Australian Current Affairs Thread (not a Politics Thread) lol

[Hughesy]

100% there is an extreme left that exists. Just go and look through Pedestrian tv or Buzzfeed on Facebook. Their outrage knows no bounds. They’re one of the primary promoters of being offended by everyone and everything...

[mack]

Until the socialist alliance starts getting elected to Parliament the idea that the far left has any influence beyond a peripheral section of the NSW Greens (who themselves have little influence overall) is laughable.

[ManfredSchaefer]

5 minutes ago, hughsey said:

100% there is an extreme left that exists. Just go and look through Pedestrian tv or Buzzfeed on Facebook. Their outrage knows no bounds. They’re one of the primary promoters of being offended by everyone and everything...

As opposed to these guys?

https://www.facebook.com/BH.Australia/

Or these guys

https://www.facebook.com/AustraliansAgainstIslamAAI/

Or this guy?

https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=273829

[wendybr]

5 minutes ago, hughsey said:

100% there is an extreme left that exists. Just go and look through Pedestrian tv or Buzzfeed on Facebook. Their outrage knows no bounds. They’re one of the primary promoters of being offended by everyone and everything...

Yes - but it's nothing like the extreme left of old.

But it's what I've been talking about here.

2 minutes ago, mack said:

Until the socialist alliance starts getting elected to Parliament the idea that the far left has any influence beyond a peripheral section of the NSW Greens (who themselves have little influence overall) is laughable.

It's a different world. these guys are peripheral for sure.

What Goat, and WestSyd and Hughsey are talking about is totally different - but powerful. 

[wendybr]

5 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

As opposed to these guys?

https://www.facebook.com/BH.Australia/

Or these guys

https://www.facebook.com/AustraliansAgainstIslamAAI/

Or this guy?

https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=273829

Noone is suggesting these groups don't exist.

We saw a prime example a week ago in Christchurch. And those you refer to are real deal dangerous extremists.

 

That doesn't mean that the movements people here are referring to aren't prevalent....and aren't turning people off.

The two are  different in the scale and the damage they do - and it's far worse in the US I think.

But what's being pointed out is a phenomenon at the moment.

[Hughesy]

3 hours ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

I'm sorry but using stadia spending as some kind of criteria for marking Sydney as a great world city is hardly applicable, when compared and contrasted with the likes of New York, Paris, London, Berlin etc. These cities are great because they find a harmonious and even-handed view of recognising the value of art, culture, history, natural and built environment, food, music, sport, and overall quality of life. In this city we have shock jocks & pollies thinking that it's acceptable to promote the racing industry on the sails of the SOH, or knocking things down to help further the political careers of those the shock jocks endorse. Even bleak city south of the Murray River understand that, vis-a-vis they way they have incrementally redeveloped the MCG.

As for how our public infrastructure is viewed, it's not about one (stadiums) being built at the cost of other things (hospitals, schools, museums, roads, train lines etc). The problem is that this government (which has got its way) has a track record of cutting back, diverting, stuffing up and/or overspending on public infrastructure, with policies that are overtly political and not necessarily driven for or by the public good. I'm open to being called a hypocrite on this, however Wanderland 2.0 arguably has been built for some public good, however there is a cost that many people have either no knowledge of or don't wish to see related to this investment, such as the destruction of vocational education, the lost income from the sale of public assets and the deregulation of land management. I would argue that a more balanced policy that delivers multiple outcomes for the public good should not and never need rely on the empty hucksterism of politicians and media commentators who are in truth more concerned with their public image and political power, as demonstrated in the Ayres/Jones flim-flam over the SFS.

Finally, it seems rather ironic that a state government and various members of the right wing commentariat are all in favour of the government funding the SCG Trust's plans for the new stadium. Surely, based on their love on small government, reduced public expenditure and Private/Public Partnerships, why did the (re-elected) coalition state government ask for the Trust to take out a loan and act as their guarantor, or perhaps stipulated for a user pays finance model such as that which exists for transport and education? Why not ask for Transfield or a similar company to built it and have them negotiate with the Trust for reimbursement? 

