Howdy and welcome to the blog...and it was a rather odd but glorious 30C today in Mt Gambier, the last twitch of summer...odd because it's very humid, and in MG it's generally quite wet or quite hot, not usually both...nice weather we're having...(I'd prefer if it actually was raining myself-Ed)...rain is good, rain is good, yeah...(the gardens need it-Ed)...yeah, sure...(but it is still quite nice-Ed)...mmhm yes, nice weather...the birds were in the sky...(you can't think of anything positive to say, can you?-Ed)....no, not really?...but I digress...
I'll just have to postpone the Pasin post as promised if but only temporarily...nothing serious but explain later...also it appears that my computer problems are probably likely due to the very slow connection once I go past my 'allowance'...(so you're not being hacked by the FN CIA then, under Operation Git?-Ed)...no, not since I started wearing this very flattering steel colander hat...(don't be so stupid...a metal hat stops the Aliens reading your mind-Ed)...they'll have to find it first...damned if I know what I did with it...
Can't help feeling a little bit like a bit of a little whinger some days and I really wanted to get into a positive post for a pleasant change, ya' know, lighten things up a bit...honest...but yet again mes ami, I am hung out to dry by the totality of my cynicism...(and I'll say it again for the record, 'A Cynic is what an Optimist calls a Realist'-Ed)...so first some stupid jokes.
Mike Rann, Jay Weatherill, Rory McEwen...nah, nah, go' bless go' bless...nothing stupid 'bout those gentlemen and plenty others I've met in recent years...empathetically empty, morally blank, totally and irretrievably corrupted perhaps, but certainly not stupid...(dude, way to lighten things up-Ed)...yeah sorry, here goes...
My Dog Is A Fun Guy: and I'm not just talkin' 'bout his paws................(I think I preferred it when you weren't trying to lighten things up-Ed)...why the big pause?.........(you can stop now-Ed)...I don't know what your problem is, but that mutt is seriously some sort of animal/plant hybrid freak, some sort of walking hairy fungus plant thingy if you will...I've been observing him for quite some time now, and I reckon he can photosynthesise...(fine words sir, but what do they mean?-Ed)...well, he takes in sunlight, Carbon Dioxide, water, and various nutrients, then releases copious amounts of gas into the atmosphere, and creates consistent quantities of large logs...I swear that there's way more comin' outta' that hound than goin' in...it has to be photosynthesise, I can't think of any other explanation...(so your dog farts and poohs alot-Ed)...pretty much...
Back To The Cynicism: For example, I don't ignore the things I see/hear reported about the positive developments in the South East timber industry, and issues of investment and reported expansion at certain mills, etc, and therefore don't write about any of it...the problem I have is that I just really struggle to believe any of it...at best I'm relying on the opinions of people like the highly respected Jerry Leech to fill in the gaps in my knowledge re Forestry, and help me to dissect the debate and negotiate the propaganda.
Furthermore, my own opinion of what has happened with the NF McDonnell Mill receiving funding from the state government, as covered in several previous posts, puts me in a certain context when dealing with this issue, and I try to allow for it but is always there at the front of the debate...'it's a trap' I know to consider through a tinted lens, a tainted lens, but clarity of vision is the first casualty of walking about in this muck all the time...one's senses get dull and jaded...
Similarly, recent reports about a strong Real Estate market in Mt Gambier contradict everything I've heard or seen about increasing numbers of properties for sale, lack of subsequent sale, etc, things that would seem to suggest a depressed market...I appreciate that these reports are often quoting Real Estate Agents, and that they have a vested interest in playing up the market to promote sales...that's just the way it is...
People cannot be completely blamed and crucified for trying to put a positive spin on something that drastically affects their livelihood, and acting in what is the best interests of their clients trying to sell, etc...people are less likely to purchase if the Agent goes into the media saying 'oo, it's pretty bad, we're not selling much'...it can quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy...to the other extreme it doesn't really help to say everything's just fine...astute buyers will be fairly aware of what the situation really is, and hearing some-one confidently declare otherwise will only undermine the 'declarer's' credibility.
Liberals To End Homelessness By July 2015: now there's some good news, right?...(except that you've got that wrong...the Federal government has announced that they will continue with $115million funding for programs to address Homelessness, but only for the 12 months July 2014-July 2015...and this has been criticised as a $44m reduction in funding from the Labor program introduced only last year-Ed)...oh, right...so no 'End' in sight for anything other than the funding itself...(yep, sorry-Ed)...and that $44m reduction is more than a 1/4 of this years funding...(yep-Ed).
(And that $44m was for Capital Works which is low-cost housing, other accommodation services infrastructure, etc...and of course only for 12 months-Ed)...yeah, I've heard providers saying that this is merely an under-funded stop-gap measure that leaves them in exactly the same position they were in at this time last year when it was supposedly sorted...and leaves them headed there yet again in June 2015...it's an odd situation where $115m is seen as a gross failure, but that defines the size of the problem.
How does 'the Lucky Country' have just over 100,000 recognised 'Homeless', let alone not enough funding to support them?...and what about couch-surfers, people forced to stay with family, etc, are they counted in this figure?...I was technically homeless for many years through the 1990s but would not have appeared on any list of statistics.
Brocking The First Promise: as South Australia's new treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has flat out refused to explain how Labor will fund it's promise, it's 'assurance' to Member for Frome Geoff Brock to underwrite $150m for the $385m Nyrstar Smelter redevelopment in Pt Pirie if the Feds don't...and when pushed, he denied that the promise had been made at all...this surely let's the Federal government straight off the hook with the perfectly accurate 'we don't have to provide support because the state government has already said they will'...(oh-Ed)...yes, oh...that's $150m that SA taxpayers will have to find...and I don't share Mr Koutsantonis's optimism that he 'can't imagine that the Federal government wouldn't want to support such a great project'...
Mr K closed with the charming albeit accurate observation that if the smelter goes Pt Pirie dies...and it's not my cynicism that directs me to observe that 1 week after the 'deal' that saw Mr Brock support Labor into power, they are already contradicting each other...Brock says 'Labor promised support' and Labor says 'nuh-uh never did'...and that means that one of them's lying...(super-Ed)...
Austere Aust Steer Measures: introduced suddenly by the Gillard Labor government in 2011, caused enormous damage to the Northern Australia cattle industry and had Indonesia looking to countries like Brazil for their 'protein requirements', but new contracts are reportedly regaining a lot of that lost market...and again I want to be happy for the producers involved and the people who will be receiving their beef from Oz, etc, but there are other major issues beyond that.
Not least of all to be considered, and the catalyst for the 2011 ban, is the welfare of the animals...I know it sounds odd to a purist, but the best welfare of all involved would be achieved by slaughtering the cattle in Australia as I've covered in previous posts...(so the cattle's best welfare is slaughter?-Ed)...I knew you'd struggle with that, but hear me out...if we're going to have a 'meat export industry' then we should only export frozen carcasses...and help Indonesia sort out it's own industry to support their 'fresh' meat demands...this creates many jobs here in Oz, allows us to maintain a degree of animal safety and protection, etc...
Yes, it is great for the Australian Livestock Exporters Council, producers, the transport chain, etc, but there are all the environmental issues that are created by cattle farming which leads into a disturbing discussion about the drastic effects of all feral species...for example, the spread of the introduced Cane Toad, from Queensland, across the Top End, and in to Kakadu has been expedited by cattle movements because toads can camp over night on their dung and catch the attracted bugs and soak up the moisture..(deadset-Ed)...apparently...and then goannas, birds, etc, eat the toxic toads and die...(yay-Ed)...
'Armless Food Production: does it exist?...is it possible?...yes and it's relatively simple...and on to the table leaps the 'Eat The Coat of Arms' debate...why don't we just eat everything that shouldn't be there, eg, a million camels, wild pigs, water buffalo, etc, and supplement that with Kangaroo and Emu...these last 2 are widely recognised as being far healthier than more 'traditional' meats, eg, beef, lamb, and pork...clear out the ferals and help a struggling environment...we used to eat whatever we could catch, so let's do it again...enough for today...
Tomorrow: Pegging Criticism Squarely At A Whole New Oval
A great day for Adelaide and therefore the world...something about an oval and a bridge over polluted waters...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Parking Mad - Mt Gambier City Council
Howdy y'all and welcome to the blog...and straight off an apology for shunting the Tony Pasin letter again, but please understand that given that I want to make some specific statements about the abuses visited on 7 year old children at St Martins Lutheran College (School) in 2002 and the subsequent Child Abuse Cover-up, I need to talk to other people before acting...
If you are a regular availee of this here post you might think that there is not much else to be 'exposed' re the St Martins Issue, but unfortunately there is...I will do that letter tonight hopefully (it's already 17:00hrs Sow Straya time) and post first thing tomorrow if possible...sorry...
(We Are Not Clog Thieves:...so why do we have to put them back?-Ed)...put what back?...(the clogs...why do we have to put the clogs back?-Ed)...the clocks back, Ed, the clocks back...we will soon be going back to 'non-Daylight Saving Time' here in SA, at 0300hrs Sunday 6th April 2014, which means the clocks get put 'back' an hour for the Winter months...(and is that being put back to where they should be from where they were forwarded to, or just back from where they belong, which would mean that going forward would be going back to where they weren't but should be?-Ed)... sorry what, who are 'they'?...(clocks-Ed)..oh yes, of course, the clocks are going back 1hr...(does that mean I can keep the clogs?-Ed)...if you must...(yeeeeeee-Ed)...
I think I've lost your mind...(that, or I've lost yours-Ed)...well who's mind is this here then...(ah no yeah, that's mine, ta'...but I can't find yours...are you sure you lent it to me?-Ed)...dunno, thought I had, doesn't matter...moving on...
Clocking Off: has happened though in Sebastapol, capital of the recently 'annexed' Crimea region...(Tony Abbott would say 'liberated' I'm sure-Ed)...well actually that's pretty much exactly what Mr Putin said about it...(my point exactly-Ed)...ah, clever...yes, Russia has taken not just Crimea, but 2 hours as well, with the Town Clock in Sebastapol being put forward 2hrs to match Moscow Time...no-one was more confused than the players of Moscow Dynamo and Spartak Vladikavkaz, who were just kicking off their 'neutral away' final, only to be suddenly in a nil-all Extra time draw headed for a penalty shoot-out...(scandalous-Ed)...(I made up that soccer bit)...
Puttin' Putin On Hold: was a stroke of tactical genius that USofA President Barack Obama probably didn't use the other day when the Russian President Vladimir Putin rang him to discuss the very complex issues re Crimea and Ukraine, but I just wanted to use that heading...(ah, running off into the dead joke area, clever-Ed)...the parties reportage of this conversation apparently greatly differs...(hardly surprising-Ed)...quite...but the external opinioning is that this is a result of pressure applied to Russia by various countries and organisations, eg, cancelling diplomatic visas, freezing assets, etc.
(So therefore you could say that those sanctions, have to a degree, cooled Russia's enthusiasm for more 'liberating' in Ukraine-Ed)...if it's not all a bluff or even a not truth, you know, stalling for time, etc...(well Mr Putin didn't really have to do anything so perhaps that's the indication it's intent is genuine-Ed)...fair enough...(so it could be said that actioning said sanctions has put a halt, even if only temporarily, to further action from Mr Putin in Ukraine-Ed)...I s'pose...(so then those sanctions have been successful in Puttin' Putin On Hold, yeah?-Ed).......I don't get it...
Just caught some of The Insiders (ABC/BBC Radio) this morning discussing Liberal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, and a broad consensus that she 'heckles Labor members from the chair' and 'dismisses anything the Opposition says' and 'is for the Liberals and not the parliament' and at best 'waxes and wains, but clearly biased' and finally 'does the public care?'...(I do-Ed)...this is paraphrasing of course but close to quotes...and it's all part of the merry circus that is Parliament.
If you ever feel the need a good ol' fashion' belly-laugh, an embarrassing display of trite hypocrisy and old school class bias from people like Liberal Christopher Pyne, the tidiest gentleman's perm in the current parliament...(and that's no mean achievement in and of itself-Ed)...indeed...just tune into the ABC/BBC Radio or Question Time on ABC TV and check it out...you'll laugh 'til ya' cry...(and then you'll keep right on cryin' when you remember that these clowns are running the country-Ed)...
Not So Hilarious: on the same Insiders program, the observation that South Australia (and Victoria? sorry) are not in a position to take up the Federal government's new 'Privatisation Initiative'...(whereby any funding spent by the states on infrastructure with money obtained from the sale of Public Assets, the Feds will match it 15c in the dollar-Ed)...indeed, Treasurer Joe Hockey is 'making the states an offer they can't refuse' (his words) but apparently SA won't have a choice...(and why is that Mr Fletcher?-Ed)...
Well young Ed, and I quote, "...'cos SA ain't got no shizzle left to hock, baby"...(and that's a quote is it?-Ed)...alright, it's a slight paraphrase of the statement that 'SA has nothing left to sell'...and when our Labor Premier Jay Weatherill dismissed this 'offer' he repeatedly made reference to 'not selling SA Water'...and I believe that Treasurer Tom Koutsontonis has said the same thing again referencing SA Water repeatedly...(because after 12 bloody years of the supposedly 'Anti-Privatisation' bloody Labor government, SA Water is all that's bloody left to bloody sell-Ed)...I'm sensing some displeasure...
(Also heard Premier Weatherill talking about how he can't wait to see Independent MP Bob Such back in his bondage outfit-Ed)...sorry what?...(yeah, he said 'I can't wait to see him back in the green leather'-Ed)...strewth, on the green leather Ed, on the green leather that is used for seating in the Lower House...what is wrong with you today?...green for 'commoners' in the House of Assembly, and red for 'the Lords and Ladies' of the Upper House, the Legislative Council...(fascinating-Ed)...
And again, whilst I don't question the reality of Bob Such's illness and can only wish him a thorough, uneventful and brisk recovery, I do believe it is incumbent of him as the incumbent to explain exactly what has happened here, particularly the timing of announcements, and why his vote doesn't count, etc, given that it's been identified as the primary reason that we went from a hung parliament to a Labor government for the next 4 years...again, what's the bloody rush...
In Music News: Snakeskin Cowboy and all round reptile Ted Nugent just got paid $16,000 to not play at a 4th of July event in Longview, East Texas, after he referred to President Obama as "sub-human" at a Republican event...along with several other charming quotes...used to like the music before I understood what a thorough tool Mr Nugent is...but I digress...
Parking Up the Wrong Tree: as Mt Gambier City Council meets with concerned business owners who are about to lose 8 vital carparks in yet more Main St lunacy with more 'nodes' and grey paving, etc...Council very kindly met with affected shop owners to tell them to get stuffed it's happening plebs, and claimed that claims that people had no idea were irrelevant because Council had put this in various plans, etc, and had done 'Public Consultation', etc...(clearly that alleged PC isn't working very well if people right there don't know-Ed)...good point...
I didn't attend this meeting but The Border Watch had a big article in Friday's edition, and obviously someone raised the issue of Council having reserved parking right next to their offices because Mayor Steve Perryman stated that those are off street parks that belong to Council...(doesn't everything that Council 'owns', everything Council pays for, every horrendous debt they accrue, don't they all actually belong to ratepayers, meaning that that reserved parking actually belongs to all ratepayers?-Ed)...very good point Ed...it's just another indication of the sense of entitlement and privilege that defines Council...
There is no part of this that I don't have a massive problem with and I've covered it all repeatedly in the blog...Council's either continuing on a pointless and ultimately retrograde program that makes The Main look worse instead of better, with outrageous and unnecessary costs attached...or they are just drumming up a panic to distract from all their other corruptionings and stupidities...quite possibly both...(ah, multi-tasking-Ed)...not quite...
Even with what I've experienced of Council's extraordinarily corruption and/or incompetence, even I am absolutely gobsmacked that Council would cut down the beautiful trees that were there, in their dark brick planter beds with seating, etc, bulldoze the shreckin' lot, and then stand up in a public meeting and state that the street looks bare and that's why we need these stupid 'nodes'...(nodes, really?-Ed)...
Enough for today but I'll do more on this issue for sure...but,
Tomorrow: The Pasin Letter re St Martins
Still trying to contact someone but if I can't I'll have to modify that letter...too easy...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
If you are a regular availee of this here post you might think that there is not much else to be 'exposed' re the St Martins Issue, but unfortunately there is...I will do that letter tonight hopefully (it's already 17:00hrs Sow Straya time) and post first thing tomorrow if possible...sorry...
(We Are Not Clog Thieves:...so why do we have to put them back?-Ed)...put what back?...(the clogs...why do we have to put the clogs back?-Ed)...the clocks back, Ed, the clocks back...we will soon be going back to 'non-Daylight Saving Time' here in SA, at 0300hrs Sunday 6th April 2014, which means the clocks get put 'back' an hour for the Winter months...(and is that being put back to where they should be from where they were forwarded to, or just back from where they belong, which would mean that going forward would be going back to where they weren't but should be?-Ed)... sorry what, who are 'they'?...(clocks-Ed)..oh yes, of course, the clocks are going back 1hr...(does that mean I can keep the clogs?-Ed)...if you must...(yeeeeeee-Ed)...
I think I've lost your mind...(that, or I've lost yours-Ed)...well who's mind is this here then...(ah no yeah, that's mine, ta'...but I can't find yours...are you sure you lent it to me?-Ed)...dunno, thought I had, doesn't matter...moving on...
Clocking Off: has happened though in Sebastapol, capital of the recently 'annexed' Crimea region...(Tony Abbott would say 'liberated' I'm sure-Ed)...well actually that's pretty much exactly what Mr Putin said about it...(my point exactly-Ed)...ah, clever...yes, Russia has taken not just Crimea, but 2 hours as well, with the Town Clock in Sebastapol being put forward 2hrs to match Moscow Time...no-one was more confused than the players of Moscow Dynamo and Spartak Vladikavkaz, who were just kicking off their 'neutral away' final, only to be suddenly in a nil-all Extra time draw headed for a penalty shoot-out...(scandalous-Ed)...(I made up that soccer bit)...
