be safe from hackers and malware. Wouldn't it be safer for both the president -- and Sydney's residents -- if Bush remained on his Texas ranch and used videoconferencing instead? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 07 Sep 07 - 01:29 AM That was a bit bigger than I wxpected - but it does show the Aussie viewpoint of "Americans".... especially "Uncle Sam" & "Big George" :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 07 Sep 07 - 01:27 AM APEC and OOXML - both pointless and annoying http://www.zdnet.com.au/blogs/securifythis/soa/APEC-and-OOXML-both-pointless-and-annoying/0,139033343,339281842,00.htm The eyes of the world were on Australia this week as the APEC summit got underway in Sydney, and what they've seen is a city being held under virtual martial law -- major roads blocked off, police cars outnumbering taxis and snipers openly hanging out on roof tops. Making just as many headlines as George Bush's travelling circus has been Microsoft's failed attempt to fast-track its OOXML document format to the status of an ISO standard. Both these events have been annoying and pointless. Neither has done anything but generate a huge amount of FUD (fear uncertainty and doubt). Microsoft has spent a large part of this year gushing about the benefits of open standards. This is a complete turnaround from the Microsoft of a few years ago, which everyone loved to hate because of the company's lack of foresight and plain dumb arrogance. Talking of dumb arrogance, APEC's star visitor George Bush seemed unable to grasp the incredible irony that a visit from the "leader of the free world" means his hosts are treated like convicted criminals. "I think the great freedom of the city of Sydney is going to return quite rapidly," Bush was reported to have said today. Well thanks, Mr Bush. We look forward to your departure so we can carry on with our worthless lives. Bush's attitude reminds me a great deal of Microsoft, when it had no real competition and could do what it liked. At the time, Redmond didn't bother pursuing international standards because the market fell into line with whatever technical decision it made. These days, governments and organisations are finally coming round to the fact that it might not be a great idea to store all their documents in a format owned by a corporation that has already been found guilty of abusing its monopolistic powers. Of course, it would take a brave person to bet against Microsoft winning the next OOXML ISO vote, which will most likely take place early next year. One thing I would bet on though is that Canberra would have made a far more sensible venue for the APEC summit than Sydney. Apart from not disrupting the lives of millions, Canberra is the national capital and was designed with politicians in mind. I'm sure Bush -- along with all the other world leaders -- would have had far more fun playing with the ACT's abundance of fireworks, marijuana and porn. Unfortunately, the circus had to be in Sydney and was hosted by a PM who probably won't even survive the next vote. Will the same fate await Microsoft OOXML in 2008? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: John O'L Date: 06 Sep 07 - 11:26 PM From The Hearald Sun "US President George W. Bush today thanked "Austrian" Prime Minister John Howard, in front of a summit of business leaders, for being a kind OPEC host." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 06 Sep 07 - 10:42 PM "warned staff in adjoining buildings not to look out their windows ... the underlying threat was that they might decide people working in their usual office space - then looking out the windows - could be construed as possible "terrorists" ... and 'taken out!" So why would sane people - not lunatic ball clankers - WANT to introduce all this 'Military Madness' into the middle of a busy CIVILIAN AREA???! Because they are really 'Fascists' - 'the people will do as they are told Citizen!... You have wondered why I keep saying "Little Fascist Johnny"... Much more sensible would have been to do what was done very successfully (and cheaper!) for The Queen at Chogom - set it up in a controllable deserted area - not in the middle of a bloody busy city where they admit that 'innocent civilians are endangered by the very presence of all the 'Security'!!!! I blame it on the 'American Influence'! :-P That makes them close to 'terrorists' too - A Fascist Government terrorising innocent civilians! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 06 Sep 07 - 10:33 PM "could have been shot" Yes - by out of control trigger happy thugs! I'm sorry, THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE "IN CONTROL", not only of THEMSELVES, but OF THE SITUATION!!! Referring to the young Brazillian shot 'accidentally'...as if that was OK... Supposedly a 'communications error' could have caused people to start shooting... yes - that's 'trigger happy'... and our trigger happy Security Goons are supposed to be 'perfectly in control'.... :-P The cops are ball clanking about wanting to 'throw the book' at the boys... that's 'over-reacting'... "Somebody geting thru (TWO) checkpoints did not endanger anyone" Police statement!!! so why all the Official ball clanking?!!! "Lucky it was us not Alqueida" - The Chaser - I think they made their original point about just much money ($250 Million!) was 'wasted'... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 06 Sep 07 - 10:28 PM Judging by your piccies Bob, anyone walking through Sydney with a cricket bag would be at risk unless they were wearing yellow reflective tabards. I've got the tabards but, thankfully, my netball umpire's bag is too short for a ...(What was it? L96A1?). Howard, Andrews, Pillock (oops, sorry) Ruddock; thank the lord Reith is out of the govt or we'd all be plumping for Abbott and Costello for a semblance of sanity. Rudd's inability to effectively object is itself objectionable but we can only live in hope his true colours are different. And visibly displayed after the election. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: JennyO Date: 06 Sep 07 - 10:05 PM I'm getting ready to go to a festival, but I had to post this brilliant song by one of our National Treasures, John Dengate. Paul Buckberry sang it at our folk club last night: The Terrorist Song (Tune: Knickerbocker Line) by John Dengate As I was walking down the road, he suddenly appeared: A bloody turbaned Moslem with a big Bin Laden beard; I asked, "Are you a terrorist, is that your bloody lurk?" He said, "I'm a carpenter, I'm on my way to work." Chorus: I watched him, tracked him, rang up A.S.I.O. I dobbed him into Alan Jones on talk-back radio. I may not be a beauty and I don't have any sense But, by God, I know my duty to the national defence! They're going to bomb the Harbour Bridge then quiet as a mouse, They'll sneak up with explosives and blow up the Opera House. They're going to blow up Murphy's pub. I've heard about the plot I hope they get the pokies because I'm losing quite a lot. There's terrorism everywhere; it makes a man afraid I'm buying a machine gun and I'll build a barricade. You'll have to know the password if you come and visit me. Shoot first, ask questions later mate, that's my philosophy. My Aunty May's eccentric; "You're paranoid, " she said. She doesn't believe the terrorists are underneath the bed. She reckons it's "Hysteria" - I don't know what she meant She said she's far more frightened of the Federal Government. John Howard will protect us, he is very strong and brave; He's passing legislation that will make you all behave! You won't be facing Mecca on that silly bloody mat- You'll all be Church of England, Abdul, cogitate on that! Chorus - Watch them, track them... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Bob Bolton Date: 06 Sep 07 - 10:04 PM G'day Fooles, I am also VERY not impressed that Rudd is toeing the 'they could have been shot' line! What trigger happy loonies do we have now in this country? Americans?. Maybe you're "not impressed" ... but he was dead right ... they could have been shot ... by any of the police sniper teams, with English (Accuracy International) L96A1 sniper rifles on rooftops ringing the "Exclusion Zone". In yesyerday's Sydney Morning Herald, they warned staff in adjoining buildings not to look out their windows ... the underlying threat was that they might decide people working in their usual office space - then looking out the windows - could be construed as possible "terrorists" ... and 'taken out! Regards, Bob |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 06 Sep 07 - 08:45 PM I was informed by a friend that Channel 7 had a phone in poll - "Do you think the Chaser team went over the top?" The results at that time were NO - approx 75%. (The Aussie Larakin Spirit still seems to be alive!) It seems from what I have heard on the ABC - the channel the guys do the program for - is that they made it thru 2 checkpoints and started to get worried, so started to turn around near the hotel. ONLY THEN, because they started to behave suspiciously, were they even challenged!!! So much for the nonsense about 'they were caught, which shows that the security worked"! If they WERE real nasty people, they would NOT have done that... A close up of the 'passes' affixed to the car windows shows that they clearly say on them "This is a Joke"!!! Apparently a Canadian Govt individual said "We don't mind that they used the Canadian Flag! If they want Political Asylum, we'll grant it!" One of the radio channels had a ring-in - "What is in the umpteen car motorcade of Bush?" Answers included 'Bin Laden'... There are a few serious Law Points here... The 'special legislation' for APEC 1) Destroys the presumption of availability of Bail - hundreds of years of Tradition trashed! 