Auspol June - Can't Afford the Education to Think of a Witty Thread Title

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I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/doctors-go-on-attack-over-scare-campaign/2280234/

SA has shown up in the news again with a photoshop phriday image from last year, luckily Le Reddit has copped the blame.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:26

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 06:59

Quantum Mechanic: Apr 25, 2010; Just another fuckwit who thrives on fake moral outrage.
Waaaah the Christians are out to get me

lol abbottsgonnawin

So I've just sent an email to my convenor seeing if we can move an urgency proposal at SDC about Christine's rhetoric over supply. Right or wrong, I'm getting pretty loving tired of MPs and the "leader" deciding that the wishes of the party grassroots are an impediment to playing politics.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:28

V for Vegas: Sep 1, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER

Transcript is up on Turnbull's site

http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/transcript-interview-with-alan-jones-and-the-budget-and-relations-with-cliv

edit: still a bastard.

quote:

I support re-prioritised funding of official development assistance.

I support them introducing co-payments for general practitioner pathology and diagnostic imaging service in the Medicare Benefits Schedule.

I support the reforms to higher education.

I support the changes to family payment reform.

Do you want me to read through the whole Budget?

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:29

Smegmatron: Apr 23, 2003; I hate to advocate emptyquoting or shitposting to anyone, but they've always worked for me.

webmeister posted:

Yeah it is

So you don't see the problem between our PM's CoS filling the shoes of our country's foreign minister?

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:33

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

Malcolm's looking so tired these days

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:34

BogDew: Jun 14, 2006; E:\FILES>quickfli clown.fli

I wonder if Abbott will get spooked by the polls and chatter and sack Turnbull.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:35

webmeister: Jan 31, 2007; The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm.

Smegmatron posted:

So you don't see the problem between our PM's CoS filling the shoes of our country's foreign minister?

Never thought I'd be defending Credlin (or any member of the government), but it's a context-less image of an important staffer sitting in an important meeting - getting all up in arms about it seems like a ridiculous sideshow.

Besides, it's not like Abbott needs any help from the foreign minister to embarrass us

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:37

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Smegmatron posted:

So you don't see the problem between our PM's CoS filling the shoes of our country's foreign minister?

I don't see a problem with a bunch of staffers being at a meeting.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:39

Murodese: Mar 6, 2007; Think you've got what it takes?
We're looking for fine Men & Women to help Protect the Australian Way of Life.

Become part of the Legend. Defence Jobs.

quote:

MALCOLM TURNBULL:

Alan one of the difficulties, it is a fact of life, I cannot direct the ABC. They have an Act of Parliament and they are independent, they are governed by their board. All I can do is the following -

ALAN JONES:

Change the Act.

These people tried to censor the media.

ALAN JONES JOINS THEM

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:41

SMILLENNIALSMILLEN: Jun 26, 2009

Smegmatron posted:

So you don't see the problem between our PM's CoS filling the shoes of our country's foreign minister?

Church of scientology? I don't understand this post. Does Abbott have a private cult?

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:42

Mr Chips: Jun 27, 2007; Whose arse do I have to blow smoke up to get rid of this baby?

katlington posted:

Church of scientology? I don't understand this post. Does Abbott have a private cult?

Chief of Staff

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:44

BogDew: Jun 14, 2006; E:\FILES>quickfli clown.fli

katlington posted:

Does Abbott have a private cult?

Well by most accounts his Chief of Staff virtually runs the joint and keeps the door closed on any actual discussion the backbenchers wish to have about the party's policies.. So in a way it is a private cult.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:44

Zenithe: Feb 25, 2013; _{Ask not to whom the Anidavatar belongs; it belongs to thee.}

Jumpingmanjim posted:

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/doctors-go-on-attack-over-scare-campaign/2280234/

SA has shown up in the news again with a photoshop phriday image from last year, luckily Le Reddit has copped the blame.

Poe could not have been any more correct. When you are this far beyond parody there should be crimes against it.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:45

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

Smegmatron posted:

So you don't see the problem between our PM's CoS filling the shoes of our country's foreign minister?

