Another day, another set of jihadists, and only former Chairman Rudd as the distraction ...

Lordy, lordy, did they need the help of a writer or a hundred or so, or what...

...We recognise and deeply regret the distress this decision has caused to our audience, artists and writers, donors, corporate partners, the government and our own staff and people. We also apologise to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah for how the decision was represented and reiterate this is not about identity or dissent but rather a continuing rapid shift in the national discourse around the breadth of freedom of expression in our nation following Australia’s worst terror attack in history.
We acknowledge and are committed to rebuilding trust with our artistic community and audience to enable open and respectful discussions at future Adelaide Writers' Week events.
The focus is now on ensuring a successful Adelaide Festival proceeds in a way which safeguards the long and rich cultural legacy of our state but also protects the hardworking staff delivering this important event.

A word salad. 

A mealy mouthed jumble of meaningless words...and an abject failure as an apology ...

Meanwhile, the reptiles continued their jihad, this time with Adler in their sights ... and when it's Jew on Jew it can get ugly really quickly ... 

‘Three minutes away from a new Kristallnacht’: how Louise Adler joked about threat to Jews
The former Adelaide Writers Week director mocked Australians concerned about antisemitism telling an audience they ‘might actually believe that we are three minutes away from a new Kristallnacht’.
by Ariela Bard

The pond's not brave enough to go there.

Beginning with a reference to a Woody Allen movie suggests that Bard needs to get out and about a bit, and perhaps take in a catch-up viewing of Manhattan. If Woody is her cultural guide, can Epstein be far behind?

Meanwhile Tim had the singular distinction of framing it as Cancel Culture business ...

Cancel culture runs riot
Writers Week axed – could Adelaide Festival be next?
The event has been cancelled and the entire board has been replaced following a boycott by 180 authors over censorship claims that could reshape Australia’s literary landscape.
By Tim Douglas

Who is cancelling whom? Is Whom on first? Is What on second?

If it's any consolation to those cancelling flights, Adelaide is a dull town for a junket.

Meanwhile, the reptiles had an EXCLUSIVE top of the page early in the morning ...

EXCLUSIVE
Long arm of the hate speech law to also target Islamophobia
Labor’s most senior Muslim MP – cabinet minister Anne Aly – has declared the government is open to criminalising hatreds like Islamophobia and homophobia after the antisemitism bill is passed.
By Sarah Ison

Oh that must be bad news for the lizard Oz jihadists. 

Notoriously the Bolter couldn't even handle 18C.

After the verdict, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott warned against restricting "the sacred principle of free speech".
"Free speech means the right of people to say what you don't like, not just the right of people to say what you do like," he said.

Not in Adelaide, onion muncher!

Such talk surely requires a return to the jihad with even more fervour, with any attempt to sanction Islamophobia and homophobia a dire threat to the business model.

Never mind, the lizard Oz will always have transphobia and climate science.

Brave Rupert led the counter charge against any change to gun laws ...

Extremism should be the real target of reforms, not gun laws
Responsible firearms owners will welcome legislative changes that genuinely enhance public safety, but those changes must be well considered.
By Rupert Hoskin

The pond didn't note a member of the lizard Oz hive mind scribbling an enthusiastic column in support of the proposed gun laws, but the pond frequently dwells in the land of the delusional.

Meanwhile King Donald keeps threatening to do to Iran what he's doing to Minnesota and Venezuela ...

Put it another way ...

Put it another way ...

Thousands Slaughtered
‘Help is on the way’: Trump urges Iranians to overthrow institutions
The US President has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and is said to be leaning toward military action as the regime displays long-range receivers, modems and phones protesters use to communicate amid plans to crush them within 24 hours.
By Richard Ferguson and Lydia Lynch

How soon before King Donald boasts about being the new Shah of Iran? And did all that idle chatter about the Epstein files disappear, or what?

