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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Auspol March - C U Next Trollday, Auspol

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Freudian Slip posted:

Just further proof this Government doesn't support good science

Oh we passed the 'Good Science' event horizon sometime before the actual election. The GP copay is a classic example of ignoring basic arithmetic.

This government supports no form of logic so science is a distant aspiration at best - probably as close as you'd come to an accurate statement about their science policy.

Chump Ignorant Muppet Government (on a trajectory to surplus!)

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:06

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# ? May 23, 2024 15:55

Mad Katter: Aug 23, 2010; STOP THE BATS

markgreyam posted:

This Changes Everything has to be the most depressing book I've read (am in the middle of reading)

I've been avoiding this book for that reason. I'm sure it's as good as The Shock Doctrine, but I just can't deal with it right now.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:07

Arcanen: Dec 19, 2005

Adnar posted:

If only somehow there was a way people could buy a house that they could afford!

My mortgage costs me exactly the same as rent would (to the $$ almost), I pay a little more on top for taxes and strata.

How is renting better than that?

Because "variety is the spice of life", as they say. Who the gently caress wants to live in the same boring place for decades? I realise that the answer to this question is lots of people, but I personally don't. Even if I did think I would be ok with living in the same place for decades, I can't guarantee I'll like the same things in 20 years that I do now. Will the house I think of buying right now meet my needs in 20 years time? Who the gently caress knows?

So the answer is that renting is better for certain kinds of people; those who want to be able to move around easily and without freaking out about the value of their house when trying to sell if they do want to move.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:10

markgreyam: Mar 10, 2008; Talk to the mittens.

Mad Katter posted:

I've been avoiding this book for that reason. I'm sure it's as good as The Shock Doctrine, but I just can't deal with it right now.

On my first attempt I made it about 60 pages in before I had to actually put it down. I'm now reading it alongside American Monsters by Linda Godfrey so I have some light-hearted fun (about HORRIBLE MONSTERS like Mothman and Batsquatch!!!) so I have something to distract myself from the existential depression

who am I kidding we're all going to die

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:10

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

Bad science is a lot like a bad government or a bad husband...

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:18

Lid: Feb 18, 2005; And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

SynthOrange posted:

Bad science is a lot like a bad government or a bad husband...

Run by Tony Abbott?

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:24

hooman: Oct 11, 2007; This guy seems legit.; Fun Shoe

markgreyam posted:

On my first attempt I made it about 60 pages in before I had to actually put it down. I'm now reading it alongside American Monsters by Linda Godfrey so I have some light-hearted fun (about HORRIBLE MONSTERS like Mothman and Batsquatch!!!) so I have something to distract myself from the existential depression

who am I kidding we're all going to die

At least we will outlive the boomers who on their death beds will still be complaining about how lazy we are and how hard they had it with their free education, affordable property and 0% targeted unemployment.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:31

iajanus: Aug 17, 2004; NUMBER 1 QUEENSLAND SUPPORTER
MAROONS 2023 STATE OF ORIGIN CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE

Newscorp and the Telegraph's twitter accounts are being very proactive in telling me that the van in that photo was not edited and their original photos are missing the S, so it must have been physically removed since the original photo. They're ignoring any questions about why they might have framed the photo the way they did.

Anyone have the time to investigate if they're lying (I just assume they are because they always do)?

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:32

Adnar: Jul 11, 2002

Gough Suppressant posted:

*walks into a conversation about people taking mortgages they can't afford*
I can afford my mortgage, why would anyone rent!

The discussion was around "why would you get a mortgage" and "renting isn't that bad!"

Anyone who over reaches or hoards property by leveraging to their teeth deserves what's coming to them but there seems to be an implication that this is 100% of (young) Australian property owners.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:33

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

Hardly worth of a post in this august forum but one thing I have been noticing in senate estimates is the utter lack of any quality in the cut, style and fit of the suits that senior bureaucrats are wearing. They must be the cheapest AT LOWES! shite that they can get their middle-aged overweight hands on. Are we not paying them enough? There was a time when a fitted Armani suit was the stock and trade of a departmental head (or Jack Victor if you had actual taste).

Nothing screams take me seriously less than an empty suit in a cheap badly fitting suit made of poor fabric. If that is the only substance you ever had going for you then at least it should be pretty. I get the feeling they have all stopped trying.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:33

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

Adnar posted:

The discussion was around "why would you get a mortgage" and "renting isn't that bad!"