2) Seems to destroy the necessity of needing to demonstrate 'Intent' (more Tradition trashed!) - it seems to assume that the only 'Intent' is to do harm - i.e. 'You MUST be a Terrorist'. No malicious intent needs to be demonstrated by the Police to the Court for the Charges to be accepted. The Chaser publicly in advance stated their intent - even admitted by Downer and the NSW Police Minister himself (interestingly a _Labour_ pollie!) - that they wished no harm, but merely a bit of Clownish Mayhem - as is their 'Mission'. The Fooles Troupe heartily applauds them - even if sometimes they do go a bit far... but usually you don't know till you've done it... :-) 3) They had no weapons, but their wits... :-) I am also VERY not impressed that Rudd is toeing the 'they could have been shot' line! What trigger happy loonies do we have now in this country? Americans? :-P |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: John O'L Date: 06 Sep 07 - 08:42 PM Rudd and Bush talk...and from here: "...he'd he told the President - that he did not agree that Iraq and Afghanistan are both theatres of the same war, and that if Labor were to win the election, Australian combat troops would be out of Iraq by mid-2008. But, he said, more troops could be deployed to Afghanistan." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 06 Sep 07 - 07:30 PM I suspect "Honest John" (now, there's an outdated notion) is very selective about Australian Traditions. Larrikins don't get a look in I'm afraid. Mateship and a fair go are two others about which his views seem to be "idiosyncratic". While we may be alert to such things, should we be alarmed about his excesses of 'authority'? I am. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: JennyO Date: 06 Sep 07 - 11:59 AM Ha! I see you have beaten me to it with this news, Robin. I thought it was priceless! The powers that be are trying very hard to wipe the egg off their faces. Here's part of the article: Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that the fact the Chaser team was arrested showed the security system worked. But he told an APEC news conference: "Whatever you think of the humour of The Chaser ... they were clearly not going to harm anybody in a physical way. They presumably were, as is the nature of their show, aiming to humiliate a lot of well-known people." Chaser team member Chris Taylor told smh.com.au that the motorcade comprised "three cars, a couple of motorbikes, and a lot of crew". "It was a motorcade trying to get into the exclusion zone," he said. The motorcade is understood to have passed through at least one police checkpoint in the declared zone. The Chaser convoy had been dressed up to look like an official Canadian motorcade, with Canadian flags attached to the cars and "Canada" signs visible in the front windscreen. "No particular reason we chose Canada," said Taylor. "We just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinise too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade - as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him." And here's a link to the full story - Chaser bust 'proves security success' But that's not all these guys got up to. Yesterday at a student protest, they dressed up as a police horse, referring to the fact that the police will not be able to use their horses for crowd control because we have an outbreak of equine flu. Here's a link to that one - Anti-war student protest gets a comic chaser Then there's the "21 bum salute" protest, planned for tomorrow! - APEC protest groups out to make a naked stand Ya gotta love the way we Aussies love to take the piss! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 06 Sep 07 - 05:55 AM Sorry, it now appears that there were more than 120 scheduled movements... The 11 guys (including various actors hired to drive the cars, etc) are apparently still detained (and being 'questioned'!!!) many hours later. Will they be deported to Gitmo?!!! The guys got right to the front of the hotel where George was staying. Why should they be crucified for somebody else's stuff-up (2 lots of serious breaches of security!) - if it HAD been 'a real threat', who would have been hauled over the coals for letting them get thru? Or would we have had more 'conspiracy theories' about the Govt 'being involved'? Some of the TV Channels have had loud mouth ball clanking 'Security Experts' claiming that the guys 'could have been shot'!!! My God! Is this a Police State where the trigger happy 'Police Force' are totally out of control? And the Police Minister is not happy at all... all his efforts blown away by just a couple of well known Clowns! One of the 'Great Australian Traditions' that Little Fascist Johnny has been carrying on about preserving is 'The Aussie Larakin'. I do hope Little Fascist Johnny loses votes over this stupidity. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 06 Sep 07 - 02:53 AM Well The Chaser Boys (TV comedians) have done it again! There were 92 'scheduled motorcade movements' for today - and they did number 93!!! They got thru 2 checkpoints!!! into the 'most secure area'!!! 3 cars, assorted motorbikes and 'Secret Service Runners'... They have been arrested - under the APEC Security Legislation - there is NO 'presumption of bail' - basically they are considered terrorists! Of course they are going to be given hell - Fascist Johnny blew hundreds of millions on this charade, and a few Clowns can drive right thru!!!! When the motorcade was stopped - out got one of them dressed as Bin Laden!!! The Police are furious - they warned these Clowns off before APEC started and told them to stay away!!! Talk about 'Red Faces'!! (BTW Aussies will laugh at that!) Now the Queen at CHOGOM was happy to go to a secluded Holiday Resort which was totally taken over, But Wanker Johnny has to ball clank to impress Dickhead George that they can 'take over' Sydney any time they want! The traffic is totally gridlocked. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 05 Sep 07 - 10:30 PM Was told about a good recent APEC political cartoon. John and George in Ned Kelly outfits. George makes comment about appreciating the 'National Dress' - it's a trendy thing for all the pollies to dress up the same at their 'meetings'.... John makes comment about it being very useful for politicians. You can see the crowd throwing vegetables... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: JennyO Date: 05 Sep 07 - 10:00 AM I tend to feel the same, McGrath. He's not very popular here, to say the least, and all this traffic disruption and the offensive walls everywhere are getting a lot of people even more offside. We feel as if our city has been taken over and we are not welcome in it. We're being told it's for our safety as well as the APEC participants, but we know Bush has made himself so unpopular, especially with the war in Iraq, that they feel the need to protect him from possible attack. That's what they are scared of. I suspect the announcement of an election date is not far away, and little johnnie is probably hoping to improve his popularity by associating himself with all this nonsense. But I think it will backfire on him. If he thinks all this is going to improve his chances in the next election, I think he is going to be sadly mistaken. Being GWB's lap dog is not a good look. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 05 Sep 07 - 09:24 AM I'd have thought Bush's presence in Australia should be a reral boost to the opposition. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 05 Sep 07 - 04:56 AM Bush arrival brings Sydney to a standstill Today's cartoon - APEC, Swan song for lame ducks APEC in The Australian Leunig's 5th Sept cartoon |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 04 Sep 07 - 09:16 PM I remember the arrogance and stupidity when he spoke in Parliament last visit. Gun toting (of course our Little Fascist Johnny 'gave permission'!) Yanks took over the Parliament, being rude to and shoving our elected reps. One Senator tried to ask him a question, and the reaction of the security buffoons was that he had lit his shoelaces... I was extremely offended at that arrogant public behaviour in a 'host country', let alone supposedly on of the US 'most treasured Allies! And you wonder about some of my apparently anti-US (but really anti-Shrub!) comments! Little Fascist Johnny was dreaming that having George here would help boost his election chances - hopefully Aussie are smarter than that - Johnny looks like he is in the shit - but then he was last time too... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: John O'L Date: 04 Sep 07 - 07:36 PM I believe Bush's security guys have been given special clearance to bring their weapons into Australia (and presumably to use them if they deem it necesary). I watched on TV last night as he walked down the steps of his plane at Mascot, while the newsreader told us that his security people had landed at Richmond, some thirty or so miles away. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 04 Sep 07 - 06:50 PM And the security appears to be two bricks short of a wall, despite one American describing it as far in excess of anything he'd seen in the US. ABC Radio National ran a story this morning of two blokes having a drink in the lounge of one of the hotels inside the fence; I gather they were brothers. They were just minding their own business when George Shrub was escorted by his entourage into the hotel through a side door in the lounge and thence to his suite. After all the Shrub hubbub had passed, one of the brothers was approached by security who demanded identification and a reason for being within the secure zone while saying his brother had been taken into custody. He identified himself, said they'd been there for most of the evening and both were bundled not just outside the hotel but across the road as well. The brother's comment on security was printable but pithily damning. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 04 Sep 07 - 11:16 AM It appears that tourists were stopped by 'Security' and made to delete from their digital cameras any pics of the fence. AFTER the authorities had a big PR exercise where the press were TOLD to take pics and video of it to publish... Somebody is a lunatic, and I'm sure it's not me - not this time anyway... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 04 Sep 07 - 10:11 AM "This may support Rudd or it may support the minor parties; the latter may translate into increased support for Rudd." To explain that - we have a compulsory vote - fined if you don't. Also a preferential House of Reps voting system - whereby the first guy to get the least primary votes (if there is not a clear majority), has his 2nd preferential (by the voter) votes distributed etc until there is a clear majority. The Senate, now that's more complex - but basically, it's still a preferential vote with optional preferences (You can just vote 1 at the top) all the parties are grouped, and each member of a party gets a 'quota', the extra votes pass on to the next lower ranked party member. the 'just vote 1' votes, have their preferences allocated as per the way the party wants. I'll stop now... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: JennieG Date: 04 Sep 07 - 03:14 AM Just think of it like this...... Your neighbours decide to have a party in your house. First they evict you, then they put up a fence to keep you out, then they have their hooley. Of course it ends with a fireworks display but you are told "don't bother to watch because we don't want you to". After the party is over you are sent the bill to clean up your house. That's how most of the good Sydney folk I know feel about this knees-up. I live about 40 minutes from the city centre and I am thankful I do. If only it were further away...... Cheers JennieG |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 04 Sep 07 - 02:03 AM here's the fence (4th Sept in the Gallery if you're reading this after the 4th) Sydney, it's about to get a lot worse Black listed protestors to defy police Sydney Morning Herald APEC stories APEC stories on News Ltd site |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: John O'L Date: 03 Sep 07 - 10:55 PM Although he has been our second-longest serving PM, the Liberal Party under John Howard has never won an election other than by default. In '96 Keating, with his buffoonery and arrogance made himself unre-electable (if that's a real word). Beazley is not a politician and was never going to win national elections in '98 & '01, even though he held the Labor Party together and rebuilt it virtually single-handedly. In '04 What's'isname was a monkey's arsehole and no-one ever votes for them. This is the first time Howard has faced a real opposition leader in control of a reasonably orderly Labor Party. I do not however have a great deal of faith in the Australian electorate. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Rowan Date: 03 Sep 07 - 06:38 PM One of the visual delights waiting for GWB's visit to Sydney is a bloody great fence through the middle of town to keep the great unwashed in their place, ie "out". Australians as a stereotype have a rather laid back approach to politics, politicians and the nonsense that surrounds them. The sorts of security-based disruptions caused by visitors from the US Executive are not nearly as welcome (however justifiable) as the visitors themselves and there are many who regard GWB as not nearly as welcome as Al Gore. Whether they'd throw rocks, though, is not certain. Overripe tomatoes, perhaps. [I'm led to believe that is was an egg that connected with a politician that justified the establishment of the Federal Policce and/or ASIO. It's quite possible that the hassle to those who want (or have) to use the centre of Sydney in the next week or so will cause many to regard Howard and his govt as too supportive of Bush and his policies (or lack of them) on various issues and become more hostile in their voting. This may support Rudd or it may support the minor parties; the latter may translate into increased support for Rudd. But that's just the House of Reps. A majority there is important because that's where the govt is formed but the conservative Coalition would still control the Senate unless a landslide occurred. Cheers, Rowan |
