72 honest mistakes
John Howard has lost another Minister, Santo Santoro, after it was revealed that Santoro had made 72 share trades over an 18 month period that he had failed to declare in his list of pecuniary interests. At least four of the share trades appear to involve a conflict of interest with his role as Minister for Ageing.
When the first of the share trades was revealed a week ago he apologised and gave the profits to a “charity” which turned out to be the lobby group of the man who offered Santoro the shares in the first place. Then the other 71 share trades were revealed. Santoro has now resigned as a Minister and as a Senator.
The Howard Government is in deep trouble - the two party preferred split in the polls is now Labor 61%, Coaltion 39%. Seven in ten voters think Howard is arrogant and less than half think he is trustworthy. A change in federal Government in Oz before the end of the year has to be the most likely outcome. It will be interesting to see what a new Labor federal govt does about getting out of the war for oil in Iraq and ratifying the Kyoto climate protection treaty.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:30 am
Mmmm….. Perhaps Blair, the chimp and Ozzy John could buy an offshore island somewhere when they slide out of office. They could take a few admirers with them although they probably dont need them.
Now on which planet would you find such an island?
March 21st, 2007 at 11:40 am
Michaelangelo - are you implying that NZ could be sold to furriners?
BJ
March 21st, 2007 at 11:49 am
John Howard has obviously learned nothing from Helen Klark or Sue Bradford.
In a situation like this Helen would simply lean on the police and the problem would go away.
Bradford’s approach is slightly different of course, she just tells outright lies.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:07 pm
BJ
As a south-islander I know that sometimes the north Island, like OZ is regarded as an off-shore island but I did have something in mind that was a tad further away - like Mars! or Neptune.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:55 pm
BJ
I especially like Neptune as a choice - wasn’t it down graded recently to a minor planet?
March 21st, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Oddly enough, ccording to this (possibly completely BS) story apparently Australians under 30 were more likely than people older than 50 to approve of Howard. Here’s the link
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21405560-911,00.html
Don’t ask me what that means for Australia’s future.
Molly
March 21st, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Molly69
Perhaps that is due to Howards saturation coverage he had on Rove Live - aussi humour?
March 21st, 2007 at 3:26 pm
And maybe they thought it was an ironic survey for a mockumentary about Aussie politics, and gave answers to reflect this.
Still, good that most Australians now think their PM is untrustworthy and arrogant, let’s just hope they can find someone decent to replace him next time round.
Ned
March 21st, 2007 at 3:29 pm
> 1. michaelangelo Says:
> Mmmm….. Perhaps Blair, the chimp and Ozzy John could buy an offshore island somewhere when they slide out of office. They could take a few admirers with them although they probably dont need them.
> Now on which planet would you find such an island?
The obvious island would be Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean - the British government has already kicked all the native inhabitants off it to make way for an airforce base. Bush might want to take his mate Kenny Boy from Enron with him, thus bringing the required money.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Is that one of the islands likely to suffer from innundation due to climate change and a rise in sea level? A sort of Atlantis or Mu scenario. Now that would be Karmic for the Chimp at least.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Big bruv:
what lies did Sue Bradford tell? I think the Greens post all their speeches and press releases online, so you should be able to find the evidence you’re looking for pretty easily…
March 21st, 2007 at 4:00 pm
The scary thing, for Australians and the world that is affected by that country’s actions, is that Labor will win because the corruption, dishonesty, and lies from Howard have gotten that bad, not because Labor are presenting a real alternative. The electoral system also seems to bat against the Greens.
Despite being an ugly prick, a complete tosser, and a xenophobic racist sexist fundamentalist lying corrupt monkey, Howard has remained in power, basically due to the cult of the personality, the incumbent’s advantage, the porkbarrelling to rural interests, the fortuitous coincidence of business cycle boom and electoral term, and the apathy of Australians. Given those advantages, I had hoped he’d remain in power long enough for Labor to have a seachange and reinvent themselves in a GOOD way, rather than deciding to evolve slowly into a Liberals B team, or even outflank Howard occasionally on the right wing side. But it seems they’ll win, by default, and barring a miracle the world will be in for more of the same with a different face, until once again the lies, corruption, etc become too much.
Sad stuff.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Tom
And you can back up this claim can you? “xenophobic racist sexist fundamentalist lying corrupt monkey”
I am somewhat surprised that you find an MP telling lies to be a big problem, your very own Sue Bradford has told more lies about the anti smacking bill than I can remember (and if you think Howard is ugly take a look at some of your MP’s)
I love the outrage of the hard left when they are not in power, your comment about Howard “porkbarrelling to the rural interests” is hilarious
Like most from the left any you are dead against any favours or positive action that might assist the people who produce the wealth yet you say NOTHING at all when the left hold the purse strings and dole out MY MONEY to the buldgers and losers in our society.
