Today the pond's brain officially exploded. There would be no time whatsoever for fancy pants smart alec reader links to yarns sparked by Killer Creighton, as if Killer was some sort of doofus, and there would be no time to dwell on Arkansas wanting to ban Bob and Milton ...
Heck, there goes Tony and Jack in the pond's favourite movie - imagine having your mind altered in Tamworth watching Some Like It Hot and that show's punchline - and the pond didn't have time to think about what thugby leaguers and mindless aerial ping pongers would do for entertainment for Arkansas ...
You've got to admit that the thugby leaguer is a good looker, especially up against that prize maroon aerial ping pong dross.
Nor would the pond have time to take in the mango Mussolini's Futurist fascist theatre of cruelty and violence ... turns out The Brutality is the Point ...
As for John Crace brutalising Rish! yet again - will the brutality never end? - the pond would have to leave that for another day, because look at the line up the reptiles had arranged to make sure the pond didn't stray from the fold ...
By the pond's count, and without including the lizard Oz editorialist's splendid filler efforts, noble as they are, that looked like four biggies on one day, up there with that tailor who managed to knock off seven flies with one blow ...
So it was with a sigh of relief that the pond saw that prattling Polonius was just doing his usual, dressing up as a dog, and being a playful hound ...
The pond has never bothered with Polonius as a dog, after disturbing news filtered out of the Sydney Institute that the staff kept a bowl of water in the Polonial office ... together with a pack of his favourite dry food (the pond hears Polonius is a sucker for Royal Canin Maxi for the way it leaves his coat, though the legislators in Arkansas might have to take legislative action).
Besides, Polonius's thesis, that people have turned on the Royals because the red bandana wearer has stepped down, is unarguable, though no doubt some fancy pants smart alec reader might provide links to talk of the appeal of King Chuck as a tampon, the many highly sexualised charms of Prince Andrew, and the intoxicating fight between Harry, Meghan, William and whatever the name of the loyal breeder is ...
It was with vast relief that the pond could turn away from Polonius, keep him assigned to his Sunday meditation duties, and tackle only three of the reptiles this day, and just for the lolz, the pond simply had to begin with the aging prof railing at vulgar youff ... because everyone knos, it's always vulgar youff that ruins everything ... they won't even conjugate their Latin up to.a Molesworth standard ...
Oh yes, this was going to be a Ginsbergian howl of pain, an epic cry in the wilderness ... and never mind that somewhere some loon had forked over hard-won shekels so that they might read the ancient prof on a mobile device ... perhaps on a bus this very minute, or perhaps reading the pond presenting the prof in all his tormented suffering.
Stop it, put that mobile phone down this instant, can't you see the hairs beginning to protrude from the palms of your filthy, deviant hands?
Oh never mind, there is something delightful in reading a mental meltdown, especially when it's as witty as an iGenesis ... especially if you find it on an iPond ...
Harsh experiences! Yes, what they need is a good thrashing on their pert little bottoms, upthrust, yearning to be given a hard time ...
Oh sorry, the pond began to salivate, as it began doing a Percy Grainger with a stout birch ... or should it be leather? The pond always wonders about protocols when it comes to delivering harsh experiences.
And as for those pathetic, foolish fops flinching at the Prof's fine words, here, flay your eyeballs with the last gobbet ... and if anybody worries about the destruction of the English language with the casual deployment of words such as "safetyism", relax, it's just silly Americans wanting to sound stupid in the usual American way, and a handy Glock and a mass shooting will soon bring them around to see some sense ... (by golly there's a
wiki listing the mass shootings in the United States in 2023, and really, just harden the fuck up folks, the prof has important things to tell you about mobile phones, or maybe you can freak out about frocks in Missouri) ...
Would the pond want to socialise with this ancient dodo at a cocktail party?
There's something to be said for discovering that the bird isn't extinct, but the pond suspects it would find some excuse, or else get as pissed as a parrot and start hurling idle abuse at the prof for being a fuckwitted maroon of the first water ... (no desire to hurt feelings, just a jolly good birching) ...when really surely that's what the pond should be doing with the Caterist ...
Chalmerism! Trust the Caterist to come up with a stunning witticism ... though the pond was bereft, because in recent reading, the pond had come across the Caterist in fine form back in 2011, responding to the dreadful Robert Manne, and
protesting how the reptiles at the lizard Oz were certainly not climate science denialists (though they might know how to whisper at flood waters in quarries) ...
