Uncle Rupert gives us a lesson on patriotism

  Rupert Murdoch Verified account‏@rupertmurdoch

Abbott again. Tough to write, but if he won't replace top aide Peta Credlin she must do her patriotic duty and resign. More

11:42 AM - 28 Jan 2015

So uncle Rupert says “Ditch the Witch”!!! This is quite an amusing action by uncle Rupes on many a front. As hard as one may try, it’s pretty hard to pin this particular stuff-up (the “knightmare”) on the “Witch”!

I guess it’s all very simple from Uncle Rupes perspective. There are really only two palatable options and a third that isn’t – i.e. “Ditch the Witch” (Common Aussie parlance for sack the Chic), Boot the Lunie (Phoney) or jump ship (not too palatable).

Not surprisingly Uncle Rupes goes for the “Ditch the Witch” – a conservative approach that is much aligned with the party die-hards and the ol’e dinosaur himself and an approach that is an everyday occurrence in the western corporate world. When the ship is sinking, first look for scapegoat options then nail the chic (oooops! sowwee!!!). It maybe that ultimately the boss is accountable, but it never is the boss that is crucified. Uncle Rupes is an expert at this as was shown with his rather uncomfortable manoeuvres in relation to the phone tapping scandal (Camillagate and the whole lot of other gates!) – he searched for scapegoats and then nailed the red-head! As I said, no surprise that he opted to Ditch the Witch.

Rupert Murdoch Verified account‏@rupertmurdoch

Forget fairness. This change only way to recover team work and achieve so much possible for Australia. Leading involves cruel choices.

11:50 AM - 28 Jan 2015

Another interesting aspect of Uncle Rupes command is that usually grandfatherly advice of this nature, is provided behind closed doors or in private phone calls. Of course, uncle Rupes opted for the most private of media channels - twitter! So, this was clearly not a message to Phony or the “Witch”, it was to the sponsors of his papers – you and I!!

So, what was the message that uncles Rupes was getting to us? Heaven knows what goes on in this twisted dinosaur's mind, but it usually has something to do with money and selling news papers (when it comes to Australia). It is clear to me that uncle Rupes is on a winner here. He knows, just as well as you and I do, that the “Fiberals” are not gonna get anywhere at the next elections with Phony at the reigns (ooops, sowweee again!!). So the Fibs have to, yes you got it, opt for one of the three paths mentioned before. So whatever option the Fibs take, uncle Rupes will look like the knowledgeable sage who gave good advice – in other words the “I told you so” syndrome. There is no doubt that he and his paid shock-jock disciples have already jumped ship. So this was a last witch (wow! I’m in good form!!) effort to salvage something.

The third strange aspect is this “patriotism” BS. As the saying goes “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel“. Uncle Rupes dumped patriotism for money sometime back – not as if he didn’t have pots of it to begin with. But he’s got the blow-torch well and truly aimed at the “Witch” under the guise of patriotism. Of course, she doesn’t really have the stacks of dosh that Rupert has and can ill afford to commit harakiri. I don’t know much about her, but I suspect that she is, just as many of us are, an intelligent individual, simply trying her darndest to do the best at her job.

Maybe there is solution here, and the overly patriotic uncle Rupes can spare some of that dosh he’s gotten by minimising his tax, say $500k a year, and donate it to the unpatriotic “witch”! How’s that for a solution?

The real problem is that uncle Rupes has missed the boat entirely. With Phony at the helm, the ships not going anywhere. The “witch” maybe gone but the half-wit will still be making his “captain’s calls”!!

As for the Fiberal party and their leader captain Phony, they have no where to go, really! They all know that the only way to make any impression what-so-ever in the next election, is to remove the disasters that keep coming from captain Phony. But that would draw comparisons to the Labor Party’s fiasco and possibly intimidating wall punching around Julie Bishops ears!!

Even if they did think of replacing him, who would they replace him with? Malcolm “I don’t believe in market forces anymore and high speed internet is only for the rich like me” Turnbull or Julie “I haven’t a clue about much, but I look pretty wearing my pearls with other diplomats” Bishop. Then there are a few others who they should keep as far from the public eye as possible to prevent a police state like Scott “In my police state, who cares about human rights (or wrongs) I can be a Natzi with refugees ‘cos no-one will know, but hey, I stopped the boats” Morrison and there is that fun guy stuffing around with education, ensuring it is exclusively for the rich – keeps the wages down!

So the Fiberals and the right wing media come up with statements like the stuff with the knighthood “verges on fatal” or “could be fatal” rather than, is fatal, Kaput, fine, dead and burried!!!

To add to their burdens, good ol’e uncle Rupes has issued a fatwa and we all know of his IS like, take no prisoners approach – there will surely be blood and executions – (that’s metaphorically speaking!), if not loyally obeyed. Hence the obedient hush in the media for what is one of the most bigoted, sexist, elitist set of statements that could be made. I’d love to have seen the media frenzy if these pathetic statements had been made by the “Grand Mufti of Auburn”!!

