I have been to Sydney and Brisbane once in 2007. I would really like to visit again. Everyone I met was wonderful.
I grew up in Sydney, and like every country I've ever been to, about 25% of the population are dickheads. Rupert Murdoch for example.
Rupert's not from Sydney. He's from Melbourne. And he's an American citizen now, so he's one of their dickheads.
I meant 25% of the country, not just Sydney, soz. Though the proportion of dickheads is probably higher among the Banana Benders.
Rupert grew up in Australia, so we can't just pretend he's nothing to do with us. Why the hell is he still allowed to own huge chunks of the media when he's no longer an Australian?
He did have to give up a lot of his ownership when he became a US citizen. For instance, he had a substantial broadcasting portfolio, including the 10 Network, IIRC, which he had to get rid of, keeping just the newspapers and magazines.
On the News Corp wikipedia page there are 66 seperate Australian newpapers and magazines listed as being operated by New Corp, among them some of the most significant in the country. He might not control any of the trad TV stations, but FoxTel and Sky News are his.
Alcoa subsidies cost Victorians billions
That's an old article, the madness has continued for another decade since that was written, and still continues with no end in sight. Those 500-700 jobs at Portland have cost Victoria dearly, while benefitting the shareholders of a foreign company. The money could have been far more effectively invested in more, better jobs.
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Even besides the obvious, the absolute lack of imagination or vision from Dutton irritates me no end.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/labors-...for-exposing-duttons-wilful-energy-ignorance/
Ah yes, something hasn't ever been done before by anyone else therefore we shouldn't attempt it either.
Labor are disappointing me in their own separate ways, but FUCK ME the Libs just have absolutely nothing positive they can point to and haven't for I don't even recall how long. I know I've ranted about that in this thread before but reading that story really brought it home again.
In the imaginary fantasy Australia that exists only in my dreams, all the news media immediately ran the headline "Dutton declares that Australians should be followers, not leaders"
Sigh
The cancerous impact of the Murdoch empire in Australia goes back a long way, but really hit its stride in the Hawke-Keating era (late 80s) when they relaxed media ownership laws. Can't recall what we gained for that. Afterwards, we saw larger media companies buying up smaller ones, and now we've pretty much only got Murdoch's News Ltd, Fairfax and Stokes' Seven West Media. Very few smaller players exist, and the move towards more digital content means that the smaller, local papers relevant to your town or suburban region have mostly gone entirely (although News Ltd did buy up many back in the 00s).
Whenever people call for a royal commission into the influence of News Ltd, I've tried (and generally failed) to steer conversation towards investigating media diversity. Murdoch's influence is oversized but he'll be dead soon and while we're all tapdancing and tango-ing on his unlamented and tragically overdue grave, the real focus should be on increasing the diversity of voices in our media. We're long past the days when you could read widely ranging views in a single newspaper, so the best solution is to limit media ownership and force the big three companies to sell off outlets.
Trying like fuck to ignore it, but the whole Kissing Donnie's Ring Thing is just too gross and huge to avoid at this point isn't it?
It's on the lunchroom telly 4/5 times I wander through, because Foxtel.
Suddenly Peter Dutton is master baiter of a political strategist. Are we being fucking serious right now?
Yes, that is 100% hyperbole, but that's the world we all live in now apparently. I'm just limbering up and getting used to it.
"If you can't beat 'em join 'em" is looking like a more and more valid option every single day. We are fighting a holding action, and we're losing on every front, awesome.
America has chosen a government of the children, by the children, and for the children. And we are next. I look around me and I see no reason to doubt this position.
It's on the lunchroom telly 4/5 times I wander through, because Foxtel.
Suddenly Peter Dutton is master baiter of a political strategist. Are we being fucking serious right now?
Yes, that is 100% hyperbole, but that's the world we all live in now apparently. I'm just limbering up and getting used to it.
"If you can't beat 'em join 'em" is looking like a more and more valid option every single day. We are fighting a holding action, and we're losing on every front, awesome.
America has chosen a government of the children, by the children, and for the children. And we are next. I look around me and I see no reason to doubt this position.
When I look at US politics, I thank the founders of our democracy for having the foresight to set up an independent body to run elections, and for compulsory enrolment to vote.
Australia isn't immune to right-wing populists, but these two factors make it much much harder for them to win any more than a few seats. Fundamentally, political parties have to appeal to the middle to win enough seats to form government, and they can't game the system with blatant gerrymandering.
Australia isn't immune to right-wing populists, but these two factors make it much much harder for them to win any more than a few seats. Fundamentally, political parties have to appeal to the middle to win enough seats to form government, and they can't game the system with blatant gerrymandering.
I farking love this enthusiasm, although the reality is like most countries; the folk you're most likley to chat with and have an experience with, are the upper 25% of humans for that country and location.
The worst of any country rarely engage with non-locals with any frequency, so you don't get a realistic view of the average value of humans there until you stay a while...
There are humans in my workforce here that challenge me daily not to punch in the face due to hateful ignorance and Trump support. And they talk like they're not backwaters of evolution, when they're obviously so, even if you try to avoid that sort of thinking as much as possible.