 

Coming back to the stadium talk:

No, stadia is not the sole defining criteria for making a city great but sport and it’s facilities certainly go a long way towards achieving that status. As someone mentioned earlier, it’s what formulates culture and in this country we pride ourselves heavily on sport and our love for consuming and participating in it. Yet for some reason in NSW we seem to do everything possible to stifle development of sporting facilities and venues.

Do you think that in NY, London, Paris etc that they are playing multiple games per week in the same venues that are too big, that have surfaces resembling cow paddocks with pieces of plastic cups and screws hidden amongst the grass because of concerts and festivals, that are 30+m from the games boundary markings? Not a chance. This is where Sydney is not even close to these cities.

Tell me the last time that you watched a top flight football game in Europe played on a pitch that didn’t look like a carpet. Now tell me the last time you saw that in Sydney... you’d struggle to go back more than a week! 

[sonar]

This is going to sound ironic as it is being posted on a forum, but what the worst of social media has allowed is anonimity for people to be c****........ no matter where they stand politically....either from the ..left......centre..or...right. 

[ManfredSchaefer]

We haven't had a true leftist government in this country since the Whitlam prime ministership, and he and the policies the ALP espoused or implemented back then were far more in line with the old Social Democrat construct of 'leftism'. A leftism that was based on using a vigorous compact between the federal legislature and a community that was engaged in developing social, cultural and political equity as well as advancement for the disadvantaged. As a result of their resounding failure (which included continual undermining from a younger Rupert Murdoch and his press) the ALP both federally and on a state by state example moved closer to the centre. Hence the roll-back (for example) of fee free tertiary education during the Hawke/Keating era.

What passes as 'leftism' now in the mainstream of political debate and power relationships is a pale shadow of what was. It has been gutted and turned into a loin cloth for those who feel any conscience over the excesses of a polity that has become focused on division versus unity, a fear of the other instead of a joint humanism.

[Hughesy]

2 minutes ago, sonar said:

This is going to sound ironic as it is being posted on a forum, but what the worst of social media has allowed is anonimity for people to be c****........ no matter where they stand politically....either from the ..left......centre..or...right. 

I think what is even worse than that is that it’s turned many people into sheep. Social media often will take a political view and make it ‘trendy’ to believe or subscribe to it (intentional or otherwise). People who don’t care to educate themselves follow along with this because it’s simply seen as the thing to do. To me that is more of a problem for society. You can immediately tell when a person is a sheep because their arguments in a debate will usually involve things like: “it’s 2019 this shouldn’t be happening!” Or some form of baseless name calling and/or accusations.

[Hughesy]

2 minutes ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

We haven't had a true leftist government in this country since the Whitlam prime ministership, and he and the policies the ALP espoused or implemented back then were far more in line with the old Social Democrat construct of 'leftism'. A leftism that was based on using a vigorous compact between the federal legislature and a community that was engaged in developing social, cultural and political equity as well as advancement for the disadvantaged. As a result of their resounding failure (which included continual undermining from a younger Rupert Murdoch and his press) the ALP both federally and on a state by state example moved closer to the centre. Hence the roll-back (for example) of fee free tertiary education during the Hawke/Keating era.

What passes as 'leftism' now in the mainstream of political debate and power relationships is a pale shadow of what was. It has been gutted and turned into a loin cloth for those who feel any conscience over the excesses of a polity that has become focused on division versus unity, a fear of the other instead of a joint humanism.

See that form of leftism is well before my time. I only know of the leftism that exists today. 

Just to clarify, I’m not talking about leftism in governments and relating to stadium policy; I was simply backing up West Syd’s statement he made about lefties and not being able to have a discussion with them.

[ManfredSchaefer]

1 minute ago, hughsey said:

See that form of leftism is well before my time. I only know of the leftism that exists today. 

Just to clarify, I’m not talking about leftism in governments and relating to stadium policy; I was simply backing up West Syd’s statement he made about lefties and not being able to have a discussion with them.