Anyone who over reaches or hoards property by leveraging to their teeth deserves what's coming to them but there seems to be an implication that this is 100% of (young) Australian property owners.

The discussion was around whether it is victim blaming to talk about people with ridiculous mortgages being at fault when they fail.

If you want a place to live, have a stable job, and can afford to keep up repayments if you do find yourself without work for a chunk of time, then buying makes a lot of sense and offers a lot of benefits.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:35

Mad Katter: Aug 23, 2010; STOP THE BATS

iajanus posted:

Newscorp and the Telegraph's twitter accounts are being very proactive in telling me that the van in that photo was not edited and their original photos are missing the S, so it must have been physically removed since the original photo. They're ignoring any questions about why they might have framed the photo the way they did.

Anyone have the time to investigate if they're lying (I just assume they are because they always do)?

Remember that time when Peter Slipper was actually a rat IRL and sprouted whiskers and a tail in the Speaker's chair?

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:35

Adnar: Jul 11, 2002

Cartoon posted:

Nothing screams take me seriously less than an empty suit in a cheap badly fitting suit made of poor fabric. If that is the only substance you ever had going for you then at least it should be pretty. I get the feeling they have all stopped trying.

I find it striking watching mid 90s and earlier videos of Parliament how strikingly bad the suits worn are. Sure there's some leeway for the fashion of the time but there was some horrendous, ill fitting shite going around on PMs and Ministers.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:36

Seagull: Oct 9, 2012; give me a chip

iajanus posted:

Newscorp and the Telegraph's twitter accounts are being very proactive in telling me that the van in that photo was not edited and their original photos are missing the S, so it must have been physically removed since the original photo. They're ignoring any questions about why they might have framed the photo the way they did.

Anyone have the time to investigate if they're lying (I just assume they are because they always do)?

It's presumably not a magic trickster van which sometimes makes the S disappear to mess with its owner so call them fuckwits and move on.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:36

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

iajanus posted:

Anyone have the time to investigate if they're lying (I just assume they are because they always do)?

Theirs is the only image that comes out of a google image search missing the letter and it looks shopped. :shrug:

I suppose I could drive to Bonny Hills to check. It isn't that far away.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:37

iajanus: Aug 17, 2004; NUMBER 1 QUEENSLAND SUPPORTER
MAROONS 2023 STATE OF ORIGIN CHAMPIONS FOR LIFE

Seagull posted:

It's presumably not a magic trickster van which sometimes makes the S disappear to mess with its owner so call them fuckwits and move on.

That's the longer term plan, I'm just curious if I can pin them down lying clearly

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:38

Fruity Gordo: Aug 5, 2013; Neurotic, Impotent Rage!

Cartoon posted:

Hardly worth of a post in this august forum but one thing I have been noticing in senate estimates is the utter lack of any quality in the cut, style and fit of the suits that senior bureaucrats are wearing. They must be the cheapest AT LOWES! shite that they can get their middle-aged overweight hands on. Are we not paying them enough? There was a time when a fitted Armani suit was the stock and trade of a departmental head (or Jack Victor if you had actual taste).

Nothing screams take me seriously less than an empty suit in a cheap badly fitting suit made of poor fabric. If that is the only substance you ever had going for you then at least it should be pretty. I get the feeling they have all stopped trying.

Philistine technocrats dont actually care about good craftsmanship, much like the rest of bourgeois Australians who have never done a second's work with their hands. Tailoring is dying in Australia.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:41

tithin: Nov 14, 2003; [Grandmaster Tactician]

Cartoon posted:

Theirs is the only image that comes out of a google image search missing the letter and it looks shopped. I suppose I could drive to Bonny Hills to check. It isn't that far away.

Considering your profile, not the best idea.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:44

Fruity Gordo: Aug 5, 2013; Neurotic, Impotent Rage!

'Why are these dinosaur career bureaucrats so completely banal and tasteless?'

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:44

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

tithin posted:

Considering your profile, not the best idea.

Yeah the Tele might shop a picture of my van to say FARTOON and then what would I tell the neighbours?

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:46

MysticalMachineGun: Apr 5, 2005

Front page of the Advertiser today screams "LIVES FOR TREES".