The pond supposes it should quote a couple of reptiles to keep herpetology studies alive, and a couple of reptiles brooded about former Chairman Rudd ... with the issue always who best to appoint to the court of mad King Donald, who in some narcissistic moment is always likely to let loose a volley of demented spleen (as approved of and endorsed by the Murdochians at Faux Noise):

The header: Anthony Albanese could have asked Kevin Rudd to stay on … but decided not to;No amount of gushing over Rudd’s achievements can disguise the fact that the government made a conscious choice that it was time for a new Australian envoy in Washington to deal with Donald Trump.

The caption for the bearded smirker: Kevin Rudd leaves the White House after a meeting between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump. Picture: AAP

The trouble, of course, is that if you call the king barking mad, true though it might be, truth is no defence when up against a demented narcissist who can only be consoled by sightings of gilt of a golden kind ...

Like his “nothing to see here” backdown on a Bondi royal commission, Anthony Albanese insists Kevin Rudd wasn’t pushed from his job as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States a year before his term was due to expire.
“It was entirely Kevin Rudd’s decision”, the PM said, arguing there was “absolutely not” any suggestion from the Trump administration that he should be moved on.
But if Albanese wanted Rudd to stay, he could have asked him to – as a service to the nation – and Rudd would have had little choice but to agree.
No amount of gushing over Rudd’s achievements in the role can disguise the fact that the government made a conscious and strategic choice that it was time for a new Australian envoy in Washington.
There is no doubt Rudd has done a good job, helping Australia to avoid the sort of treatment Donald Trump has meted out to many US allies.
He has formed good working relationships across the Congress and with key members of the Trump administration, but unlike past Australian ambassadors such as Joe Hockey, was unable to break into the White House’s inner circle.
Rudd’s tenure in Washington was dogged by his past negative statements about Trump, who he branded as a “village idiot” and “the most destructive president in history”.
He belatedly scrubbed the criticism from his social media accounts, but only after Trump was re-elected in November 2024.
This all came to a head last year during the PM’s first in-person meeting with Trump, when there was a lighthearted but menacing exchange about Rudd’s historic commentary.
“I don’t like you, and I probably never will,” Trump said at the time.
The government tried to laugh off the comments, and points to the fact that many Trump confidants, including JD Vance and Marco Rubio, said terrible things about him in the past.

Here the pond must interrupt for a meditation. 

Those imagining the death of King Donald might help should think about the immediate alternative.

J.D. Vance was recently described by one leading US Catholic newspaper as a "moral stain" and not just for that nasty affair with the couch.

And then there's liddle Marco, clearly positioning himself for a go at being king himself - the old mad king will surely be dead at some time, and then it's on with a new king.

The New Yorker had a detailed portrait of his moral degeneracy ...  

How Marco Rubio Went from “Little Marco” to Trump’s Foreign-Policy Enabler
As Secretary of State, the President’s onetime foe now offers him lavish displays of public praise—and will execute his agenda in Venezuela and around the globe. By Dexter Filkins (that's an intermittent archive link)

Just one gobbet will suffice to give the flavour ...

...Since Trump began his second term, his “America First” foreign policy has brought about an epochal change in the country’s place in the world, as the U.S. casts off traditional commitments to pursue its immediate self-interest. The sprawling network of alliances, treaties, and foreign-assistance programs that the U.S. built at the end of the Second World War is being radically altered or simply discarded. Since January, the U.S. has cut tens of billions of dollars in humanitarian and development aid, withdrawn from such landmark agreements as the Paris climate accord, and curtailed reporting on human-rights abuses. Entire government departments have been hollowed out. In their place is a highly personalized approach, largely dependent on the whims of Trump, whose foreign policy reflects a harsher, stingier, and less forgiving country.
Rubio, at fifty-four, is the policy’s unlikely executor. Before joining the Trump Administration, he spent his career advocating for America as the leader of the world’s democracies; the son of Cuban immigrants, he was a champion of aid to impoverished countries. Some observers believe that Rubio is working to provide consistency and balance in a tumultuous Administration. “He’s doing his best to moderate Trump’s worst impulses,” a European foreign minister told me. “He understands the stakes. He’s whispering in Trump’s ear. But he has only so much influence.” Others are less charitable. They believe that Rubio is presiding over the remaking of America as a kind of rogue nation, just as an axis of authoritarian rivals, led by China, rises to challenge the world’s democracies. “Trashing our allies, gutting State and foreign aid, the tariffs—the damage is going to take years to repair, if it can ever be repaired,” Eric Rubin, a retired ambassador who headed the State Department’s diplomatic union, told me. “I hope it ruins his career.”
By most standards, Rubio occupies a privileged post: his desk in the White House is just a few steps from the Oval Office. But it is not the position that he hoped to occupy. In 2016, Rubio ran for President and lost to Trump in the primary. He now serves his former opponent—an unstable leader who regularly traduces institutions that Rubio spent his career supporting. “Ultimately, he has to be a hundred per cent loyal to the President, and when the President zigs and zags Rubio has to zig and zag, too,” a former Western diplomat told me. “He’s had to swallow a lot of sh*t.”(*google bot approved)