Puttin' Putin On Hold: was a stroke of tactical genius that USofA President Barack Obama probably didn't use the other day when the Russian President Vladimir Putin rang him to discuss the very complex issues re Crimea and Ukraine, but I just wanted to use that heading...(ah, running off into the dead joke area, clever-Ed)...the parties reportage of this conversation apparently greatly differs...(hardly surprising-Ed)...quite...but the external opinioning is that this is a result of pressure applied to Russia by various countries and organisations, eg, cancelling diplomatic visas, freezing assets, etc.
(So therefore you could say that those sanctions, have to a degree, cooled Russia's enthusiasm for more 'liberating' in Ukraine-Ed)...if it's not all a bluff or even a not truth, you know, stalling for time, etc...(well Mr Putin didn't really have to do anything so perhaps that's the indication it's intent is genuine-Ed)...fair enough...(so it could be said that actioning said sanctions has put a halt, even if only temporarily, to further action from Mr Putin in Ukraine-Ed)...I s'pose...(so then those sanctions have been successful in Puttin' Putin On Hold, yeah?-Ed).......I don't get it...
Just caught some of The Insiders (ABC/BBC Radio) this morning discussing Liberal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, and a broad consensus that she 'heckles Labor members from the chair' and 'dismisses anything the Opposition says' and 'is for the Liberals and not the parliament' and at best 'waxes and wains, but clearly biased' and finally 'does the public care?'...(I do-Ed)...this is paraphrasing of course but close to quotes...and it's all part of the merry circus that is Parliament.
If you ever feel the need a good ol' fashion' belly-laugh, an embarrassing display of trite hypocrisy and old school class bias from people like Liberal Christopher Pyne, the tidiest gentleman's perm in the current parliament...(and that's no mean achievement in and of itself-Ed)...indeed...just tune into the ABC/BBC Radio or Question Time on ABC TV and check it out...you'll laugh 'til ya' cry...(and then you'll keep right on cryin' when you remember that these clowns are running the country-Ed)...
Not So Hilarious: on the same Insiders program, the observation that South Australia (and Victoria? sorry) are not in a position to take up the Federal government's new 'Privatisation Initiative'...(whereby any funding spent by the states on infrastructure with money obtained from the sale of Public Assets, the Feds will match it 15c in the dollar-Ed)...indeed, Treasurer Joe Hockey is 'making the states an offer they can't refuse' (his words) but apparently SA won't have a choice...(and why is that Mr Fletcher?-Ed)...
Well young Ed, and I quote, "...'cos SA ain't got no shizzle left to hock, baby"...(and that's a quote is it?-Ed)...alright, it's a slight paraphrase of the statement that 'SA has nothing left to sell'...and when our Labor Premier Jay Weatherill dismissed this 'offer' he repeatedly made reference to 'not selling SA Water'...and I believe that Treasurer Tom Koutsontonis has said the same thing again referencing SA Water repeatedly...(because after 12 bloody years of the supposedly 'Anti-Privatisation' bloody Labor government, SA Water is all that's bloody left to bloody sell-Ed)...I'm sensing some displeasure...
(Also heard Premier Weatherill talking about how he can't wait to see Independent MP Bob Such back in his bondage outfit-Ed)...sorry what?...(yeah, he said 'I can't wait to see him back in the green leather'-Ed)...strewth, on the green leather Ed, on the green leather that is used for seating in the Lower House...what is wrong with you today?...green for 'commoners' in the House of Assembly, and red for 'the Lords and Ladies' of the Upper House, the Legislative Council...(fascinating-Ed)...
And again, whilst I don't question the reality of Bob Such's illness and can only wish him a thorough, uneventful and brisk recovery, I do believe it is incumbent of him as the incumbent to explain exactly what has happened here, particularly the timing of announcements, and why his vote doesn't count, etc, given that it's been identified as the primary reason that we went from a hung parliament to a Labor government for the next 4 years...again, what's the bloody rush...
In Music News: Snakeskin Cowboy and all round reptile Ted Nugent just got paid $16,000 to not play at a 4th of July event in Longview, East Texas, after he referred to President Obama as "sub-human" at a Republican event...along with several other charming quotes...used to like the music before I understood what a thorough tool Mr Nugent is...but I digress...
Parking Up the Wrong Tree: as Mt Gambier City Council meets with concerned business owners who are about to lose 8 vital carparks in yet more Main St lunacy with more 'nodes' and grey paving, etc...Council very kindly met with affected shop owners to tell them to get stuffed it's happening plebs, and claimed that claims that people had no idea were irrelevant because Council had put this in various plans, etc, and had done 'Public Consultation', etc...(clearly that alleged PC isn't working very well if people right there don't know-Ed)...good point...
I didn't attend this meeting but The Border Watch had a big article in Friday's edition, and obviously someone raised the issue of Council having reserved parking right next to their offices because Mayor Steve Perryman stated that those are off street parks that belong to Council...(doesn't everything that Council 'owns', everything Council pays for, every horrendous debt they accrue, don't they all actually belong to ratepayers, meaning that that reserved parking actually belongs to all ratepayers?-Ed)...very good point Ed...it's just another indication of the sense of entitlement and privilege that defines Council...
There is no part of this that I don't have a massive problem with and I've covered it all repeatedly in the blog...Council's either continuing on a pointless and ultimately retrograde program that makes The Main look worse instead of better, with outrageous and unnecessary costs attached...or they are just drumming up a panic to distract from all their other corruptionings and stupidities...quite possibly both...(ah, multi-tasking-Ed)...not quite...
Even with what I've experienced of Council's extraordinarily corruption and/or incompetence, even I am absolutely gobsmacked that Council would cut down the beautiful trees that were there, in their dark brick planter beds with seating, etc, bulldoze the shreckin' lot, and then stand up in a public meeting and state that the street looks bare and that's why we need these stupid 'nodes'...(nodes, really?-Ed)...
Enough for today but I'll do more on this issue for sure...but,
Tomorrow: The Pasin Letter re St Martins
Still trying to contact someone but if I can't I'll have to modify that letter...too easy...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Some Bits Of Stuff From Places
Hello Denmark, Belgium, Brazil, and yet again the USofA where again this week this blog has apparently had slightly more views than here in Australia...(indeed, each day this week-Ed)...indeed...and again I know that these relatively tiny numbers are hardly earth-shattering, but I am genuinely flattered that anybody reads the blog at all, let alone a bunch in the USofA...cheers y'all...
Apologies for late, short post, but having trouble logging on...it's an indicator 1) that I've gone past my rather minimal 'allowance' which means my connection 'slows' to the point that it can get to the blog eventually but doesn't have the strength to bring up content, because 2) of Mt Gambier's limited 'bandwidth' availability...I look forward to the promised improvements from the National Broadband Network and UniSA.
Further apols for not doing the Tony Pasin post today but I've changed what passes for 'my strategy' on that and will do tomorrow...breaking news has interrupted and it can wait 1 day.
Debris Spotted: would have to be the most thoroughly over-used headline this past week...I don't understand why authorities would keep reporting unidentified debris as being 'possibly related' to missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 when they don't know...the worlds oceans are full of our collective crap...and yesterday the search zone moved to a completely different zone much nearer Perth, Western Australia, and then 'debris spotted' there but still no specific information or identification.
And it appears that at least some people must agree with my Such/Brock/Labor Election shenanigans...even people who have criticised me for being a paranoid idiot...(yo-Ed)...acknowledge that there is something very wrong with Bob Such just dissolving into the background in such an 'odd' manner, and 'why doesn't his vote count now?'...'what about his electorate?'...'we could have had Liberal', etc.
That Breaking News: just reported this morning(09:00hrs) on ABC Radio that Independent Bob Such has been diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and will receive Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy, but there was no mention of what sort of tumour, benign or aggressive, etc, or how long this treatment would take, or what the operation last Wednesday was about, etc...having been through a version of this process (there are many different combinations of Chemo and/or Radiotherapy for different Cancers) I can only wish Mr Such a boring and uneventful treatment albeit with excellent results.
Later reports have included stuff about how he has possibly had chemo already, he'll be back in 2 months, he's on indefinite leave, etc...in the modern mad rush to report it is hard to discern sometimes exactly what the truth is, particularly with reporting that is reasonably similar yet varies on the exact details.
Again though, I'm incredibly suspicious of the timing of this announcement...again, it appears to have been done specific to the news cycle, it is an old political trick that still works even in the 24hr Portable News Cycle as it currently exists...(certainly worked last weekend-Ed)...I've heard several references to a quote from a statement released by Mr (Dr?) Such, and various reportage that he has had and/or will be getting Chemo and Radiotherapy...I would think such treatment would last many months not just a couple
I readily concede that I should have identified the remote possibility that Mr Such has been deceived and manipulated as much as anyone, as part of what I have always accepted as a genuine illness...however, I do not withdraw my original claim that the timing and manner of Bob Such's 'disappearance', hospitalisation, withdrawal from deciding government, etc, have been carefully manipulated to achieve the outcome that we currently have, another 4 years of minority Labor government based on the decision and support of an ex-Liberal Independent, Geoff Brock...
And having gone there, it has been put to me that I should perhaps back off the Brockster and give him a chance to get some nice things for other electorates as well as his own...(fair enough-Ed)...yep, fair enough, but everything I've seen thus far, and it's only been 2 weeks, makes me nervous to the point of twitchy...I know just how fundamentally broken I am when it comes to trusting a South Australian politician, but it's only a sane response to the realities I have experienced...(let's talk about some other stuff for a while, you're starting to depress me-Ed)...sure...
Sir Peter Supporters: (why is everybody swearing at poor ol' Peter Cosgrove?...I thought everybody loved him but yesterday the Senate was full of people there to swear at him-Ed)...swear him in, they were there to swear him in as the latest Governor General, and now to be addressed as Sir Peter...(I thought it was the politest swearing I'd ever heard-Ed)...I wonder if he get's his own square on the Tony Abbott version of Monarchy Monopoly, where transgressors go to serfdom, directly to serfdom, you are a class below, do not get any dole.
(Does outgoing GG Quentin Bryce get a square?-Ed)...no, she get's her own game completely...(really?-Ed)...yes, the Dame Bryce Dice Game...(sweet-Ed)...yeah, from one role to another...
Earth Hour Only Hope: given that it's the only one we've got...and there-in lies the problem with Fracking or any other mining on productive cropping/agricultural land...(or dumping dredged sludge onto the Great Barrier Reef-Ed)...indeed, any pollution/environmental degradation issue, but the specific issue this evening is about switching out lights to show support for the planet and appreciating the resources we have that provide our power but cause major pollution issues...(so it's actually about using less power, eg, electricity, which is more about reducing consumption rather than conserving or appreciating-Ed)...fair enough...
Dead Horse: is what we Antipodean Colonials put on our pies don't you know, being as it is a 'colonial colloquialism' for Tomato Sauce...unfortunately, there are more/continuing concerns in Europe, including the UK, that there's still more DH in rather than on your average pie...this came up again recently with fears that not all 'contaminated' meat had been removed from the supply chain following the latest replacement/substitution scandal (2013), and that possibly even new meat was in the system...
And it also appears that there will be 50,000 Geoff Brock's at the Adelaide Oval today...(50k Geoff Brock's?-Ed)...yeah, it's a sell-out crowd apparently...(geez, you don't like Mr Brock do you?-Ed)...no, I'm really struggling...this fortnight's events are part of it, but I applied the 'Sound Down Test' on the TV news and I didn't like what I saw...(the 'Sound Down Test'?-Ed)...yeah, where you turn the sound right down and just watch the person...(oh yeah...ever done that to yourself?-Ed)...no, I don't like what I look like with the sound up...(fair enough-Ed)...
Just A Thought: whilst gazing at the spectacular Milky Way when walking to the shop the other night along a dark road near here, 'I am a speck of Cosmic irrelevance...if everything every human ever achieved, ever achieves, were it all piled high, it would be but nought'...(strewth dude, that's a bit heavy-Ed)...actually it was extremely beautiful and quite humbling...all that 'perspective' bullshit don't ya' know...
Tomorrow: The Pasin Letter As Promised
With bonus extra features...stay tuned dudes...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...toodlepip...
Apologies for late, short post, but having trouble logging on...it's an indicator 1) that I've gone past my rather minimal 'allowance' which means my connection 'slows' to the point that it can get to the blog eventually but doesn't have the strength to bring up content, because 2) of Mt Gambier's limited 'bandwidth' availability...I look forward to the promised improvements from the National Broadband Network and UniSA.
Further apols for not doing the Tony Pasin post today but I've changed what passes for 'my strategy' on that and will do tomorrow...breaking news has interrupted and it can wait 1 day.
Debris Spotted: would have to be the most thoroughly over-used headline this past week...I don't understand why authorities would keep reporting unidentified debris as being 'possibly related' to missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 when they don't know...the worlds oceans are full of our collective crap...and yesterday the search zone moved to a completely different zone much nearer Perth, Western Australia, and then 'debris spotted' there but still no specific information or identification.
And it appears that at least some people must agree with my Such/Brock/Labor Election shenanigans...even people who have criticised me for being a paranoid idiot...(yo-Ed)...acknowledge that there is something very wrong with Bob Such just dissolving into the background in such an 'odd' manner, and 'why doesn't his vote count now?'...'what about his electorate?'...'we could have had Liberal', etc.
That Breaking News: just reported this morning(09:00hrs) on ABC Radio that Independent Bob Such has been diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and will receive Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy, but there was no mention of what sort of tumour, benign or aggressive, etc, or how long this treatment would take, or what the operation last Wednesday was about, etc...having been through a version of this process (there are many different combinations of Chemo and/or Radiotherapy for different Cancers) I can only wish Mr Such a boring and uneventful treatment albeit with excellent results.
Later reports have included stuff about how he has possibly had chemo already, he'll be back in 2 months, he's on indefinite leave, etc...in the modern mad rush to report it is hard to discern sometimes exactly what the truth is, particularly with reporting that is reasonably similar yet varies on the exact details.
Again though, I'm incredibly suspicious of the timing of this announcement...again, it appears to have been done specific to the news cycle, it is an old political trick that still works even in the 24hr Portable News Cycle as it currently exists...(certainly worked last weekend-Ed)...I've heard several references to a quote from a statement released by Mr (Dr?) Such, and various reportage that he has had and/or will be getting Chemo and Radiotherapy...I would think such treatment would last many months not just a couple
I readily concede that I should have identified the remote possibility that Mr Such has been deceived and manipulated as much as anyone, as part of what I have always accepted as a genuine illness...however, I do not withdraw my original claim that the timing and manner of Bob Such's 'disappearance', hospitalisation, withdrawal from deciding government, etc, have been carefully manipulated to achieve the outcome that we currently have, another 4 years of minority Labor government based on the decision and support of an ex-Liberal Independent, Geoff Brock...
And having gone there, it has been put to me that I should perhaps back off the Brockster and give him a chance to get some nice things for other electorates as well as his own...(fair enough-Ed)...yep, fair enough, but everything I've seen thus far, and it's only been 2 weeks, makes me nervous to the point of twitchy...I know just how fundamentally broken I am when it comes to trusting a South Australian politician, but it's only a sane response to the realities I have experienced...(let's talk about some other stuff for a while, you're starting to depress me-Ed)...sure...
Sir Peter Supporters: (why is everybody swearing at poor ol' Peter Cosgrove?...I thought everybody loved him but yesterday the Senate was full of people there to swear at him-Ed)...swear him in, they were there to swear him in as the latest Governor General, and now to be addressed as Sir Peter...(I thought it was the politest swearing I'd ever heard-Ed)...I wonder if he get's his own square on the Tony Abbott version of Monarchy Monopoly, where transgressors go to serfdom, directly to serfdom, you are a class below, do not get any dole.
(Does outgoing GG Quentin Bryce get a square?-Ed)...no, she get's her own game completely...(really?-Ed)...yes, the Dame Bryce Dice Game...(sweet-Ed)...yeah, from one role to another...
Earth Hour Only Hope: given that it's the only one we've got...and there-in lies the problem with Fracking or any other mining on productive cropping/agricultural land...(or dumping dredged sludge onto the Great Barrier Reef-Ed)...indeed, any pollution/environmental degradation issue, but the specific issue this evening is about switching out lights to show support for the planet and appreciating the resources we have that provide our power but cause major pollution issues...(so it's actually about using less power, eg, electricity, which is more about reducing consumption rather than conserving or appreciating-Ed)...fair enough...
Dead Horse: is what we Antipodean Colonials put on our pies don't you know, being as it is a 'colonial colloquialism' for Tomato Sauce...unfortunately, there are more/continuing concerns in Europe, including the UK, that there's still more DH in rather than on your average pie...this came up again recently with fears that not all 'contaminated' meat had been removed from the supply chain following the latest replacement/substitution scandal (2013), and that possibly even new meat was in the system...
And it also appears that there will be 50,000 Geoff Brock's at the Adelaide Oval today...(50k Geoff Brock's?-Ed)...yeah, it's a sell-out crowd apparently...(geez, you don't like Mr Brock do you?-Ed)...no, I'm really struggling...this fortnight's events are part of it, but I applied the 'Sound Down Test' on the TV news and I didn't like what I saw...(the 'Sound Down Test'?-Ed)...yeah, where you turn the sound right down and just watch the person...(oh yeah...ever done that to yourself?-Ed)...no, I don't like what I look like with the sound up...(fair enough-Ed)...
Just A Thought: whilst gazing at the spectacular Milky Way when walking to the shop the other night along a dark road near here, 'I am a speck of Cosmic irrelevance...if everything every human ever achieved, ever achieves, were it all piled high, it would be but nought'...(strewth dude, that's a bit heavy-Ed)...actually it was extremely beautiful and quite humbling...all that 'perspective' bullshit don't ya' know...
Tomorrow: The Pasin Letter As Promised
With bonus extra features...stay tuned dudes...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...toodlepip...
Friday, March 28, 2014
Froming At The Mouth
Hello France, China, the Philippines, and Canada...and welcome to the blog...and as I sit to post today, the 'Statistics Page' suggests that this here blog will hit 40,000 'views' today if not even as I type...(very slowly and very poorly-Ed)...thanks...(nah nah, go' bless, go' bless, congrats on reaching the big 40k...does this mean the blog just begins now?-Ed)...
