The world has gone stark, staring, raving mad …
It began with the little things … the reptiles' amazing ability to distort time.
Last night the pond's time stamp assured it that Xians had been banned from poofter bashing at 9.43 pm. Yet this morning, when the pond clocked in at 6.22 am, the same story turned up, slightly refreshed, having been published only 27 minutes before …
It was a miracle …hours had vanished, and yet the worm hole had somehow worked.
But forget the time distortion. Bigger, sinister things have been going down.
There were poor old Xians being stopped from bashing poofters and assigning them to hell, and all Dame Slap could do was deliver IPA blather about activists in the corporate world "stealing" cash, which perhaps isn't the same as stealing cash, but "who knows?" rhetorically speaking.
And there were other signs and wonders …
Reptile favourite poor old Bettina censored and censured, just for sticking up for killing kids if you're pushed a little too far, the mutton Dutton causing an uproar on the ABC by talking of left-wing Islamic terrorists - who knew that Daesh was really a bunch of filthy dirty Commies?
And then there was the budget surplus receding like a mirage in the fake drought celebrated by genuine loon Aaron Patrick. Sometimes the pond regrets covering the morning beat for the lizard Oz daily when there are joys like this out in the world ...
And poor Joel was in trouble for simply loving clean, decent coal …how can that be a thought crime? And here the pond was, thinking Otis was a lift.
And yet weirdly the editor made a pick this day that celebrated sweet dinkum clean Oz coal's ugly, vile rivals ...
A revolution? Oh wash out your mouth, soon we'll be talking real revolutions …
And then there was the matter of Polonius and the Bolter, given yet another kicking by Media Watch here …
Sheesh, you can't even hit on an underage kid these days without someone picking on you. It's the nanny state gone mad. And poor old Polonius can't even trot out his usual ABC conspiracy theory without sounding like a senile old clown.
And then came news they'd banned him, or at least said his services were no longer immediately required for The Insiders...a perfect example of an ABC conspiracy …
The pond was so alarmed it needed a good snooze, and luckily "Ned" came along …
Now a warning. As any regular reader will know, there is absolutely nothing new in what's to follow, not a single genuine insight, just a bunch more of the same, with "Ned" doing a Chicken Little, and wandering around wringing his paws in a state of barely repressed hysteria …
The pond appreciates that some readers are jaded by this spectacle, and that the likes of the dog botherer turning up over and over again like a bad ha'penny can be wearisome, but can there be anybody more wearying than a spell with weary "Ned"?
No complaints. you were warned. It's more blather about the transformation being dangerous, and not a thought about what climate science is saying… you know that the planet is in more than a spot of bother …
Fortunately, as the pond read on, no genius is required to see that things have come to a pretty pass when the reptiles are reading Bill McKibben in the NYRB … where's the mutton Dutton when he's needed to discover Islamic left-wing climate terrorists?
Oh how the reptiles dream of a Donald victory, oh how they yearn for it …
Strange, the pond gets furious at Fox and Friends, Fox News, News Corp, Hannity, Tucker, and the whole Murdochian madhouse, but I guess it's all care and no responsibility for Caroline …
And so back to the endless wittering and twittering of "Ned" ...
Trust "Ned" to miss the point. Has he caught up with the cost of running server farms? 'Tsunami of data' could consume one fifth of global electricity by 2025 …
Now there's a revolution in every sense of the word, but how can we ruin the chance for the mutton Dutton to spot those deviant Islamic fundamentalist left wing climate terrorists by doing a data check …
Never mind, what joy, what relief …there's only a gobbet to go, as Chicken Little faces his usual Herculean task …trying to explain, with a straight face, coalition policy responses to climate science ...
Now the bottom line for all that? "Ned" knows that the mood has changed, and yet the luddite dinosaurs in the coalition have yet to realise it, so the entire climate crisis the planet faces can be reduced to a simple issue: it puts poor old SloMo in a policy pickle.
Now there's a fine job of singing "what about me, it's so unfair", sorting the planet chaff from the pitiful me grain, and it surely deserves a cartoon …
As for Dame Slap, the pond decided to include her piece with great reluctance.
There's only so many times any human bean needs a dose of IPA propaganda. It's a bit like all those X-rays. Who knows which one might be the tipping point?
But since Dame Slap is a mean MAGA hat wearer, the pond has decided that it's usual strategy - gobbet and relieving cartoon - might be the only way to get the job done...
You know, the pond still can't get its head around 'stealing'. What's wrong with straightforward, inverted commas free stealing? Trying to soften the accusation won't wash …it's not 'cash in the paw', it's cash in the paw, or the quote goes up by half …
Sorry, in a day when the reptile world went mad, next thing you now pussy groping will be frowned on … so it's back to Dame Slap railing at people attempting to be kind to each other ...
Yes, once you become a do gooderist, there's no end to where the do gooderism might end. And next thing you know, you might be doing good for clients, customers, and the world at large, and what the fuck, how will we ever get back to the Satanic mills of Victorian England?
What a relief we've shipped the problems off to Asia … as Colbert said when in India the Donald had a feel-up of a replica of Mahatma Ghandi's clothes spinning wheel…
"That's lovely," says Colbert, "Now he knows what it's like to work in one of Ivanka's factories."