Speaking of swallowing sh*t, the pond apologises for doing that Tootle and rejoins Ben, still packing it as he explains that a singular ability to wallow in crap is a key to the role:

“I think that one of the things about President Trump is that he looks forward on these issues,” Albanese said on Tuesday.
But people like Vance and Rubio kissed the presidential ring, becoming obsequious members of the cult of Trump. That was never an option for Rudd.
The White House’s statement on Rudd’s upcoming departure suggests he won’t be missed.
“Ambassador Rudd worked well with President Trump and the administration. We wish him well,” a spokesman told The Australian.

Immediately there came a visual interruption: Rudd, second from right, attends a meeting in the White House between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump in October 2025. Picture: Getty Images

Ben kept on with his musings:

It’s unusual that Rudd would want to return to the same job that he was doing before he was tapped for the ambassadorial role, as president of the Asia Society. In true Rudd style, he will take on additional responsibility as head of the society’s Centre for China Analysis.
He has deep expertise on China and wrote his doctoral thesis on Xi Jinping’s world view, so will be in hot demand on the speaking circuit as Washington looks to reset its relationship with Beijing.
If he still has ambitions to become United Nations’ secretary-general, as he did a decade ago, the Asia Society gig would give him the necessary launch-pad.
The process to replace incumbent secretary-general Antonio Guterres, whose term expires in January 2027, will be a complex one, and some nations believe it is time for a woman to take the role.
But Rudd, as a former prime minister, foreign minister and ambassador to the US, could be in with a shot should he decide to campaign for the post.
Unlike in 2016, when Malcolm Turnbull refused to back him for the role, he could be assured of the Albanese government’s support.
Rudd’s four year term as ambassador was due to end in March 2027 but he will leave the post in March next year.
His decision to quit early shocked even senior members of the government, who are now speculating over his possible replacement.
The two leading contenders are former Labor ministers Joel Fitzgibbon and Stephen Conroy. Government insiders said both had the right temperament and experience to deal with the Trump administration.
Unlike Dr Rudd, both are golfers, which could be useful, given Hockey formed a personal relationship with President Trump on the fairway.
Mr Fitzgibbon, a former defence minister and Labor right-winger, is believed to have no record of past negative comments about the US President.

The next caption startled the pond.

Did the reptiles just produce a "crud" joke?

They did, they did: KRudd’s exit as Australia’s ambassador highlights the political and personal challenges of diplomacy in a second Trump presidency.

