Auspol March: Trump for Prime Minister, Clive Palmer for Deputy

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March: Trump for Prime Minister, Clive Palmer for Deputy

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

So Pell's latest set of sociopathic testimony totally destroys everything Devine and Bolt have been saying, right?

"I knew, I just didn't care or do anything because there was no law forcing me to" is much harder to justify to the Herald Sun readers.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2016 05:22

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:34

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Doctor Spaceman posted:

Also Andrew Bolt is wanting to pretend he didn't support Pell.

It would be if, just for once, it was someone besides Mediawatch holding Bolt's feet to the flame.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2016 15:43

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

tithin posted:

NICE.

Saving y'all the effort for finding this poo poo, be warned, Andrew fuckin' bolt

Andrew Bolt - 18/02/16

Andrew Bolt, 01/03/2016 @ 9pm

Andrew Bolt, 02/03/2016 @ 12:26pm

It's fascinating to watch cognitive dissonance live.

This has all the hallmarks of someone who has just been told to pull their loving head in or an axe will fall on them.

As much of a piece of poo poo as Bolt is, he just came face to face with the fact he's been defending a man who did everything in his power to protect child rapists and continue a horrific cycle of abuse which lasted decades and that must be a terrible thing to have to face. Bolt did everything he could to hide his head in the sand but the enquiry just rubbed his nose in the mess Pell left and that has to sting no matter how jaded a hack you are.

But honesty doesn't sell Murdoch papers, "white men are the real victims" does. The most charitable reading I can find is that some editor must have taken Bolt aside and reminded him why he was flown all the way around the world and given exclusive access to Pell - and it certainly wasn't to report the facts.

Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Mar 2, 2016

# ¿ Mar 2, 2016 09:54

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

A Good Username posted:

INNOVATION MUTHAFUCKAS!!!!

So, can I get my old biochem lecturer arrested the next time she takes a class?

Walk up to a scientist on the street, "Excuse me sir, at what temperature does water boil at sea level?" Boom, cop to the head.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2016 07:53

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Back when drug testing drivers hadn't been implemented yet and various methods were being compared, using simple physical impairment tests was put forward.

But then they realised it would knock out a huge chunk of elderly drivers and be political suicide. Because it's okay to be unsafe on the roads as long as you form a large enough voting block.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2016 15:05

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Cartoon posted:

Have you ever contemplated calling for an ambulance and having someone say they won't send one?

Ever tried to help someone who's dying only to be assaulted and have your life threatened?

My sister's an ambulance officer and even in quiet country Victoria where she works half the time, they have houses and entire streets they're told to never go down unescorted for their own safety.

The fuckup is from the higher-ups (no surprise there, Ambulance Victoria is utterly loving incompetent and I have no reason to suspect the other states are any better) not being able to coordinate calling the police. High risk areas are all flagged and a call should have gone out automatically to the police the second the ambulance was sent the job.

And back in Pell is a piece of poo poo news:

quote:

George Pell tells royal commission it was a 'disastrous coincidence' Ballarat had so many paedophile priests

Cardinal George Pell has told the child abuse royal commission it was a "disastrous coincidence" that five paedophile priests preyed on children in Ballarat during the 1970s, as survivors accused him of lying.

When asked why there had been "so many child sexual abusers aggregating in Ballarat East in the 1970s", Cardinal Pell said it was a "disastrous coincidence".

quote:
Questions put to Cardinal Pell

Q: "I want to suggest to you that your interest was not in helping [David Ridsdale] but in trying to keep him from going to the police."
A: "I don't think there's any evidence of that at all."

Q: "Cardinal, what, in your view, were the reasons behind so many child sexual abusers aggregating in Ballarat East....?"
A: "I think it was a disastrous coincidence."

Q: "You could have done something which would have put a stop to [Brother Edward Dowlan's abuse of children,] couldn't you?"
A: "No, with respect, I think that is a vast overstatement."

The commission earlier heard Cardinal Pell had received information from a student at Ballarat's St Patrick's College in the 1970s that Dowlan was "misbehaving with boys".

Cardinal Pell said he had inquired with the school chaplain about the complaint but did not take it further.

