Well that's the nominated target for this Sunday's meditation - what a relief, the pond had feared Polonius's prattle might be just another dose Pellism - but before we get there, the pond did want to mention the News Corp vs Malware fuss that has seen the reptiles in turmoil …
This from the Graudian here …
The pond used to mock poor Cawing Crowe, so in retrospect it's possible wonder why bothered with stories like this (featuring a vintage cult master) …
What must it have been like, up against the damaging horde, the demonic zealots, the wicked Bensonites?
Well the pond isn't entirely convinced that the wrecker of the NBN can be the pond's friend, even if the enemy of thine enemy might have been an onion muncher and Chairman Rupert ...
And yet more here …
The pond just had to slip that one in - "the outlets were not influential because they had small audiences."
How rich, how sublime. All the time boasting how they were getting more subscribers, and it turns out that they're just minnows. Who'da thunk it? What a sublime clown routine.
But then they can afford to try this bullshit on, because everything the minnows think, write and scribble somehow ends up on the ABC, faithfully regurgitated ….
At the same time, it's vital to keep on attacking the ABC, to keep them in line, to maintain them as quivering stooges, while the minnows quietly go about their work, and that's where we came into so long ago, with Polonius and his prattle …
Please, no tears. The pond finds that terribly embarrassing. It's shocking to live in affluent inner-city Sydney, and Polonius's stoic work to understand the masses frequently requires him to bunk down in a shack in Woop Woop and sometimes in Bullamakanka, but the slowness of connectivity in Silverton can make it difficult for the poor lad.
Say what? The pond swallowed it whole?
(here).
Well there's going to be a lot more Polonial bumpf, because let's face it, it's easy for well-educated professionals with a PhD to pretend they give a flying fuck about the working classes … and that they're at one with the masses ...
Please, no tears, it's a sorry tale this Ancient Mariner tells and attention must be paid … and who better to know the suffering of the masses, oh the humanity, than St. Polonius himself?
Um, that strong equity case? How did it only develop in recent times? Where was it when people were forced to live in abject poverty on New Start? When did the government open its largesse to pensioners and the not well off …
This is a strange change of outlook. No doubt Polonius understands the new benevolence, but wouldn't it have been nice to have some old benevolence?
As for the other, how lucky steps were taken to prove the predictions and the models wrong, because who knows what might have happened if we'd trotted off down the path of the Donald.
In terms of an argument, this is a no win scenario, a bit like Y2K, which was a real issue, where people spent a lot of time and money diligently tackling the problem, so that it passed away with only a few burps and hiccups … so that the Polonial cognoscenti at the time could smugly scribble "So far, they have proved to be wrong." Try telling that to New Yorkers these days …
But all of us lesser mortals, journalists especially, don't understand, not in the way that majestic seer Polonius does ...
Oh not Ming the merciless. They kicked him out, and any sensible working class home would just tell Polonius to piss off, and that would be the end of that …
And so for the bonus … and is there any better sight than Dame Slap in a rage?
No doubt Dame Slap will come down hard on the ACU, with its theological leanings and medievalist internationalism …
But what's the odds that Dame Slap will rant at them?
And what of the coal shipped to China, and the other goods? That dinkum clean Oz coal? What about the IPA's dedication to Gina's vision?
Yes, everybody was in love with China at one point, and our MAGA cap donning correspondent is deeply in bed with the IPA …and theirs and Gina's rampant climate science denialism ...
But the pond digresses because soon enough the rich will be back attempting to sell things to the Chinese, so that they might get richer …
Remarkable fact, as Dame Slap complains about VC salaries. The pond has already noted that Greg Craven of the ACU is the second-highest paid VC for the running of a tinpot small time university, with occasional asides devoted to scribbling devotional Pellist texts (check it here). He must have hauled in a few international students to back that up, or perhaps is good at Pellist press releases.
Never mind, there's a sting in the tale coming, but it'll come right at the end, and so we must press on through the ranting and the railing ...
Now there's a hint there, with all the endless talk of China, and being swamped by Chinese students from the north, but the pond feels it deserves a break, and as Dame Slap was proud to don the MAGA cap, what better than a few Tom Tomorrows, with many more here?
And so to the zinger ...
"… a concentrated effort to give Australian students a truly great university education."
White nationalism and international isolationism are now the new normal … and talk of Australian first flows naturally in the heart of Dame Slap. No funny creatures above the Faraway tree please, just lots of dinkums.
As usual, the IPA shows the way, as in this piece, which followed the Donald line, only it was putting "Australia first", and naturally that meant getting out of Paris, followed by anxiety about all the wogs being allowed into the country … (first two points here)
Listen to the Donald's bullshit? Use American flag-wearing, flag-waving crap as a model, with bonus MAGA cap?