The sorting of applicants for the sh*t swallowing job continued:

But Mr Conroy, a former communications minister and right wing faction boss, last year described the president as “moronically stupid” in a television interview. This might disqualify him for the role, given the difficulties Rudd faced.
There has also been speculation Trade Minister and Labor elder Don Farrell could be in the frame, but he all but ruled himself out, saying he liked his current job and there was “still plenty of work to do”.
Unfortunately, Albanese doesn’t have great form in selecting political appointees for plum diplomatic posts.
He appointed Rudd to the critical diplomatic post in December 2022, knowing of his past criticism of Trump, who weeks earlier had announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination.
His decision to appoint former Labor minister Stephen Smith as high commissioner to the UK also proved to be a misstep, with Smith alienating influential Australians in London with his dislike of the social aspects of the job.
Outside of the Labor club, there has been speculation Scott Morrison might be a good pick for the role, given his strong ties to the Trump administration. He’s unlikely to get the nod because Albanese doesn’t like or trust him.
If the government opts for a non-political appointment, recently-returned ambassador to Japan, Justin Hayhurst, would likely be at the top of its list.
Defence Department secretary Greg Moriarty is also considered a contender should the government need another Dennis Richardson – the veteran bureaucrat who served in the post from 2005-2009.
The decision as to who replaces Rudd will be one of Albanese’s most important foreign affairs decisions of this term of government. Even if he chooses well, there’s a lot that can go wrong.

There's a lot could go wrong? 

Thanks to mad King Donald there's a lot already gone wrong, and the main mission will be to stop him declaring himself Albo's replacement, as well as the GG and the new King of England ...

While at The New Yorker, make sure to drop in on ...

Letter from Copenhagen
Denmark Is Sick of Being Bullied by Trump (that's an intermittent archive link)
The U.S., once Denmark’s closest ally, is threatening to steal Greenland and attacking the country’s wind-power industry. Is this a permanent breakup? by Margaret Talbot

If dealing with the madness of King Donald is a problem for Oz, just think of the poor Danes ...

...Trump’s antagonism toward Greenland has also changed Danish views about European unity. In the past, Danes had been soft Euroskeptics. They joined the E.U. in the nineteen-seventies, but they kept their own currency, the krone, and in 1992 they voted against the Maastricht Treaty, which tightened European conformity regarding security, citizenship, and other matters. When Frederiksen recently called for more defense spending, she acknowledged, “European coöperation has never really been a favorite of many Danes.” They’d grumbled, she said, about everything from “crooked cucumbers and banning plastic straws” to open immigration policies, which Frederiksen’s government had rejected.
Ole Wæver, a professor of international relations at the University of Copenhagen, told me that Danes have long had a “kind of anti-E.U. sentiment, with a lot of the same arguments that you saw in Brexit—‘Oh, it’s big bureaucracy,’ ‘Brussels is far away,’ ‘It’s taking away our democracy.’ ” Such attitudes, Wæver said, had helped to make Denmark “go overboard” in its allegiance to America. Elisabet Svane, a columnist for Politiken, told me, “Our Prime Minister used to say, ‘You cannot put a piece of paper between me and the U.S., I’m so transatlantic.’ She’s still transatlantic, but I think you can put a little book in between now.”

And so on, with those Scandinavians in the thick of it ...

But, billy goat, the reptiles hadn't finished with former Chairman Rudd, because the lesser member of the Kelly gang was also on the case, albeit Joe only offered a mere two minute read...

It's not the bromancer, it's just the best the pond can do ...

The header: The timing of Kevin Rudd’s resignation can mean only one thing; The soon to be ex-US envoy will now be able to speak out loudly, clearly and publicly to pass judgment on Donald Trump’s remaking of the global order.

The caption for the dull snap: Anthony Albanese with Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, who will leave his post in March. Picture: AAP

Amazingly being in the presence of a mad king is, according to Joe, the most coveted diplomatic position available, though the pond had thought it was second to an appointment to Satan's court in Hades ...

The biggest surprise about Kevin Rudd’s decision to step down as Australian ambassador in Washington is the timing, especially given the momentous changes being made to the world order because of decisions being taken by Donald Trump.
The former Labor prime minister is departing his post – the most coveted diplomatic position available – a full 12 months before his term was due to end, with a more emboldened Trump fully capable of rerouting the course of world history in that period.

Getting the hell out of town now is a surprise?

Some might suspect Joe's outing was simply a way to fling in an AV distraction, complete with one of those awkward reptile framings that are perhaps AI induced:

Kevin Rudd will step down as Australia’s ambassador to the United States within weeks, with a replacement to be announced. His departure comes at a key moment for Australia–US ties, including AUKUS and election‑year dynamics in Washington.