We're not far behind electing a Tump-lite here.
I swear to fucking god conservatives in Australia do not have a SINGLE original idea.
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...ition-frontbench-before-2025-federal-election
My eyes are hurting from how far back they're rolling.
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...ition-frontbench-before-2025-federal-election
My eyes are hurting from how far back they're rolling.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Why does Barnaby support rail infrastructure? I mean, that's something that would actually be useful for us to invest in, and I just don't see him supporting useful stuff.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Barnaby used to own land that was, let's say, conveniently located in relation to the planned Inland Rail route, and on which CSG wells were supposed to be developed. He sold that land in 2018 though to fund his divorce settlement.
He also wants to use Inland Rail to send coal destined for export to Gladstone instead of Brisbane, an undertaking that mainly fuels the everlasting City/Country conflict by threatening jobs in the Port of Brisbane (and supposedly creating some in Gladstone, although we all know what to think of Lib/Nat proposals that are touted to create jobs).
I wouldn't be surprised if Barnaby has some other hidden interest in Inland Rail. He does nothing if it doesn't somehow benefit himself. I am generally a big defender of rail projects, but Inland Rail is a dog's breakfast. I live in an area that will be adversely affected by Inland Rail as it is currently planned - land will be lost, there will be additional level crossings, and it will exacerbate flood events that are already quite severe. Any community consultation conducted by ARTC was just for show - they didn't take anything on board and made zero changes to the plans.
He also wants to use Inland Rail to send coal destined for export to Gladstone instead of Brisbane, an undertaking that mainly fuels the everlasting City/Country conflict by threatening jobs in the Port of Brisbane (and supposedly creating some in Gladstone, although we all know what to think of Lib/Nat proposals that are touted to create jobs).
I wouldn't be surprised if Barnaby has some other hidden interest in Inland Rail. He does nothing if it doesn't somehow benefit himself. I am generally a big defender of rail projects, but Inland Rail is a dog's breakfast. I live in an area that will be adversely affected by Inland Rail as it is currently planned - land will be lost, there will be additional level crossings, and it will exacerbate flood events that are already quite severe. Any community consultation conducted by ARTC was just for show - they didn't take anything on board and made zero changes to the plans.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
I'd like to think that having the election on a Saturday also helps, rather than forcing people to choose between working that day, working that day and squeezing in voting, and voting.
It's almost like a constitution written by the landed gentry of the 18th century for the landed gentry of the 18th century could do with one helluva lot of updating.
She's deep in with the Chaser Industrial Complex these days. (No, really, that's one of their T-shirts, and she regularly appears on The Shot podcast.)
I mean, she copped a lot of flack for doing to Scott Morrison what a lot of people wanted to do to him for a long time. And, essentially did, electorally.
It's all bad, but his choice of Price for the "DOGE-light" is just insane.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
The entire idea that the party who tripled the national debt in nine years while wasting billions of taxpayer money on pork-barreling and mollycoddling big business through COVID is somehow not only concerned with government efficiency, but in a position to address it, should be so patently absurd that it gets them laughed out of every room in the country.
Sadly we not only live in a post-truth society, but clearly also in a post-sanity one.
Sadly we not only live in a post-truth society, but clearly also in a post-sanity one.
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The party who listed a pool in Bondi as a "regional" project in the sports rorts issue because "Bondi is in a region" are not being serious.
Edited to add clarification
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Well, you know that, and I know that. But do they know that we know? And, more importantly, do their rusted-on voters know that?
A number of them just don't care, they'll vote for them no matter what.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
The Guardian not pulling punches today:
"Dutton defends having two shadow ministers to tackle government waste and efficiency"
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...anese-peter-dutton-election-campaign-politics
The press really needs to stop treating every politician thought bubble like a serious topic worthy of in-depth debate, and start calling it what it is: an absolute crock of shit.
"Dutton defends having two shadow ministers to tackle government waste and efficiency"
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...anese-peter-dutton-election-campaign-politics
The press really needs to stop treating every politician thought bubble like a serious topic worthy of in-depth debate, and start calling it what it is: an absolute crock of shit.
I think that Albanese needs to let go of some of his prime ministerial advisors.
Whilst Elon Musk is an easy target (and a popular target), fact of the matter is that his starlink systems are propping up a lot of the internet infrastructure in the remote areas that are miles / decades away from being in the NBN. Picking that fight, just because Dutton's doing better in the media isn't a smart play.
This is in reference to: https://www.news.com.au/technology/...o/news-story/ded3d329efa7f8685885f3a6eddea31c
Whilst Elon Musk is an easy target (and a popular target), fact of the matter is that his starlink systems are propping up a lot of the internet infrastructure in the remote areas that are miles / decades away from being in the NBN. Picking that fight, just because Dutton's doing better in the media isn't a smart play.
This is in reference to: https://www.news.com.au/technology/...o/news-story/ded3d329efa7f8685885f3a6eddea31c
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Fact is that Starlink is propping up the internet infrastructure in rural areas because the LNP went and committed full-on sabotage on the NBN. The problem however is that all they're doing now is upgrading a few areas that already have NBN - they're not extending the footprint to areas that could reasonably get terrestrial NBN connectivity but were chucked in the too-hard-basket (by the LNP!) and can get nothing other than SkyMuster (which is dogshit, as I know from my own experience).