Broadly, Manne complains of “dozens” of “denialist” articles by twenty named “denialists” over seven years. In his later contribution to the Weekend Australian, he raises that to “scores.” By my count, the number of articles written by the accused is: Bob Carter (6), Michael Asten (2), Lord Monckton (2), Ian Plimer (4), Jennifer Marohasy (4), Garth Paltridge (1), Dennis Jensen (2), John Christy (reprinted from the Wall Street Journal) (1), David Evans (3), David Bellamy (1), Nigel Calder (reprinted from the Sunday Times) (1). There were joint-bylined pieces: one by Richard Lindzen, John Roskam and Ullrich Fichtner and another by Bob Carter, David Evans, Stewart Franks and Bill Kininmonth. That’s a total of twenty-nine, which means Manne was right about “dozens,” though not about “scores.” Roughly speaking, it represents one “denialist” argument for every 350 published opinion pieces.
No mention of the Caterist, himself an astute denialist, nor Dame Slap in full flight, warning of the UN using climate science to introduce world government by Xmas?
Sorry, back then the Caterist billed himself as the editor of the Weekend Australian, though the chairman soon put a stop to that and put him out to pasture, so he could blossom into a quarry flood water whisperer of the first water ...
Meanwhile, back to witty talk of Chalmerism ...
It goes without saying, so the pond will say it, that neither the Caterist nor Dame Groan has the slightest interest in that recent announcement, which seems to have reduced Wilcox to simpering empathy and in need of a jolly good caning from the prof ...
Sorry, Wilcox, you can give coloured pencils to the Caterist, and all you'll get is a blank page ... or perhaps a garishly coloured request for another federal government grant ...
Ah years, a fairer and more prosperous nation for all, at least if you can find a way to get some of that government cash in your 'research' centre's paw. As for the rest ...
The first part of the research was published in May 2020 as Inequality inAustralia 2020: Overview.
That report revealed large and persistent gaps in incomes and wealth between the lowest and highest rungs of the distribution:
- The highest 20% of households, with average after-tax incomes of $4,166 per week (pw) have almost 6 times the income of the lowest 20%, with $753pw;
- The highest 20% (with average wealth of $3.3 million) have 90 times the wealth of the lowest 20%, with just $36,000 on average.
In this second report, Inequality in Australia 2020: Who is affected and why, we dig deeper into understanding who stands where on the income and wealth ladders and the main causes of income and wealth inequality.
Get your pdf
here, because you're not going to get much sense from a Caterist accustomed to sucking on the taxpayer's teat ...
And so at last to a jolly good groaning ... though before beginning the pond should note that The New Yorker's carousel of cartoons now seems to be outside the paywall, and so the pond thought it might fling in a couple of mood setters ...
Oh that's ancient and doesn't suit a good groaning, perhaps this is closer to the mark ...
That's better, because this day, the pond was startled to discover that Dame Groan thoroughly disapproved of western civilisation and all that ancient Greco-Roman malarkey and philosophical crap, of the kind the hole in the bucket man loved to spout like a Sydney Uni gargoyle on a rainy day.
Stay with it, and the pond will get to it ...
The pond regrets to admit that it began to miss the Caterist and his witty talk of Chalmerism ... but the pair share something in common, resentment that anyone should turn up in
The Monthly when they should be scribbling for the chairman behind the paywall so that the Chairman might swell his struggling coffers ... though to be fair, Jimbo is a loyal contributor, making sure that taxpayers have to pay to access his thoughts ...
Sorry, that's just a tease ... the pond must now turn to the shocking discovery that Dame Groan will piss on ancient Greek philosophers from a great height ...
All that reptile talk of the infinite wisdom of the traditions of western civilisation come to naught, because wisdom only began in 1776 ...
The pond was still reeling from the sound birching that Dame Groan had dished out to Heraclitus (warning, if you get quoted by Jimbo, you're sure to end up in the Groaner shame file), and realised with a start that there were still two gobbets of Groaning to go, presenting the usual sophisticated and erudite views of a lover of gas ...
What a relief, a truly terrified Dame Groan ... what is this arcane nonsense about socially beneficial?
Somehow whenever there's a groaning, and Dame Groan is terrified, the pond's thoughts always turn to Santos, gas and climate science, but the pond is sure that her deep thinking will please the pond cultists devoted to her every word ... because enough already of this do gooder nonsense, the slackers all need a good birching ...