Tom you are right to be upset about pollies telling lies, however I might suggest that you tidy up your own house before having a crack at others.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Very sad - does the manic cycle have anything to do with the Aussi historical roots? ie POME
March 21st, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Tom
I did reply but it seems Frogblog no longer allows free speech
March 21st, 2007 at 4:55 pm
BB - You KNOW better than that by now or you should. Every one of us has gotten dinged on one occasion or another by the blog SW. How many links did you put in? I think 3 or more gets moderated automatically. So suspicious!
If we really wanted to tune you out I reckon something far less subtle would happen than a message getting mod’d.
BJ
March 21st, 2007 at 7:29 pm
BJ
How often do I EVER include links?
March 21st, 2007 at 7:33 pm
BJ
I do find it somewhat hypocritical that Tom can use phrases like “ugly prick and complete tosser” and not receive a deluge of posts telling him that his tone is not acceptable.
If I even suggest something like that I am hammered by some of the forum members, or are double standards allowed?
March 21st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
BB, I think it is a timing issue. I have just approved your post that was stopped for moderation, I did this only 5 hours after it was posted, I think that is a reasonable response time, after all, I have been commuting, making dinner, eating and washing up in the intervening time. You should accuse the Greens of censorship after 24 hours have passed and your post hasnt appeared, not after 5 mins. I am not at your beck and call 24 hours a day.
Same thing for the lack of response to Toms post, he only dissed Howard at 4pm and presumably not that many regular posters have actually even read Toms post yet. Give it time, maybe there will be people that pull him up for the language in his post.
Also, there is a difference between using innapropriate language against someone in power and using it against one of your fellow contributors to the blog comments. The former is understandable if undesirable, the latter is much worse. As far as I am aware the majority of the comments wishing that YOU would alter your behaviour have been because you have denegrated another frogblog commenter and not because of your constant stream of abusive posts about Helen Clark or Sue Bradford.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:01 pm
I see you didn’t now you just repeated what Tom said and the same software that popped him into the mod box popped you… you just posted when someone wasn’t sitting at the desk watching the flow.
Sorry that happened but not too sorry.
Your first reaction and it is not the first time you’ve done it here, is to accuse us of intolerance of your rants when something goes to moderation. The blog software is automatic, but it isn’t that hard to play with the words and make it miss.
You may have noticed that I spell some words differently when I am annoyed, and yet the meaning is crystal.
I am not responding at all to what you said, but to your claim that we are intolerant of your dissent. I know you know we don’t do that. I don’t know why you’d think we did or cou;ld or might do it either.
BJ
March 21st, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Michaelangelo said:
> Mmmm….. Perhaps Blair, the chimp and Ozzy John could buy an offshore island somewhere when they slide out of office. They could take a few admirers with them although they probably dont need them.
> Now on which planet would you find such an island?
I replied:
The obvious island would be Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean - the British government has already kicked all the native inhabitants off it to make way for an airforce base. Bush might want to take his mate Kenny Boy from Enron with him, thus bringing the required money.
# michaelangelo Says:
March 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm
>Is that one of the islands likely to suffer from innundation due to climate change and a rise in sea level? A sort of Atlantis or Mu scenario. Now that would be Karmic for the Chimp at least.
I reply:
I’m sure Bush wouldn’t be worried about that. I can just imagine the arguments:
Blair: the sea level is rising
Bush: bible doesn’t say so
Blair: We’re about to be flooded.
Bush: and I suppose you believe in evolution too, do you?
Blair: now that our island has disappeared, do you agree I was right?
Bush: you’re a member of one of those the reality-based communities, aren’t you?
Blair: Of course not. Remember what I said about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction?
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:55 am
LOL kahikatea! Or alternatively….
Bliar: The sea level is rising.
Shrub: It’s OK. Noah will be here soon.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:07 am
Frogmaster
“I am not at your beck and call 24 hours a day”
I would settle for you being at my beck and call for 8 hours a day though, given that, can you rip down to my place mow the grass, with all the rain we have been having over the last couple of days the lawn is looking a bit rough.
P.S, Does that mean I can call Sue Bradford an ugly chimp now?
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:12 am
you are so mature BB
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:13 am
Kahikatea and Zana
I feel a film coming on! - I am sure we could all write a great script. We could each take one of the characters - I wonder who would play the Chimp? Michael Moore eat ya heart out!
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:23 am
Guys
I forgot to suggest the genre of the movie - We have a choice:
Epic
Thriller
Horror
Love story
Drama
Doco
War, (its been done to death by bush/blair and johnny H already) so we will skip that one
Comedy
Sci fi
Nature film
OR
Cartoon
What do you think guys?
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:15 am
Waterworld has been done
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:19 am
Have you read “Earth” by David Brin?
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:31 am
BJ
Don’t think so - should I?
Re the films : ‘One flew over the cuckoo’s nest’ has also been done - so has Pirates of the Caribbean and so has fanrasy island! le plane le plane (USA1)!
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:41 am
A Christmas Carol has also been done.
Blair, Ghost of empire past
Bush, Ghost of empire present
Howard wants to be Ghost of empire future
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
How about a cartoon starring Johnny Bravo, Blair Rabbit and Curious George?