So you ask what my prediction is. Well, that is a tough one, considering the irrational behaviour of the Fiberals and the multitude of forces in play. However, I suspect Phony will hang on to the leadership and punch-up anyone who dares challenge him and lead the Fibs to a disastrous defeat at the next election.

BTW, I think there should be a clause in the constitution that triggers an election when the sitting party’s support diminishes below say 35%. Right now, it would save everyone, including the Fiberals a lot of strife, Here’s to another GG step-in incident!! Where’s Lizzie when we need her – maybe sulking about the title of Dame she didn’t get!

Rupert Murdoch calls on Tony Abbott to make 'cruel choice' and sack Peta Credlin

Phony’s given his boss a demotion

Aren’t we all glad that the silly-season is over and the clowns are gathering back at the great circus tent for the even-more-silly-season! Phony could barely wait till his vacation was over to start clowning around.

So, the question is “what drives someone to give their boss a demotion?!!” Is it simply the fact that they can, is it plain ignorance and stupidity or is it a far more deep rooted urge?

There has been much written about how stupid the knighthood thing is and that it has little significance to . . . ummmm. . .anyone, really!!! OK, the Duke may have to carry a bigger burden on his chest, which is already over-laden and of course, he might feel a tad offended by the cheek of the “spear throwing natives from the colony”. I can imaging the bureaucrats in London scrambling to the rules books to figure out if this joke was in fact legal and proper(!!) and if so can the colonies really demote a Prince(?) and will it be the Queen next?

May be this business of having colonies that one has little control over, isn’t what it is made up to be. In the good ol’e days a couple of massacres on the streets and a public execution or two would have brought back order. But now, what action does one take?! They must wish that little Johnny boy failed in his lopsided bid to kill the republican movement forever! If Australia was a republic then the concept of knighthood would not even have existed and even if it did, one could politely (or non-politely) decline!

These must be the moments when dear ol’e Lizzie wishes she had handed over the crown to that Lova-boy-total-looney, Charles! She would have been stuck between a rock and a hard place – do I offend the natives in the colony (by refusing the nomination) or do I demote the hubby?! She may have hoped the natives would come to their senses, but in this case, that would be unlikely ‘cos there are oodles of minerals and resources in the colony, but sense is one thing  that is terribly lacking – it’s running amok!

I sometimes do wonder what goes on in the Dukes mind. Maybe people of his generation and up-bringing love the adoration from the colonies and get great pleasure from such titles and therefore see nothing stupid about the whole affair.

Looking at it from Phoney and his band of vagabonds’ perspective, well, those backbenchers really must feel frizzled and frazzled! What the media analysts have failed to point out is that whilst this decision has no impact on anyone, it is “Captain Phoney’s” sense of judgement that is on exhibition. The Fairfax poll suggested a 93% view that it was a stupid decision. How does one come back from that?!

One has to admire the “Fiberals” sense of loyalty. They know the mess that was created by the Labour shenanigans and clearly do not want a messy leadership battle. So, they keep “copping” it. The media keep saying that this will be the last stuff-up Phonie could afford and have been saying so for the last 3 or 4!

Even if the Fiberals decided on a leadership, who would they go to. I-like-to-look-pretty-and-glare-at-people-but-have-no-idea-Bishop or I-stuffed-my-chances-with-the-budget-Hockey or I-have-no-back-bone-Turnbull?!! Really the options aren’t great.

It is my view that Phoney has resigned to the fact that he will be a one term PM (even the racism card that did so well for little-johnny-boy is working for Phoney). He is now attempting to build his legacy. A legacy that is driven by values that are deeply ingrained in his DNA. It’s rarely that one notices some of the idiosyncrasies of politicians until they come under pressure combined with media scrutiny. We certainly saw that with Rudd and now we see it with Phoney – although some had been displayed in his university days.

A man who spent a great amount of time studying Catholicism and fantasising the pomp and majesty of his native country can very easily have a framework that is quite disturbing. Whilst Phoney appears to be quite a “fun” person in social terms (compared to Rudd, who was clearly a nerd and social misfit), there is a serious side to him that is driven by 200 year old values and unhealthy level of religious belief. I suspect he does believe that Lizzie is some form of deity, just as the pope has a direct lineage to god!

By bestowing a knighthood to the deities spouse (a demi-deity), he has cleared the barriers to heaven. His next step would be to glorify the pope in some manner. Unfortunately that might be quite a challenge as from what I can see, the current pope is down-to-Earth as a pope can be and would consider a knighthood as frivolity!

Phoney must truly believes that he has been chosen by god to liberate and lead his people to prosperity. So we keep having these “Moses returns from Mount Sinai” moments that he calls “Captain’s calls” with commandments that he truly believes are from god!

• Help the rich chicks breed ‘cos we need smarter kids
• Bring back Knights and Dames – that will fix the worlds problems.

What is most disturbing is that the Dumb-Aussie-Voters elected this man as captain of “Team Australia”. We are fortunate that Aussies are so dumb that they don’t know what’s hit ‘em!