What's that? Achieving reliable and affordable energy?
Phew, for a moment there, the pond thought that Dame Groan might have mentioned climate science in relation to energy, but never fear, there's no way this aged battleship is ever going to change tack ...
And with that, an almost relevant immortal Rowe, and the mind-blown pond is done for the day ...
It looks like you have the wrong picture. Those two are definitely Milton Berle and Bob Hope. Cheers from me in Mt Barker WA.
ReplyDeleteNo, the pond had the right picture, that link was to Bob and Milton, but the pond allowed ambiguity to move in by immediately mentioning Tony and Jack, without providing a snap, perhaps because the pond has run too many shots from that film and people might begin to get the wrong impression of the pond, what with the pond a devoted follower of frock lovers of the Pellist kind ...
DeleteIncidentally in the Bulwark story there's a handy link to a Pinterest upload featuring Milton and Bob, and a host of other drag snaps, including, it goes without saying, Jack and Tony ...
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/111886371976917972/
Lesson learned. Next time the pond will include a snap from Billy Wilder's masterpiece as a matter of course ...
I much prefer the more common snap of Tony and Joe, the last scene in the movie. Even though Joe's not in drag, his expression is just priceless!
DeleteStruth, DP - two sociologists in the one day? You’re certainly made of stern stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs a grumpy old bloke, I’m not immune to the temptation of dark mutterings when I see a gathering of yoofs all staring into their screens, and I find myself wondering why they aren’t engaged in digging up ant nests, constructing shanghais, setting rabbit traps or some other wholesome activity of my own youth. Still, at least I don’t dash of a lengthy whinge blaming such behaviour for the downfall of Western Civilisation. At least we’ve been spared an interpretation of the likely views of Thucydides and the leading lights of the Enlightenment on mobile phone usage, but that may well be coming on Friday.
Too right, Anon, once our Henry gets a whiff of vulgar youff in his nostrils, who knows where it will end, but what will he do about Dame Groan?
DeleteThe Cultists have a good groaning this day, thank you Dorothy. Implicit in her writings is the thinking of another character from classic literature - Dr (Professor, if you will) Pangloss, for whom ‘all is for the best, in this best of all possible worlds’. Throw in some numbers - shared with the Cater, could they both be using ChatGPT to marshall their material?
ReplyDeleteYes, we live in a country that is a paradigm, perhaps even a paragon, of free enterprise economics. Which is why almost the entire lives of those on median incomes, or better, are spent on paying for a place in which to live. With both partners working, they may make the final payment before they are moved out of the workforce. Of course, those whose incomes are in the higher percentiles, see capitalism almost exclusively in terms of getting an ‘investment’ residence. These are not dragged down by what our Dame has identified as the ‘unattractive’ investment returns of social housing - dear me no, your little capitalist needs to have the advantages of almost grotesque warping of the current system of taxation to expect ‘attractive’ investment returns on their other property.
The cycle of buying mainly existing properties, and, if you are in the better percentiles, demolishing buildings that may be as few as 5 years old, to build larger because they are on land that is a positional good (and untainted by much of that crazy Henry Georgist land tax) does little for productivity of the kind that our Dame refers to.
No - the means whereby Australians invest in new industries, is that dreadful compulsory superannuation, imposed on us by arch-socialists. Talk about government interference skewing the economy! Taking their hard-earned from people, and locking it away until they are no longer employed - is just too much to contemplate. Well, other than to carp from time to time about the power of the managers of those funds to direct the boards of the industries in which they are invested to focus on issues other than mergers, buying their own shares, and otherwise boosting bonuses for executives, again in ways that do little to promote genuine gains in productivity.
Well, we can carry the thought of a terrified Dame, well into the future, in which she may have fewer opportunities for a comforting cappuccino at a reasonable price, because the people who actually make them, and serve her, have been quite unreasonable in their demands for payment for their time and cost of living. Stay tuned.
Your loyalty is exceptional and endearing Chadders, even as the pond finds it perplexing and bewildering ... given the theme of the day, was it watching a Dame in the panto that did it?
DeleteGiven the other theme for the day, the pond does it these days mainly so it can read you brutalising the poor thing ...
Well Pangloss was really just plagiarising Leibnitz, of course. Yep, the one whose differential and integral calculus notation we still teach to our young when we can get their attention away from their mobiles.