Certainly interesting that the moment Abbott leaves the country Bishop is back in parliament. Never in the same place at the same time, hmm.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:46

Drugs: Jul 16, 2010; I don't like people who take drugs. Customs agents, for example - Albert Einstein

The whole Credlin obsession is stupid and a good reflection on the quality of discourse on #auspol

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:53

I would blow Dane Cook: Dec 26, 2008

quote:

You�re sounding very nervous Malcolm. Why are you nervous?

MALCOLM TURNBULL:

I�m not nervous.

ALAN JONES:

You�re angry Malcolm.

MALCOLM:

Alan�

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:55

Les Affaires: Nov 15, 2004

Haters Objector posted:

The whole Credlin obsession is stupid and a good reflection on the quality of discourse on #auspol

Actually no, it isn't. It is foolish to focus all attention on somebody who is ostensibly a figurehead of government (Abbott) when everybody knows full well who is driving a lot of the agenda (Credlin).

That'd be the same as reserving for Hitler all criticism for the actions of the Nazis when characters like Goebbels did a lot of the damage.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 02:59

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

People take self-styled Canberra insiders way too seriously.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:02

ZombyDog: Jul 11, 2001; Ere to fix yer gubbinz

Wait, I still thought the whole Credlin thing was a thing because Tones was allegedly loving her?

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:04

Drugs: Jul 16, 2010; I don't like people who take drugs. Customs agents, for example - Albert Einstein

Les Affaires posted:

Actually no, it isn't. It is foolish to focus all attention on somebody who is ostensibly a figurehead of government (Abbott) when everybody knows full well who is driving a lot of the agenda (Credlin).

That'd be the same as reserving for Hitler all criticism for the actions of the Nazis when characters like Goebbels did a lot of the damage.

Point to the specific components of the policy agenda Credlin has been responsible for. She seems more like a minder or a PR agent for a particularly stupid celebrity.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:05

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Haters Objector posted:

Point to the specific components of the policy agenda Credlin has been responsible for.

George Brandis' first action after winning office :v:

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:07

Hypation: Jul 11, 2013; The White Witch never knew what hit her.

Les Affaires posted:

Actually no, it isn't. It is foolish to focus all attention on somebody who is ostensibly a figurehead of government (Abbott) when everybody knows full well who is driving a lot of the agenda (Credlin).

That'd be the same as reserving for Hitler all criticism for the actions of the Nazis when characters like Goebbels did a lot of the damage.

Why make it this easy for me?

Jumpingmanjim posted:

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/doctors-go-on-attack-over-scare-campaign/2280234/

SA has shown up in the news again with a photoshop phriday image from last year, luckily Le Reddit has copped the blame.

Zenithe posted:

Poe could not have been any more correct. When you are this far beyond parody there should be crimes against it.

Naaaah, this is actually pretty typical for Auspol.

In response I hacked around a bit in an earlier open mail I copied:

quote:

Dear parents,

I am sorry that you were lied to. Some people claim to be acting in the best interests of your children but are putting their interests first while putting their health and even lives of your children at risk.

They say that measles isn�t a deadly disease.
But it is.

They say that chickenpox isn�t that big of a deal.
But it can be.

They say that the flu isn�t dangerous.
But it is.

They say that whooping cough isn�t so bad for kids to get.
But it is.

They say that vaccines aren�t that effective at preventing disease.
But 3 million children�s lives are saved every year by vaccination, and 2 million die every year from vaccine-preventable illnesses.

They say that �natural infection� is better than vaccination.
But they�re wrong.

They say that vaccines haven�t been rigorously tested for safety.
But vaccines are subjected to a higher level of scrutiny than any other medicine. For example, this study tested the safety and effectiveness of the pneumococcal vaccine in more than 37,868 children.

They will say that doctors won�t admit there are any side effects to vaccines.
But the side effects are well known, and except in very rare cases quite mild.

They say that the MMR vaccine causes autism.
It doesn�t. (The question of whether vaccines cause autism has been investigated in study after study, and they all show overwhelming evidence that they don�t.)

