Cluster Bombs for Australian Defense Forces.

The ADF has clearly a mind of its own. It should not worry that both sides of parliament are opposed to cluster bombs.

Mind you, this is a brilliant new device, that if dropped here or anywhere, will be able to discriminate between the the good blokes and the bad blokes.

We are looking at New Clean Cluster Bombs.

We are going to have them, whether we like it or not.

The Missing Employment Figures Scam Post.

I thought i would republish a post, made recently, that fell into the blogger black hole. It is edited.

An interesting by-product of The Victorian Auditor Generals (State Investment in Major Events) report into the 'real value', to the state, of the Grand Prix, is an incidental challenge by the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR), headed by Dr Peter Brain.
In particular, he drops a big bucket on the employment figures that the Federal and State governments gloat about. The following are the best bits from Attachment B2 , buried well into this report.

"The core problem for those wishing to use the actual unemployment rate as an indicator of full employment is that the actual unemployment rate cannot be used for this purpose. As any competent economist would know, the official unemployment rate is corrupted and under-estimates the actual unemployment rate, as NIEIR has highlighted over and over again. The reasons are straight forward.

The first is the tactic adopted by the then government in the face of the 1991 recession to shift as many people as possible from the unemployment rolls to other forms of working age social security support, namely disability pensions, training allowances, etc. This tactic has been maintained though with reducing vigour to this day.

The second strategy to reduce the measured unemployment rate is to encourage working age social security beneficiaries to seek a few hours of work a week. This has been the tactic favoured by the current administration. This reduces the unemployment rate because to be counted as employed in the labour force statistics a person has only to have worked for one hour or more a week, in some cases as unpaid employment.

The actual unemployment rate, therefore, cannot be used as an indicator of full employment because under the current circumstances the actual unemployment rate could indicate zero unemployment, while the actual effective unemployment rate was 100 per cent, simply because everybody was working one hour. Under the current circumstances, the only way of obtaining a correct estimate of the actual unemployment rate is to use social security working age beneficiary data and construct an unemployment series from these sources".

Wouldn't it be terrific to be living in Broadmeadows, on the dole, looking for work, when Costello comes on the tv, congratulating himself on the latest fab, employment figures? These are some of the closer to real current unemployment rate numbers, based on social security figures rather than from phone polls run by ABS . They have been grabbed from the provided contrary NIEIR report table, for some Melbourne suburbs.

Port Phillip (C) – West 8.9
Stonnington (C) – Prahran 6.5
Yarra (C) – North 13.5
Yarra (C) – Richmond 11.3
Brimbank (C) – Keilor 13.8
Brimbank (C) - Sunshine 21.7
Hobsons Bay (C) - Altona 13.3
Hobsons Bay (C) - Williamstown 10.5
Maribyrnong (C) 17.6
Moonee Valley (C) - Essendon 10.5
Moonee Valley (C) - West 9.6
Melton (S) – East 8.0
Melton (S) Bal 10.7
Wyndham (C) – North 9.6
Wyndham (C) - South 9.8
Wyndham (C) – West 10.4
Moreland (C) - Brunswick 12.5
Moreland (C) - Coburg 13.5
Moreland (C) – North 16.5
Banyule (C) - Heidelberg 10.2
Banyule (C) – North 7.7
Darebin (C) - Northcote 11.8
Darebin (C) – Preston 17.3
Hume (C) - Broadmeadows 18.4
Hume (C) - Craigieburn 13.1

Mother Therese Revisited.

On the 22nd of March, this year, I wrote about this now topical subject. My opinion hasn't changed. Though, this time, with a picture of the parent chosen patron saint of this strong women.

I hope she will soon be running, more than The Lodge.

"Conflict of interest is the subject on many a mind as Santo Santoro most likely moves to a small room in an outer leafy suburb of Brisbane to continue his obvious skill as a day/night share trader. Business involvements of the spouse of a possible future P.M. are worthy of consideration as well.