DeleteNow that you mention it, Dorothy - when this Dame pops up on Sky, as she does occasionally - she could be seen as more of the Dame of a panto. Well, much of the structure of items of Sky resembles panto. as I recall it of my early years. Not sure which stock character Amanda Stoker represents, but the new brillo pad hairdo is quite in character.
DeleteExcellent comparison of Sky to pantomime, Chad. Hopefully they can take it further; the station’s standard of debate could only improve with the introduction of some “Oh, no it’s not!”, “Oh, yes it is!” back-and-forth.
DeleteSo Groany would like us to pay homage to Adam Smith, a chap who hails from the past when money was thought to be a real thing because it had to be backed by gold. Which is why a lot of Victoria's gold in the 19thC ended up in Threadneedle Street. But his wisdom is unsurpassable when he instructs us that we "should not ättempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals".
DeleteRight, so they can smoke, drink, gamble and buy guns and weapons as much as they like because absolutely nobody should tell them not to.
Then there's her bit about "balancing the budget". Just don't ever ask Groany how almost vanishingly few are the times Australia's budget has actually been balanced, and yet here we still are. So the thing is "It is little wonder many voters now have the impression that additional government funding is always available." Which really isn't at all surprising because additional government funding is always available. Just ask the Japanese.
She's also big on that other bit of Smith: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner ...". Maybe not, but it's certainly from the benevolence of we the people that we don't just get a few of ourselves together and enter the butcher's, brewer's and baker's premises and rob him (or her) of all they possess.
GB - in my experience, very few claiming to be professional economists have given themselves the real pleasure of reading 'The Wealth of Nations' just as a book. Smith wrote well, and entertainingly, but there is a lot of reading in his major work, so economics undergrads tend to go to the various kinds of crib notes to make his, er- acquaintance, which is why the same few quotes still get recycled. The one seldom cited by any contributor to any part of the ophidiarium is -
Delete"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."
– The Wealth of Nations, Book I, Chapter X.
I don't doubt it, Chad, there was more written than even a gifted hyman could ewad in a lifetime at least a millennium ago. But economics is an especial problem because unlike "real" science there's nothing really objective about any of it. Which is why the likes of Groany can piffle on about various things without ever having to face up to reality.
DeleteThere's a scientist-philosopher of some note named Nathaniel David Mermin who made a simple but compelling argument (in 'Boojums All The Way Through' IIRC) about 'explanations' and 'descriptions': explanations are the models/theorems we develop to allow us to be able to 'predict' the universe and descriptions are statement of how the universe really is. Explanations are never either complete or totally correct so we have to keep working at them: experimenting, improving until eventually they prove unsatisfactoryand we have to come up with a better idea. So, replacing Newtonian 'gravity' with Einsteinean relativity at least let us get our predictions of the orbit of Mercury right, but Relativity is most deefinitely incomplete and it still can''t handle gravity.
Descriptions, on the other hand, we have very few (if any) of, and especially in economics where we have neither explanations nor descriptions. Doesn't stop the Groanys or the Caters thinking that they really do know 'reality',
Err 'ewad' = 'read'.
DeleteNicky the C: "It is bound by the conceit that the public interest is best defined by third parties and financed by the power of taxation, rather tha public preferences revealed through the marketplace." There we go, everything in a capitalist theocracy must be privatised. And what is simply the biggest bit of not yet run by public preferences revealed through the marketplace ? Why, the military of course: Putin for one is way ahead of us having already turned his army over to the Wagner mercenaries.
ReplyDeleteSurely we could do that too ? And our military could finance itself handsomely by hiring themselves off to the likes of Russia and Belarus and so on. Think how much of a tax break that would give us.
And look, everything is well taken care of:
Imagery Shows How a Cemetery for Russian Mercenaries Is Expanding
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/world/europe/wagner-group-cemetery-russia-ukraine.html
Gosh: "Would a public not spoon-fed mush about the supposed perils of government borrowing have been so ready to accept David Cameron and George Osborne’s austerity in the early 2010s?"
ReplyDelete"Spoonfed mush" eh ? And by the BBC, not by Murdochia. Couldn't possibly happen in Australia, could it.
Bad economics at the BBC enabled Tory austerity and its aftermath – and it knows as much
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/bad-economics-at-the-bbc-enabled-tory-austerity-and-its-aftermath-and-it-knows-as-much/ar-AA16WUAg?