Oops, almost forgot the cartoon …
Phew, that was necessary, because it gets really tedious in this gobbet ...
Good old Dame Slap. The pond always knew between Robin Hood and his merry band, and the Sheriff of Nottingham, of course she'd want to be the Sheriff.
Who wouldn't? A chance to do an Alan Rickman or a Basil Rathbone is much more fun than being a dull goody goody in love with some wench, and trying to help out the poor, when really they should just be mulch for some Soylent Green… why if she had her druthers, she'd have a desk fitted out Mr Byrnes style, or give the Scouts a sensible oath, or help others join the IPA dark side …
Really the best solution is to go bankrupt and then let the creditors whistle in the wind. That's sound business practice, instead of this do gooder nonsense, as if we want a good world when we yearn for the Satanic mills …
Meanwhile tired sloggers can thank Basil Rathbone or the long absent lord that there's only one gobbet of Dame Slap doing an Alan Rickman to go …
Charity? Community? Sheesh, next thing they'll be saying Christ was a socialist when everyone knows all he cared about was hating poofters. Hmm, the pond seems to have mislaid that direct quote ...
And so to wrap things up, it's off to the immortal Rowe here, as he brings a nice circularity to the plotting, remembering that we started with SloMo and the lads in mourning for lost dreams ...
Hi Dorothy,
ReplyDelete“Like the harm that's done to the human body from ingesting too much sugar, Denton's attempt to encourage corporate bosses to be more activist is loaded with so much corporate saccharin it threatens to kill off the company as a vehicle to pool people’s money.”
This sentence doesn’t make any sense at all.
The whole point about the artificial sweetener sodium saccharin is that it is non-nutritive and doesn’t raise blood sugar levels unlike sugar.
Albrechtsen is a perfect example of how clueless the reptiles are about anything scientific or technological. Even basic science seems to confuse them and like saccharin their output leaves a bitter aftertaste.
“Public ignorance of science
This division of SSI is generally looking at the causes of public ignorance of science, as well as the impact it can have on scientific research and society. One way of categorizing the causes of ignorance uses the following three categories:
* Deliberate choice, due to not being interested.
* Division of labour, meaning that it's not relevant to one's job.
* Mental constitution, that is having a non-scientific mind.
Studies have also been done that focus heavily on the role journalists – and media in general – play when it comes to public ignorance of science and common scientific misconceptions. The reason behind journalists spreading false or misleading information can be either because the journalists believe the information to be true, or because of some personal gain for the journalist. A common way to put weight to the journalists claims is to point to a scientific controversy, or to ignorance within scientific research. Although the latter is unavoidable, by the common view in SSI, this has made scientists more hesitant to discuss their ignorance, since this could be used by media to diminish their work. One area where media is said to have played a prominent role in the public opinion of the matter is that of the global warming controversy.”
More here;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_scientific_ignorance
DiddyWrote
Ignorance breeds ignorance, I'm afraid, DW. And information doesn't 'cure' ignorance as more and more 'fake facts' campaigns prove on a day to day basis.
DeleteI tend to blame our (and everybody's) appalling schooling for it. We were, and are, fed a lot of 'facts' but very little time at all is spent on making sure we can reason with some degree of competence, whereas clearly the emphasis should be entirely the opposite.
And thus we get sad sacks like Nnaomi Seibt who believes that her "understanding" of climate is totally superior to that of the climate scientists. And as for politicians, well, who would you nominate as a pollie who has shown even a limited capacity for genuinely informed rational thought ?
DW - thank you for the Wiki link - useful list of references and further reading, which I am following up. Clearly I was unaware that this was a particular study, and I was unlikely to run a search on 'scientific study of ignorance'.
DeleteOther Anonymous
Well I'm not so concerned about "ignorance in science" OA, but it's the general conception of ignorance I have trouble with. The wiki article includes this: "public ignorance of science and common scientific misconceptions".
DeleteAnd that's where I think we have a real problem: most people simply aren't within cooee of recognising just how massively ignorant they are: ignorant both in terms of being uninformed and in terms of believing bullshit.
So to return to a theme, Naomi Seibt doesn't think for even one passing moment that she suffers from ignorance, she believes she knows all about climate science. And that's the big problem: people who firmly believe that they already "know" about things aren't readily willing, or able, to take in genuine information.
I have many 'mates' and lunch acquaintances who believe the same; I always ask them if they do their own medical diagnoses too, because obviously they know more than doctors. The answer, for many of them, is yes, they do.
Thus ignorance continues as a self-reinforcing mental disease with no known cure.
Ever so illuminating: Ned the Natterer as the Cheshire Cat of the herpetarium, fading away increasingly rapidly, leaving behind only his sad frown of total incomprehension.
ReplyDeleteBut how about Dame Slap eh ? Convinced that the owners of the 'pooled finance companies" are too weak, ignorant and apathetic to protect their own money, she's going to ride shot gun for them against those 'activist CEO money stealers'.