"There was no specifics about the activity, how serious it was, and the boy wasn't asking me to do anything about it, but just lamenting and mentioning it."

Justice McClellan asked: "Why was it necessary for people to ask you to do something rather than for you to accept the information and initiate your own response?"

Cardinal Pell said he was not as aware of his obligations at that time, when he was a young cleric, as he was later on.

The more I read, the more I hate him.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2016 05:08

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Pell refuses to resign over all the things he admitted he did because doing so would be an admission of guilt :psyduck:

He did it, he just doesn't feel bad about it

quote:

George Pell: Cardinal says resigning would be an 'admission of guilt' after royal commission evidence

Cardinal George Pell says he will not be resigning over the Catholic Church's child abuse scandal.

After four days testifying before the child abuse royal commission via video link from Rome, Cardinal Pell said leaving his position at the Vatican "would be an admission of guilt".

Australia's most senior Catholic made the comments on Sky News while speaking with conservative commentator Andrew Bolt, who was granted an exclusive interview.

He also said it was difficult and upsetting to be the subject of negative attention from the media and public.

Cardinal Pell repeated statements made to the royal commission that he was not aware of offences committed by paedophile priests.

The Cardinal, who was questioned over notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale and others in the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses, said he felt tremendous relief that everything was now said and done.

While acknowledging that his denials of a cover-up angered abuse victims, he said he regretted putting the church before victims in the past but he had never put himself before either.

He said the reason he sometimes came across as "wooden" and "armour-plated" was partly to do with how he had been trained, partly to do with his personality and partly to do with "needing to survive".

Cardinal Pell said he hoped the Australian public would give both him and the church "a fair go".

"I hope that they will understand the truth of the situation. I fully concede the terrible crimes that have happened," he said.

"I'd like them to give me a fair go ... everybody needs a fair go, and certainly the Catholic Church is entitled to that."

Won't someone please think of the poor Catholic Church. Surely they're the real victims here. And poor Pell, having to testify about the decades he spent covering up for hundreds of children being raped has made him feel bad.

Poor thing. We should all just forget about it now.

Sweep it under the carpet, as it were. Cover it up nice and warm so the Church and Pell are never made to feel bad again.

Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Mar 5, 2016

# ¿ Mar 5, 2016 05:04

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Negligent posted:

Paying Cambodia $55m to take two refugees is a good deal.

For Cambodia.

For the record, this is what a $55million yacht looks like:

# ¿ Mar 8, 2016 11:48

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Anidav posted:

I occasionally run into people who are homosexual and vote Liberal. Which is odd, I'm not sure which circumstances such a political opinion is allowed to form.

Google "log cabin republicans". It's basically gay people who value money more than they value their own human rights.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2016 13:51

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Let's take a quick break and talk about justice for a moment:

quote:

Federal Circuit Court Judge Alexander Street not biased over asylum seeker decisions, court rules

An asylum seeker has failed to convince the full Federal Court that a judge who rejected an extraordinary number of migration appeals was biased.

The Lebanese man, who claims his strict Sunni Muslim father will send him to fight in Syria if he is returned home, launched judicial review proceedings in the Federal Court.

The judicial review challenged a bias application which was last year rejected by Federal Circuit Court judge Alexander "Sandy" Street.

Judge Street came under extraordinary scrutiny as a result of the case after an affidavit revealed the newly appointed judge had rejected almost every migration appeal that came before him.

Central to the evidence in the case was an affidavit sworn by the editor of the Federal Court Reports and the Federal Law Reports, Victor Kline.

Mr Kline identified 254 immigration decisions handed down during the first six months of 2015 by Judge Street, who was appointed to the bench by Attorney-General George Brandis late in 2014.

Of the 254 cases, 252 had been decided in favour of the Immigration Minister.

In the other two cases, the Minister had conceded errors, resulting in judgement for the applicant.

Mr Kline's affidavit also revealed that 100 per cent of Judge Street's cases were handed down ex tempore � or on the spot � in contrast to many Federal Circuit Court judgements which are commonly reserved.

Further, 64 per cent of Judge Street's rulings were handed down at the first court date, a highly unusual practice which last year attracted notable criticism from the full Federal Court.