How else could the pond end, but with another Tom Tomorrow?
All of the salient points in Henderson's column were made by one of the other panelists on the same Drum, with the additional observation that the rich can medicate with fine wine.
ReplyDeleteOn Insiders this morning, in "final observations" Sheridan came up with a new rule for journalists: if the ABC becomes aware of criminality by a member of the Catholic Church, it must not investigate! Peter Hartcher had a quote from J. Paul Getty "A man can fail, but he isn't a failure until he blames someone else."
Yesterday, Befuddled gave us good guidance about watching Insiders today - 'Rather put bleach in my eyes!'. This reader admits that he did not heed that warning. Well - skipped over Ms Marise (as you do) but watched 'Talking pictures' because there was David Pope. The mistake was to leave the program on for final observations, which is when the Bromancer struck. Oh Brave Bromancer, tilting at wordmills, in the sanctimonious way that reaches quintessence in defenders of the true faith. My only personal disappointment is that we will not be there when he discovers there is no 'there' after this existence.
DeleteBefuddled - please continue sharing your wisdom and experience - I do value it, but suffer the occasional lapse.
Other Anonymous
He will need to return briefly, like Kerry Packer, otherwise no lesson will be learnt.
DeleteI couldn't bring myself to watch it, but I should pick it up on iview and fast forward to talking pictures, I guess.
Hi OA. Your bit of black humour on Sheridan and the “there” pricked an old memory. During the last world war my old man had a terrible motor bike accident and was pronounced dead and wheeled to the morgue.
DeleteThe morgue attendant, while wheeling the old boy to the mortuary, noticed his big toe move and immediately returned him to emergency where he was patched and despatched after a few weeks.
He always loved arguing the point when talk of God and the afterlife was raised....usually when everyone was on the sauce. There’s nothing “there”he would laugh.
Fast forward 60 years and I was helping with his palliative care at a religious hospice, where once a week a priest would do his rounds and minister to the patients.
While we were having a talk, the priest politely sidled into the conversation and began asking if he would like guidance on his journey to meet his maker. Dad was pretty weak at this stage, but at about the two minute mark the old boy just looked at him,gravely, and said........”there’s nothing there, I’ve been there and there’s nothing there”.
The look on the priests face was interesting to watch, to say the least, and keeping a hold on a grin, I nodded towards the door and escorted him out and advised that dad would not be interested in any last rites etc. as he had already died once as a young man and that he had had more lives than a black cat.
Never bothered him again, much to the chagrin of his wife, who was a rampaging Catholic.
Actually, when I think about it, she was possibly one of the lives. An evil woman. Even nagged and spooked him into selling his one love....his boat, when his illness had him at his weakest.
Anyway, after that rave,....the Bromancer ain’t gonna be happy when he finds out.....all that spruiking wasted, and no one to complain to!
@Joe.... that final thought by Sheridan was truly out there, and Speers just stood there like a muppet and wore it ....and have no fear, it will be used against him by both sides of the spectrum, ex Sky-boy or not.
On indulgence, this one’s for the Lobber. Cheery Anon.
https://youtu.be/kdDtOOJgTzc
Cheery A - thank you for the story of your Dad - and the 'Sailor'. It did take me back to my time at sea, and I suspect other correspondents here have had similar memories dredged (?) from another part of the brain.
DeleteOther Anonymous
It's beginning to look as though Polonius is transmogrifying into the Cheshire cat of the herpetarium: slowly fading away leaving only his sad frown of incomprehension. He never was a burning brand, but now he barely raises a sputtering spark.
ReplyDeleteConsider this: "Speer's superficial comment exhibits a lack of historical knowledge. Take World War II for example."
For example ? What other "example" could Polonius use ? When was the last time there was a WWII or a pandemic in Australia ? WWI doesn't even come close and the Great Depression was an entirely different kettle of fish (and anyway, just check out how very well Australia did not respond to the GD).
And what Polonius doesn't mention is that just two years into WWII, Menzies and his mob were replaced unceremoniously by Curtin and Chifley (October 1941), so clearly support for 'Pig Iron' Bob wasn't all that strong.
Polonius isn't Speer's only critic though, you can see Nicholas Gruen's much more effective critique in Club Troppo: http://clubtroppo.com.au/2020/04/15/the-journalist-as-courtier-covid19-edition/
And as for Dame Slap, well ... she really has sunk into an 'IPA vassal' state, hasn't she. Well, more like a helot or thrall, really. And so very Slap-dash while she's at it. For instance: "a gaggle of naked emperors who have no clothes". Well, yes, I guess if they are "naked" then indeed they "have no clothes".