Curious what the hell this meant, I had a brief look at the article and it's about "greenies" not allowing the road safety authority to remove roadside trees in the hills/country and this is causing driver death. Not drink driving, inattentiveness or speed, nope, it's the trees that are to blame :psyduck:

Found the full article:

Adelaide Advertiser posted:

Cut down roadside trees to save lives, says MAC chief

Miles Kemp
The Advertiser
March 02, 2015 11:03PM

THE State Government�s Motor Accident Commission wants large-scale clearing of roadside trees it says are dangerous, and has attacked the environmental policies that preserve them as �absurd�.

Following the deaths of 10 people in tree impacts in the past year, MAC chairman Roger Cook has called on the Government to use money from the $1.2 billion sale of the MAC�s compulsory third-party insurance scheme to clear more roadsides, especially in the Adelaide Hills.

�It is the greenies in the Adelaide Hills who are really unrelenting in keeping all the trees at the expense of all those lives,�� he told The Advertiser.

�It it absurd that we have all these fatalities in the Hills for the sake of keeping a few trees, which in some cases are growing out of bitumen and they just have to go.

�People are saying �well we want the trees�, and if you say �what about the lives� they say �well drive around them�, but they forget that people make mistakes.

�If we can get these trees away from the roads, we can certainly saves lives and reduce injuries.�

Adelaide Hills mayor Bill Spragg said the council was currently reviewing its tree management policy.

�Council has not received any correspondence from Roger Cook or the MAC regarding traffic safety concerns in relations to roadside trees,� he said.

�While council�s tree management policy makes no specific reference to traffic safety, the challenge of any tree management policy is the appropriate balance between public safety, environmental sustainability and local amenity.

�The policy is due for revision and will be going out to community consultation midyear.�

As the State Government motorist insurer, the MAC is charged with reducing the road toll through public road safety messages and promoting more roadside safety infrastructure.

Soon, while the MAC�s business of running road safety campaigns will be kept in public hands, the compulsory third-party insurance work is being sold for around $1.2 billion and the State Government is taking over its $3.5 billion investment fund.

But rules about clearing of native vegetation along roadside is overseen by the State Government�s Native Vegetation Council.

Kym McHugh, who represents the Local Goverbnment Association on the Native Vegetation Council, said dangerous trees could be removed �if people apply to the council to do that'�.

Mr Cook, whose only son Andrew, 22, died in a car accident, said motorists on some roads, for example through the Kuipto Forest, could not afford to sneeze for fear of causing a distraction that would lead to leaving the road and hitting a tree.

�We are very concerned with the number of fatalities we are getting, where people drop off the side of the road in country areas and freeze, then try to get back on again and get catapulted across the road again into a tree,�� he said.

�A good job of clearing trees has been done on the Dukes Highway, but there are so many thousands of kilometres more of roads, and in the short term all we can do is teach people how to cope with it better.��

Mr Cook said Victorian authorities had been very active in road clearing.

�It (lack of clearing) is ridiculous, when you look across the border in Victoria where they allow for big areas of run off,�� he said.

�Native vegetation people here make it very difficult to get rid of roadside trees.

�It is really absurd and especially in the Adelaide Hills where we have trees growing out of the edge of the bitumen.��

John Robertson, who lost daughter Luci, 18, to a tree crash near Clare five years ago, said he was sympathetic to environmental concerns, but not at the expense of lives.

Ms Robertson�s car collided with a stump which he said had been dead for 50 years, but the remains never removed.

�I always think the tree has been there a lot longer than I have been around, but in the case of the tree being a safety issue in the middle of a road corner, then get rid of it,�� he said.

�Luci was a great driver and safe, had just finished year 12, moved to Clare, and had been to her first netball practice but never came home.��

A lobby group has been established on Kangaroo Island following the death of Adam Dixon, 18, when the car he was travelling in slid off Cape Willoughby Rd on January 18.

Kangaroo Island Road Safety Committee chairman Andy Gilfillan said there were now changes being made to Willoughby Rd, but he said the problems getting roads cleared had been highlighted in an email from the Kangaroo Island Council after a near miss on another road, which stated: � ... should vehicles stay in their lane and drive to the conditions then there should be no issue��.

�We all love our trees, but there are people who can�t stand anything being removed from beside the road,�� he said.

A year of tragic deaths

■ A CONGOLESE migrant couple and their baby died on February 15 after striking a tree 30km west of Casterton on the Casterton-Penola Rd.