I'm a leftist

We are having a discussion.

Perhaps you need to spend some time learning about some of the core constructs and beliefs of leftist politics, as developed and/or implemented Marx and Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, through to Lassalle, the Fabians, Friedrich Ebert, Keir Hardie, the IWW movement, the ALP and the DLP, Chomsky, Lacan, Habermas etc etc.

 

[Hughesy]

I don’t even know how I got here. I came to talk about stadiums lol

[ManfredSchaefer]

1 minute ago, hughsey said:

I don’t even know how I got here. I came to talk about stadiums lol

Because stadiums are politics.

Everything is political.

[marron]

59 minutes ago, hughsey said:

100% there is an extreme left that exists. Just go and look through Pedestrian tv or Buzzfeed on Facebook. Their outrage knows no bounds. They’re one of the primary promoters of being offended by everyone and everything...

The day Buzzfeed or equivalent runs the country we are ****ed. 

But they don't. 

Like mack said they have minimal impact on things. Except maybe on the number of people who use **** on the Internet to complain about how the world has gone mad and you can't say **** anymore. 

 

[ManfredSchaefer]

2 minutes ago, marron said:

The day Buzzfeed or equivalent runs the country we are ****ed. 

But they don't. 

Like mack said they have minimal impact on things. Except maybe on the number of people who use **** on the Internet to complain about how the world has gone mad and you can't say **** anymore. 

 

There was a story I read a few days back (can't recall when and on which platform) that spoke of how the Federal Coalition have their parliamentary TVs tuned into Sky News, especially the 'after dark' mob like Credlin, Bolt, Panahi, Murray, Jones etc etc. The gist of the story was they were so hooked into the junk idea that these guys reflected how Australians thought, and that these pay TV demagogues were able to give them truthful insights into what mattered to their constituency.

Hence the not-so-slow push to a further right position than Menzies, Holt, Gorton, McMahon or Fraser would ever countenance.

[wendybr]

27 minutes ago, hughsey said:

I don’t even know how I got here. I came to talk about stadiums lol

Nice to see a new face or two...well,... you know what I mean! 

[lloydy136]

9 hours ago, ManfredSchaefer said:

Just checked my old electorate (and I assume the one you might have voted in), Northern Tablelands.

Can't believe there was a 7.6% swing to the Nationals candidate & the SFF candidate got 9.1% of the vote. There was a time (admittedly many years ago) it was an ALP seat. 

Obviously the Barnaby fans & even more conservative/right wing folk in places like Guyra, Uralla, Glen Innes, Moree are way more numerous than the more left of centre voters of Armidale.

The nats candidate in Armidale is very popular and focused on local issues- to his credit he is very active in the community. He has managed to avoid the general stain of the nats because the big failings (csg/mining, water etc) aren't as critical here.

The SFF guys are the big winners - they have totally revamped their image in country nsw from the gun nut party to the party who backs the interests of farmers - they ran succesful/popular farmers as candidates in most electorates and did really well - would expect trend to continue at federal election. People are looking for an actual country party not an arm of the mining/big cotton lobby that the nats have become.

Interesting times.

[sonar]

3 hours ago, lloydy136 said:

The nats candidate in Armidale is very popular and focused on local issues- to his credit he is very active in the community. He has managed to avoid the general stain of the nats because the big failings (csg/mining, water etc) aren't as critical here.

The SFF guys are the big winners - they have totally revamped their image in country nsw from the gun nut party to the party who backs the interests of farmers - they ran succesful/popular farmers as candidates in most electorates and did really well - would expect trend to continue at federal election. People are looking for an actual country party not an arm of the mining/big cotton lobby that the nats have become.

Interesting times.

lloydy136, if you're in that part of the world perhaps you can answer a question.

Why is Barnaby Joyce so popular up there.?

He's been part of the Nats leadership for ages and is one of the reasons they are tanking in the bush yet they seem to vote him back in

Edited March 24, 2019 by sonar

[theguyyouwishyouwere]

it's the hat. it's the whole he looks like us and sounds like us so he's one of us kinda thing. 