At least this has provided the catalyst for the creative juices of many a cartoonist – some of my favourites:

Illustration:John Shakepeare (SMH)

Illustration:Ron Tandberg (SMH)

Illustration:Andrew Dyson (SMH)

Illustration:Alan Moir (SMH)

Illustration:Cathy Wilcox (SMH)Link

Illustration:Matt Golding (SMH)

Response to: Sledging shows Australian cricket culture has lost its moral compass

Read article 1, article 2

The crude, crass Aussie mentality raises it's ugly head as expected. The win-at-all-costs mentality, which is well and truly revered by Aussies, drives this bogan behaviour. But sadly most Aussies don't even realise what the rest of world thinks of them and some are even proud of it.

At a higher level (than these stupid remarks), clearly there is a refusal to accept that English speaking countries are (or have already) losing control of cricket. So, with bogans like the Aussie players on the field, there is bound to be more of these loutish encounters.

Warner is cricket's version of Beale. No matter how many times he offends, he is considered a potential match winner and will always be in the team - win at any cost. Unfortunately sometimes players with good skills come in ugly packages and when the bureaucracy worship them (never mind the public), the packages become even worse.

Whenever ugly sledging incidents occur, there is usually one common factor - Australia. Aussies have been up to this rubbish since Chappell (Ian), Lillee and Marsh (a selector, so what hope!!) under the pretext that "we play hard". Sorry, most teams play hard, they just have different value sets, vastly differing from the crass Aussie values. It baffles me that Aussies are treating this any different from what happens in pretty much every match that the Aussies are involved in.

When I travel in the sub-continent I watch plenty of cricket and other sports. Sledging just is not even contemplated. Just add an Aussie team and it's rampant, regardless of the sport.

I watched a game of soccer a few nights back where the Aussies were beaten by South Korea. There were 2 Koreans stretchered off due to elbow contact to head, in what is referred to as a "limited contact sport". The Aussie commentator's excuse was that it was necessary to keep their balance - clearly the Aussies need to elbow the opposition in the head to keep balance - something that the other teams manage without! Or maybe, he was referring to keeping balance on the score card!

It was ironic that Ian Chappell, of all people (a bad proponent of this loutish behaviour) should suggest that someone might get walloped by a bat, if it went on. Aussies have never been able to keep the riff-raff out of their teams. Many other teams have not quite known how to deal with louts on the cricket field and the Aussies kept interpreting this as “mental toughness”. 

Being a bully on the field may be considered "being tough" by many an Aussie, but others consider it tougher to play fair and refrain from loutish behaviour - it's just a different intellectual level.

Unfortunately for the sport of cricket, over the last 50 or so years, the Aussies (supported by the other "white" cricketing nations) have had too much control of the administration of the game. So, whilst sometimes frowned upon, Aussie sledging has been mostly accepted.

What's worse is that in the "new world" where India is the dominant country, not much will change as the young Indian players are just as good at dishing out this rubbish. Although there is some hope as sledging incidents are still mostly restricted to games with Aussie involvement (even the Indians don't sledge elsewhere).

Commenter

Cockeyed Observer

Date and time

January 21, 2015, 11:31AM

PS: I merged a couple of comments here – one of which was censored and the other published by Fairfax – yes, I am successful in getting some comment under the watchful eye of the censor!

Response to: Fred Nile's latest outrage shows why his time should be up

Read article (SMH)

If there ever was a bigoted view, then, you could be assured that the Rev would have said something aligned with it.

How come he gets votes, you ask!!!

The truth is that whilst there may be many a leftie intellectual despising his views, the majority of the dumb-Aussie-voters have the same bigoted views (sexist, racist, homophobic). His archaic views are greatly shared by the voters – hence the votes.

Let me delve, if I dare, into the mind of the holy rev and suggest appropriate awards:

• Let's give the guy who died the "Manly-but not-that-manly-cos-he-is-gay" award, forget the lady who died - a woman cannot be manly (or brave for that matter).
• Let's label the guys who ran as "cowards" and the women who ran, oh! well - who cares, they are just women and expected to be cowards.
• The men who stayed get "not-that-manly-but-not-cowards" awards and the women who stayed - ummmm they get the "stay-put-be-pretty-and-get-rescued-by-the-heroic-men" award but what were they doing there anyway, away from their kitchens?.
• As for the two Asian chics, whilst they may have been in the kitchen they shouldn't have even been in the country!!! – Deportation or maybe detention and Nauru.

Bravery awards themselves are simply out-dated. They are from a bygone era when we glorified war-mongers. We needed to, to ensure we had sufficient canon fodder (remember the Gurkha) for our many empire building expeditions. Glorifying the military is in our DNA. It sure provides future Governor General material. In most of the wars we fight, the real heroes are in the opposition as we only fight third world countries who have few weapons (although we like to paint a picture of them as dangerous monsters with military capabilities) and beat 'em up to pulp.

To the Fairfax censors, if you support the satirical nature of Charlie Hebdo, then you will appreciate this comment - but I trust that would be asking too much of Aussie journalism.

Commenter

Cockeyed Observer

Date and time

January 15, 2015, 11:13PM

P.S. Yes, you guessed it, the comment was censored!!