It is also not unreasonable to believe that Musk should stay the fuck out of other countries' politics. What he is doing right now in a few countries is borderline election interference.
But it is also sadly true that Albanese is not exactly delivering a great performance.
It is also not unreasonable to believe that Musk should stay the fuck out of other countries' politics. What he is doing right now in a few countries is borderline election interference.
But it is also sadly true that Albanese is not exactly delivering a great performance.
It's not feasible for fiber to service really remote places, and wireless isn't going to be economical.
NBN's strength is in areas of high density (i.e. fibre in cities) and wireless in the small townships backed by fibre (or existing copper trunks), along with outlying customers close by those townships. Any other place there is nothing competitive but Starlink due to volume and sophistication of the satellite network.
As far as I know the next best available service is what's left of Iridium, and the only potential competitors are whatever satellite coverage AWS is thinking of putting up.
NBN's strength is in areas of high density (i.e. fibre in cities) and wireless in the small townships backed by fibre (or existing copper trunks), along with outlying customers close by those townships. Any other place there is nothing competitive but Starlink due to volume and sophistication of the satellite network.
As far as I know the next best available service is what's left of Iridium, and the only potential competitors are whatever satellite coverage AWS is thinking of putting up.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
I literally have Telstra Fibre going past the front of my property. Now I don't know if it's dark fibre, backbone or something else. But it's not like they'd have to dig up the entire road in order to do something here. Meanwhile we have the choice between SkyMuster and StarLink, now that 4G coverage has severely deteriorated and 5G is probably further away than non-satellite NBN for us.
NBN was also not about being economical, but about closing the digital divide.
Edit: a gigantic satellite constellation that has to effectively be fully replaced every five years and can't handle high density deployments isn't exactly economical either. Musk can pull the plug any time he pleases, and there will be to replacement ready in the foreseeable future. Any other LEO projects are barely past the prototype phase. At least fibre will still work in a few decades.
NBN was also not about being economical, but about closing the digital divide.
Edit: a gigantic satellite constellation that has to effectively be fully replaced every five years and can't handle high density deployments isn't exactly economical either. Musk can pull the plug any time he pleases, and there will be to replacement ready in the foreseeable future. Any other LEO projects are barely past the prototype phase. At least fibre will still work in a few decades.
Hm, I may not have made myself clear in my earlier post.
I know that NBN is a shitshow, fact is that Australian internet as a collective entity is a giant shitshow almost on par with the US, for very different reasons.
I also know that Musk's activities in a wide variety of governments right now is really fucked up, like he's trying to speedrun a Murdoch-esque empire of puppeteers.
The intent of my post was more about Albanese not doing so well, so starting a fight with EM as a relatively easy headline grabber.
tbh, as someone that grew up in the cold war era, and whose schooling involved those laughable nuclear drills (along with the bushfire ones), I'm really getting quickly to the point whereby I'll just quietly withdraw from society. I see nothing to hope for, no reason to fight for a better tomorrow. I wonder if this is what some people from the Greatest Generation / Silent Generation saw and thought whilst it all went to shit.
I know that NBN is a shitshow, fact is that Australian internet as a collective entity is a giant shitshow almost on par with the US, for very different reasons.
I also know that Musk's activities in a wide variety of governments right now is really fucked up, like he's trying to speedrun a Murdoch-esque empire of puppeteers.
The intent of my post was more about Albanese not doing so well, so starting a fight with EM as a relatively easy headline grabber.
tbh, as someone that grew up in the cold war era, and whose schooling involved those laughable nuclear drills (along with the bushfire ones), I'm really getting quickly to the point whereby I'll just quietly withdraw from society. I see nothing to hope for, no reason to fight for a better tomorrow. I wonder if this is what some people from the Greatest Generation / Silent Generation saw and thought whilst it all went to shit.
I will never. And I mean never, be about to convince my father than the Liberals are not better economic management Labor.
LOL, I grew up in the industrial part of South Wales, near a USAF/RAF base. It would have almost certainly been a target at the height of the Cold War. We never had drills. Probably an acknowledgement of the futility of such drills by the powers that be.
I grew up in Cold War Australia, and never had nuclear drills. In fact, we mocked the US drills because "Duck and Cover" seemed unlikely to actually do any good.
Sounds like your schooling was more sane than mine.
And yep Faceless, that's exactly what they were called.
And yep Faceless, that's exactly what they were called.
rainynight65
Ars Scholae Palatinae
First of all, apologies if I came on a bit strong. I don't disagree with you on any particular point, but get me started on the NBN fuckery and there are no guarantees.
I grew up in East Germany in the late stages of the Cold War, and we did not have nuclear drills. I don't recall anyone ever telling me that they did. What I do recall is that our propaganda was the inverse of yours - "we have to protect ourselves and our socialist society against the evil Western imperialists who want to come and tear it all down".