tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post5647426147539183565..comments2024-03-29T06:12:04.668+11:00Comments on loon pond: In which the pond provides dress tips for men, remembers Kev's vouchers, celebrates the new jellyback, and joins ponderous, pompous Polonius in redeeming Ming the merciless, a victim of unintended consequences ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-21431962450865198292015-04-21T13:29:23.712+10:002015-04-21T13:29:23.712+10:00Uren would represent the reality, as opposed to th...Uren would represent the reality, as opposed to the glory, of war: Facts have no place in a Conservative's narrativeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13467071669624321286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-58952425987586962982015-04-19T18:41:37.626+10:002015-04-19T18:41:37.626+10:00While on the subject of poor old Pelonius, what is...While on the subject of poor old Pelonius, what is his obsession with Tom Uren and Pol Pot? Doesn't he remember that he was a staffer for Campbell Newman's dad at the same time that the Fraser government recognised Pol Pot regime. Did he resign in protest?Derekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10811223717011920203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-28958287588907745222015-04-19T09:30:01.506+10:002015-04-19T09:30:01.506+10:00+1+1GlenHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10978357851849422273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-48217880670468868792015-04-18T21:36:55.582+10:002015-04-18T21:36:55.582+10:00Hi DP, Miss PP, and all fabulous loons,
Re jellyba...Hi DP, Miss PP, and all fabulous loons,<br />Re jellybacking and weathervaning (too bad if these aren't real words; they are now):<br />Sean Kelly offers a wonderful list of "things that don't go together", tax- and budget-wise specifically:<br />http://www.themonthly.com.au/the-monthly-today/sean-kelly/2015/17/2015/1429255036/everyone-said-some-things-shouldn-t-have-been<br />Mish<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-50553150443299254452015-04-18T17:21:27.901+10:002015-04-18T17:21:27.901+10:00“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep th...“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” H. L. Mencken <br /><br />SMH of today: <br /><br />"You can be confident that we are doing everything that we humanly can to keep people as safe as anyone can be," Mr Abbott said. <br />"The best thing we can do to counter terrorism and the threat of terrorism as individuals is to lead normal lives." <br />Mr Abbott noted that terrorists did not need "much more than a knife, a flag and a camera phone", however added they also needed "the will to commit a terrorist act". <br /><br />http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-urges-australians-to-turn-up-on-anzac-day-in-wake-of-terror-raids-20150418-1mnv5d.html<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-85815775020278299412015-04-18T16:37:42.414+10:002015-04-18T16:37:42.414+10:00Julie Bishop in her la-dee-da, la-dee-da
https:/...Julie Bishop in her la-dee-da, la-dee-da<br /><br /><br />https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CC1QDGgUMAAwQWe.jpg<br /><br />http://bit.ly/1DSaA0L<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-80561955336040921592015-04-18T14:38:41.072+10:002015-04-18T14:38:41.072+10:00Hi Fred,
The US sprayed a plethora of chemicals a...Hi Fred,<br /><br />The US sprayed a plethora of chemicals across Vietnam during the war. Agent Orange was only one of the so called Rainbow Herbicides which were named after the colour of the container they arrived in, together they sound like characters from a Tarantino film.<br /><br />The US also sprayed enormous quantities of insecticides around their bases of operation in order to minimise casualties from mosquito borne malaria. Of these DDT will be another major culprit in the destruction of Vietnam's bird life as it causes egg shell thinning. Just as Rachel Carson outlined in her book, Vietnam now experiences A Silent Spring.<br /><br />DWAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-1092809398403738372015-04-18T13:35:01.303+10:002015-04-18T13:35:01.303+10:00Good comment Diddy.
