This has now gone so far beyond a joke that I hardly know where to start.
So much ink has been spilled by hoary press gallery veterans covering Labor’s leadership soap opera, that there is very little new that LibertyGibbert could possibly add. So I thought instead, I’d simply summarize the state of play for my (understandably bewildered) overseas readers. Feel free to switch off or scroll to the end if it becomes too tedious or repetitive—and believe me, folks, it does.
This isn’t something I had planned to discuss any time soon, but recent headlines in Australia have pushed it to the head of the queue.
If you don’t follow Australian politics closely, you may have missed the recent news that seems to have obsessed the Canberra press pack. During a live interview with Julia Gillard last week on Fairfax-owned Perth radio station 6PR, shock jock Howard Sattler, concluding that irrelevancies such as the carbon and mining taxes, health and fiscal policy, border protection and overseas military commitments were of little or no interest to his audience, chose instead to spend his time with our nation’s Prime Minister grilling her about certain rumours concerning the sexual orientation of her partner, Tim Mathieson.
Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself.
We’re now down to just 99 days until the Federal election. And for 99% of the Australian community, it just can’t come quickly enough. For those planning to vote for the coalition, it’s a simple case of wanting to be rid of this toxic government as soon as possible. For the die-hard Labor supporter, it’s a matter of ending the agony.
This post will be briefer than I had originally intended, and for a couple of reasons.
First, I haven’t put up any threads for a while, and I feel as though I need a break from work today, so here you are. Second, and more importantly, my own position isn’t a “pure” Libertarian one, whatever that might mean. I had originally intended to do a “he-said-I-said” debate thread, with someone who does have the traditional position; unfortunately, he’s dropped off the radar recently. I also thought of Memoryvault who, while not blogging around these parts any longer, was a key player in the Australian gun law liberalization movement in the 1990s. Perhaps he’ll turn up to tell me why I’m wrong.
Most debate around this issue is framed in terms of the way it is conducted in America. I think this is wrong, due to the unique status over there of the right to bear arms. But I’ll start this thread across the Pacific anyway, just to keep things familiar.
Everyone else seems to be talking about sex this week, so I’ll devote a dedicated post to a topic raised by Luton Ian on the last thread.
G’day everyone,
Sorry I haven’t had much time for blogging lately; getting the property and my business back to normal has occupied all of my calendar for the last couple of months. Farmerbraun asked me earlier today to put up some photos showing how the bush around my place has recovered. So following is a small selection.
Panicked depositors form queues at Cypriot ATMs
Behold your future. Coming soon to a banking system near you.
Last weekend’s announcement by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades that, as a precondition of the acceptance of a €10 billion EU bailout, his country would impose an immediate “tax” of up to 9.9% on all deposits in Cypriot banks, sent a wave of panicked savers heading for empty ATMs through Monday, a public holiday on the small island nation. The fact that this unique method of raising state revenues is being trialled here should ring enormous alarm bells throughout Europe.
That’s all the time I’ve got to compose this post…
Last Thursday week, the third of January, I was driving home from Hobart, south along the Arthur Highway. A pretty normal day, really. Christmas and New Year had been celebrated, the much-vaunted Mayan apocalypse hadn’t happened, and with Tasmania at the height of its tourist season, traffic along the road was fairly heavy. The weather was unusually hot, with a scorcher predicted for Friday. I was hurrying home so as to be able to take the family down to the beach before dinner. The Tasman Peninsula boasts many spectacular beaches, and our favourite is a well-concealed one that’s not on any tourist map and is effectively a private resort for locals, and a handy escape from the summer heat.
Be Responsible - Be Free! 