Therese Rein who, according to a most unreliable sensationalist weekly,..." is the shrewd entrepreneur who has weathered fraud investigations into her $175m business and made a fortune on the back of the Howard government's employment policies, and also found time to raise three children".

No prob with a god fearing women making money from government contracts. What if there is a bit of opinion about, that the Howard governments privatised employment policy stinks? That it might be appropriate for the opposition ,in developing new policy, to redirect a lot more of the funds towards the people that the system was set up to help.

You do not have to look too far in most communities to see that the job getting business is pretty lucrative, if you know how to swing things correctly. Part of the work is standing over poor Newstart sods and demanding that they struggle harder for job opportunities, that for many, only exist on paper. There are some fine fleets of new cars that carry employment providers who have no qualms about doing the dirty work of a government hellbent on demonising the powerless.

Kevin Rudd has talked about placing his family interests into a blind trust. The countries interest might involve the dismantling of a large trough that he and his wife should not be seen to be dipping into, even from a distance", said Joe2.

Osama Bird Laden Bombs Bush.

Reports are coming in that a sparrow has breached Whitehouse security by unloading on the President during a rose garden press conference.

A video of this shock attack is provided on this link but you will need to watch an ad first.

Howard Rules by Decree.

Andrew Bartlett on his blog points out that the current, very expensive, actual Workchoices Campaign is not yet based on legislation. It has neither been properly formed, or passed by parliament. Remember that the Murray Darling national water plan was similarly, cobbled together, beyond normal process; not even considered by treasury, or cabinet.

John Howard looks like a leader moving towards the corruption of absolute power that he, correctly castigates Robert Mugabe. Please look in the mirror, sir. Why worry about the middle man, when you can rule by decree? The bucks you are spending, in this wild, vote buying spree, are at the citizens' expense.

Not Governing for All Australians.

Click on the following image to enlarge this table.
Sourced from here and for the story see.

Weekend Goodies and Funnys.

This cartoonist is an artist , with extraordinary drawing skills and a penchant for cutting through the crap. Jump into the net and see more here. Do not miss the Pope or farewells to Jerry Falwell, that may be considered "funny but harsh" by the compassionate Arthur Vandelay but to me incredibly insightful, as well. Incidentally, the great 5 public opinions has a link to Christopher Hitchens' Falwell obit that should not be missed.

And for a great video laff, with a slight bite of Apple and big hit of ," i had no responsibilty for that", go to this ........

..........and a thankyou to veni vidi blogi for that tip.

WorkTurds New ™

WorkTurds New is to be the campaign name that, ‘The Hock’, is currently polishing up.

Fully approved by every employer lobby group. Guaranteed to scare the shit out of socialist underpants. With none of that exploitation aroma that surrounded a previous, unnamed product.

See....

Leaving this Plain.

All the indications are that Pete the Spiv, will jump early , rather than endure the pain of time in opposition. A golden parachute will be provided, after he has left the plane , for sure , from Saint Alchemist Mal…… who knows better, how to turn bullshit into gold, than The Abbot knows how to turn religion into fuel.

“Comfortable and relaxed, he urged his hosts to call him “Pete”. Pressed to ponder a hypothetical in which he was on a plane about to crash, and told he could offer a sole spare parachute to either Mr Rudd or Labor’s deputy leader Julia Gillard, he was asked to choose.
“So it is me, Julia and Kevin,” he clarified slowly.“You know what I would do? I would jump out!”

See this...

Pete the Spiv.

Pete believes that bribery will work. A couple of months and the punters will get a few extra bucks and the dumb bastards will take the bait. His arrogance and disrespect for the electorate is palpable.

"You generally find it takes, well even a month or two, and then by 30th of June the pensioners receive a bonus and they say: 'Gee I wonder where that came from'. Tax cuts come into effect in July and people say: Well that's nice, a little bit more money to help with the bills".

cartoon...Don Lindsay.