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Good idea
I am not quite sure if the chimp is up to the “Curious” bit - he seem a little deaf and/or oblivious and will most likely forget his lines - unless they have the words “axis of evil” in them. Maybe he could could star as Desparate Dan (remember the Beano Comics? maybe not)
I wonder what Rus will come up with today - maybe that will provide us with some more ideas.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 am
I just liked the physical likeness of the two georges.
Bet we wont get any movie ideas off bb though..
big bruv Says: “Frogmaster can you rip down to my place mow the grass”
I guess bb doesn’t watch many movies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lawnmower_Man
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:53 am
“Incurious George” - same appearance and same propensity for getting into trouble… except the mechanisms of ignorance would feature in place of curiousity.
In which two children (are any of you familiar with “the little rascals”? Think Stymie and Alfalfa) follow a monkey around imitating everything it does or doing everything it indicates they should do, getting into trouble as a result.
Hmmmmm…. each vignette ends with some “accident” happening to other people in the film but not completely concluded… people hit by cars, electrocuted etc… and as in the rascals this is presented as never actually fatal… but at the END of the flick the vignettes all conclude violently, one after another, and the coffins are lined up going into a cemetery while our 3 protaganists watch from a tree, eating bananas.
respectfully
BJ
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Michaelangelo - I would recommend it to everyone here - A world war against Switzerland and our planet developing intelligence featuring (among other things) a successful Maori Industrialist?
respectfully
BJ
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:06 pm
BJ
Thanks
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Michaelangelo, I’m thinking “History of the World Part II”, with Mel Brookes as director - I just love what he did with the Hitler story in The Producers.
Now I wonder if we can get Stephen Colbert to play the shrub and Jon Stewart as Bliar hehehe
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
BJ Looks facinating I just had a look on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_%28novel%29
freaky how many predictions have come true already, I will have to see if they have it at my local library
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Oooooh thanks for the link OnceBitten! Yes I will certainly have to track down a copy myself, so thanks Michaelangelo for recommending.
I must confess tho, that I am a terribly slow reader (it takes me about 3 weeks to wade through your average paperback eeeeek) and I have a stronger leaning towards movies that are intelligently scripted and tell the story powerfully.
A movie I saw recently along the same theme as this book is “Children Of Men” - it was a very chilling wake-up call in the same way I imagine this book being. So go rent a copy if you missed seeing it at the cinema:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/
Cheers m’dears,
Z
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:21 pm
BJ deserves the credit there for recommending
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
I wish you would stop calling George Bush a chimp. It is so demeaning and insulting… to chimps everywhere.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:06 pm
LOL kiore! That is a very good point!
Ooops, my apologies to BJ! Thanks for correcting me there OnceBitten
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Okay, kiore 1 - how about a chump then?
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Not really, OnceBitten is the one who gave you the link. I never even considered looking as I have the book.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:24 pm
stuey
I am about as mature as those here who call Bush “chimp face” or those who childishly call John Howard “ugly”
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Hey peeps! I just checked the TV Guide, and would you believe it, but Mel Brookes movie The Producers is on sky movies 1 tonite at 8.30pm (I had no idea when I mentioned it earlier in this thread LOL).
It’s a helluva funny and had me in tears of laughter the last time I saw it, so I just thought I would pop in and give y’all a heads-up hehe
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Oh for crying out loud BB, the “Smirking Chimp” has been a popular nickname for bush for years. Go visit this website and try telling me there’s not an uncanny resemblance…
http://www.bushorchimp.com/pics.html ;D
And as for Howard… well he is ugly on the inside, which is what matters more
And anyways, outrageous indignation about the left-wing calling right-wing pollies names is a bit rich coming from somebody like you who’s every other post has some kind of name-calling reference to a left-wing NZ pollie.
Jeeez get a grip and clean up your own act before you start berating others for this kind of behaviour why don’t you. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:17 pm
zan
“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black”
Not exactly PC is it?
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Earth looks great I must read it. I see there is even an Earth wiki:
http://earthbydavidbrin.pbwiki.com/
and on one of the pages
http://earthbydavidbrin.pbwiki.com/Dazers
they talk about becoming addicted to naturally occuring chemicals in the brain that one produces oneself (for example runners getting addicted to running etc). Anyway, they say on that page that it is possible to get high on self-righteous indignation, to come to love the feeling of getting indignant about politics.
I reckon BB is one of those people! Addicted to feeling self-righteous and indignant!
http://www.davidbrin.com/addiction.html
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:18 am
Well as for the “Helvetian navy” predicted in the Earth book…
Non so far-fetched… they’ve already won the Americas Cup.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:29 am
ROFL! Good noticing Stuey.
Hells bells BB, if everyone was PC around here then we might have to feel obliged to be nicer to you, dontcha think? So that blows that theory, yeh?
And anyhoo I’m an uber-geek, so the only PC that I subscribe to is my Personal Computer.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:45 pm
# big bruv Says:
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:17 pm
>zan
>“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black�
>Not exactly PC is it?
how about ‘the pus calling the maggot white”, or “the pot calling the mushrooms green”
actually, I wonder if you can get green mushrooms…