*Apologies for very late post (it's 22:30hrs already)...did some post early this morning, then more with my child this arvo, and forgot we hadn't finished...also credit for title and 'whole' joke later in post to aforementioned child...(more of a person than a child really-Ed)...yeah, fair enough...and the 'view' counter, for what it's worth, went past 40k this morning...(yay-Ed)...*
And a special shout-out to the Ukraine as well...not much I can do about it, but it's just an international embarrassment that the United Nations et al just sit around passing resolutions about the annexation of Crimea whilst Mr Putin waves a big stick at the rest of Ukraine...is this about protecting Energy supply to Eastern Europe, energy that comes from Russia?...there is undoubtedly some reluctance to act in ways that might threaten that supply...
(Yeah, I'm very confused-Ed)...how so?...(I thought that, as you say, the 'Energy Supply' flowed toward Europe from Russia, but I read a statement that senior Russians are having their 'asses frozen', which I assumed was referring to a critical lack of heating fuels, etc, as a result of sanctions or threats to supply networks, etc -Ed)...they're having their 'Assets frozen', their 'Assets', not their asses...(ah, my bad-Ed)...you're an ass...(and you make me whole-Ed)...
I am of course making a trite joke about the actions the UN/European community in freezing the vast assets of Russian oligarchs that are being held in various banks and other institutions, and the impression that this is actually having a bit of an effect in motivating some of these 'oligarchs' to pressure Mr Putin, et al, to hold back...money, or rather a lack of, talks...
In all fairness, the European Union officially does not recognise and "strongly condemns" the Crimea annexation, and there have been travel restrictions placed on many Russian officials, and there is the Asset freeze, but the United Nations is more restricted having Russia involved as part of the institution.
And having made the 'freezing one's ass off' joke, I must acknowledge that I sure as heck wouldn't want to try and get through the average Russian winter without access to shelter and a secure energy/heating supply, as I currently enjoy thanks to the Housing Trust...I know what a struggle it is to keep this little place warm in our relatively mild weather... it's usually the same temperature inside and out...
Unfortunately, my schoolboy history fails me on the exact story of the Ukraine/Crimea beyond what has been covered at length already by many experts in the media, but I agree with the many parallels being drawn between this 'annexation' and similar events in European history, eg, events leading into the Second World War...(oh, so no biggy then-Ed)...as a rank 'outside observer' I can only think about the many people in Crimea who don't want to part of Russia...but I digress.
Just announced coming up on the ABC Local Radio, the explanation as to why our Federal Liberal member Tony Pasin has been back in the Courtroom acting as a lawyer...(oo, we covered this in a couple of recent posts-Ed)...indeed we did Ed...can't wait to hear why Mr Pasin would consider it appropriate to act for the people he has...(do you think he'll explain why he has acted in the manner he has whilst 'acting', eg, the self-contradicting evidence of the 'up-skirting paedophile' and the statements about 'innocent photos when considered out of context', etc?-Ed)...I doubt it, that's all 'just being a lawyer' stuff I'm sure.
Mind Boggling: that our new state Treasurer Tom Koutsontonis...(Treasurer? you're joking-Ed)...wish I was...is rejecting the Federal government's call to sell public assets to raise funds for, say, road infrastructure, with 'Incentive payments', eg, giving the state governments Company tax...but Special K says 'we don't sell public assets to pay for things that the Federal government should be funding'... (say sorry, what?...Labor sold the South East Forestry Estate for only $680million, less than two thirds it's actual book value, and then used that money to bribe the SA Cricket Assoc by paying off their $80m debt and do the Adelaide Oval 'redevelopment' that they (Labor) suddenly promised only weeks before the March 2010 state election-Ed)...well exactly...
But it gets better...(spare me-Ed)...Mr Koutsontonis further stated that 'Labor doesn't sell public assets, particularly because they generate wealth for the state'...(you what?...the Forestry Estate made on average $100 million per annum for the State, of which just over half went on Forestry SA wages, fire protection, infrastructure maintenance, etc, delivering a net profit of approx. $40m per year...which means the Government has to find the money for those wages, etc, and the State isn't getting that $40m profit...every year-Ed)...good point.
(And all day the media has been full of the wonders of a football game tomorrow at the 'new' Adelaide Oval, where the rest of that $680m was used, and in a hilarious Freudian slip, an ABC announcer this arvo called it the "Adelaide Evil"...deadset, even she commented on it as a FS)
Heeeeere's Tony: And the answer as to why he's still acting as a lawyer?..."Simple" because he 'took on certain matters and gave a professional undertaking' prior to the September 2013 election and has been 'finalising' his work...'my wife and I are finalising and closing the business'. He then stated that under exceptional circumstances he had agreed recently to represent a young man charged with assault because 'the mother came and saw me and pleaded with me for her son'.
He stated 'I intend to maintain practice in Sydney' (I think) to do pro bono legal work to help the community like Senator Nick Xenophon does, but not like SA Labor's Patrick 'Part-Time' Conlon', which would help Mr Pasin keep his hand in as required for registration and help pay for certificates, etc...Mr Pasin assured that he was 100% focused on the electorate. "I go above and beyond"...(this is a very short paraphrase of a much longer interview).
(Wants some work to keep himself busy and registered, lawyer-wise?...looking to do pro bono to help the community?...well you know what you have to do?-Ed)...yep...indeed, I'll make it tomorrow's post.
And now on the ABC, Geoff Brock, Independent for the seat of Frome, and Labor Regional Development Minister banging on about how there's been 12 years of failure from Labor to appropriately fund/maintain/provide adequate infrastructure for Regional SA for mining, roads, etc...(but hasn't he just given Labor power in SA for another 4 years via the extraordinarily suspect shenanigans of the last week, and a reported $126m windfall for the seat of Frome and a promise of state government support for the Lead Smelter at Pt Pirie?-Ed)...exactly...
And yes I know that my whole Bob Such/Brock/Labor conspiracy theory from previous posts does make me sound like a rabid collusionist, but I maintain that the timing of events was carefully orchestrated to provide the platform of justifications to follow...and yes I am foaming at the mouth with fury that the Weatherill government, responsible for the St Martins Cover-up...(and the gross mismanagement of the states finances and economy and contempt for the Regional areas-Ed)...yes, all of that...I'm foaming that we get these clowns for 4 more years.
Tomorrow: My St Martins Letter To Tony Pasin
Let's see how keen Mr Pasin really is to act pro bono for the betterment of his community...can't think of a better case, a better cause, whereby Mr Pasin can represent the best interests of Mt Gambier, SA, all of Australia...and he already has an extensive knowledge of the St Martins case so we're off to a flying start...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters
*Apologies for very late post (it's 22:30hrs already)...did some post early this morning, then more with my child this arvo, and forgot we hadn't finished...also credit for title and 'whole' joke later in post to aforementioned child...(more of a person than a child really-Ed)...yeah, fair enough...and the 'view' counter, for what it's worth, went past 40k this morning...(yay-Ed)...*
And a special shout-out to the Ukraine as well...not much I can do about it, but it's just an international embarrassment that the United Nations et al just sit around passing resolutions about the annexation of Crimea whilst Mr Putin waves a big stick at the rest of Ukraine...is this about protecting Energy supply to Eastern Europe, energy that comes from Russia?...there is undoubtedly some reluctance to act in ways that might threaten that supply...
(Yeah, I'm very confused-Ed)...how so?...(I thought that, as you say, the 'Energy Supply' flowed toward Europe from Russia, but I read a statement that senior Russians are having their 'asses frozen', which I assumed was referring to a critical lack of heating fuels, etc, as a result of sanctions or threats to supply networks, etc -Ed)...they're having their 'Assets frozen', their 'Assets', not their asses...(ah, my bad-Ed)...you're an ass...(and you make me whole-Ed)...
I am of course making a trite joke about the actions the UN/European community in freezing the vast assets of Russian oligarchs that are being held in various banks and other institutions, and the impression that this is actually having a bit of an effect in motivating some of these 'oligarchs' to pressure Mr Putin, et al, to hold back...money, or rather a lack of, talks...
In all fairness, the European Union officially does not recognise and "strongly condemns" the Crimea annexation, and there have been travel restrictions placed on many Russian officials, and there is the Asset freeze, but the United Nations is more restricted having Russia involved as part of the institution.
And having made the 'freezing one's ass off' joke, I must acknowledge that I sure as heck wouldn't want to try and get through the average Russian winter without access to shelter and a secure energy/heating supply, as I currently enjoy thanks to the Housing Trust...I know what a struggle it is to keep this little place warm in our relatively mild weather... it's usually the same temperature inside and out...
Unfortunately, my schoolboy history fails me on the exact story of the Ukraine/Crimea beyond what has been covered at length already by many experts in the media, but I agree with the many parallels being drawn between this 'annexation' and similar events in European history, eg, events leading into the Second World War...(oh, so no biggy then-Ed)...as a rank 'outside observer' I can only think about the many people in Crimea who don't want to part of Russia...but I digress.
Just announced coming up on the ABC Local Radio, the explanation as to why our Federal Liberal member Tony Pasin has been back in the Courtroom acting as a lawyer...(oo, we covered this in a couple of recent posts-Ed)...indeed we did Ed...can't wait to hear why Mr Pasin would consider it appropriate to act for the people he has...(do you think he'll explain why he has acted in the manner he has whilst 'acting', eg, the self-contradicting evidence of the 'up-skirting paedophile' and the statements about 'innocent photos when considered out of context', etc?-Ed)...I doubt it, that's all 'just being a lawyer' stuff I'm sure.
Mind Boggling: that our new state Treasurer Tom Koutsontonis...(Treasurer? you're joking-Ed)...wish I was...is rejecting the Federal government's call to sell public assets to raise funds for, say, road infrastructure, with 'Incentive payments', eg, giving the state governments Company tax...but Special K says 'we don't sell public assets to pay for things that the Federal government should be funding'... (say sorry, what?...Labor sold the South East Forestry Estate for only $680million, less than two thirds it's actual book value, and then used that money to bribe the SA Cricket Assoc by paying off their $80m debt and do the Adelaide Oval 'redevelopment' that they (Labor) suddenly promised only weeks before the March 2010 state election-Ed)...well exactly...
But it gets better...(spare me-Ed)...Mr Koutsontonis further stated that 'Labor doesn't sell public assets, particularly because they generate wealth for the state'...(you what?...the Forestry Estate made on average $100 million per annum for the State, of which just over half went on Forestry SA wages, fire protection, infrastructure maintenance, etc, delivering a net profit of approx. $40m per year...which means the Government has to find the money for those wages, etc, and the State isn't getting that $40m profit...every year-Ed)...good point.
(And all day the media has been full of the wonders of a football game tomorrow at the 'new' Adelaide Oval, where the rest of that $680m was used, and in a hilarious Freudian slip, an ABC announcer this arvo called it the "Adelaide Evil"...deadset, even she commented on it as a FS)
Heeeeere's Tony: And the answer as to why he's still acting as a lawyer?..."Simple" because he 'took on certain matters and gave a professional undertaking' prior to the September 2013 election and has been 'finalising' his work...'my wife and I are finalising and closing the business'. He then stated that under exceptional circumstances he had agreed recently to represent a young man charged with assault because 'the mother came and saw me and pleaded with me for her son'.
He stated 'I intend to maintain practice in Sydney' (I think) to do pro bono legal work to help the community like Senator Nick Xenophon does, but not like SA Labor's Patrick 'Part-Time' Conlon', which would help Mr Pasin keep his hand in as required for registration and help pay for certificates, etc...Mr Pasin assured that he was 100% focused on the electorate. "I go above and beyond"...(this is a very short paraphrase of a much longer interview).
(Wants some work to keep himself busy and registered, lawyer-wise?...looking to do pro bono to help the community?...well you know what you have to do?-Ed)...yep...indeed, I'll make it tomorrow's post.
And now on the ABC, Geoff Brock, Independent for the seat of Frome, and Labor Regional Development Minister banging on about how there's been 12 years of failure from Labor to appropriately fund/maintain/provide adequate infrastructure for Regional SA for mining, roads, etc...(but hasn't he just given Labor power in SA for another 4 years via the extraordinarily suspect shenanigans of the last week, and a reported $126m windfall for the seat of Frome and a promise of state government support for the Lead Smelter at Pt Pirie?-Ed)...exactly...
And yes I know that my whole Bob Such/Brock/Labor conspiracy theory from previous posts does make me sound like a rabid collusionist, but I maintain that the timing of events was carefully orchestrated to provide the platform of justifications to follow...and yes I am foaming at the mouth with fury that the Weatherill government, responsible for the St Martins Cover-up...(and the gross mismanagement of the states finances and economy and contempt for the Regional areas-Ed)...yes, all of that...I'm foaming that we get these clowns for 4 more years.
Tomorrow: My St Martins Letter To Tony Pasin
Let's see how keen Mr Pasin really is to act pro bono for the betterment of his community...can't think of a better case, a better cause, whereby Mr Pasin can represent the best interests of Mt Gambier, SA, all of Australia...and he already has an extensive knowledge of the St Martins case so we're off to a flying start...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Yet More Electoral Cynicism
Hey y'all and welcome to the blog...and again a special shout out to the apparently numerous blog availees in Sweden and the United States of America...the statistics page graphs don't always match the 'post views' or the 'audience numbers' but it's accurate enough to say that TMGI is slowly, slightly, on the way up...sort of...a bit...(but we're not big in Japan-Ed)...yet...
Completely by accident...(because you accidentally deleted your own blog-Ed)...shhh...I had to go back through a search engine to access the blog and write this sentence, and discovered a 'forum' site called Topix - Mt Gambier, Australia, where-in lies the post dated August 9th 2013, 'Dick Stretcher the local mt gambier blogger'...(yeeha-Ed)...yeah, but it looks like it's a post put up about DS, not by DS...(whaaa?-Ed)...check the 2 only comments on there, both from August 9th 2013;
1) from MG G Spot (Adelaide) - "Dick Stretcher the anonymous extendable tool, this w@nkstain is
definately a keeper." ...their spelling...and...
2) from Jerry (Adelaide) - "looks like yu are another reader of the mount gambier independent
blog...vote 1 Nick Fletcher"...and this referencing MG G Spot's effort...
If you're still out there MG G Spot and Jerry after all the baggings I've given Adelaide, cheers and thanks...(you know, loathe as I am to agree with you, I think you're right, that is about DS not by DS and appears to be supportive of your work...well at least for 1 day...and I'd suggest that if people in Adelaide are regularly availing themselves of the blog it is because they are perfectly aware of the disparity between Adelaide and regional South Australia, and are unlikely to take that commentary personally-Ed)...fair enough...
Yesterday the Governor Kevin Scarce announced the Weatherill Labor government will rort, I mean run, the state for another 4 years...(sweet baby cheeses-Ed)...indeed, SBCs all round...and I absolutely maintain that the Geoff Brock/Bob Such shenanigans are an absolute set-up to get Labor in and dilute and distract any criticism...this was organised very early in the week and then deliberately played out very specifically to a set time-table...one last time with feeling...(you say one last time, but we both know it's not likely to be-Ed)...shhh...
Messrs Brock and Such are both ex-Liberals, elected in recognised Conservative seats after running as Independents, then with yet another Labor/Adelaide gerrymander result that sees Labor at 47% and Liberal at 53% (Two Party Preferred) but with Labor holding 23 seats against 22, suddenly Bob Such just disappears off the radar and Geoff Brock is all over the media and at the close of business Friday 21st March, we're all waiting for a decision sometime late this week...then, Kapow, it's Labor...
And in this context 'Kapow' means Bob Such suddenly goes into hospital Friday evening without a word being said all week about his health, next day (being a Saturday) it's Geoff Brock announcing Mr Such's hospitalisation, then by noon Sunday Jay Weatherill is driving over to the Governor's residence to ask for Labor to be recognised as the legitimate government using Geoff Brock's support...and Mr Such is taking 2 months 'leave'.
I'm not saying that Bob Such is having a fake surgery...(had...it was yesterday-Ed)...right, sorry, had...but I would love to know for what...is this a sudden critical heart surgery, for example, that could wait 5 days, or a knee Arthroscopy that's been pending for months, an ingrowing toe nail?...why did Bob Such disappear, re-appear in hospital, and will not apparently be available for 2 months...(and most importantly, why is his vote suddenly irrelevant, null-and-void?-Ed)...indeed...I repeat, it's an absolute con...I don't care what 'incentives' or 'motivations' or 'promises' or 'bribes' or 'threats' or 'blackmails' or whatever combination there-of was at play, it's an absolute set-up...
This was carefully organised and timed for Bob Such to step aside and plead the deniability and sympathy of ill-health, thus deflecting criticism from within his Conservative seat and the Liberals, indeed the whole state...and similarly provides Geoff Brock the deniability of 'I had to choose Labor for stability'...why can't we wait a month, or even just the 3 weeks before Parliament sits again, for Bob Such to decide his support?...why does it have to be done right now?...why? because it's a con and it needs to be settled before Mr Such returns...
This was all carefully choreographed, including Geoff Brock lying to Liberal leader Stephen Marshall about waiting 'til this week to decide...most importantly, my opinion, cynicism and paranoia aside, the irrefutable fact is that if Brocky and Sucho had chosen Liberal then we would have a Liberal government...they have clearly chosen to go against what a defined majority of South Australians voted for (53% to 47%) and their own Conservative electorates, and have organised to do it in a way that deceives and manipulates...and that's the sort of governing we can look forward to for another 4 years.
Two Hours I'll Never Get Back: lost to listening to Christopher Pyne, the most hypocritical squealer in Federal Parliament, relentlessly screeching about the bad behaviour of Labor, particularly with his references to Labor's alleged sexist and disrespectful and disruptive behaviour toward Liberal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop...and I'm not entirely sure whether it's her dismissive staring-down-her-nose attitude to Labor that gets them so riled it causes her to chuck them out on a regular basis, but one point is irrefutable..(do tell-Ed)...
Bronny's First Ton: is rapidly approaching as she sin-bins a Labor member for the 98th time today...only two more 'chuckees' for the ton...(yeah hilarious, but with the Liberal members ejected that must be up to a total of what?-Ed)...98...(98?-Ed)...98...(so she's chucked 98 members in under 5 months, and every single one was Labor?-Ed)...yep...(not one Liberal?-Ed)...nope...
