In which News Corp acknowledges its ideological zeal ...

(Above: only one quibble Mr Rowe. Where's the chairman, the head of one of the most self-admittedly, ostentatiously ideological businesses doing the rounds? More Rowe here)

Meanwhile, in every way on every day he scribbles, Paul Sheehan confirms exactly why he fell for the magic water scam.

Yesterday he was gloating about the court decision in relation to the Dallas Buyers Club, inter alia calling the movie one of the finest ever made, which suggests a delusional capacity to fall prey to the McConaissance.

And then he concludes his vengeful rant in favour of Hollywood studios - as if they needed his help - this way:

If the term "parasite" were to replace "piracy" in the law, it would more accurately depict the evolving struggle between those who create and those who steal. If 4700 people were to receive a bill from Voltage Pictures, it would be a fair result on behalf of a movie that passionately calls for people to be treated with fairness.

Say what? Didn't he actually watch the film? It's about an illegal rogue and lawbreaker who gathers together a bunch of other illegals so they can hit themselves up with a bunch of what was deemed at the time illegal drugs.

Sure the law was an ass, but when's that ever troubled Sheehan? Where's his anger at the House of Mouse and its naked abuse of copyright law? Where's his indignation at Netflix turning up on these shores with a degutted catalogue? He's going to swallow the TPP whole? What a mug punter ...

Meanwhile, speaking of parasites, as the pond often does, since its beat is the right wing commentariat, what fun to have it confirmed that News Corp sent four and a half billion offshore, which led to this amusing exchange:

"With due respect, I don't expect you to agree with this, but I consider The Australian to be the finest national newspaper operating in Australia," he said in reply to a question from Senator Milne.  
Milne: We are not agreed. 
Clarke: You are in a minority.  
Milne: Not according to your sales.  
Clarke was then asked if our 'finest national paper' actually had any direct competitors. He admitted "no there isn't. But if The Australian wasn't there, there'd be no one doing what we're doing." 
Milne: Precisely. 
Clarke: We have a difference of opinion about why we're doing it. But every time you tell me we are doing it to run tax losses, I'll tell you we're not. 
Milne: I'm happy to accept you are doing it for ideological purposes.  
Clarke: I'm happy with that. (Fairfax here)

He's happy with that?

Out of the mouths of babes ...

Ideology 
the body of doctrine, myth, symbol, etc., with reference to some political or cultural plan, as that of communism, along with the procedures for putting it into operation. — ideologist, idealogue, n. — ideologic, ideological, adj. (at the dictionary here).

But at least it's now been confirmed at the highest levels of News Corp - Julian Clarke runs the show locally for the Chairman - that News Corp operates as a rabid, ideological rag, full of zealots and puppets intent on putting a fiendish ideological/political plan into operation ...

So what are the reptile ideologues up to today?

Well the moola smugglers are still cloaking themselves in an air of incorrigible sanctity:

Eek, a symbol of Australia in deep red! The first refuge of the scoundrel ...

Of course in the editorial the reptiles are indignant. It's all the fault of those multinationals, like Apple and Google and the Singapore tax haven, and assorted nonsense about "what, me a multinational?".

Uh huh, and to boot one personally controlled by an American intent on ideological games, or so we're told.

But let's bleed for the reptiles as they gradually become aware that they're part of a multinational company:

The Senate inquiry headed by Labor’s Sam Dastyari is only partly a fact-finding mission; unfortunately, it has veered off course to become a forum for profile building and political grandstanding. Under Senator Dastyari’s probing, parliamentary privilege has been used to slander legitimate businesses. This may generate the corporate loathing endemic to the Greens — whose leader, Christine Milne, bizarrely turned yesterday’s hearings into an inquiry into The Australian — but will not lead to clear analysis, understanding and solutions to fix our revenue base.

Oh the hurt, the pain, the suffering.

Oh indeed. Bizarre, outrageous, when the reptiles are running the rag for a profit ... which they never happen to make, while carrying out their devious ideological agenda.

(But at least it now becomes clear why they've tried their pathetic, risible digital makeover and gone looking for clicks ...)

You can see why the reptiles are outraged and will be demanding an apology and a correction from Fairfax for its outrageous treatment of the reptiles. Why the wretches even put a photo of the head ideologue front and centre:

Mentioning them in the same breath as the other multinationals, as if Fox and the Oz were both parts of  some ideological multinational empire!

Well there's more of that Fairfax bias here, and mUmBRELLA, showing a cast iron constitution beyond the pond, live blogged the whole thing here.

The piety, the saintliness is everywhere, even in the Daily Terror:

Remember, four legged multinationals and Chairman Rupert good, two legged multinationals bad ...

Meanwhile, the pond was delighted to hear the Western Australian treasurer raise the question of secession one more time.

The pond has always thought the west should secede, bugger off, and don't slam the door on your way to doing deals in the Indian ocean ...

The problem is, as always, faceless Canberra bureaucrats ...

There's more from the unhappy 'gropers here, but in turn the 'gropers moaning and whining has been picked up at ideological HQ:

Indeed, indeed. What a perfect run up to the budget. The west in chaos and lost, and jolly Joe lost in the mire:

Uh huh. See what you've done 'gropers, with your childishness and petulance. Just suck it up, you lived on your dreams and then the dreams vanished, and where was your Plan B? Probably where the eastern staters put it, in a place they'd be certain never to forget, until they forgot ...

Well misery and despair always puts the pond in a good mood, and it just leaves time for a little parochial pleasure.

You see, every so long there's a total doofus who ambles into view, and this very day it's Edward Mandla, an alleged city of Sydney councillor, on view in the Daily Terror sounding off in favour of WestConnex here.

Mandla seems to think that the motorway will be used by Sydneysiders for tourism, but he mostly spends his time abusing greenies, and coming up with lines like this:

I have a feeling that “Green” is less of a philosophy and more of a marketing tool that is anti-Western Sydney, anti-big families and anti-travel.

The pond has a feeling that Mandla isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, or the quickest sheep in the top paddock:

The contrast between the outer and inner suburbs of Sydney has never been starker. I find people from the outer suburbs as optimistic and looking to get out on weekends to explore Sydney while the inner city “Green” types are planning their next overseas travel.

Ah so they're not anti-travel, they're pro-travel.

Mandla makes a terrible advocate because at no point does he manage to explain the benefits of WestConnex in concrete, practical or statistical ways. Instead he just rants at the greenies and death duties and top marginal tax rates.

WTF do these have to do with a road? What's the practical uses of the road you doofus?

Instead Mandla ends up sounding like an old apocalyptic preacher sounding off about others sounding off about the apocalypse:

They thrive on a message of impending doom. These days the cataclysm is global ­warming. Previously it was logging, or nuclear annihilation. Only by repentance and obedience to their doctrine can we escape the wrath to come.
Their new symbol of blight is the WestConnex. Imaginary hobgoblins, tales of wrath and moral superiority don’t build, connect and unite the greater Sydney community.

What an immensely stupid man, and the pond's still none the wiser about the benefits of the motorway, except that it will allow people from the west to travel to King street in Newtown and marvel at the motor car blight that ruined the shopping strip ...

Finally it would be remiss of the pond not to note the ongoing deterioration of Bill Leak. The poor man. Talk about a poor man's Bolter when it comes to cartooning:

Yes, we've been there before. Nothing like a good stereotype is there?

How about this one?

There's more here, along with a translation of that text. Or you could just keep reading News Corp the friendly multinational with ideological purpose ...