In a full Federal Court hearing last week, barrister Jay Williams argued that the statistics relating to Judge Street's immigration rulings would lead a hypothetical observer to conclude the judge was biased.

But in a unanimous ruling delivered today, Chief Justice James Allsop and Justices Susan Kenny and John Griffiths rejected that proposition.

"An allegation of bias against a judge on the basis of prejudgement is a serious matter not the least because it carries with it the suggestion that the judge has failed to honour his or her judicial oath," the judges said in the ruling.

The Federal Court judges found the statistics were irrelevant for a number of reasons.

"The mere fact that a particular judge has decided a number of cases, the facts and circumstances of which are unknown ... does not go any way to assisting the hypothetical observer making an informed assessment as to whether that judge might not bring an impartial and unprejudiced mind to the resolution of the question in a particular proceeding before that judge," the court found.

The court took the unusual step of criticising the applicant's lawyers' administrative conduct of the case, and rejected the proposition that the case was a "public interest test case".

"We rejected the applicant's characterisation of the proceedings as a 'public interest test case' or one which was aimed at preserving public confidence in the judiciary," the Federal Court judges said.

"The proceedings were primarily designed to advance the applicant's personal rights and interests under migration law."

A leading academic expert on judicial bias, Monash University Professor Matthew Groves, said the court had "applied the normal rules governing bias" which specified that "statistics do not speak for themselves".

"The court noted that the statistics should not be accepted without question and could have a different explanation, for example perhaps most of the cases Justice Street dismissed were ones that he should have rejected," Professor Groves said.

So, hands up anyone who feels justice was done here and it wasn't, in fact, the old boys' club closing ranks?

# ¿ Mar 13, 2016 04:55

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Buck Turgidson posted:

There are a couple of things that ought to be mentioned here. Apprehended bias is about conduct, not about outcomes. You are basically looking for instances of conduct that would indicate prejudice or a bringing a pre-concluded mind to a decision. If Street expressed strong views about about migrants or particular applicants etc that were out of keeping with the sort of detachment expected from judges, then you would have a problem. Statistical arguments are unlikely to be successful, especially in a situation like this where it is probably reasonable to conclude that he decided the cases correctly. This is the Migration Act we are talking about here. It is one of the "best" example of legislators restricting grounds for judicial review. For example, it exhaustively and restrictively states how certain rules of natural justice, which if denied in other contexts could ground judicial review of a ministerial or tribunal decision, apply to decisions made under the Act, limiting your ability to appeal decisions made against you. It has a privative clause provision, which prohibits (or attempts to prohibit) ANY judicial review or challenge for certain decisions made under the Act. It is completely hosed up but I wouldn't be surprised if he did indeed decide all of those cases correctly against the applicants.

Let me see if I've got this right, in the form of a little narrative:

Refugee: Please sir, can I stay in Australia?

Judge Street: gently caress you. Go die in a hole.

Refugee: But, if I get sent back, they'll torture me and rape my children.

Judge Street: Shut up. No one cares.

[repeat this 252 times]

Refugee: This is hosed up. This guy must be biased. Let's get a judicial review going here.

Group of judges: Okay, we can only get this guy if he's not following the law. What does the relevant section of the Migration Act say?

code:

MIGRATION ACT 1958

Section 420 Refugee Review Tribunal's way of operating

(1)  gently caress you.  Go die in a hole.

(2)  Shut up.  No one cares.

Group of judges: Okay, we find Judge Street has acted according to the law. Case closed.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2016 13:51

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

So, this was a thing in the Herald Sun today:

Bolt's column was even worse.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2016 09:18

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

That's business for you. They were making money, but they weren't making enough money.

Also, it's never enough money.

# ¿ Mar 17, 2016 06:37

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

hooman posted:

Labor Hack draws no distinction between actions taken in good faith and actions taken in bad faith, news at 11.

There's no right or wrong, only what you can get away with.

The philosophy of psychopaths and politicians.

# ¿ Mar 17, 2016 06:43

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

EvilElmo posted:

Yes it could have been a debate. If the Greens voted for it on Tuesday. But they decided senate reform needed to be passed this week instead of after the budget.

The Government wanted the reform done to shore up an early election. The Greens are working with them to make sure that happens because they win with the reforms and a DD (one of the wins... no more SHY).