 

reality is he's sold them down the dead river.

[MartinTyler]

Whilst on the topic of Barnaby, wtf is a 'Retail Politician'? Must admit that I'd never come across the term before until I heard it applied to him.

[StringerBellend]

16 hours ago, WestSyd said:

You honestly don't believe there is an extreme left? Look up Liz Farrelly, or just take a visit to the ABC or smh. 

You think the ABC is extreme? 

Liz Farrelly is your extreme left? 

As for the SMH it is just extemely ****

 

[ManfredSchaefer]

51 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

You think the ABC is extreme? 

Liz Farrelly is your extreme left? 

As for the SMH it is just extemely ****

 

Sadly mate most people under the age of 30 have zero clue what an extreme leftist polity is. Sure, they can say "Look at Communist China" however after (and I think it was Deng who said this) the capitalist accumulation of wealth was accepted by the CCP as economic policy, it lost its most hardcore left (I.e. Communist) position.

i was speaking to a German 'Ossie' (an ex-East German) at the Football Writer's Festival and what he said about the regime to me, and before hand in his panel conversation reminded me that the state he lived in, and the system he was beholden to is utterly alien to us here and now. And comments that equate the ABC and the SMH with extreme left politics are the embodiment of the ignorance people have about this historic reality.

[ManfredSchaefer]

5 hours ago, theguyyouwishyouwere said:

it's the hat. it's the whole he looks like us and sounds like us so he's one of us kinda thing. 

 

reality is he's sold them down the dead river.

That whole 'one of us' thing is crucial. Barnaby has been able to spin his life and career as being reflective of the values and attributes of many of those in the New England electorate to his advantage for ages. He was born in the area, grew up there as well, boarded at a private school (something the more well off cockies & local business people did with their kids), went to UNE and set up a local business across the border in St George, QLD. 

It has to be said from what I've observed and heard from up north he is a vigorous and effective campaigner in his electorate, particularly in the smaller centres away from Tamworth, which was a Tony Windsor bastion for years. Also, and this is something possibly ingrained in an area that once had its own new state movement, his notoriety and conservatism will appeal to many outside Tamworth and Armidale (and perhaps even in these places where there are more cosmopolitan communities).

it'll be fascinating to see what happens with his seat at the next Federal election. Based on what Lloydy has said re the state election the non-Nationals vote may be big, but will it be dissipated without the lack of a solid unifying candidate like Windsor? I suspect that'll be the case.

 

[StringerBellend]

If David Marr getting a bit stroppy is left wing extremism then I think the world can handle that 

[StringerBellend]

Very fine people on both sides...

[hawks2767]

17 hours ago, mack said:

Until the socialist alliance starts getting elected to Parliament the idea that the far left has any influence beyond a peripheral section of the NSW Greens (who themselves have little influence overall) is laughable.

Funny you mention that, I went through Newtown on Saturday heading out to Kensington and saw the SA campaigning just past Newtown Station.

Ratbags doesn't begin to describe them, i'm sure in that abortion of an electorate they would have scored a few votes too.

 

 

 

[mack]

Their numbers aren't around for this election yet, last time around they only managed 8500 votes out of the 4.5 million. They got the lowest group vote number of any of the named group tickets by far, being double or triple outvoted by groups like the Cyclist Party, the Motorist Party (you think they'd merge into the Motor-Cyclist Alliance), the rebooted Australian Democrats, Fishing Party, Euthanasia Party and the No Parking Meters Party. 

There is no real anti-capitalist influence in Australia outside of nutcase student politics and even there they aren't a dominant faction because those places are used by Labor to introduce young members into the left/right factional split and the Young Liberals use it as practice for trolling and hating the poor.

[marron]

Well they saw off the other socialist party in the region, whatever they were called.

[mack]

Splitters!

[Smoggy]

Australia needs a Monster Raving Loony Party like the UK. Or is that Labour's job (refuse to write Labour without the 'u', its just wrong...).

Edited March 25, 2019 by Smoggy