Health Costs: or at least Health Insurance costs are set to rise by about 6%, and this would mean an average increase of just over $300 per year...however I'm not sure whether this is just a general increase or is specifically due to the Federal Liberal government announcing that they intend to follow through with plans to sell Medibank Private...(don't you mean 'liberate' MP?-Ed)...very witty Ed...
And the Fosters again in the news this morning discussing the billions of tax-free dollars available to the Catholic Church because of their 'Tax Exempt' status...and how the then Bishop George Pell stated to them 'you have to go through our system'...and then an 'apology' from Pell to Abuse survivor John Ellis...it is largely immaterial because George is not in charge in Oz any more...and apparently Tony Abbott and George Pell are having lunch today...(super-Ed)...
I am an avowed Pacifist who's never hit anyone in my life, but if I was one of these people, and I had to sit through these excruciatingly fake 'mia culpas' after years of bloody minded bastardry from George Pell and the Catholic Church, I think I may just be capable of slapping George Pell stupid...and I bet I wouldn't get a 'suspended sentence'.
An Apology: to the Institutional Responses to Child Abuse Royal Commission because I was in part wrong about how corrupted and pointless the whole process is, because at the very least it has dragged Pell & Co into the spotlight, albeit briefly...however, I maintain that the Commission is not entirely genuine until it comes to Mt Gambier to address the vast raft of institutionalised pro-paedophile corruption clearly defined by the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...
Oh, and the National Gallery in Canberra is reportedly returning the stolen Shiva statue that I discussed yesterday...(did they take a copy first?-Ed)...no, it's all gone, all $5million...(t'riffic-Ed)...
Tomorrow: Mo' Bellyachin' 'Bout The Stuff
Some very local issues that need to be addressed, eg, the legal action being conducted re the Support Services Residential Facility at Yahl...(yay-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Completely by accident...(because you accidentally deleted your own blog-Ed)...shhh...I had to go back through a search engine to access the blog and write this sentence, and discovered a 'forum' site called Topix - Mt Gambier, Australia, where-in lies the post dated August 9th 2013, 'Dick Stretcher the local mt gambier blogger'...(yeeha-Ed)...yeah, but it looks like it's a post put up about DS, not by DS...(whaaa?-Ed)...check the 2 only comments on there, both from August 9th 2013;
1) from MG G Spot (Adelaide) - "Dick Stretcher the anonymous extendable tool, this w@nkstain is
definately a keeper." ...their spelling...and...
2) from Jerry (Adelaide) - "looks like yu are another reader of the mount gambier independent
blog...vote 1 Nick Fletcher"...and this referencing MG G Spot's effort...
If you're still out there MG G Spot and Jerry after all the baggings I've given Adelaide, cheers and thanks...(you know, loathe as I am to agree with you, I think you're right, that is about DS not by DS and appears to be supportive of your work...well at least for 1 day...and I'd suggest that if people in Adelaide are regularly availing themselves of the blog it is because they are perfectly aware of the disparity between Adelaide and regional South Australia, and are unlikely to take that commentary personally-Ed)...fair enough...
Yesterday the Governor Kevin Scarce announced the Weatherill Labor government will rort, I mean run, the state for another 4 years...(sweet baby cheeses-Ed)...indeed, SBCs all round...and I absolutely maintain that the Geoff Brock/Bob Such shenanigans are an absolute set-up to get Labor in and dilute and distract any criticism...this was organised very early in the week and then deliberately played out very specifically to a set time-table...one last time with feeling...(you say one last time, but we both know it's not likely to be-Ed)...shhh...
Messrs Brock and Such are both ex-Liberals, elected in recognised Conservative seats after running as Independents, then with yet another Labor/Adelaide gerrymander result that sees Labor at 47% and Liberal at 53% (Two Party Preferred) but with Labor holding 23 seats against 22, suddenly Bob Such just disappears off the radar and Geoff Brock is all over the media and at the close of business Friday 21st March, we're all waiting for a decision sometime late this week...then, Kapow, it's Labor...
And in this context 'Kapow' means Bob Such suddenly goes into hospital Friday evening without a word being said all week about his health, next day (being a Saturday) it's Geoff Brock announcing Mr Such's hospitalisation, then by noon Sunday Jay Weatherill is driving over to the Governor's residence to ask for Labor to be recognised as the legitimate government using Geoff Brock's support...and Mr Such is taking 2 months 'leave'.
I'm not saying that Bob Such is having a fake surgery...(had...it was yesterday-Ed)...right, sorry, had...but I would love to know for what...is this a sudden critical heart surgery, for example, that could wait 5 days, or a knee Arthroscopy that's been pending for months, an ingrowing toe nail?...why did Bob Such disappear, re-appear in hospital, and will not apparently be available for 2 months...(and most importantly, why is his vote suddenly irrelevant, null-and-void?-Ed)...indeed...I repeat, it's an absolute con...I don't care what 'incentives' or 'motivations' or 'promises' or 'bribes' or 'threats' or 'blackmails' or whatever combination there-of was at play, it's an absolute set-up...
This was carefully organised and timed for Bob Such to step aside and plead the deniability and sympathy of ill-health, thus deflecting criticism from within his Conservative seat and the Liberals, indeed the whole state...and similarly provides Geoff Brock the deniability of 'I had to choose Labor for stability'...why can't we wait a month, or even just the 3 weeks before Parliament sits again, for Bob Such to decide his support?...why does it have to be done right now?...why? because it's a con and it needs to be settled before Mr Such returns...
This was all carefully choreographed, including Geoff Brock lying to Liberal leader Stephen Marshall about waiting 'til this week to decide...most importantly, my opinion, cynicism and paranoia aside, the irrefutable fact is that if Brocky and Sucho had chosen Liberal then we would have a Liberal government...they have clearly chosen to go against what a defined majority of South Australians voted for (53% to 47%) and their own Conservative electorates, and have organised to do it in a way that deceives and manipulates...and that's the sort of governing we can look forward to for another 4 years.
Two Hours I'll Never Get Back: lost to listening to Christopher Pyne, the most hypocritical squealer in Federal Parliament, relentlessly screeching about the bad behaviour of Labor, particularly with his references to Labor's alleged sexist and disrespectful and disruptive behaviour toward Liberal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop...and I'm not entirely sure whether it's her dismissive staring-down-her-nose attitude to Labor that gets them so riled it causes her to chuck them out on a regular basis, but one point is irrefutable..(do tell-Ed)...
Bronny's First Ton: is rapidly approaching as she sin-bins a Labor member for the 98th time today...only two more 'chuckees' for the ton...(yeah hilarious, but with the Liberal members ejected that must be up to a total of what?-Ed)...98...(98?-Ed)...98...(so she's chucked 98 members in under 5 months, and every single one was Labor?-Ed)...yep...(not one Liberal?-Ed)...nope...
Health Costs: or at least Health Insurance costs are set to rise by about 6%, and this would mean an average increase of just over $300 per year...however I'm not sure whether this is just a general increase or is specifically due to the Federal Liberal government announcing that they intend to follow through with plans to sell Medibank Private...(don't you mean 'liberate' MP?-Ed)...very witty Ed...
And the Fosters again in the news this morning discussing the billions of tax-free dollars available to the Catholic Church because of their 'Tax Exempt' status...and how the then Bishop George Pell stated to them 'you have to go through our system'...and then an 'apology' from Pell to Abuse survivor John Ellis...it is largely immaterial because George is not in charge in Oz any more...and apparently Tony Abbott and George Pell are having lunch today...(super-Ed)...
I am an avowed Pacifist who's never hit anyone in my life, but if I was one of these people, and I had to sit through these excruciatingly fake 'mia culpas' after years of bloody minded bastardry from George Pell and the Catholic Church, I think I may just be capable of slapping George Pell stupid...and I bet I wouldn't get a 'suspended sentence'.
An Apology: to the Institutional Responses to Child Abuse Royal Commission because I was in part wrong about how corrupted and pointless the whole process is, because at the very least it has dragged Pell & Co into the spotlight, albeit briefly...however, I maintain that the Commission is not entirely genuine until it comes to Mt Gambier to address the vast raft of institutionalised pro-paedophile corruption clearly defined by the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...
Oh, and the National Gallery in Canberra is reportedly returning the stolen Shiva statue that I discussed yesterday...(did they take a copy first?-Ed)...no, it's all gone, all $5million...(t'riffic-Ed)...
Tomorrow: Mo' Bellyachin' 'Bout The Stuff
Some very local issues that need to be addressed, eg, the legal action being conducted re the Support Services Residential Facility at Yahl...(yay-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Post 450ish: Catharticking All The Boxes
Hello Indonesia, Sweden, Nigeria, and all my homies here in ye olde land of Oz...home of the deadly KillerRoo, known universally as the Antipodean Killin' Macheean (Killing Machine)-(from The Mighty Boosh BBC TV)...gidday cobbers, strewth, and welcome to the Colonies ma' Lords, ma' Ladies, and ma' gentlemans...Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dragged Australia back to the 1950s by unilaterally re-instating the titles of 'Knight' and 'Dame' and immediately dispensing said honour to outgoing Governor General Quentin Bryce...(Labor leader Bill Shorten's mother-in-law-Ed)...dead set?...(dead set-Ed).
The other immediate recipient is the incoming GG Peter Cosgrove...(does this mean that we get a manufacturing sector again?-Ed)...sorry?...(well, if we're going back to the 50s then do we get to actually make stuff again?-Ed)...well there's no need to get ridiculous about it...Lord Tony just wants to remind us of our subservient position re the English Royal Family...(well actually they're more German than English-Ed)...shhhh, you'll upset Tony and it'll be off to Van Diemen's Land for you, bloody peasant.
And besides, we do build stuff...we're going to build about $50billion worth of submarines here in Straya...($50billion? strewth that's a lot of money...I thought we were in a Federal Fiscal Cesspit courtesy of Labor?...and how did those last submarines work out that we built?-Ed)...ahhh, not so great...(we should probably spend that money on something else then?-Ed)...probably...(like Health, maybe Regional infrastructure...imagine the high-tech National Rail Network you could build for $50b, and the work and the exports, etc-Ed)...yeah yeah, you've made your point.
Today's title covers 1) the 'I'm not exactly sure which is actually the 450th post' problem, and 2) the 'as confronting as it may be doing the post some days, it is always at least slightly more cathartic than not doing it'...I am very committed to doing the blog accurately and appropriately and have tried hard to modify my language, etc, and it is often a struggle, but it remains a genuinely cathartic experience...(that ticks all the boxes?-Ed)...alright, maybe not all of them...but enough of them...
Gallery Of The Artful Dodger: or a Gallery full of Dodgy Art?...two Aussie institutions, the New South Wales and Canberra Galleries have been caught out not doing the necessary provenance checks before spending $squillions on art from India...$5million on just one piece...(yeah, I don't know that the art itself is 'dodgy', it's apparently genuine pieces that were stolen...and that's the problem...we would actually be better off if it was a fake-Ed)...sorry, what?...better off if it was a fake?...
(Yeah, well, if that $5m piece was originally stolen-Ed)...it is stolen...(ok, given that it was stolen from a temple in India by agents of the 'famous' broker Subhash Kapoor and the Gallery purchased it from him, we'll have to give it back-Ed)...it would seem the decent thing to do, and quite possibly a legal requirement/reality anyway...(so given that we have to return the original and lose that $5m, we would be better off if we'd purchased a fake for $5m because then at least we would get to keep it-Ed)..........moving on...
Nothing Quite So Funny: as Mayor Steve Perryman on ABC Radio bleating out the same trite lie that Council is just fascinated with ratepayers opinions about various issues and how committed Council is to making sure that "all points of view are represented"...(ahhhaaahaahhhaaaaaaa...I never get tired of that one, it's a classic...public consultation, ahhh dear-Ed)...and it's all about yet another 'long-term plan' and involves paying an unnamed Consultant...(gee whiz, I hope that doesn't cut into the $100,000s that Council has payed former CEO Greg Muller as a 'Consultant' since his alleged retirement from the CEO position-Ed)...I very much doubt it Ed.
That money would have come from the bottomless pit of funds known to Council as Ratepayers...'another catered forum at the Main Corner? ratepayers can pay for that'...'another ludicrously pointless expert-in-their-field? ratepayers can pay for that'...'mindless, ugly, rooting up of the Main St with ludicrous street scaping?'...(ratepayers?-Ed)...ratepayers...'can't manage our own finances so that we're hemorrhaging $millions every year just running the Library and Main Corner?'...'needlessly pushing piles of dirt around the Old Rail Lands to continue the Rail Lands Retail Agenda corruption...(ratepayers?-Ed)...almost...increase Council's borrowing capacity and therefore debt and then ratepayers can pay for all of that...(charming-Ed)...
And a long interview with Council staffer (Acting Operations Manager I think it was) Daryl Morgan all about all the 'Public Consultation' that Council does...which is apparently news to the Retailers in The Main St who have just learned they will lose 8 carparks from the street in front of their stores when Council puts in another "node"...(a what? ahaahaahhhhaa haahaaa...a node...priceless...and whatever happened with that hugely expensive animated fly-through that Council produced that shows all parking removed between Bay Rd and Ferris St?-Ed)...don't know, I can't find it on the Interweb...(it'll be there somewhere, keep looking-Ed).
(And it did just occur to me, where did the Independent Commission Against Corruption 'investigators' stay when they came to Mt Gambier to exonerate, sorry I mean investigate, the rank corruption evident in Mt Gambier City Council...they didn't stay at Steve Perryman's motel did they?-Ed)...no idea, but quite frankly it wouldn't surprise me given the gross and clearly deliberate failure of the ICAC to find Council corruption that is evident in Council meeting minutes and/or on the front page of The Border Watch.
And I'll say it again, the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up is the common denominator, the common motivator, is the set standard for the corruption that is crippling South Australia...dodgy land deals and rezonings for the Labor government's mates, Council officials defrauding Council funds, gross nepotism, insider trading, etc, etc, and one long, perpetual Child Abuse Cover-up...it's just the way we roll in SA...(sing it with me, "we're all in this together"-Ed)...
Clear As Mud: as to why contaminated Drilling waste is being (was) moved from the Panax Geothermal drill site at Penola to a quarry just South of Mt Gambier, some 55kms away...and the very genuine concern that dumping this crappy sludge in a big hole has just put that material right on top of the Aquifer...and according to the Environmental Protection Authority statement read out on the ABC this morning, the EPA is aware of the appropriately licensed moving of the dry drilling mud via an EPA licensed truck to an EPA licensed land fill where it is being kept appropriately separate from other waste materials...(yay-Ed)...
More Humble Pie: because I believe that I may have previously stated that this muck was from the current drilling by Beach Energy near Penola, but it is not Beach Energy's muck, their muck is where-ever they left it last...this is Panex's muck...(yay-Ed)...a couple of closing points...
Come See SE SA: is my catchy Tourism phrase to replace this Limestone Coast nonsense, because apparently nobody knows where that is...apart from those that live here...please refer to any Tourism documentation from Tourism SA...(or whatever it's called this week-Ed)...indeed...and see how little the whole South East SA appears, if at all...
Make It Stop: Already sick to death of the sight and sound of alleged Independent Geoff Brock...wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him...this whole 'I chose Labor for stability' pantomime is an absolute set-up, an absolute con...(no no, please say what you really think-Ed)...I will,
Tomorrow: Gettin' On The Angry Pills
Just more stuff really, but I do so love a dramatic titling...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters....
The other immediate recipient is the incoming GG Peter Cosgrove...(does this mean that we get a manufacturing sector again?-Ed)...sorry?...(well, if we're going back to the 50s then do we get to actually make stuff again?-Ed)...well there's no need to get ridiculous about it...Lord Tony just wants to remind us of our subservient position re the English Royal Family...(well actually they're more German than English-Ed)...shhhh, you'll upset Tony and it'll be off to Van Diemen's Land for you, bloody peasant.
And besides, we do build stuff...we're going to build about $50billion worth of submarines here in Straya...($50billion? strewth that's a lot of money...I thought we were in a Federal Fiscal Cesspit courtesy of Labor?...and how did those last submarines work out that we built?-Ed)...ahhh, not so great...(we should probably spend that money on something else then?-Ed)...probably...(like Health, maybe Regional infrastructure...imagine the high-tech National Rail Network you could build for $50b, and the work and the exports, etc-Ed)...yeah yeah, you've made your point.
Today's title covers 1) the 'I'm not exactly sure which is actually the 450th post' problem, and 2) the 'as confronting as it may be doing the post some days, it is always at least slightly more cathartic than not doing it'...I am very committed to doing the blog accurately and appropriately and have tried hard to modify my language, etc, and it is often a struggle, but it remains a genuinely cathartic experience...(that ticks all the boxes?-Ed)...alright, maybe not all of them...but enough of them...
Gallery Of The Artful Dodger: or a Gallery full of Dodgy Art?...two Aussie institutions, the New South Wales and Canberra Galleries have been caught out not doing the necessary provenance checks before spending $squillions on art from India...$5million on just one piece...(yeah, I don't know that the art itself is 'dodgy', it's apparently genuine pieces that were stolen...and that's the problem...we would actually be better off if it was a fake-Ed)...sorry, what?...better off if it was a fake?...
(Yeah, well, if that $5m piece was originally stolen-Ed)...it is stolen...(ok, given that it was stolen from a temple in India by agents of the 'famous' broker Subhash Kapoor and the Gallery purchased it from him, we'll have to give it back-Ed)...it would seem the decent thing to do, and quite possibly a legal requirement/reality anyway...(so given that we have to return the original and lose that $5m, we would be better off if we'd purchased a fake for $5m because then at least we would get to keep it-Ed)..........moving on...
Nothing Quite So Funny: as Mayor Steve Perryman on ABC Radio bleating out the same trite lie that Council is just fascinated with ratepayers opinions about various issues and how committed Council is to making sure that "all points of view are represented"...(ahhhaaahaahhhaaaaaaa...I never get tired of that one, it's a classic...public consultation, ahhh dear-Ed)...and it's all about yet another 'long-term plan' and involves paying an unnamed Consultant...(gee whiz, I hope that doesn't cut into the $100,000s that Council has payed former CEO Greg Muller as a 'Consultant' since his alleged retirement from the CEO position-Ed)...I very much doubt it Ed.
That money would have come from the bottomless pit of funds known to Council as Ratepayers...'another catered forum at the Main Corner? ratepayers can pay for that'...'another ludicrously pointless expert-in-their-field? ratepayers can pay for that'...'mindless, ugly, rooting up of the Main St with ludicrous street scaping?'...(ratepayers?-Ed)...ratepayers...'can't manage our own finances so that we're hemorrhaging $millions every year just running the Library and Main Corner?'...'needlessly pushing piles of dirt around the Old Rail Lands to continue the Rail Lands Retail Agenda corruption...(ratepayers?-Ed)...almost...increase Council's borrowing capacity and therefore debt and then ratepayers can pay for all of that...(charming-Ed)...
And a long interview with Council staffer (Acting Operations Manager I think it was) Daryl Morgan all about all the 'Public Consultation' that Council does...which is apparently news to the Retailers in The Main St who have just learned they will lose 8 carparks from the street in front of their stores when Council puts in another "node"...(a what? ahaahaahhhhaa haahaaa...a node...priceless...and whatever happened with that hugely expensive animated fly-through that Council produced that shows all parking removed between Bay Rd and Ferris St?-Ed)...don't know, I can't find it on the Interweb...(it'll be there somewhere, keep looking-Ed).
(And it did just occur to me, where did the Independent Commission Against Corruption 'investigators' stay when they came to Mt Gambier to exonerate, sorry I mean investigate, the rank corruption evident in Mt Gambier City Council...they didn't stay at Steve Perryman's motel did they?-Ed)...no idea, but quite frankly it wouldn't surprise me given the gross and clearly deliberate failure of the ICAC to find Council corruption that is evident in Council meeting minutes and/or on the front page of The Border Watch.
And I'll say it again, the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up is the common denominator, the common motivator, is the set standard for the corruption that is crippling South Australia...dodgy land deals and rezonings for the Labor government's mates, Council officials defrauding Council funds, gross nepotism, insider trading, etc, etc, and one long, perpetual Child Abuse Cover-up...it's just the way we roll in SA...(sing it with me, "we're all in this together"-Ed)...
Clear As Mud: as to why contaminated Drilling waste is being (was) moved from the Panax Geothermal drill site at Penola to a quarry just South of Mt Gambier, some 55kms away...and the very genuine concern that dumping this crappy sludge in a big hole has just put that material right on top of the Aquifer...and according to the Environmental Protection Authority statement read out on the ABC this morning, the EPA is aware of the appropriately licensed moving of the dry drilling mud via an EPA licensed truck to an EPA licensed land fill where it is being kept appropriately separate from other waste materials...(yay-Ed)...
More Humble Pie: because I believe that I may have previously stated that this muck was from the current drilling by Beach Energy near Penola, but it is not Beach Energy's muck, their muck is where-ever they left it last...this is Panex's muck...(yay-Ed)...a couple of closing points...
Come See SE SA: is my catchy Tourism phrase to replace this Limestone Coast nonsense, because apparently nobody knows where that is...apart from those that live here...please refer to any Tourism documentation from Tourism SA...(or whatever it's called this week-Ed)...indeed...and see how little the whole South East SA appears, if at all...
Make It Stop: Already sick to death of the sight and sound of alleged Independent Geoff Brock...wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him...this whole 'I chose Labor for stability' pantomime is an absolute set-up, an absolute con...(no no, please say what you really think-Ed)...I will,
Tomorrow: Gettin' On The Angry Pills
Just more stuff really, but I do so love a dramatic titling...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters....
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Post 450ish - Bloggin' A Dead Horse
Hello y'all and welcome to the blog...and straight off I'd like to acknowledge the feedback about looking after myself and maybe cutting back on the blog, to give myself a few days off here and there or every other day, something like that...a bit of a break from the self-identified, almost self-inflicted trauma of doing some of these posts...(you're sure they're not just sick of your particular brand of angry bollocks?-Ed)...yeah thankyou...said feedback is much appreciated, but please let me explain myself a bit better.
It's not a self-inflicted trauma that has me feeling so unattached and distant from the community I live in, so deeply traumatised and broken and irretrievably cynicalised, so isolated and Pariahtised, such an abject, unemployable failure who can't even get the screamingly undeniable St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up resolved, so completely...(yeah, yeah we get it, you're having a bit of a shocker-Ed)...for a decade...(for a decade-Ed)...
If one may be so gauche as to quote oneself, The Nut That Wouldn't Crack post pretty much sums it up for me, I'm down and struggling to get back to my feet but I'm still trying...the damage done may ne'er be retrieved but I'm still trying...back to the meteorite metaphor...this is the trajectory and it is irresistible...I can only apologise for bad posts and mistakes, etc, that shizzles gonna happen, but when it gets right down to which is more difficult to endure, the trauma of doing the blog vs just doing the trauma, the blog wins hands down.
I cannot avoid the trauma so I engage it and attack it and do what I can to bring it to heel...even if I cannot get resolution on anything at least I'm giving it a go, eg, look at the extraordinary conduct of the alleged Independent Commission Against Corruption and it's supposed investigation of Mt Gambier City Council...it is not being arrogant or delusional or even irresponsible to state that I made all that happen and have conclusively proved exactly what I had predicted about ICAC...
How does one lone loose unit bring to account a system, a state, a society, a community so thoroughly corrupted that it produces the St Martins Cover-up and an ICAC like this?...doing the blog gives me the avenue, the release, the sense of confronting that makes me at least able to tolerate myself...just...still floggin' a still dead horse and urging it to charge that Windmill...but I digress...
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has now officially stated that the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 definitely most likely crashed into the Indian Ocean almost certainly killing all on board, most likely roughly where several navies, airforces, and civilian craft are currently searching...('definitely most likely'? 'almost certainly'? 'most likely roughly'? that still sounds very vague-Ed)...yeah well, that's not his actual words, but I'm not sure why this statement has been made...(apparently it relates to British analysis of satellite data re a locational 'ping' from the still flying plane that indicates the 'predicted' southern corridor-Ed).
It is also reported that some relatives of passengers and crew were notified of this 'official declaration' via an SMS, not an official call or even a letter...a text message to say 'yeah, it crashed, and they're all dead' would seem to be a little harsh...(and I don't know why you would say 'they're almost certainly dead' unless there was definitive evidence...this must surely be a further, unnecessary trauma for families-Ed)...quite...and I still don't understand how that plane could turn around and fly off somewhere else without air traffic controllers being almost immediately aware and contacting each other.
I don't understand how they can state definitively that the plane crashed and that there are no survivors without even finding any debris that is confirmed as part of the plane...it is a terrible situation for the families and I feel that they could well do without another series of 'maybes' and 'probablies'.
It Ain't Fair: 'cos I had a beauty half-post ready to fire about the ludicrous proposed changes to Financial Regulation legislation and Liberal plans to enact removal of restrictions on Financial Advisors that would then legally allow FAs to accept commissions from Providers, eg, banks, rather than to advise based solely on the best interests of their client...but I can't because the government has reacted to the massive backlash and temporarily shelved the legislation.
And yes I do agree that this sudden backdown, that only days ago was absolutely ruled out by the Liberals, is highly likely highly motivated by the impending Western Australia Senate re-Election and likely to get slammed back on the table the moment WA is done friggin' about...so half a post denied, for now, but George Brandis saved the day for me with his great comments about everyone's right to be a bigot...yes you should have the right to say whatever you want, but you should also have the right to be sued and/or otherwise held to account for what you say...it's why I put my name to everything I do.
For example, I should be able to express my opinion about sickening mouth breathers like Andrew Bolt who has been given his own show by selfish, bigoted idiots like Gina Rinehart, with the specific purpose of pouring his/her particular brand of massively biased, corrupted mind vomit into the public sphere...(I hear he has a very small penis-Ed)...even for a white man...I think it says so much about us as a species that people like Kyle Sandilands, Andrew Bolt, etc get their own shows, but other more moderate voices can only get bit-piece exposure via shows like Q&A on the ABC...and then the ABC gets accused of being 'Leftist' by the Right...
For crikey sake, the magazine style morning shows on commercial networks often offer a more balanced and accurate account of issues than Andrew Bolt...although I must admit I haven't watched or read Andre Bolter for a year, probably longer...it's not news, it's not even opinion, it's all bias, nothing more than propaganda...and I don't need that shizzle...
The Fosters and Cardinal George Pell:...I made myself watch as much as I could stomach of this back-sliding reptile yesterday and was unfortunately not disappointed with his extraordinary refusals to accept responsibility for legal proceedings he was clearly directing...time and again he denied responsibility, any recollection of various incidents/directives he was directly involved in, and pointed the blame at various often un-named others...(and then claimed that he wasn't the sort of person to blame others-Ed)...indeed.
I may be one crazy, broken, wreck of an old angry hippy, but I love to stand next to people like George Pell, Rory McEwen, Mike Rann, Steve Perryman, etc, because in that company, in that context, I'm a strong and decent person...(well that's a big call, but fair enough-Ed)...and I thought that the Fosters showed incredible strength in the face of such blatant lies from the man who personally fought them over the abuse of their 2 daughters, abuse that lead to one daughter suiciding...
And in the Royal Commission's Adelaide hearing it's just more of the same from the Catholic Church re the abuse of disabled children by bus driver Brian Perkins, a relentless litany of official failures and unbelievable excuses that don't bare the slightest scrutiny...and of course there's SAPol with it's own list of excuses as to why Brian Perkins wasn't arrested 20 years ago, even when they attended his home following complaints, and he already had multiple convictions for Child Abuse, and he had a warrant pending...and blaming it all on a now deceased Deputy Commissioner...
Lie after lie, excuse after excuse, and relentless, vacuous rhetoric and meaningless, fake mia culpas from the Catholics...excuse me for not believing that the Catholics pushed SAPol and the state government to have Perkins returned to South Australia after he was 'caught' in Queensland...(if they are so concerned and contritious, then why are they still fighting some of the parents over compensation some 20 years after their children were abused?-Ed)...exactly...and why keep it a secret from parents for 10 years after the event?...(bastards-Ed)...indeed...
In Closing: Cr Ian Von Stanke was on the ABC Local Radio this morning discussing a Council initiative to place solar panels on the Library, Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Main Corner, etc, to reduce power costs...(fair enough-Ed)...and then he mentioned the Bio-mass Furnace at the part-time Mt Gambier Pool...(not so great-Ed)...and oh my shreckin' lord, a bloody Wind Turbine in a Council reserve...(more about this...-Ed)....
Tomorrow: More Local Issues Of Import
Again, I appreciate the feedback and the opportunity to explain myself...and yes, it is alright for me to make jokes about white men because I am one...and may I award myself some lovely honours...therefore...
I am Sir Nick Fletcher and that there's Dame Ed, and this 'ere's our blog me lovelies...toodle pip and tally bally ho...(what is it with you and the 'ho's'?-Ed)...
It's not a self-inflicted trauma that has me feeling so unattached and distant from the community I live in, so deeply traumatised and broken and irretrievably cynicalised, so isolated and Pariahtised, such an abject, unemployable failure who can't even get the screamingly undeniable St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up resolved, so completely...(yeah, yeah we get it, you're having a bit of a shocker-Ed)...for a decade...(for a decade-Ed)...
If one may be so gauche as to quote oneself, The Nut That Wouldn't Crack post pretty much sums it up for me, I'm down and struggling to get back to my feet but I'm still trying...the damage done may ne'er be retrieved but I'm still trying...back to the meteorite metaphor...this is the trajectory and it is irresistible...I can only apologise for bad posts and mistakes, etc, that shizzles gonna happen, but when it gets right down to which is more difficult to endure, the trauma of doing the blog vs just doing the trauma, the blog wins hands down.
I cannot avoid the trauma so I engage it and attack it and do what I can to bring it to heel...even if I cannot get resolution on anything at least I'm giving it a go, eg, look at the extraordinary conduct of the alleged Independent Commission Against Corruption and it's supposed investigation of Mt Gambier City Council...it is not being arrogant or delusional or even irresponsible to state that I made all that happen and have conclusively proved exactly what I had predicted about ICAC...
How does one lone loose unit bring to account a system, a state, a society, a community so thoroughly corrupted that it produces the St Martins Cover-up and an ICAC like this?...doing the blog gives me the avenue, the release, the sense of confronting that makes me at least able to tolerate myself...just...still floggin' a still dead horse and urging it to charge that Windmill...but I digress...
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has now officially stated that the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 definitely most likely crashed into the Indian Ocean almost certainly killing all on board, most likely roughly where several navies, airforces, and civilian craft are currently searching...('definitely most likely'? 'almost certainly'? 'most likely roughly'? that still sounds very vague-Ed)...yeah well, that's not his actual words, but I'm not sure why this statement has been made...(apparently it relates to British analysis of satellite data re a locational 'ping' from the still flying plane that indicates the 'predicted' southern corridor-Ed).
It is also reported that some relatives of passengers and crew were notified of this 'official declaration' via an SMS, not an official call or even a letter...a text message to say 'yeah, it crashed, and they're all dead' would seem to be a little harsh...(and I don't know why you would say 'they're almost certainly dead' unless there was definitive evidence...this must surely be a further, unnecessary trauma for families-Ed)...quite...and I still don't understand how that plane could turn around and fly off somewhere else without air traffic controllers being almost immediately aware and contacting each other.
I don't understand how they can state definitively that the plane crashed and that there are no survivors without even finding any debris that is confirmed as part of the plane...it is a terrible situation for the families and I feel that they could well do without another series of 'maybes' and 'probablies'.
It Ain't Fair: 'cos I had a beauty half-post ready to fire about the ludicrous proposed changes to Financial Regulation legislation and Liberal plans to enact removal of restrictions on Financial Advisors that would then legally allow FAs to accept commissions from Providers, eg, banks, rather than to advise based solely on the best interests of their client...but I can't because the government has reacted to the massive backlash and temporarily shelved the legislation.
And yes I do agree that this sudden backdown, that only days ago was absolutely ruled out by the Liberals, is highly likely highly motivated by the impending Western Australia Senate re-Election and likely to get slammed back on the table the moment WA is done friggin' about...so half a post denied, for now, but George Brandis saved the day for me with his great comments about everyone's right to be a bigot...yes you should have the right to say whatever you want, but you should also have the right to be sued and/or otherwise held to account for what you say...it's why I put my name to everything I do.
For example, I should be able to express my opinion about sickening mouth breathers like Andrew Bolt who has been given his own show by selfish, bigoted idiots like Gina Rinehart, with the specific purpose of pouring his/her particular brand of massively biased, corrupted mind vomit into the public sphere...(I hear he has a very small penis-Ed)...even for a white man...I think it says so much about us as a species that people like Kyle Sandilands, Andrew Bolt, etc get their own shows, but other more moderate voices can only get bit-piece exposure via shows like Q&A on the ABC...and then the ABC gets accused of being 'Leftist' by the Right...
For crikey sake, the magazine style morning shows on commercial networks often offer a more balanced and accurate account of issues than Andrew Bolt...although I must admit I haven't watched or read Andre Bolter for a year, probably longer...it's not news, it's not even opinion, it's all bias, nothing more than propaganda...and I don't need that shizzle...
The Fosters and Cardinal George Pell:...I made myself watch as much as I could stomach of this back-sliding reptile yesterday and was unfortunately not disappointed with his extraordinary refusals to accept responsibility for legal proceedings he was clearly directing...time and again he denied responsibility, any recollection of various incidents/directives he was directly involved in, and pointed the blame at various often un-named others...(and then claimed that he wasn't the sort of person to blame others-Ed)...indeed.
I may be one crazy, broken, wreck of an old angry hippy, but I love to stand next to people like George Pell, Rory McEwen, Mike Rann, Steve Perryman, etc, because in that company, in that context, I'm a strong and decent person...(well that's a big call, but fair enough-Ed)...and I thought that the Fosters showed incredible strength in the face of such blatant lies from the man who personally fought them over the abuse of their 2 daughters, abuse that lead to one daughter suiciding...
And in the Royal Commission's Adelaide hearing it's just more of the same from the Catholic Church re the abuse of disabled children by bus driver Brian Perkins, a relentless litany of official failures and unbelievable excuses that don't bare the slightest scrutiny...and of course there's SAPol with it's own list of excuses as to why Brian Perkins wasn't arrested 20 years ago, even when they attended his home following complaints, and he already had multiple convictions for Child Abuse, and he had a warrant pending...and blaming it all on a now deceased Deputy Commissioner...
Lie after lie, excuse after excuse, and relentless, vacuous rhetoric and meaningless, fake mia culpas from the Catholics...excuse me for not believing that the Catholics pushed SAPol and the state government to have Perkins returned to South Australia after he was 'caught' in Queensland...(if they are so concerned and contritious, then why are they still fighting some of the parents over compensation some 20 years after their children were abused?-Ed)...exactly...and why keep it a secret from parents for 10 years after the event?...(bastards-Ed)...indeed...
In Closing: Cr Ian Von Stanke was on the ABC Local Radio this morning discussing a Council initiative to place solar panels on the Library, Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Main Corner, etc, to reduce power costs...(fair enough-Ed)...and then he mentioned the Bio-mass Furnace at the part-time Mt Gambier Pool...(not so great-Ed)...and oh my shreckin' lord, a bloody Wind Turbine in a Council reserve...(more about this...-Ed)....
Tomorrow: More Local Issues Of Import
Again, I appreciate the feedback and the opportunity to explain myself...and yes, it is alright for me to make jokes about white men because I am one...and may I award myself some lovely honours...therefore...
I am Sir Nick Fletcher and that there's Dame Ed, and this 'ere's our blog me lovelies...toodle pip and tally bally ho...(what is it with you and the 'ho's'?-Ed)...
Monday, March 24, 2014
And The Winner Is Adelaide
Hello Poland, Brazil, Germany, and the USofA and welcome to the blog...and an unmitigated farce of an election, what appears to be a very cynically timed pro-Labor stunt, and 4 more years of an Adelaide obsessed Labor government that will continue to sell off the state to garner the support of it's voter base in Adelaide...(yay-Ed)...and another day of soulless, sickening lies from the Catholic Church in the Child Abuse Royal Commission...(well, it's just a laugh a minute with you today isn't it?-Ed)...