You know, I'm sure you used to be a honest poster who believed in the Labor party and made genuine contributions to AusPol threads even when I didn't agree with you myself. When did you make the move to a shill who argues in bad faith?

Was it before or after the Labor party did?

# ¿ Mar 17, 2016 07:07

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

I'm pretty sure today the Herald Sun had a full page front page headline saying to never let some murderer out of prison because he had "only" been sentenced to be locked in jail until 2050.

Anger and cruelty shouldn't form the backbone of our penal system.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2016 15:13

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Anyone's who's worked research knows just how tight budgets are and how hard it is to get funding. In that light:

quote:

Medical body pledges $3.3m for research into 'wind turbine sickness'

Australia's leading medical funding body, the National Heath and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), has awarded $3.3 million to two researchers to look into whether proximity to wind turbines causes illness.

More research was recommended by a year-long study into wind turbine sickness by the NHMRC that found "no direct evidence that exposure to wind farm noise affects physical or mental health".

# ¿ Mar 22, 2016 14:10

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Makes his ~~penis~~ gun look bigger.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2016 05:56

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

And when you're shooting in a national park, you don't want to upset all the kids out walking with their families.

SOMETHING MOVED SHOOT IT!!!

# ¿ Mar 24, 2016 06:02

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Jumpingmanjim posted:

https://twitter.com/LaurenGianoli/status/713837500351950848

So in this not-the-Simpons metaphor, Tony's the drug abusing functionally retarded Otto?

# ¿ Mar 27, 2016 04:57

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

The Peccadillo posted:

It is! He should ask it, and hunker down, because it took about a fuckin' year to get the answer I got

I'm genuinely proud of you because I never got a drat thing and gave up in despair ages ago.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2016 04:57

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

MysticalMachineGun posted:

A good article - I especially didn't realise how much Pell shot himself and the church in the foot by refusing to come back to Australia.

I think it was more of a case of looking at things through a very different lens.

Most normal people would consider having your part in covering up the rape of hundreds of children over a period of decades coming to light and scrutinised around the entire world to be the worst possible thing.

Someone like Pell only cares about not being dragged to Australia where he could potentially be sued for depraved indifference or jailed.

Probably the only truly honest thing Pell said at the inquiry was that he simply didn't think those hundreds of children being raped was all that important.

He's an archbishop and lives in incredible luxury in a sovereign country where everyone in power has their hands dirty. And he will continue to do so for the rest of his life. Untouchable. He is surrounded by peers who also did everything in their power to conceal the rape of countless children across the globe. Peers who now hold him in high regard for not crumbling during his testimony and have most likely given him access to even more doors to wealth and power.

So, for any person with any decency or morality, having to stand trial for what should count as a crime against humanity would be the worst moment of their life. For Pell, it has probably worked out to be the best.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2016 11:25

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

The Peccadillo posted:

Those poor rich white people and that reverse racism :rolleyes:

It should also depress everyone that racist South Africans come over here in droves and feel right at home.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2016 15:32

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Think of all the sectarian violence Saddam stopped :ohdear:

#justaskingquestions

# ¿ Mar 29, 2016 17:15

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

I went to high school in the 80s and we had a few South African students. Most were so loving racist it was beyond parody, but one girl did try.

But she kept getting stuck in the recursive narrative white South Africans were all taught - blacks are obviously inferior because they can't even read or write. There's no point in teaching them to read and write because they're so obviously inferior.

It's been 30 years, I hope she managed to work her way out of that mindset, but I doubt it. Her parents were rich as hell and she probably ended up married to some equally well off afrikaner boy who spends all day reminiscing about when he had kaffirs to boss around and beat*.

* and rape.

Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Mar 29, 2016

# ¿ Mar 29, 2016 18:22

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:34

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Starshark posted:

Commercial radio hosts and the Daily Telegraph criticised the new guidelines drawn up by the university, calling them "rubbish" and claiming that UNSW was "rewriting the history books to state Cook 'invaded' Australia."

Nothing makes racists angrier than calling them out on their racism.

Those university people should be glad they're not AFL footballers.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2016 13:23

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March: Trump for Prime Minister, Clive Palmer for Deputy