It seems almost inevitable these days that on a Monday the Major Mitchell is the parrot always available to score the top spot on the reptile perch.
He rarely disappoints, and he manages to upset all sorts of readers, as in this Crikey story, perhaps outside the paywall here ...
The pond offers a sampling, with a fine shot of the bird in his colourful plumage...
And so on, but that was then, and this is now, at least until tomorrow, when it will become more digital fish and chips ... and so it's on with the Major ...
Oh dear ... it's always the ABC. But what if an intemperate, foolish viewer took the trouble to watch that beacon of the Murdochian empire? Or even just googled the headlines about him?
Might the Major turn his mind to his own rat-infested ship, and the sorry state of the United States, love, pain, vaccines and whatever else you've got in the culture wars? But do carry on ...
Nope, not a word about the rat in the Murdochian garden of weevil ...
And so to the first reptile billy goat buttism for the week, and what an honour for the Major ...
There is a thirst in the Major for endless one-eyed stupidity, but sadly nothing can be done about it, and so the pond must move on to a very different example, and topic ... because here comes the saviour of the Amazon ...
The pond just knew that the incessant rain would bring out a water-logged reptile or two, and Lloydie of the Amazon just happened to be first out of the blocks (though there's sure to be more sodden reptiles to follow in his flooded path) ...
Yes, it's the "we'll all be rooned" approach to climate science, the whimsical observation of flood and fire, but as BOM gets a mention, might the pond also mention what the BOMsters scribbled way back in February 2017?
And so on, as people (Gladys, the ABC, etc) keep blathering on about one in fifty or one in a hundred year events, as if the past remains some sort of guide to our future, when we know that the future will be much different ...
But back to Lloydie of the Amazon with the news that at least he kept his platitudes short ...
Ah, the cycle of nature has not been broken, nor the reptile appetite for climate science denialism. Good luck Amazon, if Lloydie is what's going to save you, you and the planet are pretty much fucked ...
And so to the bonus, and here the pond was torn. Should it run Finkel, still standing strong for gas, and aiding and abetting the reptile agenda, or should it go with the Oreo?
As always, the reformed, recovering feminist made a strong plea, and the pond had no choice ... and besides three quick dunking Oreo gobbets would see the new topic done and dusted ...
Where would the Oreo be without Islamic terrorism? But please note how when it comes to talk of right wing terrorism, the Oreo turns confusingly soft and nauseatingly sweet, as an Oreo would ...
It seems that the best way to mention right wing Christian white supremacist or nationalist terrorism is to dwell on left wing terrorism ...
On the matter of right-wing terrorism, let us blame it on the left? Well, it wouldn't be an Oreo without a a fudgy centre ... why she's done as good a job as ASIO in befuddling the matter, but wait, there's more, including Nazi Satanists (SBS, please pay attention, there's a bloody good documentary here, just the sort you like to lead into the evening news) ...
And yes, at the very end, as usual, we return to the act of naming, with only Islamist, or Islamic or what you will, terrorism signalling our resolve ...
The pond suggests a new category would also signal our resolve, especially designed for those who blather about politically correct speak. Perhaps Murdochian terrorism, or reptile terrorism, or reformed, recovering feminist terrorism ...
Never mind, the daily terror instilled in the pond, whether it be by the Major or the saviour of the Amazon or the Oreo, can always be calmed by an immortal Rowe, with more Rowe here, though this time the pond felt inclined to include one of the comments the Rowe provoked ...
As a new week starts, Mal. Mitch. engages in some pointed self-confession: "Some news coverage of the local COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been naive and politicised." But not only staggering self-confession, Mitch. lays into News Corp as well: "It is a natural result of the media disruption that has forced thousands of experienced reporters out of the business, left newsrooms staffed by very young journalists and cut a whole level of editing and news directing responsibility."
ReplyDeleteAnd who has done all this evil destruction ?
May 28, 2020 – 3.55pm News Corp will cease printing 112 community and regional newspapers, transition 76 to digital-only and close down 36 titles altogether, with hundreds of journalism jobs going in one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of Australian media.
News Corp print closures leave regional media on life support
https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/news-corp-print-closures-leave-regional-media-on-life-support-20200528-p54x7m#:~:text=May%2028,%202020%20%E2%80%93%203.55pm%20News%20Corp%20will,biggest%20shake-ups%20in%20the%20history%20of%20Australian%20media.
And while we're on the general topic:
A racist, belligerent press doesn’t just hurt its targets, it’s bad for all of us
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/21/racist-belligerent-media
Well, bad for all of us except those who make a nice easy living from it. And for those who become billionaires from it.
Maybe I'm not reading the offering carefully enough but I'm buggered if I can see the point of Lloydie's offering.
ReplyDeleteThe headline and last paragraph suggest he is rebutting some argument but it is not revealed anywhere in the text. Perhaps it is some type of subtext visible only to wingnuts? What is meant by 'broken'? If it means extreme variability he certainly doesn't dispute that. Extreme events? Nah, we have those.
I can only think it's the opening shot in another climate change denialist campaign of the "look it's cold outside, so much for global warming" type.
For an even more stupid take try this:
https://twitter.com/brettmasonau/status/1373753210133831681?s=20
They don't feel embarrassment do they?
The point of Lloydie's offering is that it was Lloydie's offering: never remain silent like you don't know what to say, just say anything and let the rubes assign whatever meaning they want to. Otherwise, NH (below) pretty much covers it.
DeleteThe pond would have been much more alarmed, BF, if you had found a point in Lloydie's offering. Then there would be the checking in, the certification, the strait jacket, and your chance to write Two Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest ...
DeleteAs for that tweet, the pond notes that Rowan Dean, reliable as ever, was also in on the caper ...
Totally off topic but how classy is this?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sex-act-on-female-mp-s-desk-images-shared-among-liberal-staffers-20210322-p57d0v.html
Cannot wait for the defence.
Defence ? Proud unveiling more like it.
DeleteYes, he usually doesn’t say anything much. You can’t even disagree with most of it, nor is there anything new. You would think the science editor would investigate stuff that is too hard for the amateur and report back in a digestible form. That implies actual work, and there isn’t any evidence of that here.
ReplyDeleteFor example he could have looked at Australian Rainfall and Runoff from Geoscience Australia., the bible for all designers of stormwater drainage, bridges, highways etc. The 2019 edition, among other things, is a massive effort to incorporate the effects of climate change on extreme flooding events. It’s about as exciting as a phone book, and is in no way scare-mongering. A good science journalist could slog through that and summarize it for the rest of us. The same way DP slogs through reptile shit and reports back.