But, butt, hold on a moment; before we accept the Dame in this role, shouldn't we expect some kind of notarised certification that the IPA does not now, and never has, accepted contributions of 'stolen money' from any 'activist CEOs' trying to push their own ideology ?
It seems only reasonable to me.
What an outrageously witty suggestion GB. The pond cackled all the way to and from the bathroom in search of activist members of the IPA, but sadly found the money had been flushed, and couldn't be tracked at all ...
DeleteOh yes, they're very good at flushing out the money, DP. Not much value in any other respect, but they're good at that.
DeleteYes GB - we might also ask about ‘activist CEOs’ who make substantial donations to particular political parties, and who otherwise prop up parts of the business which are losing money now, at a steadily increasing rate, and which are doomed to disappear within a few years. Particularly when this is done purely so the Chairman or CEO might maintain personal political power in that now foreign country - without having to do that messy thing that the Dame alludes to - running for electoral office. Why, this even smacks of that dreaded Globalization, doesn’t it?
ReplyDeleteLet’s do what the Dame did not bother to do, and consider the case of an hypothetical media organisation. Suppose it is controlled by a foreign citizen who wishes to meddle in the affairs of another country. It need not be owned by that citizen, but, given that the citizen is both Chairman and CEO, then, with some reclassification of shares, you can put a stop to that ‘shareholder primacy’ fancy by vesting special ‘voting’ shares in yourself and family. The mugs in the ‘pooled finance companies’ can still subscribe their money, attend the notably secretive AGMs (if they absolutely insist) but otherwise know their place. With the voting power out of all proportion with funds you have to keep tied up in actual shareholding - how good is that?
Other Anonymous
Oh that's very good indeed, OA, and that's why Roopie invented it.
DeleteHowever, if we try to take the Slappy Dame even minutely seriously, then we would have to ask what kind of legislation and what kind of policing would be required to ensure that every cent spent by every public company is all and only spent on increasing shareholder dividends. So, you want to open another branch store ? Now prove beyond all reasonable doubt that this will increase shareholder dividends and isn't just an ego trip by the CEO.
The thing about the likes of Dame Slap is that because she has never lived in the real world (MAGA caps and UN World Government anybody ?) she has never even begun to understand basic human existence. The idea that even a public corporation might want to promote the success of democracy - because that's the best environment for public companies - is completely beyond her ken.
But then, if her ken included even a faint ghost of 'reality', she wouldn't be writing in the Oz to promote the Institute for Paid Agitprop.
With Cash Like Flowing Rivers
ReplyDeleteThere was bemusement in the nation, for the word was splashed around
That Scott without regret had gone astray,
And had coloured in a spreadsheet - choosing clubs and sporting grounds
To calculate what cash he had to pay
To those swinging seats and marginals from afar and nearer by
Whose bids for grants and loans were in his sights
For the election now was riding on the votes that he could buy,
And Mackenzie stuffed her gladbags with delight
And MacCormack’s stash was big enough to pay all Queensland off,
His HiLux ute was sagging with the dough;
For few could match the Nationals when their snouts were in the trough -
They could rort as deep as any swine could go
Then Angus of the Undergrowth clomped in with his demand,
No Bogan bull could claim a duller brain
And no earthly force could stop him when the cash was underhand,
He learnt to bribe campaigning on the plain
And Joyce blew in; a stupid oaf, a vengeful, drooling beast,
He was something like a bush-pig oversized,
With a touch of Barcoo brumby - three parts interbred at least,
And such as are by normal folk despised
He was crazed, uncouth; a whinger – whose ambition would not die -
For the damage to his mind was widely spread;
And he bore the look of madness in his wayward rolling eye,
And the scattered hairs upon his spud-like head
In the past he’d drawn derision, when an office girl he laid,
And Malcolm said, “You’ve plopped me in the stew
It’s a LibNat coallision! – So, you’d better step away,
Oh Deputy! Is no-one safe from you?”
So he sulked two years resentful – only Canavan his friend –
“We ought to let him try again” he said;
“Once more he’ll be the leader when this spill comes to an end,
This Tamworth stud is haystack-spawned and bred.”
But they failed to throw Mac over - he still sits by Scott’s behind,
And the duo’s thrust for power was rebuffed
Now they’re sniping from the backbench with their shot at rule declined,
But through their treachery they’ve wrecked enough…
Now Scott of course denies it - yet the public has no doubt -
That Bridget took a bullet for the boss
And for sure come next election, when we kick both parties out,
Each one will blame the other for their loss
This needs illustrations by Rowe - particularly Barnaby. Funny how they are all beginning to look like caricatures of themselves.
DeleteMay I be the first to acknowledge the master, Kez? Exceptional.
ReplyDeleteOther Anonymous
Seconded OA. He gets better every time.
DeleteThirded.
Delete"Reptile favourite poor old Bettina censored and censured, just for sticking up for killing kids if you're pushed a little too far" - just call her Bettina Karndt. Or Carndt. Works at so many levels.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlake's 'dark satanic mills' have been interpreted as other than "mills", some taking him to mean the Anglican Churches, and others, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Some of the commentary is quite amusing.
ReplyDeleteI dunno mate, I thought that dark satanic mills was living in a bedsit in Whitechapel.
Delete