As a birdwatcher, almost but ...Good comment Diddy.<br /><br />As a birdwatcher, almost but not quite a twitcher, I was a bit disappointed at the lack of bird species visible on a trip to Vietnam a few years ago and the paucity of the bird life in general.<br /><br />Most of the species I saw were those common to the wider S E Asian region and birds endemic to Vietnam were conspicuous by their absence.<br /><br />A serious hypothesis to account for this is the impact of Agent Orange type herbicides, and other weaponry, on the Vietnamese ecosystem which was subjected to short term destruction and long term destruction as the chemicals dissipated slowly over time through the natural systems.<br /><br />Particularly hard hit were the coastal mangrove forests which are still in a state of recovery and only because the Vietnamese have given an enormous amount of effort to artificial human rehabilitation.<br /><br /><br /><br />fredAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-76379316889134936472015-04-18T10:57:01.341+10:002015-04-18T10:57:01.341+10:00Hi Dorothy,
As part of the aerial defoliation pro...Hi Dorothy,<br /><br />As part of the aerial defoliation program Operation Ranch Hand, 75 million litres of chemical herbicides and defoliants were sprayed across Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia in an attempt to deprive the Viet Cong of food and cover.<br /><br />Much of it came in orange stripped barrels and was known as Agent Orange. The 2,4,5 T herbicide used to make Agent Orange was heavily contaminated with 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorobenzodioxin (TCCD), this is one of the most toxic compounds known to man with an LD50 in test animals as low as 1ug/kg. It is also a major carcinogen and has teratogenic effects (birth defects). TCCD is highly soluble in fat and is a bio-accumulator increasing in concentration as it passes up the food chain.<br /><br />Four million Vietnamese were exposed to Agent Orange and up to one million are now disabled or have health problems as a result. Still births and children with deformities and mental disabilities are even now, 50 years later, highly common in the areas where Agent Orange was heavily used. <br /><br />One of the companies tasked to produce Agent Orange was Union Carbide (a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical and a company with an appalling environmental record as shown by their utter disregard for the victims of Bhopal). <br /><br />One of the places Union Carbide manufactured Agent Orange was Homebush Bay and in typical style dumped their waste into the water or just buried it in landfill or left in drums. Even after the extensive clean up of the site in preparation for the Sydney Olympics the sediments in the bay are still heavily contaminated. Commercial fishing bans are now in place for most of Sydney Harbour due to findings that many of the fishermen and their families had massively elevated levels of TCCD in their bodies.<br /><br />So if Henderson wants to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of what he views as a highly successful war in Vietnam I suggest he do so with a slap up meal of Cha Ca Thang Long (seared fish with turmeric and dill) and I think we all know where he can get the fish from.<br /><br />DiddyWrote<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-44261937545465951842015-04-18T10:54:36.903+10:002015-04-18T10:54:36.903+10:00GQ? WTF? Anyway, DP, how about Michael Gordon trai...GQ? WTF? Anyway, DP, how about Michael Gordon trailing his coat for Abbott? <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/a-pathway-to-consensus-on-indigenous-recognition-20150417-1mnb26.html" rel="nofollow">A pathway to consensus on Indigenous recognition</a>. <br /><i>The difference, this time, is that the Prime Minister says he is prepared to "sweat blood" for the cause and the two options, or even a combination of both, represent meaningful change. If motivation is needed, it can be found in a speech Abbott gave in opposition. "We shouldn't feel guilty about our past, but we should be determined to rise above that which now makes us embarrassed," he said. "We have that chance. Let us grasp it."</i><br />Sucked in by the weathervane, I mean weathercock, I really mean the windsock!<br />There's as much hope that Abbott will actually lead that change, as he will go to Jakarta to plead for Chan & Sukumaran. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08158673564017581517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-17737492454224196662015-04-18T10:27:09.626+10:002015-04-18T10:27:09.626+10:00You forgot to add Hendo's go-to attack: "...You forgot to add Hendo's go-to attack: "...anti catholic sectarianist"Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13467071669624321286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-40142877228314914702015-04-18T10:22:52.421+10:002015-04-18T10:22:52.421+10:00Good lord, man! Would you have had Australia's...Good lord, man! Would you have had Australia's Greatest Historian and Literary Stylist ground to chum in the jungle of Vietnam? Deny the 21st century his incisive intellect? <br />You are nothing but a,a, a LEFTIST!GlenHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10978357851849422273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-37782067931924286652015-04-18T09:57:48.973+10:002015-04-18T09:57:48.973+10:00Everyone seems to have forgotten to mention Brave,...Everyone seems to have forgotten to mention Brave, Brave, Sir Hendo's Vietnam service record: how he joined up at the first sign of Communist aggression; how he volunteered to go to Vietnam; how he bravely led his troops from the front; how he was always seen where the battle was thickest...... <br /><br />Oh right: his war was fought penning furious letters to Left Wing University rivals who spelled his name incorrectly<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13467071669624321286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-22567707859016840142015-04-18T09:56:56.658+10:002015-04-18T09:56:56.658+10:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13467071669624321286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462488453822156883.post-48800066706979424042015-04-18T09:47:05.203+10:002015-04-18T09:47:05.203+10:00Once again I admire your fortitude in reading all ...Once again I admire your fortitude in reading all that stuff above. Like a crow you peck out the eyes and other squishy bits and place them before us to savour and/or choke upon.<br /><br />I have decided that most columnists could distil their jottings to one word: REFORM. It says it all. When the little curly cage is removed from 'reform', the word roams free. It struts and stamps and bellows. It is free from the shackles of being regarded as a possible change to being an absolute certainty. It Is the way to go. There is no other way.<br /><br />Reform is a word for zealots, for rote-learnt automatons. Two and two make four type of people when so does three plus one.<br /><br />I don't know. I have quite given up. <br /><br />And as for that pic of Malcolm dressed up like the zebra companion of Peppa Pig I can only ask demurely: WHAT WAS HE THINKING? I am reminded of Bob and Blanche in matching white towelling dressing gowns, Cheryl in satin and red feather boa and Julia knitting the kangaroo, although I liked that one.<br /><br />You are completely correct about the clerical white collar too Dot.<br /><br />Miss ppAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com