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Subject: RE: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Ebbie Date: 03 Sep 07 - 12:15 PM I'm not sure what is meant by "what is waiting for Bush" in Australia. With all those other leaders at the conference there'll be plenty on the plate. |
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Subject: BS: Bush & The Coming Australia Election From: Azizi Date: 03 Sep 07 - 11:29 AM I've just read this dailykos diary about GWB's visit on Monday to Syndey, Australia: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/3/874/29300 Bush flies to APEC : here's what's waiting for him by oznick Mon Sep 03, 2007 at 05:07:04 AM PDT That diary contains lots of comments about Bush himself and Bush's possible effect on the coming Australian elections. Also, that diary includes comments about the latest polls in that election such as this one: "Polls continue to show Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and the Labor Party ahead of John Howard and the Government. A recent Galaxy poll had Labor widening its lead to 14 points on a two-party basis, 57 to 43 per cent Not only that, but Howard's in real trouble of losing his own seat. In the Bennelong electorate, where Howard resides, he's being challenged by Labor candidate Maxine McKew, a former TV journo who has a real chance of knocking him off. Howard has held this seat for 33 years, and now the Liberal Party considers it marginal. Some opinion polls suggest that McKew, regarded as one of Labor's star recruits, is a real threat to Howard, who could become the first Australian prime minister to lose his seat since Stanley Melbourne Bruce in 1929." by AggieDemocrat on Mon Sep 03, 2007 at 05:20:50 AM PDT -snip- Also, here's another post by AggieDemocrat who responded to a request from an self-admitted "myopic" American for a summary of the positions of John Howard and Kevin Rudd: "In a nutshell... John Howard is head of the Liberal Party, which, despite its name, is actually conservative. Kevin Rudd's the leader of the Australian Labor Party, which, despite the Americanised spelling, is akin to the British Labour Party. Liberals, despite what they keep trying to tell me, align with the Republican Party. Howard in particular is hawkish on Iraq, etc. A key plank in the Liberals' platform is privatising government services. Labor is aligned with the Democrats, and has a good history with them. Al Gore has praised Rudd for his stance on climate change, and participate in Labor's climate change conference. They are pro-union/labor (duh), and are the centre-left party. (But they're pretty far to the left of the Democrats, really.) As I said above, Labor and Rudd have been outpolling the Liberals and Howard pretty much all year. But the new news is that Howard might lose his own seat - so he'd be out of Parliament period. If you're not familiar with the Westminster system -- the PM is just the leader of the party in power. Howard can lose the Prime Ministership, but retain his seat in the House of Representatives (if he wins in his district, but Liberals lose the majority). But, he might not even keep that seat. While he has not decided on a firm date, Howard has said that the election would be held in 2007. It's not set, like it is in America. Under Commonwealth law, the election must be held by 19 January 2008, but must be called between 23 and 31 days before the nominated date. That's one of the weirdest differences to wrap your head around. (That, and the fact that the Queen could, theoretically, just fire every Member of Parliament if she had a bad hair day.) Anyhoo - key stats for you. As mentioned above: Polls continue to show Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and the Labor Party ahead of John Howard and the Government. A recent Galaxy poll had Labor widening its lead to 14 points on a two-party basis, 57 to 43 per cent. Last week, a Burson-Marsteller (yes, that Burson-Marsteller)/Research International poll found that 77 per cent of Australian voters say they have made up their mind about whom they will vote for—with nearly 56 per cent saying they would vote Labor, and 34 per cent voting for the Government. Hope that helps. Your world, upside-down! Visit Sydneysided, my view of the world as a Texan, Aggie and Democrat living Down Under. by AggieDemocrat on Mon Sep 03, 2007 at 05:53:25 AM PDT" -snip- I'd love to read what Mudcatters from Oz think about these subjects. Thanks. |