Many observers have stated that this election clearly defines just how corrupted the SA election process is and how if favours Adelaide over the regions...it's a sort of democracy after a fashion but not really...and just how generally selfish and ignorant Adelaide is as an entity...however, I honestly believe that many people in Adelaide would be a little less impressed with the 'Bread and Circuses' governing of Labor, but they largely have no idea of what is going on in their state outside of Adelaide...the combination is a disaster that the Regions have lived through for 12 years now...
But first another apology from me in that I got my numbers horribly wrong with my calculations re the position of Speaker and how that plays out...having checked the SA Parliament website, I was wrong to state that awarding the role of Speaker would change voting numbers in the Lower House, and I quote from the section explaining the role of the Speaker which state that one of the Speaker's roles/tasks is;
"In giving a casting vote where necessary"
which means I was wrong in saying that awarding 'Speakership' would rule out one member, but only further complicates the issue.
Again I apologise but I was following what I thought was the Parliamentary standard, eg, the appointment of ex-Liberal Peter Slipper to the Federal Speaker's position by Labor to keep their voting majority in the House of Representatives...however, having checked Federal rules as well the same basic rules apply, namely that the Speaker should attempt to stay absolutely impartial, maintain parliamentary standards and procedures, etc, and protect minor parties, Independents, etc, but in the event of a tie, the Speaker gets the deciding vote.
(The same thing applies at City Council level where the Mayor has the deciding vote in a tie...except of course that would usually be the Deputy Mayor in Mt Gambier because Mayor Steve Perryman is up and down like a jack-in-the-box, in and out of the Chamber like a rat out of an Aqueduct, with his multiple Conflicts of Interests-Ed)...good point Ed, I knew that...and a third apology, for this is a clumsy mistake to make based on a flawed observation, but quite frankly I preferred it when I was wrong because if the Speaker couldn't vote that would ensure genuine Independence...if the Speaker votes, that's not independent, that's supporting a position or ideology or party, etc.
It further complicates the matter re the SA Election because it undermines the position that Geoff Brock jumped to Labor for stability because he and Bob Such could have both chosen the Liberals to give them 24/23 with control via that 24th vote, the Speaker's vote...and again, how is it that the government can be decided with a member just 'dropping out' and suddenly their vote doesn't count?...and again, why the mad rush?
Call Me Paranoid: but this looks like a carefully timed pantomime that allows Bob Such and Geoff Brock to support Labor but deflect the inevitable and generally warranted criticism for what some are calling 'betrayal' of their respective Conservative seats...the fact remains that if they both chose Liberal it would be a Liberal government...it can also be strongly argued that Geoff Brock has taken advantage of Bob Such's absence to jump in and get himself a better deal, but I don't believe that is what's happening.
Call Me A Cynic: but the 2014 South Australian state election has shown just how corrupted and biased our electoral system is...many commentators have proffered various forms of this same observation...and I re-iterate my personal belief that the machinations of the weekend resulting in Independent Geoff Brock joining Labor, are exactly that...this whole Independent pantomime reeks of collusion and manipulation...my paranoic opinionising aside, this dumps SA back to 2002 when Mike Rann used disenfranchised Liberals Peter Lewis, and then Karlene Maywald and Rory McEwen, to secure power for a minority Labor government.
I'm not suggesting that Bob Such is faking his illness in the same manner as Rory McEwen's alleged 'heart attack' back in 2007, or that Geoff Brock has committed to covering-up the gross abuse of a class of 7 year old children and used that to buy his way onto the front bench, the way Rory did with the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up in 2002...(hang on, hang on...'alleged heart attack'?...'bought with a Child Abuse Cover-up'?...those are extreme claims, even for you-Ed)...and I make no apologies for it...
The Child Abuse sell-out re St Martins is not up for debate, it's exactly what Rory did...it may not be the sole issue but it was the main one...starting August 2002 he repeatedly promised myself and other parents that he would help us get it sorted, and 'together we will sort out a broken Child Protection system'...and how "brave" we are (were)...and after 4 months of that, in December 2002 signed onto the Labor Party and immediately told us 'you're on your own'...
I don't care whether Labor made the request or Rory made the offer, Rory promised me and other parents that he would help, then he signed on with Labor, dumped us and then went on the attack repeatedly denigrating us as nutters and liars, including on the front page of The Border Watch newspaper...(ok, that is all factually correct and covered at length in previous posts, I'll give you that, but 'alleged heart attack'?-Ed)...
I can only go on what I see and hear, and I saw Rory McEwen under intense political scrutiny and criticism and he suddenly had an 'attack'...and when Rory was rushed to Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide there just happened to be a TV News crew there to interview him and was sitting up smiling and waving...then when Mrs McEwen was interviewed on the ABC Local Radio that week she was repeatedly asked directly 'is it a heart attack?' and she didn't say yes, didn't say no, just kept going off on a tangent about potential symptoms of this, possible indicators of that.
(So you're suggesting that it was a political stunt to deflect heavy criticism and that Mrs McEwen's evasive and obfuscatory responses indicated a desire to avoid committing to a definitive answer, and that this coupled with Rory's happy Vox Pop outside Flinders prove conclusively what you claim?-Ed)...I'm just sayin' that what I saw and/or heard looked and/or sounded like a carefully orchestrated exercise not a drastic medical emergency...and I note that shortly after this radio interview, the ABC and others started referring to the "massive heart attack" that Rory had.
And I always find it bitterly amusing when the Forestry Sale issue is trotted out because 'that happened with alleged Independent Rory McEwen as Forestry Minister and was his idea', etc, but it's the pro-paedophile corruption that saw him on the Labor front bench in the first instance...and that never, ever gets a mention...same way that the Lutherans have been allowed to just walk away without answering one single official question...
And just announced (1700hrs) that Governor Scarce has agreed to Labor forming government...holy crap...and from an interview this morning with Premier Jay Weatherill, he's apparently going to "reach out to the regions" and be 'more inclusive' and some waffle about how he's just 'discovered the Regions'...(what the shreck does that mean?-Ed)...dunno...maybe he drove up the freeway a bit and bingo there it was?...and apparently he/Labor secured the "single most important" regional issue which was apparently the Murray Darling Plan, and there are "many substantial achievements in Regions" but he failed to name one.
With some Regional seats 70-80% against Labor, even higher in Mt Gambier, this is a catastrophic failure to represent the will of Regional SA...and as commented by Jay Weatherill, says Adelaide wants more government subsidies and the Liberal's free market proposition has been rejected...he then went on some ramble about being 'bolder, more imaginative', but when questioned about SA's yearly billion dollar deficit, said 'imagination will grow the economy' using mining I think, and that SA should be proud that Adelaide is the most livable, safest and most affordable city in Australia...(well yay for Adelaide-Ed).
I shall continue this shambolic electoral ramblage along with some other issues:
Tomorrow: Fiscal Restraints and Railway Feints
Changes to Federal protections that just don't make sense, and Rail Lands shenanigans again my friends...and a very brief 'Comment' from yesterdays post which I think is being nice but could be sarcasm in that it praises Ed's work..(really? my work?-Ed)...yeah, but it could be in reference to the bit where you suggest that I might stop being such a paranoid idiot...(well I'm just sayin'-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher...(are you sure?-Ed)...and this is his, my, blog...my blog...cheers and laters.
Many observers have stated that this election clearly defines just how corrupted the SA election process is and how if favours Adelaide over the regions...it's a sort of democracy after a fashion but not really...and just how generally selfish and ignorant Adelaide is as an entity...however, I honestly believe that many people in Adelaide would be a little less impressed with the 'Bread and Circuses' governing of Labor, but they largely have no idea of what is going on in their state outside of Adelaide...the combination is a disaster that the Regions have lived through for 12 years now...
But first another apology from me in that I got my numbers horribly wrong with my calculations re the position of Speaker and how that plays out...having checked the SA Parliament website, I was wrong to state that awarding the role of Speaker would change voting numbers in the Lower House, and I quote from the section explaining the role of the Speaker which state that one of the Speaker's roles/tasks is;
"In giving a casting vote where necessary"
which means I was wrong in saying that awarding 'Speakership' would rule out one member, but only further complicates the issue.
Again I apologise but I was following what I thought was the Parliamentary standard, eg, the appointment of ex-Liberal Peter Slipper to the Federal Speaker's position by Labor to keep their voting majority in the House of Representatives...however, having checked Federal rules as well the same basic rules apply, namely that the Speaker should attempt to stay absolutely impartial, maintain parliamentary standards and procedures, etc, and protect minor parties, Independents, etc, but in the event of a tie, the Speaker gets the deciding vote.
(The same thing applies at City Council level where the Mayor has the deciding vote in a tie...except of course that would usually be the Deputy Mayor in Mt Gambier because Mayor Steve Perryman is up and down like a jack-in-the-box, in and out of the Chamber like a rat out of an Aqueduct, with his multiple Conflicts of Interests-Ed)...good point Ed, I knew that...and a third apology, for this is a clumsy mistake to make based on a flawed observation, but quite frankly I preferred it when I was wrong because if the Speaker couldn't vote that would ensure genuine Independence...if the Speaker votes, that's not independent, that's supporting a position or ideology or party, etc.
It further complicates the matter re the SA Election because it undermines the position that Geoff Brock jumped to Labor for stability because he and Bob Such could have both chosen the Liberals to give them 24/23 with control via that 24th vote, the Speaker's vote...and again, how is it that the government can be decided with a member just 'dropping out' and suddenly their vote doesn't count?...and again, why the mad rush?
Call Me Paranoid: but this looks like a carefully timed pantomime that allows Bob Such and Geoff Brock to support Labor but deflect the inevitable and generally warranted criticism for what some are calling 'betrayal' of their respective Conservative seats...the fact remains that if they both chose Liberal it would be a Liberal government...it can also be strongly argued that Geoff Brock has taken advantage of Bob Such's absence to jump in and get himself a better deal, but I don't believe that is what's happening.
Call Me A Cynic: but the 2014 South Australian state election has shown just how corrupted and biased our electoral system is...many commentators have proffered various forms of this same observation...and I re-iterate my personal belief that the machinations of the weekend resulting in Independent Geoff Brock joining Labor, are exactly that...this whole Independent pantomime reeks of collusion and manipulation...my paranoic opinionising aside, this dumps SA back to 2002 when Mike Rann used disenfranchised Liberals Peter Lewis, and then Karlene Maywald and Rory McEwen, to secure power for a minority Labor government.
I'm not suggesting that Bob Such is faking his illness in the same manner as Rory McEwen's alleged 'heart attack' back in 2007, or that Geoff Brock has committed to covering-up the gross abuse of a class of 7 year old children and used that to buy his way onto the front bench, the way Rory did with the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up in 2002...(hang on, hang on...'alleged heart attack'?...'bought with a Child Abuse Cover-up'?...those are extreme claims, even for you-Ed)...and I make no apologies for it...
The Child Abuse sell-out re St Martins is not up for debate, it's exactly what Rory did...it may not be the sole issue but it was the main one...starting August 2002 he repeatedly promised myself and other parents that he would help us get it sorted, and 'together we will sort out a broken Child Protection system'...and how "brave" we are (were)...and after 4 months of that, in December 2002 signed onto the Labor Party and immediately told us 'you're on your own'...
I don't care whether Labor made the request or Rory made the offer, Rory promised me and other parents that he would help, then he signed on with Labor, dumped us and then went on the attack repeatedly denigrating us as nutters and liars, including on the front page of The Border Watch newspaper...(ok, that is all factually correct and covered at length in previous posts, I'll give you that, but 'alleged heart attack'?-Ed)...
I can only go on what I see and hear, and I saw Rory McEwen under intense political scrutiny and criticism and he suddenly had an 'attack'...and when Rory was rushed to Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide there just happened to be a TV News crew there to interview him and was sitting up smiling and waving...then when Mrs McEwen was interviewed on the ABC Local Radio that week she was repeatedly asked directly 'is it a heart attack?' and she didn't say yes, didn't say no, just kept going off on a tangent about potential symptoms of this, possible indicators of that.
(So you're suggesting that it was a political stunt to deflect heavy criticism and that Mrs McEwen's evasive and obfuscatory responses indicated a desire to avoid committing to a definitive answer, and that this coupled with Rory's happy Vox Pop outside Flinders prove conclusively what you claim?-Ed)...I'm just sayin' that what I saw and/or heard looked and/or sounded like a carefully orchestrated exercise not a drastic medical emergency...and I note that shortly after this radio interview, the ABC and others started referring to the "massive heart attack" that Rory had.
And I always find it bitterly amusing when the Forestry Sale issue is trotted out because 'that happened with alleged Independent Rory McEwen as Forestry Minister and was his idea', etc, but it's the pro-paedophile corruption that saw him on the Labor front bench in the first instance...and that never, ever gets a mention...same way that the Lutherans have been allowed to just walk away without answering one single official question...
And just announced (1700hrs) that Governor Scarce has agreed to Labor forming government...holy crap...and from an interview this morning with Premier Jay Weatherill, he's apparently going to "reach out to the regions" and be 'more inclusive' and some waffle about how he's just 'discovered the Regions'...(what the shreck does that mean?-Ed)...dunno...maybe he drove up the freeway a bit and bingo there it was?...and apparently he/Labor secured the "single most important" regional issue which was apparently the Murray Darling Plan, and there are "many substantial achievements in Regions" but he failed to name one.
With some Regional seats 70-80% against Labor, even higher in Mt Gambier, this is a catastrophic failure to represent the will of Regional SA...and as commented by Jay Weatherill, says Adelaide wants more government subsidies and the Liberal's free market proposition has been rejected...he then went on some ramble about being 'bolder, more imaginative', but when questioned about SA's yearly billion dollar deficit, said 'imagination will grow the economy' using mining I think, and that SA should be proud that Adelaide is the most livable, safest and most affordable city in Australia...(well yay for Adelaide-Ed).
I shall continue this shambolic electoral ramblage along with some other issues:
Tomorrow: Fiscal Restraints and Railway Feints
Changes to Federal protections that just don't make sense, and Rail Lands shenanigans again my friends...and a very brief 'Comment' from yesterdays post which I think is being nice but could be sarcasm in that it praises Ed's work..(really? my work?-Ed)...yeah, but it could be in reference to the bit where you suggest that I might stop being such a paranoid idiot...(well I'm just sayin'-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher...(are you sure?-Ed)...and this is his, my, blog...my blog...cheers and laters.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
I'm Not Paranoid...Is That What They're Saying?
Hello Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and Bosnia and Herzegovina...and good morning and welcome to the blog...these last few posts and some yet to come are sort of one rolling review and/or self-justification as the blog reaches the 450th post...(yay-Ed)...but the big story locally, and of global irrelevance, is the sudden illness of key Independent Bob Such.
And Jumping Back To Here: from later in the post because it's now late afternoon and it has been reported, starting about noon today, that Bob Such is taking about 2 months 'absence' on sick leave and therefore Independent Geoff Brock has jumped to Labor and therefore given them another 4 years in power...with the justification that this gives stability to the state...and Mr Brock will be the Minister for Regional Development and for State/Local Government Relations...and there's Jay Weatherill, now Premier for another 4 years parroting the stability line...which segues nicely into...
Feedback: yes I know yesterday's post was riddled with conspiracy, paranoia, and conjecture and I tried to identify it all as such, but I do accept that criticism about parts of it...and yet still it all happened pretty much as written...and here we are less than 24 hours later and from nobody knows on Friday afternoon, to a minority government by lunchtime Sunday, courtesy of an 'absent' Independent...I genuinely accept that criticism, but I stand by my original position that there's something very, very odd about the way this has played out...why the mad rush?
Furthermore, 1) I reserve the right to be at least a little paranoid and almost irretrievably cynical given the way the St Martins Cover-up has played out across the last decade...if that's possible, what isn't?...(that's drawing a bit of a long bow isn't it?-Ed)...a bit, yeah, but only a bit...and 2) my opinion is fundamentally irrelevant because I believe that the facts are self-evident...but first I'll just let the first part of this post run as written earlier today...so...
Straight off I find myself stuck in that strange place that I described yesterday where-in I cannot rejoice in being most probably wrong with my 'paranoid theorising' (and I do often post stuff hoping to be wrong) about Independent Bob Such's illness because it's being reported this morning on the Interweb...(well it must be true, the Interweb wouldn't lie...would it?-Ed)...dunno, but it is being reported that Dr Such is in Flinders Medical Centre awaiting an operation.
Yesterday I described the weirdness of hoping that this 'illness' was true, of hoping that someone may actually be genuinely unwell to the extent that they cannot do an official statement, etc, rather than it be a dodgy political stunt...so today I'm left drifting, being at once right yet wrong, and can only say that my thoughts are with Dr Such and his family...I hope his 'treatment' is brief and boring, nobody needs any excitement in that context...
Again though, I excuse my own cynicism re this issue because of the very odd way that this was divulged to the media, via fellow Independent Geoff Brock not an official statement, and that Dr Such is in hospital awaiting an operation within a week of the election...has he been suddenly diagnosed just this week with a critical illness, eg, a Cancer, a mild stroke, etc, or did he know months ago but continue with the election?...perhaps he's been feeling off but was misdiagnosed...I refer to my own experience re my Lymphoma tumour and multiple misdiagnoses back in 2004 (previous posts).
I do believe these are relevant issues given Dr Such's general responsibilities re his electorate as their elected representative and particularly now because of his position as a key player in deciding the election...if he knew for months then he arguably should have stood aside from the election...or did he know, think this is only a minor operation, etc, and that he can still advocate effectively for his electorate and all other South Australians for the vast majority of his 4 year tenure March 2014-March 2018...and it's not good enough to say that it's his private business...(how did you know I was going to say that?-Ed)...I've seen your work before...
It's not his private business when it impacts on his public responsibilities, responsibilities that he has asked for by running in the election, and now includes deciding the government...(fair enough-Ed)...for a relatively light-hearted example in a very different context, when former Labor Premier Mike Rann was accused of 'personal relationing' the Parliamentary lunch lady Michelle Chanteloise in his office in Parliament House during business hours, this was not just denied, but concurrently dismissed as Mikey's private business...(sorry, you've lost me-Ed)...
