Here's a curious thing ... early in the morning the reptiles led with a watermarked snap showing off their paparazzi skills, aside a Henry nightmare before Xmas, putting Tim Burton to shame ...
Only a nanosecond later, at the wyching hour, so to speak, Henry had been demoted and defamed with a graphic, and the watermark had been removed and a new nightmare promoted to the extreme far right of the digital edition, such that a terrified Tim Burton fled the room ...
It's a weird rag, no doubt about it, and its editorial policies and layouts are a rich part of the disease, and it goes without saying that the pond refused to take the bait... the chum, or if you will, the blather about progressives and woke and such like, designed to lure the fish ...
The pond thought about running its patented "woke" cartoon, but that's now a long in the tooth joke, and it's going to be a post full of nausea, so instead the pond cut straight to the seasonal chase with the old humbug ... and sure enough there was one of the most grotesque illustrations ever devised by what's left of the lizard Oz graphics department ...
With Saturnalia due to conclude tomorrow, that grotesque image, truely, awesomely, stupendously bad, cheap, nauseating, and full of trinkets, just about took away the pond's last remaining token of seasonal goodwill ...
Apparently they can't get an intern with basic Photoshop skills, though the full to overflowing intertubes has zillions of them ...
Meanwhile, the pompous, portentous one was just getting going ...
As usual,, with his blather about the alleged epiphany and such like, our Henry misses the real point of Xmas ...
Meanwhile, the truly pathetic reptile graphics department came up with a rip of an
1843 illustration by John Leech, a cropped Panini painting, with two "n's" inserted in Panini - they can't even get their stock library quotes right - and a snap of James Joyce, all no doubt cheapskate, cheaparsed free ...
Bah humbug, though to be fair the visual treatment did match the verbal humbug on parade ...
Has someone got a lump of coal handy? Could someone please send our Henry a lump of coal?
Oh, dear, deep in his Xmas cups, the self-pitying rogue, as if he's short of quid or even a bob, and promising to make 2024 as unendurable as 2023 ...
All that was left was a bizarre final flourish, supposedly in the spirt of a Henry/reptile Xmas ...
So there's your real Xmas epiphany. The prices, they have risen ...
The pond will say it again, bah humbug, especially that bit about the hole in the bucket man thinking he's a person of goodwill. You don't escape a year's sanctimonious scribbling with a cheery seasonal greeting, especially when accompanied by an entirely meaningless guide ...
And so to a truly onerous duty, but the navel-gazing narcissistic one is at it again, and it's the pond's duty to go there ...
And Israel is currently unleashing the worst atrocity on Palestinians since the original nakba, but never mind, do go on ...
Who knows? Perhaps the onion muncher should talk to his great mate, and the rest of the GOP ...
But the pond digresses, as the pathetic remnants of the lizard Oz graphics department tried their own form of illustration, including a snap of the onion muncher with a gigantic sprig of wattle, so implausible, so vulgar, that the pond took a triple beat in approved Stanislavski style before shrinking it ...
The pond at first thought of shouting "you sir are no Churchill", but given Churchill's deeply embedded racism and love of colonialism and imperialism, perhaps he is ...
Meanwhile, stepping past that appalling misrepresentation of history,
on another planet ...the collective punishment and ethnic cleansing is picking up speed ...
Then it was back to the usual climate science denialism ...
At this point the only way that the pond could hold on to its seasonal sanity was to run an infallible Pope ...
Meanwhile, the pontificating prat was still on an aggrandising tour of narcissist self-importance, reliably regurgitated by the lizard Oz ...
If only he'd take the same door ...
Well the pond has done its duty, and there's an end to it, and the pond humbly proposes that over the years this dropkick loser, kicked out by his own colleagues because they couldn't stand him and his Luddite loser ways, has got worse and worse, because that's the only way to getting some attention paid ...
Churchill, old demented sot and cigar junkie that he was, got
kicked out in a landslide defeat in 1945, and there's a grim seasonal satisfaction in knowing that the onion muncher will never again get his paws on the levers of government ...and all that's left to him is an endless world tour blathering to some benighted think tank hither and yon ... or keeping the company of some authoritarian of like mind ...
And so to a treat ... because there was the bro still featured in the comments section, though his bleat turned up yesterday ...
The pond could look past the lizard Oz editorials - there's only so much seasonal agony required before the pond wraps up this year's proceedings on the weekend - and focus on the bro's bleat, though the pond should say that it preferred the previous iteration and juxtaposition featured yesterday...
Why was that so delicious?