They say that thimerosal in vaccines causes autism.
It doesn�t, and it hasn�t been in most vaccines since 2001 anyway.

They say that the aluminum in vaccines (an adjuvant, or component of the vaccine designed to enhance the body�s immune response) is harmful to children.
But children consume more aluminum in natural breast milk than they do in vaccines, and far higher levels of aluminum are needed to cause harm.

They say that the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (and/or the �vaccine court�) proves that vaccines are harmful.
It doesn�t.

They say that the normal vaccine schedule is too difficult for a child�s immune system to cope with.
It isn�t.

They say that if other people�s children are vaccinated, there�s no need for their children to get vaccinated.
This is one of the most despicable arguments I�ve ever heard. First of all, vaccines aren�t always 100% effective, so it is possible for a vaccinated child to still become infected if exposed to a disease. Worse, there are some people who can�t receive vaccinations, because they are immune deficient, or because they are allergic to some component. Those people depend upon herd immunity to protect them. People who choose not to vaccinate their children against infectious diseases are putting not only their own children at risk, but also other people�s children.

They say that �natural�, �alternative� remedies are better than science-based medicine.
They aren�t.

The truth is that vaccines are one of our greatest public health achievements, and one of the most important things you can do to protect your child.

I can predict exactly the sort of response I will be getting from the anti-vaccine activists. Because they can�t argue effectively against the overwhelming scientific evidence about vaccines, they will say that I work for Big Pharma. (I don�t and never have).

They will say that I�m not a scientist (I am),and that I�m an �Agent 666� (I don�t know what that is, but I�m pretty sure that I�m not one).

None of these things are true, but they are the reflexive response by the anti-vaccine activists because they have no facts to back up their position. On some level, deep down, they must understand this, and are afraid of the implications, so they attack the messenger.

Why are they lying to you? Some are doing it for profit, trying to sell their alternative remedies by making you afraid of science-based medicine. I�m sure that many others within the anti-vaccine movement have genuinely good intentions, and do honestly believe that vaccines are harmful. But as a certain astrophysicist recently said �The good thing about science is that it�s true whether or not you believe in it�. In the case of vaccine truthers, this is not a good thing. Good intentions will not prevent microbes from infecting and harming people, and the message that vaccines are dangerous is having dire consequences. There are outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses now throughout the United States because of unvaccinated children.

In only one respect is my message the same as the anti-vaccine activists: Educate yourself. But while they mean �Read all these websites that support our position�, I suggest you should learn what the scientific community says. Learn how the immune system works. Go read about the history of disease before vaccines, and talk to older people who grew up when polio, measles, and other diseases couldn�t be prevented. Go read about how vaccines are developed, and how they work. Read about Andrew Wakefield, and how his paper that claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism has been withdrawn, and his medical license has been revoked. Read the numerous, huge studies that have explicitly examined whether autism is caused by the vaccine�and found nothing. (While you�re at it, read about the ongoing research to determine what IS the cause�or causes �of autism, which is not helped by people continuing to insist that vaccines cause it).

That may seem like a lot of work, and scientific papers can seem intimidating to read. But reading scientific articles is a skill that can be mastered. Here�s a great resource for evaluating medical information on the internet, and I wrote a guide for non-scientists on how to read and understand the scientific literature. You owe it to your children, and to yourself, to thoroughly investigate the issue. Don�t rely on what some stranger on the internet says (not even me!). Read the scientific studies that I linked to in this post for yourself, and talk to your pediatricians. Despite what the anti-vaccine community is telling you, you don�t need to be afraid of the vaccines. You should instead be afraid of what happens without them.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:11

Drugs: Jul 16, 2010; I don't like people who take drugs. Customs agents, for example - Albert Einstein

Doctor Spaceman posted:

George Brandis' first action after winning office

I think "Tories are above the law" well outdates Credlin's influence.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:14

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

ZombyDog posted:

Wait, I still thought the whole Credlin thing was a thing because Tones was allegedly loving her?

