An open thread where, at your leisure, you can discuss anything you like, well, within reason and the Comments Policy. Include here news and views, plus any notable personal experiences from the week and the weekend.
For climate topics please use the most recent Climate clippings.
The gentleman in the image is Voltaire, who for a time graced the court of Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great. King Fred loved to talk about the universe and everything at the end of a day’s work. He also used the salons of Berlin to get feedback in the development of public policy.
Fred would only talk in French; he regarded German as barbaric. Here we’ll use English.
The thread will be a stoush-free zone. The Comments Policy says:
The aim [of this site] is to provide a venue for people to contribute and to engage in a civil and respectful manner.
Tony Abbott’s agenda rests on Christopher Pyne’s social skills!
Oh,well, they’re doomed.
On a more serious note, I think the headline writer was having a bit of a laugh. The Coalition seems intent on painting themselves as a bunch of malignant fools.
Anyone remember the good old days when twenty-thousand well-placed pounds could get any scoundrel a skilfully-written, enthusiastic and definitely blemish-free recommendation for a knighthood? Then Arch-Count Tony be-nighted and be-damned us all again. Since then, has anyone checked what laurels and honours are being chucked around – or are soon to be chucked around? Some of the possibilities are – how shall I put it? – rather “creative”. If Buck House gives them a knock-back (likely – when they realize it is not an antipodean joke after all) then I shudder to think of all the Honorary Doctorates that universities will have to fork out (if they want to avoid more funding cuts).
Watched The Book Thief on DVD last night. Was okay. Won’t discuss it too much as even one or two spoilers would really spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
Now reading Christopher Clark’s Iron Kingdom. A good read. will have more to say when I’ve finished it.
I’ve been spending a fair bit of time wrestling with a post on the IPCC mitigation report. Hope to be able to post tonight.
Spent a lovely Mothers’ Day (blessed be mothers everywhere!) with my brother and our wives, plus my beloved sister over from Toronto on a visit. My bro was cook and I tried to make myself useful.
It seems that a 13-year-old western Sydney does give a damn about what happened to schoolgirls her age in Nigeria – but our government does not. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-09/sydney-schoolgirl-starts-petition-for-nigerian-students/5443348
Some interesting stuff at Flagpost on the drugs from the enforcement side of things.
Our expensive ” war on drugs ” isn’t working.