Well as a correspondent noted, only the day before the bro had been out and about quoting Leahy, to wit and to woo ...
As former army chief Peter Leahy recently argued, we are now substantially weaker in defence than we were when Labor was elected, yet it promised to end years of inaction and spend whatever it took to make us capable of defending ourselves.
This is now a sick joke.
Then suddenly they were at loggerheads, with totally different views about what to do ... and. for a brief moment of joy, the reptiles had them facing off mano a mano ...
Well, the pond has already run all that, but should keep up with the latest bro bleat...
We have of course heard it all before, and Leahy has already ably sent the matter of a middle east adventure for armchair generals packing, but there is an interesting undercurrent in the bro's scribbling ... his intense fixation on having a war with China by Xmas 2024.
It seems fair to propose that the bro's war with China by Xmas this year is a lost cause, but how the bromancer yearns for a stoush, no doubt convinced he'll be called up to act as armchair general in chief of all the services ...
See how it all gradually unfolds ...
Yes, by staying in the region to focus on the activities of the Chinese government, the Australian government is pleasing the Chinese government ...
Then you had to get past a snap to get to the nub of it ...
You see, it's all about not being ready to get it on with the Chinese ...and a middle east adventure would have toughened up the lads ready for the bromancer's 2024 war with China ...
By Americans, he means that as armchair general in chief, he the bromancer, is appalled. How can he possibly run a war with China by Xmas 2024 with this wretched bunch under his command?
Meanwhile, in 2024, the mango Mussolini gives Vlad the sociopath what he wants, and renews his friendship with Xi and the North Korean dictator, and pretty much any other dictator to hand ... now there's a real Faux Noise/News Corp vision for the year ...
And after that bummer, is there any good news at all to be found in this season supposedly dedicated to hope?
Well there was one item to lift the spirits ...
Well, that was a Xmas novelty - Our Henry trying to be light-hearted and make a joke. Pity his sparkling humour is right down there with that of Elon. That line about squeezing a sausage was also truly weird.
ReplyDeleteFor once, I have some sympathy with the Oz Graphics Department; they appear to have been told to make Henry look “funny”, and that’s surely the visual equivalent of trying to squeeze blood from a stone. It was certainly beyond their abilities to paste an actual grin onto his grim mug.
Thick and thieves of progress: The biggest dog whistler and the biggest dog whistler platform.
ReplyDelete"Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Fox Corporation. "I welcomePeggy Johnson and Tony Abbott'snominations to the Board. They bring skills, experience and perspectives that will contribute to the Board and benefit FOX."
Obscurely funded right-wing nutter and pressure person Tony Abbott is Right at home at the;
Centre for Policy Studies
"The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is an obscurely funded right-wing think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom."
"It was co-founded by Sir Keith Joseph, Alfred Sherman and Margaret Thatcher[2] in 1974 to challenge the post war consensus of Keynesianism, and to champion economic liberalism in Britain.[1] With this in mind Keith Joseph originally wanted the think tank to study the social market economy, naming it the 'Ludwig Erhard Foundation' and 'Institute for a social market economy' until it was eventually settled on the benign 'Centre for Policy Studies'.[3][4]
Ludwig Erhard
"A staunch believer in economic liberalism, Erhard joined the Mont Pelerin Society in 1950,"
Wikipedia
Oh. And trades graft for the uk. We are being Murderoch'd.
So we can expect regular reheated repetitions of this sort of drivel for so long as the Onion Muncher has a sinecure on Murdoch boards? Wonderful…..
DeleteYeah, it's really appalling just who Aussies will elect, isn't it. But even though the Libs got Bennelong back, they still haven't regained Warringah, so maybe there's some small rays of rational sunshine. Except for Barnaby Joyce, of course.
DeleteThe Bothered Bro: "If it [this government] had the remotest sense of urgency, we would already be building or purchasing capable surface ships which would come into service well within the next decade." Oh yeah, do we reckon the Houthi will keep at it long enough for us to join in "well within the next decade"? That is also assuming that we'll be able to recruit and train enough naval personnel to be able to crew those wondrous new - equipped with the very latest anti-drone armaments but still totally defenceless to Chinese nuclear, or other, submarines - naval vessels.
ReplyDeleteOur nuclear powered floating coffins are just a sensor and employees in the US military AI weapons infrastructure.
DeleteAnd we get to dig our graves. And bury the spent doo doo too.
"Inside the $1.5-Trillion Nuclear Weapons Program You've Never Heard Of"
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/inside-the-1-5-trillion-nuclear-weapons-program-youve-never-heard-of/.