Who has the biggest Poll?

My alternative take on the latest Galaxy poll is thus……

Rudd is actually getting more ‘bounce’ from his ‘delayed honeymoon end’, than expected, despite being ‘tired’.

Howard, while ‘working harder’, after each bad poll result, ‘is looking fitter, cleverer and more Prime Ministerial’, but ‘may well lose his seat’, if he doesn’t sit down soon.

Got that?

Aunty Kidnapped !

I still can’t believe the degree of editorialising, even ABC radio/tv news, is ingaging in.
Today, was the perfect example. All day, radio ran a story, every hour, about the mining industry concern on awa’s and Rudds discussions.

All framed under the not said, but obvious opinion, that a cave in, is imminent. It was likely, given his misunderstanding of the need for “flexibilty”. And yes, a later report, Rod Cameron had ‘come out’, suggesting time for a Rudd, policy change.

This is pravda style aggenda setting . Nothing to do with fearlessly, reporting, the news.
Possibly so unproud of their manipulation, they do not even mention this ‘big newstory’ on their website, so far.

See ya Tony....

The first part of the guilty, 'tag team' , is to leave the political scene.

Let's celebrate!

Two to go....

Mr Pork Barrel.

Guessed pretty well, didn't I? Sadly, no cute little piggy tail.
This is a Spooner work, of course.

Get ready for pigs to fly.......

We know they are shadey, shifty and lie....
With a noses like that, they will hoover the trough of any little scrap.

Best grab, any bit you can, and THEN vote these 'bracket creeps' out.

Budget Night Rant.

Right now, cartoonists around Australia are drawing ‘pork barrels’ with Cossie, sitting on one, with a tiny little tale. It is to their drawings I will be looking too, for balance. It will not be the conga line of suckholes, that pretend to be the ‘balanced’, press gallery.

If Labor were to win the Federal election, which is still unlikely, given the extreme advantages of incumbency and ‘the win at all costs’ mentality of those born to rule…… a fine chance, will be available, to twig the relationship between the Fed boss, who holds all the cash and options, and his almost employees, the premiers.

Presently, the states have all the important roles to fill, but are hampered, by the flash, fully paid up Prime Miser , who will squander around 15 billion to provide fine driving experiences for those lucky enough to be RAAF pilots; while many old codgers sit at home, in pain, and are unable to get their teeth fixed.

Employers Unions to Suck Up.

So it looks like the The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry or other employer unions are planning advertisements to help out John Howard on the workchoices front. Still, some employers are successfully plugging for the Labor party, if you follow the stories that Surfdom and Bilegrip drew attention too after the Priceline decision, mentioned in a previous post.

The latter is dynamite in an election year and just reinforces well founded perceptions that the ordinary joe in the street has been shafted by new industrial relations deforms. The best form of advertising...costs nothing and has that ring of truth about it.

Julia Gillard pokes her head up and warns business unions that it might not be to their advantage to run a campaign and woe is she. She was just doing them a favour. It is they and Ruppys yes men that are on the nose and the public can smell it a mile away.

A fair days pay for a fair days work has been transformed into "take it or leave it, shit head". It must be said that the government probably imagined the fuller implications of their policy would not come into effect until after the election. When they could bed it down properly. Such is the greed/stupidity of certain bosses that they could not even hold out that long and let Johny off the hook.

Joe Hockey has been left holding a can full of rodents poo and not sure where to empty it. The last thing you would want is the leaking of information that the ordinary punter is being screwed bigtime. Fade to employers unions-predominantly big business- who are really really upset that bad Kevin is going to make things intolerable for small business. Balless bastards can't even come out and say who they really represent.

Paul Keating is left to nail Hendy and Dunlop because the media can only jump around in shock and awe that the business community have universally damned Labors planned mild, IR, changes. Fair suck of the sauce bottle, I say.

May Day.

My mothers birthday and lots of other meaning, as well.