Well they (Labor and it's supporters) tried to deny that it had happened at all, but when that wasn't flying the focus shifted more to 'it's his private business anyway'...(but it happened in his publicly funded office whilst he was receiving a public income to represent the public, he was entirely in the public's employ...the public were paying him to run the state, not after a married woman...in our office, on our dollar, on our time, as our elected official...how is that 'his personal business'?-Ed)...my point exactly...as an incumbent running for another term, Dr Such was in the employ of the state asking to be further employed...(fair enough-Ed).
And I excuse my own cynicism about the timing of Mr Such's absence and the way it was announced by Mr Brock and the fact that we've all been here before...a minority Labor government gaining power via a disenfranchised ex-Liberal elected as an Independent who goes straight onto the front bench of said Labor government as a Minister...Rory McEwen did it in 2002 and now Geoff Brock in 2014...and didn't Rory work out great for South Australia.
And whatevs website it was, just below the Bob Such story is one about that career criminal former SA Premier Mike Rann, currently earning dual public incomes to the tune of $500,000 per annum...(whaaa?-Ed)...$210,000 state superannuation and nearly $290,000 as High Commissioner in London, living the High life in 'our' $30million residence in London...(and they say that being a corrupt, paedophile protecting bastard doesn't pay-Ed)...indeed...
Now It's 1930hrs: and back to the latest news...I re-iterate my concerns about how this has played out and ask the question, given that Dr Such has himself stated, albeit via another statement via Geoff Brock, that he (Dr Such) anticipates returning in 2 months, where does his support lie re the formation of government?...why does his 'vote' apparently dissipate or disappear but Geoff Brock's vote becomes all powerful?...again what's the rush? why not wait a week or 2 to see how Bob Such goes and make a decision then...
Why did this have to be rushed through between Saturday lunch-time and noon the next day, Sunday?
Furthermore, I believe that this situation shows Dr Such as supporting Labor without actually officially declaring it...(how?-Ed)...with Geoff Brock's vote Labor has 24 seats and claims government, with the Liberals stranded on 22...(yeah-Ed)...but Labor still have to find a Speaker...(yesss-Ed)...which means back to 23/22...(which means...if Bob Such supports the Liberals, it's 23/23 and a hung parliament-Ed)...exactly...(and a permanently hung parliament means probably another state-wide election-Ed)...precisely...
(None of this mess would have happened if Independent Don Pegler had got in in Mt Gambier-Ed)...well actually, it would probably have played out nearly the same because if the Liberals hadn't won Mt Gambier it would have been 23 Labor, 21 Liberal, and 3 Independents...with Bob Such 'gone' it's still 23/21 and again both Independents could argue 'stability' in supporting Labor, who could still have both their Speaker and a one vote majority.
I personally believe that Don Pegler has clearly defined allegiances with the Labor Party starting from his time at Grant District Council and therefore would have been 'obliged' to back Labor...the bottom line remains that the Liberals have managed to stuff up another election and we have another 4 years of the Regional disaster that is Labor, Brock or no Brock.
Tomorrow: INP ITWTS Part II
I appreciate the way that the above criticism was put to me not as a denigration...('don't be a paranoid idiot' sounds fairly derogatory to me-Ed)...not if it's partly true and said with a view to supporting and guiding rather than dismissing and detracting...(fair enough-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog and yes I can be cynical and/or paranoid and/or wrong, but can't we all...(I know I can-Ed)...cheers and laters...
And Jumping Back To Here: from later in the post because it's now late afternoon and it has been reported, starting about noon today, that Bob Such is taking about 2 months 'absence' on sick leave and therefore Independent Geoff Brock has jumped to Labor and therefore given them another 4 years in power...with the justification that this gives stability to the state...and Mr Brock will be the Minister for Regional Development and for State/Local Government Relations...and there's Jay Weatherill, now Premier for another 4 years parroting the stability line...which segues nicely into...
Feedback: yes I know yesterday's post was riddled with conspiracy, paranoia, and conjecture and I tried to identify it all as such, but I do accept that criticism about parts of it...and yet still it all happened pretty much as written...and here we are less than 24 hours later and from nobody knows on Friday afternoon, to a minority government by lunchtime Sunday, courtesy of an 'absent' Independent...I genuinely accept that criticism, but I stand by my original position that there's something very, very odd about the way this has played out...why the mad rush?
Furthermore, 1) I reserve the right to be at least a little paranoid and almost irretrievably cynical given the way the St Martins Cover-up has played out across the last decade...if that's possible, what isn't?...(that's drawing a bit of a long bow isn't it?-Ed)...a bit, yeah, but only a bit...and 2) my opinion is fundamentally irrelevant because I believe that the facts are self-evident...but first I'll just let the first part of this post run as written earlier today...so...
Straight off I find myself stuck in that strange place that I described yesterday where-in I cannot rejoice in being most probably wrong with my 'paranoid theorising' (and I do often post stuff hoping to be wrong) about Independent Bob Such's illness because it's being reported this morning on the Interweb...(well it must be true, the Interweb wouldn't lie...would it?-Ed)...dunno, but it is being reported that Dr Such is in Flinders Medical Centre awaiting an operation.
Yesterday I described the weirdness of hoping that this 'illness' was true, of hoping that someone may actually be genuinely unwell to the extent that they cannot do an official statement, etc, rather than it be a dodgy political stunt...so today I'm left drifting, being at once right yet wrong, and can only say that my thoughts are with Dr Such and his family...I hope his 'treatment' is brief and boring, nobody needs any excitement in that context...
Again though, I excuse my own cynicism re this issue because of the very odd way that this was divulged to the media, via fellow Independent Geoff Brock not an official statement, and that Dr Such is in hospital awaiting an operation within a week of the election...has he been suddenly diagnosed just this week with a critical illness, eg, a Cancer, a mild stroke, etc, or did he know months ago but continue with the election?...perhaps he's been feeling off but was misdiagnosed...I refer to my own experience re my Lymphoma tumour and multiple misdiagnoses back in 2004 (previous posts).
I do believe these are relevant issues given Dr Such's general responsibilities re his electorate as their elected representative and particularly now because of his position as a key player in deciding the election...if he knew for months then he arguably should have stood aside from the election...or did he know, think this is only a minor operation, etc, and that he can still advocate effectively for his electorate and all other South Australians for the vast majority of his 4 year tenure March 2014-March 2018...and it's not good enough to say that it's his private business...(how did you know I was going to say that?-Ed)...I've seen your work before...
It's not his private business when it impacts on his public responsibilities, responsibilities that he has asked for by running in the election, and now includes deciding the government...(fair enough-Ed)...for a relatively light-hearted example in a very different context, when former Labor Premier Mike Rann was accused of 'personal relationing' the Parliamentary lunch lady Michelle Chanteloise in his office in Parliament House during business hours, this was not just denied, but concurrently dismissed as Mikey's private business...(sorry, you've lost me-Ed)...
Well they (Labor and it's supporters) tried to deny that it had happened at all, but when that wasn't flying the focus shifted more to 'it's his private business anyway'...(but it happened in his publicly funded office whilst he was receiving a public income to represent the public, he was entirely in the public's employ...the public were paying him to run the state, not after a married woman...in our office, on our dollar, on our time, as our elected official...how is that 'his personal business'?-Ed)...my point exactly...as an incumbent running for another term, Dr Such was in the employ of the state asking to be further employed...(fair enough-Ed).
And I excuse my own cynicism about the timing of Mr Such's absence and the way it was announced by Mr Brock and the fact that we've all been here before...a minority Labor government gaining power via a disenfranchised ex-Liberal elected as an Independent who goes straight onto the front bench of said Labor government as a Minister...Rory McEwen did it in 2002 and now Geoff Brock in 2014...and didn't Rory work out great for South Australia.
And whatevs website it was, just below the Bob Such story is one about that career criminal former SA Premier Mike Rann, currently earning dual public incomes to the tune of $500,000 per annum...(whaaa?-Ed)...$210,000 state superannuation and nearly $290,000 as High Commissioner in London, living the High life in 'our' $30million residence in London...(and they say that being a corrupt, paedophile protecting bastard doesn't pay-Ed)...indeed...
Now It's 1930hrs: and back to the latest news...I re-iterate my concerns about how this has played out and ask the question, given that Dr Such has himself stated, albeit via another statement via Geoff Brock, that he (Dr Such) anticipates returning in 2 months, where does his support lie re the formation of government?...why does his 'vote' apparently dissipate or disappear but Geoff Brock's vote becomes all powerful?...again what's the rush? why not wait a week or 2 to see how Bob Such goes and make a decision then...
Why did this have to be rushed through between Saturday lunch-time and noon the next day, Sunday?
Furthermore, I believe that this situation shows Dr Such as supporting Labor without actually officially declaring it...(how?-Ed)...with Geoff Brock's vote Labor has 24 seats and claims government, with the Liberals stranded on 22...(yeah-Ed)...but Labor still have to find a Speaker...(yesss-Ed)...which means back to 23/22...(which means...if Bob Such supports the Liberals, it's 23/23 and a hung parliament-Ed)...exactly...(and a permanently hung parliament means probably another state-wide election-Ed)...precisely...
(None of this mess would have happened if Independent Don Pegler had got in in Mt Gambier-Ed)...well actually, it would probably have played out nearly the same because if the Liberals hadn't won Mt Gambier it would have been 23 Labor, 21 Liberal, and 3 Independents...with Bob Such 'gone' it's still 23/21 and again both Independents could argue 'stability' in supporting Labor, who could still have both their Speaker and a one vote majority.
I personally believe that Don Pegler has clearly defined allegiances with the Labor Party starting from his time at Grant District Council and therefore would have been 'obliged' to back Labor...the bottom line remains that the Liberals have managed to stuff up another election and we have another 4 years of the Regional disaster that is Labor, Brock or no Brock.
Tomorrow: INP ITWTS Part II
I appreciate the way that the above criticism was put to me not as a denigration...('don't be a paranoid idiot' sounds fairly derogatory to me-Ed)...not if it's partly true and said with a view to supporting and guiding rather than dismissing and detracting...(fair enough-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog and yes I can be cynical and/or paranoid and/or wrong, but can't we all...(I know I can-Ed)...cheers and laters...
Saturday, March 22, 2014
IVT AHSOSJ Part II
Hello Indonesia, Spain, United Arab Emirates and Portugal, and welcome to the blog...and across the news services this morning is the "possible object" in the Indian Ocean, as picked up by a satellite, as announced by our beloved Prime Minister Tony Abbott, that may or may not be related to missing Malaysian Airways flight MH370, but happens to be the exact same size as a shipping container.
Just now (0835hrs) on the French News via SBS TV, extensive coverage featuring the same footage from ABC News TV24 late last night...all of the wild theorising aside, mine included, I find it very hard to understand how MH370 could turn around and head back roughly toward Kuala Lumpur, where resides one of the worlds tallest buildings, whilst being tracked by Malaysian military, and nobody tried to contact the plane, no-one from Vietnamese Air Traffic called their Malaysian counterparts to say 'where's that plane that was headed our way', etc.
And then it flew back across Malaysia without being challenged or allegedly detected, and then the Malaysian authorities appeared to let searchers scour entirely the wrong area whilst denying the military contact, than after a week confirmed that the radar tracking was of MH370...and on it went and on it goes...now the search has moved to 2,500-3,000kms from Perth, deep in the Indian Ocean, but still nothing...
And I was just about to kick-off on another post of self-justification and venting, but sorry, a large distraction just loomed over the horizon so's I'm going to ambush my own post with this piece of breaking news...
Left Hanging: is me and all other South Australians as our beloved Parliament remains undecided at 23 seats Labor, 22 Liberal, and 2 Independents a week after the March 15th 2014 election...but today it's gone completely off the rails because one of the Independents, Bob Such, has just announced that he will be taking extended 'sick leave'...(well it's been announced by the other Independent Jeff Brock-Ed)...well quite...which is in itself quite bizarre...
I am genuinely concerned for Mr Such, as I'm sure most people are, in so much as he has previously had Cancer, but I cannot understand why he ran for the election if he knew he was ill...perhaps he has only very recently been taken ill...I can't say because there has been no official statement from Mr Such...even if he is extremely unwell, I don't understand why he would not do a formal, official press release, particularly given the critical nature of his support in deciding the SA government...
Why has Mr Such just dropped off the radar for 6 days without comment, then, on a Saturday, suddenly have some-one else (Mr Brock) announce his impending absence?...it's just being reported again on ABC News TV24 but they also have footage of Mr Brock being interviewed and apparently he spoke with Mrs Such, no official statement...apparently Mr Brock is getting 'constitutional advice', but this clearly leaves him basically running the show for the moment..
If Mr Such resigns for health reasons there would have to be a by-election for his seat of Fisher, a seat he's held with a strong majority for nearly 20 years...as such a critical seat in the current election this could draw out the 'hung parliament' by weeks even months...unless Mr Brock goes with Labor which renders Mr Such basically irrelevant...if Brocky chooses Liberal, we could reportedly have another election...(yay for democracy, or for whatever this is-Ed)...yes indeed, call me a cynic, but my dodgy politics radar is pinging like a mofo...something very strange is going on here...is there some sort of deal going on here? is this a game?
(What are you talking about a deal? how can this be a game?-Ed)...well, is Mr Such quietly stepping back to allow Mr Brock to say 'the responsible thing to do is support Labor or risk a permanently hung parliament and therefore another election', before making a sudden return after the election has been declared for Labor?...this would allow the Independents to back Labor but take all the pressure off re the largely Conservative base of their relative electorates...(yeah, I can see that, but I still think you're reaching-Ed).
Possibly, but I find it extremely hard to believe that Mr Such has been suddenly struck down, eg, even with a sudden return of his Cancer, and is so sick that he can't do a formal statement to explain...and failing that, even a statement from his office...(now I agree, that is very odd...a statement from Jeff Brock relaying what Mrs Such supposedly said, is at best heresay...but is being reported as fact-Ed)...indeed...not that we're questioning Mr Brock's honesty as such, but technically you're right, that is heresay.
There's various reports already on the Interweb, but it appears that the Brockster is the only person who has spoken to Mr Such since Thursday 20th March...this is an absolute dog's breakfast...and surely the people of Fisher must be represented in some way in the formation of the new government, they just can't be disregarded and discarded...(you mean like Mt Gambier for the last 12 years-Ed)...true, but that's another story for another day.
(And then there's the Speaker's position to be filled-Ed)...oh my gord , I'd forgotten that...it's an absolute schmozzle...I'm left with the very disconcerting desire that I want Mr Such to be ill so that that is the absolute truth and this is not some sort of political bastardry...(so, you don't actually wish ill of him, none of us do, but given that illness is the proffered explanation, then sooner that than some other reason, because 'some other reason' would make that explanation a very concerning lie-Ed)...exactly...bizarre isn't it...
And I go round and round with this and come back to the same nagging concern...why hasn't Bob Such done his own press release, even just a written statement, even just from an official spokesperson, or his wife, anyone actually from his office...why is this being divulged via Geoff Brock?...just again on the ABC 2 TV News main bulletin, but nothing any clearer than I've already stated.
Availees of this here blog shall have to wait for my further venting about the Royal Commission and the bloody Catholics and the shreckin' Lutherans and City Council and the bike lanes and the bus service and the ICAC and the, the.....sorry, I forgot where I was...(complaining?-Ed)...oh yeah, and the bloody Teachers Registration Board, and friggin' Fracking, and stinkin' Flouridation, and, and.....(Wind Turbines?-Ed)...ohhh don't mention the bloody Wind Turbines...(what about the Rail Lands?-Ed)...ohhh...(the Old Hospital Demolition?-Ed)...ahhhhh...(the swimming pool?-Ed)...noooo, no more, I can't stand it any longer...(what? the subject matter of your own whinging?-Ed)...I hate you...
Tomorrow: All That Venting
Again, in context, I hope that Bob Such's illness is genuine but readily addressable...please let this farce be over soon, but soon means Labor, and nobody needs that...what a shambles...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Just now (0835hrs) on the French News via SBS TV, extensive coverage featuring the same footage from ABC News TV24 late last night...all of the wild theorising aside, mine included, I find it very hard to understand how MH370 could turn around and head back roughly toward Kuala Lumpur, where resides one of the worlds tallest buildings, whilst being tracked by Malaysian military, and nobody tried to contact the plane, no-one from Vietnamese Air Traffic called their Malaysian counterparts to say 'where's that plane that was headed our way', etc.
And then it flew back across Malaysia without being challenged or allegedly detected, and then the Malaysian authorities appeared to let searchers scour entirely the wrong area whilst denying the military contact, than after a week confirmed that the radar tracking was of MH370...and on it went and on it goes...now the search has moved to 2,500-3,000kms from Perth, deep in the Indian Ocean, but still nothing...
And I was just about to kick-off on another post of self-justification and venting, but sorry, a large distraction just loomed over the horizon so's I'm going to ambush my own post with this piece of breaking news...
Left Hanging: is me and all other South Australians as our beloved Parliament remains undecided at 23 seats Labor, 22 Liberal, and 2 Independents a week after the March 15th 2014 election...but today it's gone completely off the rails because one of the Independents, Bob Such, has just announced that he will be taking extended 'sick leave'...(well it's been announced by the other Independent Jeff Brock-Ed)...well quite...which is in itself quite bizarre...
I am genuinely concerned for Mr Such, as I'm sure most people are, in so much as he has previously had Cancer, but I cannot understand why he ran for the election if he knew he was ill...perhaps he has only very recently been taken ill...I can't say because there has been no official statement from Mr Such...even if he is extremely unwell, I don't understand why he would not do a formal, official press release, particularly given the critical nature of his support in deciding the SA government...
Why has Mr Such just dropped off the radar for 6 days without comment, then, on a Saturday, suddenly have some-one else (Mr Brock) announce his impending absence?...it's just being reported again on ABC News TV24 but they also have footage of Mr Brock being interviewed and apparently he spoke with Mrs Such, no official statement...apparently Mr Brock is getting 'constitutional advice', but this clearly leaves him basically running the show for the moment..