Yeah and Pyne had an affair with Ashby and Brandis visits male prostitutes. These things may be true, but at the moment there is no reason to believe that they are.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:15

Pred1ct: Feb 20, 2004; Burninating

Reading that Jones/Turnbull transcript is infuriating, Jones is a dickhead (no surprise). The fact that Bolt and him have gone after Turnbull (arguably to the overall detriment of the LNP) is bizarre, maybe they're that paranoid about a spill that they're preemptively painting him as a turncoat.

Good to see the media is balanced in its blurting out of leadership speculation though.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:22

Ian Winthorpe III: Dec 5, 2013; gays, fatties and women are the main funny things in life. Fuck those lefty tumblrfuck fags, I'll laugh at poofs and abbos if I want to

quote:

when everybody knows full well who is driving a lot of the agenda (Credlin).

Can you give me a source or something for this? What exactly is it that drives her?

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:25

shalcar: Oct 21, 2009; At my signal, DEAL WITH IT.; Taco Defender

COMCAR, presumably.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:30

Ian Winthorpe III: Dec 5, 2013; gays, fatties and women are the main funny things in life. Fuck those lefty tumblrfuck fags, I'll laugh at poofs and abbos if I want to

Pred1ct posted:

Reading that Jones/Turnbull transcript is infuriating, Jones is a dickhead (no surprise). The fact that Bolt and him have gone after Turnbull (arguably to the overall detriment of the LNP) is bizarre, maybe they're that paranoid about a spill that they're preemptively painting him as a turncoat.

Good to see the media is balanced in its blurting out of leadership speculation though.

I think Bolt at least is driven by

a) A genuine dislike or mistrust of Turnbull given his social liberalism and friendliness with the ABC, academia and other high-society leftish types

b) A genuine fear of what he and Palmer may be planning: Some sort of agreement/co-alition/plot between Urbane, culturally-savvy Turnbull and wealthy, reckless populist Palmer starts to look pretty dynamic when compared to the limpness of the Abbott Prime Ministership.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:31

DeathMuffin: May 25, 2004; Cake or Death

Ian Winthorpe III posted:

I think Bolt at least is driven by

a) A genuine dislike or mistrust of Turnbull given his social liberalism and friendliness with the ABC, academia and other high-society leftish types

b) A genuine fear of what he and Palmer may be planning: Some sort of agreement/co-alition/plot between Urbane, culturally-savvy Turnbull and wealthy, reckless populist Palmer starts to look pretty dynamic when compared to the limpness of the Abbott Prime Ministership.

You make the mistake of assuming that Bolt believes in anything he writes and that he isn't just a less obvious Colbert character.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:34

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Best piece on Credlin I've read. She doesn't do formal interviews though.

sidviscous posted:

You make the mistake of assuming that Bolt believes in anything he writes and that he isn't just a less obvious Colbert character.

I think Bolt's public persona is more of an exaggeration than a misrepresentation. He's quiet happy to disingenuously troll if it helps his side.

Doctor Spaceman fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Jun 5, 2014

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:36

Murodese: Mar 6, 2007; Think you've got what it takes?
We're looking for fine Men & Women to help Protect the Australian Way of Life.

Become part of the Legend. Defence Jobs.

I think it's pretty obvious that Credlin is going to have a lot of sway over Abbott, not only officially (as his CoS) but also as Loughnane's wife. If you don't think policy ideas are flowing from Loughnane into Credlin and out into Abbott, I don't know what to tell you.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:38

open24hours: Jan 7, 2001

Murodese posted:

I think it's pretty obvious that Credlin is going to have a lot of sway over Abbott, not only officially (as his CoS) but also as Loughnane's wife. If you don't think policy ideas are flowing from Loughnane into Credlin and out into Abbott, I don't know what to tell you.