Also: "...how they [the evil student exploiting universities] used the cash cow from foreign students to game the international ranking system"
Strewth, the Unis reserved their very best researchers to do critical research, and used 'lesser lights' to instruct the undergrads. Now there's not one single other university anywhere in the world that has done that, is there. They all demand that their very best researchers spend many hours every week pandering to freshmen ... err freshpersons. So only the evil Aussie Unis have "gamed" the ranking system.
Then she introduces her chief agitpropist, the very unvenerable Salvatore Babones who thrills us with the terrible thought that our Unis simply didn't prepare for some run-of-the-mill crises: "It doesn't matter what crisis occurred. It happens to be a pandemic. It could have been a war, a currency collapse, an economic downturn in China."
So there ya go; there isn't a decent uni anywhere in the whole world that isn't fully prepared for war to break out at any moment.
We assume that Babones is aware that there was a time (before he so graciously migrated to this country) when a goodly proportion of students at Australian universities were supported by Commonwealth Scholarships, dating back to Curtin, but - credit where due - supported and expanded by Menzies. Excused from paying fees by Whitlam. Most of those in the Howard cabinets with tertiary qualifications benefited from those arrangements, not that that constrained them in any way from cranking up the student 'contribution', and grading those contributions to the level of income each course of study was likely to ensure. Yet Babones appears to hope for a setting in sandstone, with students following their inquiring minds, debating with tutors, seeking 'truth' - where the reality is they are regularly checking their social media for extra hours stacking supermarkets.
DeleteOther Anonymous
Yes, I know about Commonwealth Scholarships, OA; I had one once which got me to Melb. Uni. where I encountered the wonders of the SCIIAES (not that I was one, Physics was my major ... until I dropped out). And we didn't have any portable 'social media' back in those days, so I eventually drove Yellow Cabs instead - I could just traipse down to the YC depot in City Road and grab one from the pool.
DeleteHard to say what Babones is really on about, I suspect he has no real idea himself and is just making up nonsense which will appeal to IPAains like Slappy. There have been early contributors to science and mathematics, of course; eg Heisenberg published his major quantum paper when just 24 and he attended lectures given by Bohr at Gottingen, but he was already a PhD by then, and most uni students are not Heisenberg.
As far as I can trace, GB, the Dame introduced Babones to her readers in the issue for November 20 2018. It was important enough to score the Lobbecke for that day.
DeleteShe had just become aware - or had just found convenient use for - Babones' book ‘The New Authoritarianism - Trump, Populism and the Tyranny of Experts’.
Her precis focussed on ‘Babones debunks the growing hysteria that Trump is an authoritarian threat to democracy. . . . . the author asks those who call Trump authoritarian to answer a simple question “To what authority does Donald Trump defer?”.
The column goes on ‘Babones' central thesis is that . . .the real threat to democracy comes from a form of liberal authoritarianism “it is the tyranny of experts.” he writes.’
Not 18 months later, so interesting to put those assertions up against Trump’s actual words in his attempts to communicate over these last couple of weeks. She sure can pick ‘em.
Other Anonymous, with help from ‘the source’.
Nov 2018 was before Dame Slap became the Head of State for the IPA, so she may have had a different agenda back then. Well, at least a more generally targeted agenda anyway.
DeleteI don't get Babones question about what authority Donny bows to. Himself, of course, always and only. Maybe that strikes Slappy as profound in some idiotic fashion ? Or was Salvatore trying to pretend that Trump actually defers to "experts" ?
Anyway, thanks for that short summary, and as you say "she sure can pick 'em'.
I am glad Janet is going to write about “stultifying inner-city group-think” because I have wondered why it is such a bad insult that the victims instantly shrivel up and die, and all their works are laughed at forever.
ReplyDeleteIn America “inner city” is a dog-whistle for black, so we didn’t get it from there.
I did go to Newtown one evening hoping to see groups of people wearing berets and smoking Gaulloises and discussing Gertrude Stein (stultifyingly), or at least some ABC journalists. I mainly saw groups of people wearing black caps and black shorts talking about their cars. But they may have driven in from Bathurst or even Walgett, so I couldn’t draw any conclusions.
I’ll wait for Janet’s article.
Very funny NH. The Slap sure has a nest of bees buzzing in her bonnet, but, give her points for spreading the scorn around. There doesn’t seem to be a demographic or institution that is not causing her worry and concern.
DeleteI’ve noticed at gently persistent annoyance at Industry super funds of late, and expect to hear much ranting and railing down the track when the piper calls for his penny......if and when the Parliament gets to sitting again. Like you, I will await Janet’s article......unless she is whisked away as the new Virginia correspondent! Cheery Anon.
Yeah, Slap is really on about the Industry Super isn't she. But now we don't know if that's really her or the IPA talking (I don't follow the IPA at all so I have no idea what their current tropes are).
Delete