In which the pond's cup runneth over with Acme gangsta fun ...

(Above: and more Rowe here).

It's a busy day here at the pond - as usual, the pond's cup runneth over thanks to the gangstas in charge - but let's cut to the chase, and in particular to the turd in the water so evocatively portrayed by Rowe:

More here, with forced video, but let's just go with that headline.

Bribe?

Well yes:

Even the textiles bit fits, since Abbott is clearly a length of flawed or damaged cloth who should be removed from the main piece of Liberal and body politics.

So what would an ordinary citizen do when confronted with evidence of a criminal act? Perhaps shuffle about nervously, hopping from foot to foot, a little shamed and embarrassed?

Not your brazen large scale criminal, inured to guilt and shame.

No, then you double down, and score yourself a headline like Paying off people smugglers 'would save money': Government MPs defend idea of payments (again with forced video).

So who would defend the indefensible?

Well the pond is indebted to Sarah Whyte for a top notch shame list:

Former immigration minister Philip Ruddock said that the government would still be saving money if it did pay off the people smugglers. "The amount of money that was allegedly paid is nothing in comparison to the cost of processing the excessive amount of people who came to Australia as a result of people smuggling activity," Mr Ruddock told a News Corp paper. "Having so many people come to Australia as a result of the hideous people smuggling trade and processing them in Australia cost millions and millions of dollars," he said.

And so on. Ruddock still likes to parade his Amnesty badge, but in his heart, he has the soul and mindset of an accountant working for Al Capone. Never mind the the criminality of the deed, never mind the ethics, think of the cashflow costs for big Al (or little Tony).

Then there was Andrew Laming, doing a classic turd in the water avoidance trick:

Liberal backbencher Andrew Laming said even if the government had been paying off criminal gangs, it wasn't of interest to his electorate of Bowman in Queensland, near Brisbane. "No, I don't think it's an important issue at all," he told Fairfax's Breaking Politics program. He also said the allegations were a "zero issue" in his electorate.

Waiter, a bowl of water, for washing of hands, and a blindfold for Andrew Laming.

What's the point of pointing out the turd in the water if everyone's lost their sense of smell, and never had much in the way of ethics to begin with ...

Perhaps the nuns gave the pond too refined a sense of shame and guilt, but right now the pond can imagine Christ rolling in his grave and deciding maybe there's no point pushing the rock aside ...

Whatever it takes, by hook or by crook, bribery and criminality, hear no evil, see no evil and shush don't mention the evil, and if there's a tainted response by carefree Australians, well then let the evil flourish ...

It's interesting to be living in the time of gangstas.

But as always, the pond is most concerned for the reptiles. How can they cover the matter and spin it so that the gangstas look pretty solid, upright citizens who just use bribes to keep the banana constitutional monarchy afloat?

Yes, that'll do the trick.

Sure this payment might be problematic, but they've been splashing the cash for yonks and who minded.

Yep it's that old trick. Labor was doing it too. There it is on the front page.

Let's cut in close for a detail:

And so on.

Well you can't expect a newspaper splash to distinguish between paying informers for information, and bribing people smugglers to induce them to do what you want, nor can you expect a Murdoch rag to understand that if Labor did wrong, that doesn't justify the Liberals doing a matching wrong ... as if  misdeeds balance themselves out, and somehow that makes everything alright and shipshape me cash-splashing hearties ...

It's a rare day in hell that the pond, in company with a melting snowball, would agree with a Jensen, but it was possible to share Michael's deploring of the entire rhetoric and all the actions surrounding refugees this past decade or so ... by both sides of the house (and ironically in the context of Magna Carta, as you can watch here, with Magna Carta providing some wonderful ironies this past week of bribery, criminality and mayhem).

The pond puts it down to the numbing effect of the kool aid, on politicians and media, which has long since seen subtlety and nuance replaced by ideological ratbaggery and the "rule of law" just a loose metaphor for "whatever you can get away with" ...

But there's a lot more going down. Fairfax has a splendid leak which serves as a precursor to the impending legislation - talk about leaky boats - and can be read at Leaked briefing paper shows divisions in Tony Abbott cabinet over cancelling citizenship. (with forced video).

And switching boats in mainstream, the Graudian has a tidy leak featuring the Pope: Pope Francis warns of destruction of the world's ecosystem in leaked encyclical.

The pope will also single out those obstructing solutions. In an apparent reference to climate-change deniers, the draft states: “The attitudes that stand in the way of a solution, even among believers, range from negation of the problem, to indifference, to convenient resignation or blind faith in technical solutions.”...
...Francis is likely to want to influence Republicans in Washington with his remarks. Most Republicans on Capitol Hill deny climate change is a man-made phenomenon and have staunchly opposed regulatory efforts by the Obama administration. 
The encyclical will make for awkward reading among some Catholic Republicans, including John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House. While many Republicans have praised the pope, it will not be unprecedented for them to make a public break with the pontiff on the issue of global warming.

Why did the pond immediately think of Catholic Tony Abbott and Catholic Miranda the Devine and the rest of the Catholic denialists in the Murdochian mafia?

Cue the reptile editorial today:

Speaking of blind faith ...

Yes, it's coal, coal, coal for Australia, and yet another spanking for the wicked ABC, and so the reptiles maintain their mushroom stance deep within the coal mine ...

Finally, the pond never watches Q and A - for starters, blogger has incredible trouble with the ampersand, and this blogger gets similar indigestion at the first loaded question and loaded response - but it's worth noting that the strange creature known as Bronnie was on the show last night:

Weird, but it does provide the perfect excuse for finishing the day's business off with a Pope cartoon, and more Pope here.

Good old Acme! It even has its own wiki here, but actually Pope's letting the gangstas off lightly by comparing them to the road runner, when the mafiosi is what should really spring to mind.

But let's hope that someone gets hold of some decent Acme gadgets soon. Perhaps a disintegrating pistol will help in whatever fight the federal government and the Murdochians next fight as they pursue their dream of a criminal empire to last a thousand years: