wendybr

When I heard that Matty McKay is about to hang up his boots, my thoughts immediately went out to Jack (our Mr Doff). I know he'll miss making cruel comments about Harry Highpants.

No I'm not! I just havent mentioned it!

Promite is a bit less salty. Re teaching my International kids...does it count that they all get to taste lamingtons and Timtams (which they love...and which I bring in often)? But I do admit I've never brought in Vegemite...or Promite for that matter.

What's the worst that can happen?? Mack can only shut this one down too, A lefty friend sent me this last night, following a discussion about similar issues...which he has only just started catching up with. I'll buy the book - and might try to see Jeff Sparrow at some upcoming talks he has organised next week. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/01/how-a-disastrous-change-in-perspective-disempowered-the-left-and-let-the-right-rise

I'll give it a few days more.

Oh OK!

I like Promite better than Vegemite. Not sure I'd like Vegemite these days either. PS Promote had to be corrected to Promite. Bloody auto correct!

Hahaha! I'd turned it off on my previous phone....as I said. I've been giving it the benefit of the doubt on this new one. I just have to remember to read whatever I write before I send it.

Don't they have Marmite in the UK?

Just checked a text message I sent to an ex-student, who had sent me a message about her first Uni essay result. I hadn't seen the message for some hours after she sent it...so I wrote "Oooops sorry I didn't see this...." in my reply. Well...that's what I thought I'd written. When I checked a minute ago, I found it had autocorrected to...,"oops", but with a p in front of the "oops". She hasn't replied yet.

Lol...smart kid! He was in the shade....probably next door to me!

Yes...we did that too...to escape the Sun...as it chased us further and further up the stadium.

Been watching some interviews with Tom Walker aka Jonathan Pie. This is one of the best I've seen. Such a nice guy....with a great story about how he has reached the high profile he has reached over the past 4 years.

Righto - lol. I'm off to post a great interview with the real Jonathan Pie (ie Tom Walker) on the WFMB Thread. PS You Pommies should be proud of him.

Nope. Not buying that Mack! You're far too smart to not see what he was doing there. And I can feel sad for him....and I'd certainly like him more than the people he is criticising....but he should mount a better argument than ""They're Nazis" or, more specifically…. "why do they hang out with Nazis... (if they aren't Nazis)".

The implication clearly is that they are Nazis and white supremacists. It's obvious! A 5 year old could join those dots, Mack.

OK - I watched. Without knowing anything much about him, or knowing intensively about the others he was clearly implying are white supremacists/Nazis, I guess my only observations are that he is speaking on behalf of a minority group (or minorities) who have every reason to feel more threatened/less secure of their place in a multicultural society than they would have for some decades - and that is very sad. I certainly get that. His response is to mount a very angry and emotional defence, and I do get why that's what he'd feel. But his argument does basically consist of name calling, include strongly implying that those he's targeting for his comment are Nazis. From what I know of them, I dislike them intensely....but are they equivalent to Nazis? Isn't it a bit too simplistic to sling around names like "Nazi" and "white supremacist", and expect to win your arguments in front of a broad audience. That's partly what "Pie" is arguing. Can't this guy mount a more rational, less emotional argument, than just to basically imply that these people are philosophically aligned with the most vile movement that the world has ever known? I can be swayed by emotional expressions/rhetoric. Easily. But offensive name calling is wearing thin as a political tactic. Look at what calling millions of ordinary working people "deplorables" in the US did for Clinton. I'm just very grateful here that we have people like Penny Wong who can defend her beliefs (often related to the struggles of minority groups) in a calm, rational and articulate manner, without making the very first step she takes slinging an over-the-top hateful label at her opponents.

The interview literally right at the end says "Are Mogg/Johnson are equivalent to Nazis" and Lammy does not respond "yes they are Nazis". He responds "why are they associating with them?" It's not the same. I'll watch it Mack...and I'll admit, I didn't know what he was referring to at the start. But if you can't see what is IMPLIED CLEARLY behind "why are they associating with them" in that context, well...…….

Ahhhh this is too not good to share (and give Mack something to grumble about).

In for a penny - in for a pound. Why not?

This article is months old...before Zali Steggel announced that she would run...but it sums up what I really hope is the mood over in Warringah. Apparently the Vote Tony Out t-shirts are all over the place, as are the posters in front of peoples' homes. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/grassroots-tony-abbott-warringah-election-independent-20181222-p50nvo.html I'm hopeful....

Rudd got started with the Carbon Tax...then pussyfooted around, and got bullied by Abbott and Co, and things fell apart. LAUGHABLE to think back to the "Your lives will be so much better/electricity will be so much cheaper when we 'Axe the Tax'" garbage they peddled.

This is encouraging. Hope it turns into votes. It's a shame it's taken 12 wasted years to get back to the levels of public concern we had back in 2007. https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/climate-concerns-weigh-on-australians/ar-BBW0rdm?ocid=spartandhp

Yes...he was awful. An absolute idiot.