Delightful:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1730918647864996057?
Can it be a coincidence that the Bromancer never seems to mention Ukraine in his daily diatribes any more, since his Republican mates halted further US military aid?
ReplyDeleteAs for the reptile editorialist, US voters rejected Trump in 2020. He tried to overturn that democratic verdict, ultimately by violent means in breach of the constitution. But somehow a state supreme court upholding the 14th amendment is an assault on democracy?
INELIGIBILITIES ARISING FROM CRIMINAL LAW DECISIONS https://www.transparency.org/files/content/corruptionqas/Ineligibilities_for_Elected_Office_Arising_from_Criminal_Law_Decisions_2016.pdf
DeleteDorothy, for the graphics (??) to draw attention to the Henry (well, his written contribution is of minimal appeal) you express wonder that 'they can't get an intern with basic Photoshop skills'.
ReplyDeleteIn my time in Adelaide I became moderately acquainted with the business model of 'Messenger' newspapers. Yep, part of Rupert's mighty empire. The model was simple - students, or graduates, from the then school of journalism, were offered work experience, and the chance to accumulate a clippings book with their name on the columns, by working for one of the several 'Messengers' that were free, and thrown over the fences of greater Adelaide on, as I recall, Wednesdays.
The nascent 'journalist' went to where the editor directed them, but paid their own way, in every way. 'Messenger' did not outlay a lot on photographs, even where the newbie used their own camera, film and paid for their own processing. The bait, or incentive, was that 'do well, and as soon as there is a vacancy for a staff journo. within Messenger - you will be first in line.'
For potential investigative journos, they were not particularly sharp in observing that there were remarkably few paid staff at any stratum of 'Messenger'. But they were spurred on to get a good story - with plenty of controversy - which is how I encountered them. There were always local 'issues' in areas in which I worked, and I tended to be offered as a 'Government expert' to brief 'Messenger' on the background to the issue. As each newbie (the turnover was about 6 months - I will come back to that) was given my contact details, I recognised the elements of News Limited in their attitudes. Multiple attempts to offer wording with 'Could I write that you said . . . .?' No, be very clear on this - if you want words to quote, I will give them to you in writing' 'Oh, this has to be in by tomorrow'. Several of the little reptiles simply made up quotes to put after my name.
To the turnover time. It usually took 5-6 months for the newbie to run out of funds, and to realise that there were no vacancies likely in the current century. Sometimes I would learn of that when last week's hard hitting 'Messenger' investigator contacted me to ask if there might be, y'know - a slot in one of the organisations I represented as press officer - because, clearly, I wasn't primarily that officer. Yes, I would say - all expansive and accepting - send in your c.v., mark it to (HR person). Ah, bureaucracy.
I have just had a look at 'Messenger' in the 'Wiki'. That entry includes a table showing 'circulation' - which was the number of fences a copy was thrown over in each sector of greater Adelaide, and 'readership' - in most cases a number appreciably less than supposed 'circulation'. Seems it is still 'free', so I suppose the business model for journos has not changed.
But back to your comment Dorothy - I share your surprise that the Flagship cannot exploit fresh graduates from graphic arts courses who are prepared to work for the promise of credits in minuscule at the side. There is no question in my mind that any such grad. chosen at random could do a much superior job to what we have been seeing this year.
Is that what they did before they invented 'internship' Chad ?
DeleteGB - I suspect 'internship' is no more than another term for this kind of exploitation. On the Flagship generally - look how much 'content' is provided, probably free, from representative industry bodies, IPA, minor academics, like the Garrick Professor. No point paying for talent when there is such little talent in what is on offer.
DeleteAbbott claims all was rosy in 2020 - well, mostly rosy - as always, he adds qualifiers as a get out of jail card, and he goes on to say this all changed within two years due to the virtual health dictatorship “virtual” means not in actual fact, but just all in Tony’s mind) and also that Russia invaded Ukraine. In fact Russia had annexed Crimea in 2014 (you’d think he’d remember it as he was PM at the time) and the majority of the world regard Crimea as still part of Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteWell Crimea never was in the Ukraine until Nikita Khruschev (himself half Ukrainian) passed it over while Ukraine was still just one more small component of the Russian Empire. About on a par with passing over an island or two from Tasmania to Victoria.
DeleteSo Russia didn't "annex" Crimea, it simply reclaimed it. The other bits being fought over all "belonged" to Ukraine though.
Abbott AI-ish hallucinating. Cheap copy.
ReplyDelete