Joe slobbered at the prospect of the former Chairman providing yet more entertainment:

Rudd will now forgo his front-row seat to history as an official representative of the Australian government in Washington and instead take up the role of global president of the Asia Society, the think tank he headed between 2021 and 2023.
He will also serve as the head of the society’s Centre for China Analysis.
This comes as a major shock. Questions about Rudd’s motivation and how the decision was reached will reverberate for months to come.
Yet, in the end, it can only mean one thing – Rudd’s return to the Asia Society means he will now be able to speak out loudly, clearly and publicly to pass judgment on Trump’s remaking of the global order.
This is especially true as it relates to how Trump manages the pre-eminent challenge of the time – Washington’s relationship with China.
This is a subject on which Rudd is regarded as a leading global expert, and in late 2024 he released his latest book on Xi Jinping’s political philosophy.
Rudd has been forced to hold his tongue for the past three years, unable to defend himself publicly amid political attacks on his performance or even to issue his verdict on the key foreign policy decisions of the Trump 2.0 era.

The reptiles interrupted with a bigly snap of the King and a cute insert, Donald Trump famously told Kevin Rudd ‘I’ll never like you’.

After King Donald elevating KRudd up the pantheon of those with a disdain for narcissistic sociopathy, it was on to the wrap:

Once he finishes as ambassador in Washington at the end of March, the Australian public should expect to hear more from Rudd, including his considered yet candid thoughts about the outlook and stands taken by the Trump administration.
Remember, it was during his leadership role at the Asia Society that Rudd labelled Trump as “the most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West” – the comments that created so much difficulty for him once he took up his diplomatic posting in Washington.
Rudd will now end his term as ambassador to the US just as Trump is due to visit Beijing in April 2026 in perhaps the most important international trip of his presidency – a crucial moment for the world.
Any sober assessment of Rudd’s performance as Australian ambassador to the US should recognise that he took up the posting at a challenging time in which Trump posed new difficulties for the US/Australia alliance relationship.
His administration imposed tariffs on Australia, strongly criticised Australia’s inadequate levels of defence spending and conducted itself in ways that generated uncertainty over the US’s character and reliability as an ally.
Yet, the results showed that Rudd proved effective in keeping the alliance strong and on an even keel.
He was successful in securing the political endorsement of Trump for AUKUS, marshalling support in the US congress for the landmark security agreement and clinching a new $13.8bn critical minerals framework agreement with Washington.
Former Australian ambassador to Washington Dennis Richardson said he believed Rudd had been “outstanding” in the role but that it was a “shame he is going after three years”.
“His achievements in the time he’s been there have been very, very significant indeed,” Richardson said.
“So, his time as ambassador shouldn’t be measured in terms of duration. It should be measured in terms of achievement.”

AUKUS was a success? 

That should age well ...

Finally, in view of the lizard Oz's ongoing jihad, how about a bit of counter-programming?

Israel Is Still Demolishing Gaza, Building by Building, More than 2,500 structures have been destroyed since the start of the cease-fire, an analysis by The New York Times has found. (*archive link)

In short:

One former Israeli military official questioned the scope of the demolition.
“This is absolute destruction,” said Shaul Arieli, who commanded forces in Gaza in the 1990s. “It’s not selective destruction, it’s everything.”

Talk about how to put the old, dismal Kristallnacht in the shade with a brand new, epic Kristallnacht .

Oh hush now, no reason to get Ariela Bard agitated.

Who'd dare mention an Israeli government pogrom, a hearty bout of ethnic cleansing and ghetto obliteration in her presence?

You won't find any of those stories being run by the lizard Oz jihadists ...

And so to wrap up proceedings with the immortal Rowe, returned to save the pond's sanity ...(and just where is the infallible Pope?)

By golly what an astute selection of reading matter. Is he on course to be even worse than our Minns?The pond thought we had a lock on it, but he's studying hard ...