If Mr Such resigns for health reasons there would have to be a by-election for his seat of Fisher, a seat he's held with a strong majority for nearly 20 years...as such a critical seat in the current election this could draw out the 'hung parliament' by weeks even months...unless Mr Brock goes with Labor which renders Mr Such basically irrelevant...if Brocky chooses Liberal, we could reportedly have another election...(yay for democracy, or for whatever this is-Ed)...yes indeed, call me a cynic, but my dodgy politics radar is pinging like a mofo...something very strange is going on here...is there some sort of deal going on here? is this a game?
(What are you talking about a deal? how can this be a game?-Ed)...well, is Mr Such quietly stepping back to allow Mr Brock to say 'the responsible thing to do is support Labor or risk a permanently hung parliament and therefore another election', before making a sudden return after the election has been declared for Labor?...this would allow the Independents to back Labor but take all the pressure off re the largely Conservative base of their relative electorates...(yeah, I can see that, but I still think you're reaching-Ed).
Possibly, but I find it extremely hard to believe that Mr Such has been suddenly struck down, eg, even with a sudden return of his Cancer, and is so sick that he can't do a formal statement to explain...and failing that, even a statement from his office...(now I agree, that is very odd...a statement from Jeff Brock relaying what Mrs Such supposedly said, is at best heresay...but is being reported as fact-Ed)...indeed...not that we're questioning Mr Brock's honesty as such, but technically you're right, that is heresay.
There's various reports already on the Interweb, but it appears that the Brockster is the only person who has spoken to Mr Such since Thursday 20th March...this is an absolute dog's breakfast...and surely the people of Fisher must be represented in some way in the formation of the new government, they just can't be disregarded and discarded...(you mean like Mt Gambier for the last 12 years-Ed)...true, but that's another story for another day.
(And then there's the Speaker's position to be filled-Ed)...oh my gord , I'd forgotten that...it's an absolute schmozzle...I'm left with the very disconcerting desire that I want Mr Such to be ill so that that is the absolute truth and this is not some sort of political bastardry...(so, you don't actually wish ill of him, none of us do, but given that illness is the proffered explanation, then sooner that than some other reason, because 'some other reason' would make that explanation a very concerning lie-Ed)...exactly...bizarre isn't it...
And I go round and round with this and come back to the same nagging concern...why hasn't Bob Such done his own press release, even just a written statement, even just from an official spokesperson, or his wife, anyone actually from his office...why is this being divulged via Geoff Brock?...just again on the ABC 2 TV News main bulletin, but nothing any clearer than I've already stated.
Availees of this here blog shall have to wait for my further venting about the Royal Commission and the bloody Catholics and the shreckin' Lutherans and City Council and the bike lanes and the bus service and the ICAC and the, the.....sorry, I forgot where I was...(complaining?-Ed)...oh yeah, and the bloody Teachers Registration Board, and friggin' Fracking, and stinkin' Flouridation, and, and.....(Wind Turbines?-Ed)...ohhh don't mention the bloody Wind Turbines...(what about the Rail Lands?-Ed)...ohhh...(the Old Hospital Demolition?-Ed)...ahhhhh...(the swimming pool?-Ed)...noooo, no more, I can't stand it any longer...(what? the subject matter of your own whinging?-Ed)...I hate you...
Tomorrow: All That Venting
Again, in context, I hope that Bob Such's illness is genuine but readily addressable...please let this farce be over soon, but soon means Labor, and nobody needs that...what a shambles...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Friday, March 21, 2014
I'm Very Trying - A Healthy Serving Of Self-Justification
Hello Universe and welcome to the blog...and I don't know why a bunch of people in Sweden would be reading my blog, but cheers y'all...and a brief but thorough apology for the sometimes random always rabid in some ways ranting that has crept back into the blog over recent weeks...I have my fun on brief occasions, to be sure, but it is always a confronting and draining and usually traumatising experience to put even an average post together...(so for all of them then-Ed)...and in that context, a genuine thankyou to Troy Bell for running at the state election...(sorry, what?-Ed)...
Well, all things being equal...(yes, but they're not, we've been through this before-Ed)...bear with me...I would have run at both the Federal and state elections just because it was the right thing to do...(says you-Ed)...but because I considered that Mr Bell was a genuinely positive option for the seat of Mt Gambier, I could let that go to the point where I only felt bad for not running to garner preferences for Mr Bell...(now that's some insanity right there-Ed)...to counter the Labor/alleged Independent/Greens preference manipulation that has cost Mt Gambier indeed the entire state so dearly...(oh well fair enough then-Ed)...
On that point, I don't know exactly why Grant District Mayor Richard Sage didn't run in the March 15th 2014 state Election but I doubt that I had much to do with it...(I reckon it's because of those very dodgy Wind Turbine projects-Ed)...ah yes, the Green Point and Allendale/Acciona Turbine projects...could well be..and will Don Pegler have a crack at getting back on the Grant District Council?...(dunno-Ed).
I continue to be advised not to do this, but here goes anyway...I have no sense of embarrassment or shame in claiming and addressing the unrelenting trauma and stress that dogs my life re the St Martins Issue...and for some time now, months even, I've been running on empty, fueled up on coffee and anger, spinning metaphoric wheels...for over a year I have poured myself into this blog with all of the ensuing trauma of playing out the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Issue over and over and over again...and the result?...nothing...
And with it comes the ensuing guilt and the unrelenting sense of failure...and then retrieving that situation with the reality that I have destroyed my own life just by trying to do the right thing in a state that seems to function in it's totality to promote and foster paedophilia...and being abused and hated for trying to do the right thing, and entirely Pariahtised by the supposedly welcoming community in which I exist but hardly live, just for trying to do the right thing...
Banned off the ABC...I didn't even bother to contact them re the repeated false teeth claims by the SA Dental Service, or about the Tony Pasin still acting as a lawyer, etc, etc...banned off the air, thrown out of the studio with threats of police, and under the scrutiny of their Legal Services division, howdy fellas...(and gals-Ed)...well I mean gals as well in 'fellas', it's generic not genderic...but will the ABC touch the St Martins Issue?...be shrecked they will...banned out of The Border Watch for telling the truth...(man, you must be some sort bastard-Ed)...have we not met before?
And abused and howled down and bullied and harassed at public meetings by members of Mt Gambier City Council including Mayor Steve Perryman...for trying to do the right thing...threatened again and again and again with police and/or 'Defamation', including the Crown Solicitors Office threats about "Criminal Defamation" resulting in a "Criminal Liability", which is Gaol Time...threatened with 'Gaol' by the CSO, just for trying to do the right thing.
I reckon I've used this meteoric metaphor before for it best addresses the stressors and messes that have assailed one upon one's journey through this place and at this time...I feel like a meteorite grinding through an ever thickening atmosphere, irretrievably shedding chunks, stripped back to bare rock, the remnants of my very being trailing behind, vaporising and forgotten...and lord knows what happens if I break through the resistance?...there will be a catastrophic impact for many people...and it ain't nuthin' but a thang'...
And whilst I had made some really good progress recently, Agoraphobia has again gripped the helm, and it's only been a week, but being stuck without transport really impacts on that...it becomes such a hassle to try and get anywhere, to get to anything, that it quickly becomes easier to not bother, eg, Council's meeting on Tuesday evening...this morning there's a Harmony Day forum thingy at the Main Corner/Town Hall starting 0930hrs...first bus this way leaves town at 0930hrs and gets back there at 1000hrs...doesn't sound like much, but try doing that with 4-5 things a day every day of the week...spending all day trying just to get to things and after 1700hrs, some way to get home...
As much as that's annoying for me, I always think about people who are more compromised than me mobility wise, eg, mums with prams, and senior citizens, etc, and who can't afford the relative luxury of a taxi, not even occasionally...people who will have no transport 7 days of 10 across the Easter and Anzac Day holidays...no bus on weekends or public holidays...and it's such a fundamental public service that City Council should be funding but doesn't...and that's why I'm so rabid about the whole bus issue...
It is entirely symptomatic of the self-serving attitudes of the Mt Gambier City Council and defines the farcical, self righteous, and vacuous hypocrisy of their constant bleating about Social Inclusion and Inclusive Communities...bollocks...from the failure to provide funding to support a proper service to the failure to provide/maintain appropriate shelters and other infrastructure, eg a renovated Old Rail Station operating as a local and inter-city/interstate Terminal rather than the ludicrous Lady Nelson option...and that of course is all about the Rail Lands Retail Agenda and the extraordinary Council deceits and massively expensive, pointless 'dirt-shuffling', etc...and which drags in the Main Corner and Library projects and all the associated Council malfeasance, missing funds, swimming pool fiasco, etc...
And, again, I wish I was making this shizzle up or imagining it or whatevs, because then at least it would only be me that's the problem...but the problem is the problem...and, again, it's not about me trying to string together a series of unrelated whinges to create a fuss...the Public Bus issue is the proverbial tip of the iceberg because there's a whole bunch of stuff going on just below the waterline that is directly connected, as I've just described.
From This Morning: It's raining quite nicely here in Mt Gambier at the moment (1000hrs) but I'd love to see some of those clowns on City Council 'Park and Shreckin' Stride' today...it's a bloody joke...try walking from one place to another in town today and unless you're only in the Main Street, you're going to get soaked....and what about the many bus stops that have no shelters and/or those that face South, in this weather you're often drier behind the shelter than in it...and this light, wind-blown rain will prove again what a rabid waste of money the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter is, etc, etc.
Gumbelievable: Another report this morning re Dental Services and an interview with a Dr Kelly Jones (of SA Dental Services?-sorry, didn't say)...and according to Dr Kelly, the (her?) 'Triage system' for dental appointments has seen Waiting Lists in areas where it was 3-4 years now reduced to under 12 months...(hang on, didn't SA Dental say just this week that the Mt Gambier WL was now down to only 21 months?...have they somehow managed to knock another 9 months off in a week?-Ed).
I don't know Ed, I think that it's another case of plucking numbers out of thin air to try and pretty up a very ugly situation...does this 'under 12 months' include the 12 month exclusion between treatment and next being able to get on the WL?...(hell I dunno-Ed)...rhetorical question Ed, rhetorical...and only days ago it was the SA Dental Service crowing that the WL was down to 21 months, so it's great news...(sorry, how?-Ed)...well if they've managed to drop the waiting times by 9 months in 1 week, then there should be no WL at all by the end of March 2014...(sarcasm?-Ed)...more like facetiousness really...
And 2 tales of the Catholic Church re the John Ellis case and the St Anns Special School case...and I find it just mind-numbingly unbelievable some of the raw sewerage being spewed onto the floor of the Child Abuse Royal Commission by the Catholics...more tomorrow...
Tomorrow: IVT-AHSOSJ Part II
In case readers had picked up the vaguely disconcerting sense of disturbed synchronicity, it's because I'll do some post early on, a bit more through the day, correct stuff that's changed, etc, and usually finish that (this) evening, which is why a post posted at 2130hrs suddenly refers to 1000hrs and then back to the arvo, etc...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
PS: Windows Technical Service Indian Division is working very late...just had a call from them at 2130hrs...(scam call trying to get Email details, passwords, etc?-Ed)...I didn't wait to ask, but undoubtedly yes...
Well, all things being equal...(yes, but they're not, we've been through this before-Ed)...bear with me...I would have run at both the Federal and state elections just because it was the right thing to do...(says you-Ed)...but because I considered that Mr Bell was a genuinely positive option for the seat of Mt Gambier, I could let that go to the point where I only felt bad for not running to garner preferences for Mr Bell...(now that's some insanity right there-Ed)...to counter the Labor/alleged Independent/Greens preference manipulation that has cost Mt Gambier indeed the entire state so dearly...(oh well fair enough then-Ed)...
On that point, I don't know exactly why Grant District Mayor Richard Sage didn't run in the March 15th 2014 state Election but I doubt that I had much to do with it...(I reckon it's because of those very dodgy Wind Turbine projects-Ed)...ah yes, the Green Point and Allendale/Acciona Turbine projects...could well be..and will Don Pegler have a crack at getting back on the Grant District Council?...(dunno-Ed).
I continue to be advised not to do this, but here goes anyway...I have no sense of embarrassment or shame in claiming and addressing the unrelenting trauma and stress that dogs my life re the St Martins Issue...and for some time now, months even, I've been running on empty, fueled up on coffee and anger, spinning metaphoric wheels...for over a year I have poured myself into this blog with all of the ensuing trauma of playing out the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Issue over and over and over again...and the result?...nothing...
And with it comes the ensuing guilt and the unrelenting sense of failure...and then retrieving that situation with the reality that I have destroyed my own life just by trying to do the right thing in a state that seems to function in it's totality to promote and foster paedophilia...and being abused and hated for trying to do the right thing, and entirely Pariahtised by the supposedly welcoming community in which I exist but hardly live, just for trying to do the right thing...
Banned off the ABC...I didn't even bother to contact them re the repeated false teeth claims by the SA Dental Service, or about the Tony Pasin still acting as a lawyer, etc, etc...banned off the air, thrown out of the studio with threats of police, and under the scrutiny of their Legal Services division, howdy fellas...(and gals-Ed)...well I mean gals as well in 'fellas', it's generic not genderic...but will the ABC touch the St Martins Issue?...be shrecked they will...banned out of The Border Watch for telling the truth...(man, you must be some sort bastard-Ed)...have we not met before?
And abused and howled down and bullied and harassed at public meetings by members of Mt Gambier City Council including Mayor Steve Perryman...for trying to do the right thing...threatened again and again and again with police and/or 'Defamation', including the Crown Solicitors Office threats about "Criminal Defamation" resulting in a "Criminal Liability", which is Gaol Time...threatened with 'Gaol' by the CSO, just for trying to do the right thing.
I reckon I've used this meteoric metaphor before for it best addresses the stressors and messes that have assailed one upon one's journey through this place and at this time...I feel like a meteorite grinding through an ever thickening atmosphere, irretrievably shedding chunks, stripped back to bare rock, the remnants of my very being trailing behind, vaporising and forgotten...and lord knows what happens if I break through the resistance?...there will be a catastrophic impact for many people...and it ain't nuthin' but a thang'...
And whilst I had made some really good progress recently, Agoraphobia has again gripped the helm, and it's only been a week, but being stuck without transport really impacts on that...it becomes such a hassle to try and get anywhere, to get to anything, that it quickly becomes easier to not bother, eg, Council's meeting on Tuesday evening...this morning there's a Harmony Day forum thingy at the Main Corner/Town Hall starting 0930hrs...first bus this way leaves town at 0930hrs and gets back there at 1000hrs...doesn't sound like much, but try doing that with 4-5 things a day every day of the week...spending all day trying just to get to things and after 1700hrs, some way to get home...
As much as that's annoying for me, I always think about people who are more compromised than me mobility wise, eg, mums with prams, and senior citizens, etc, and who can't afford the relative luxury of a taxi, not even occasionally...people who will have no transport 7 days of 10 across the Easter and Anzac Day holidays...no bus on weekends or public holidays...and it's such a fundamental public service that City Council should be funding but doesn't...and that's why I'm so rabid about the whole bus issue...
It is entirely symptomatic of the self-serving attitudes of the Mt Gambier City Council and defines the farcical, self righteous, and vacuous hypocrisy of their constant bleating about Social Inclusion and Inclusive Communities...bollocks...from the failure to provide funding to support a proper service to the failure to provide/maintain appropriate shelters and other infrastructure, eg a renovated Old Rail Station operating as a local and inter-city/interstate Terminal rather than the ludicrous Lady Nelson option...and that of course is all about the Rail Lands Retail Agenda and the extraordinary Council deceits and massively expensive, pointless 'dirt-shuffling', etc...and which drags in the Main Corner and Library projects and all the associated Council malfeasance, missing funds, swimming pool fiasco, etc...
And, again, I wish I was making this shizzle up or imagining it or whatevs, because then at least it would only be me that's the problem...but the problem is the problem...and, again, it's not about me trying to string together a series of unrelated whinges to create a fuss...the Public Bus issue is the proverbial tip of the iceberg because there's a whole bunch of stuff going on just below the waterline that is directly connected, as I've just described.
From This Morning: It's raining quite nicely here in Mt Gambier at the moment (1000hrs) but I'd love to see some of those clowns on City Council 'Park and Shreckin' Stride' today...it's a bloody joke...try walking from one place to another in town today and unless you're only in the Main Street, you're going to get soaked....and what about the many bus stops that have no shelters and/or those that face South, in this weather you're often drier behind the shelter than in it...and this light, wind-blown rain will prove again what a rabid waste of money the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter is, etc, etc.
Gumbelievable: Another report this morning re Dental Services and an interview with a Dr Kelly Jones (of SA Dental Services?-sorry, didn't say)...and according to Dr Kelly, the (her?) 'Triage system' for dental appointments has seen Waiting Lists in areas where it was 3-4 years now reduced to under 12 months...(hang on, didn't SA Dental say just this week that the Mt Gambier WL was now down to only 21 months?...have they somehow managed to knock another 9 months off in a week?-Ed).
I don't know Ed, I think that it's another case of plucking numbers out of thin air to try and pretty up a very ugly situation...does this 'under 12 months' include the 12 month exclusion between treatment and next being able to get on the WL?...(hell I dunno-Ed)...rhetorical question Ed, rhetorical...and only days ago it was the SA Dental Service crowing that the WL was down to 21 months, so it's great news...(sorry, how?-Ed)...well if they've managed to drop the waiting times by 9 months in 1 week, then there should be no WL at all by the end of March 2014...(sarcasm?-Ed)...more like facetiousness really...
And 2 tales of the Catholic Church re the John Ellis case and the St Anns Special School case...and I find it just mind-numbingly unbelievable some of the raw sewerage being spewed onto the floor of the Child Abuse Royal Commission by the Catholics...more tomorrow...
Tomorrow: IVT-AHSOSJ Part II
In case readers had picked up the vaguely disconcerting sense of disturbed synchronicity, it's because I'll do some post early on, a bit more through the day, correct stuff that's changed, etc, and usually finish that (this) evening, which is why a post posted at 2130hrs suddenly refers to 1000hrs and then back to the arvo, etc...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
PS: Windows Technical Service Indian Division is working very late...just had a call from them at 2130hrs...(scam call trying to get Email details, passwords, etc?-Ed)...I didn't wait to ask, but undoubtedly yes...
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