I don't think anyone would deny that, the question is whether it's happening to a greater extent than normal.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:45

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

I am out of the country indefinitely and not keeping up on the news, can someone please give me a percentage ratio of the likelihood of Abbott being rolled? Because at this stage I don't even care if the Liberal Party remains in power for the next 50 years, I just hate Abbott so much I want him to personally fail, early in his term, and know he failed, for the rest of his life.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:47

Murodese: Mar 6, 2007; Think you've got what it takes?
We're looking for fine Men & Women to help Protect the Australian Way of Life.

Become part of the Legend. Defence Jobs.

open24hours posted:

I don't think anyone would deny that, the question is whether it's happening to a greater extent than normal.

Has there ever been a Chief of Staff married to the leading party's national director before?

e; reminder that she's been CoS to the last 3 Liberal leaders as well, and has jumped as soon as they fell. I don't have any trouble believing that she'd abandon Abbott if he was terminal.

ee; double reminder that she's as staunch a Catholic as Abbott, so a lot of the conservative social opinions (that Abbott already had) are confirmed directly by her

Murodese fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Jun 5, 2014

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:49

You Am I: May 20, 2001; Me @ your poasting

Aren't we so happy to have the adults in charge of our Federal Parliament? Every day is like Utopia :allears:

Doctor Spaceman posted:

Best piece on Credlin I've read. She doesn't do formal interviews though.

Credlin did an interview for Good Weekend either late last year or earlier this year.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 03:51

PaletteSwappedNinja: Jun 3, 2008; One Nation, Under God.

Murodese posted:

ee; double reminder that she's as staunch a Catholic as Abbott

Abbott isn't a staunch anything.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 04:03

Contra Duck: Nov 4, 2004; #1 DAD

freebooter posted:

I am out of the country indefinitely and not keeping up on the news, can someone please give me a percentage ratio of the likelihood of Abbott being rolled? Because at this stage I don't even care if the Liberal Party remains in power for the next 50 years, I just hate Abbott so much I want him to personally fail, early in his term, and know he failed, for the rest of his life.

I hope never. I'd much rather see Abbott blunder his way through the next few years being an ineffective laughing stock than have someone more savvy take over who could actually get away with all the nasty poo poo they're trying to do now.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 04:04

Tokamak: Dec 22, 2004

Hypation posted:

Being able to do that presupposes you know the distribution or at least both the median and mean. But if all someone tells you is "the average is this" then you are screwed. This is why if someone is telling you something about the average value in a distribution; you have no idea whether that value is typical of an expected outcome or not. At least with the median result you know two things- what the median is and the fact that half the sample was higher and half lower.

I get why the mode isn't actually a good average, only that its more accurate and more interesting/useful then the median fee.

But the median fee doesn't tell you what the typical person actually pays.
0,0,0,10,10,10,10 - median 10.
But its not reasonable to say people pay 10 on average. When its obvious roughly half are paying 0 and half are paying the median. It's just as misleading as any other "average".
Say you have a pool of students paying less (HECS-supported), and a pool paying more (full fee). You get a median that is located within the most popular pool.
Subsidised students generally pay less then the median, full-fee pay more; there's not much to it.

The median of the subsidised students will undoubtedly rise. Which is the point that people were arguing. In some theoretical scenario, a university could decide to retain current fees and make full fees pay the difference. The only people to think that this might happen are Pyne and Hockey, university officials are voicing their opinions that this will not happen.

# ? Jun 5, 2014 04:08

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

You Am I posted:

Credlin did an interview for Good Weekend either late last year or earlier this year.

This one? It's the same kind of deal as that Arse piece; attributed quotes, but not a straight up transcript of a Q&A session.

I liked the other one more, but they're both decent (with a fair bit of overlap).

# ? Jun 5, 2014 04:09

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 06:59

webmeister: Jan 31, 2007; The answer is, mate, because I want to do you slowly. There has to be a bit of sport in this for all of us. In the psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go. I want to see those ashen-faced performances; I want more of them. I want to be encouraged. I want to see you squirm.

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

Abbott isn't a staunch anything.

That's not true, he's staunchly anti-staunchness

# ? Jun 5, 2014 04:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol June - Can't Afford the Education to Think of a Witty Thread Title

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