■ ON Piggott Range Rd, in Clarendon, a Hackham West man, 34, died after his car collided with a 4WD and then hit a tree on January 29.

■ IN September 2014, 19-year-old Nicki Allwright swerved to miss a duck on the road and hit a tree at Yattalunga, near One Tree Hill, on One Tree Hill Rd.

■ ON October 15, 2014, a woman died after her car hit a tree on the side of Hyde Rd, 5km west of North Shields.

■ AN 83-year-old woman was killed when the vehicle she was travelling in struck a tree on Battunga Rd at Echunga, on July 29, 2014.

■ ON March 2, 2014, a man died after his car ploughed into five pedestrians and hit a tree at North Plympton.

■ A TREE on Meechi Rd, Langhorne Creek, caused the death of Jackson Rohde, 21, on 2 March, 2014.

■ ADAM Dixon, 18, died when the car he was travelling in slid off Cape Willoughby Rd on Kangaroo Island and hit a tree, on January 18, 2014.

Look, if the tree is in the bitumen then it should go. But it seems like there's so many other factors to tackle first.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:47

MysticalMachineGun: Apr 5, 2005

While I'm in a posting mood, look at this load of bullshit:

An American telling us our labour laws are too soft posted:

Aussies overpaid, hard to fire: economist

BELINDA MERHAB AAP MARCH 03, 2015 12:43PM SHARE

An American economist says the economy is struggling to grow because Australians get too much pay.
THE economy is struggling to grow because Australians get too much pay, too much annual leave and are too hard to fire, an American economist says.

BOB Baur, chief global economist at Principal Global Investors, says the local labour market is in need of reform if the economy is going to shift from its dependance on mining for growth.

Mining investment is dwindling and iron ore isn't fetching the prices that it used to, but other sectors have yet to step up to fill the breach.
Dr Baur says Australia needs to start making things again, and exporting its services, like education.
But, with the Australian dollar still too high and the labour market too restrictive, it's hard to do business here, he says.
"The best thing for Australia would be some significant economic reform in terms of maybe loosening up the labour market and making it easier for businesses to take on workers or let workers go in difficult times," Dr Baur told AAP.
"You've got tonnes of wonderful natural resources here but don't export the resources - export them as a car, or a computer or a television set, or furniture.
"You need to put some labour into it and make something of it here, rather than let somebody make something of it across the world."
Dr Baur said Australia needed to follow the footsteps of the US, where manufacturing was thriving again after having lost six million jobs through the 90s and noughties to the cheaper labour markets of China and India.
While rising wages in developing countries and increased transportation costs had made the US much more competitive, manufacturing continues to deteriorate in Australia.
"Wages are too high," Dr Baur said.
"Either it's the actual level of wages or it's the fact that it's very difficult for businesses to let somebody go for whatever reason - some combination of that.
"In the US, we get two weeks' vacation, so three or four weeks at one time (as in Australia) is not something that's natural, at least in the US - it is in Europe, but then, Europe is not growing terribly fast either."

Sweatshop conditions for all!

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:52

Mattjpwns: Dec 14, 2006; In joyful strains then let us sing
ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FUCKED

Some American Fuckwit posted:

""Either it's the actual level of wages or it's the fact that it's very difficult for businesses to let somebody go for whatever reason - some combination of that."

look at that guy and his feelpinions.

It could be this, or this, or some combination, who knows? REDUCE WAGES AND ENTITLEMENTS :shrug:

I mean there's no way that would reduce the amount of money people have available for spending, which in turn drives the economy, right? I mean, just reduce the minimum wage, the wages of a significant chunk of people who spend all their money on goods and services instead of squirreling it away, there's no way that'll have a horrible effect on the economy, nope, trickle-down 4 life, something something GALT SHRUGGED, RAND.

:suicide:

Mattjpwns fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Mar 3, 2015

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:54

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

MysticalMachineGun posted:

While I'm in a posting mood, look at this load of bullshit:

Sweatshop conditions for all!

I love how an actual economist uses an example of the US manufacturing recovering (as a result of transport costs improving competitiveness in the US market) and then tries to push the same logic at Australia. A market less than a tenth the size separated from most other markets by enormous distances.

Congratualtions Bob Baur! You are now officially Bozo of the day!

# ? Mar 3, 2015 04:57

adamantium|wang: Sep 14, 2003; Missing you

iajanus posted:

Newscorp and the Telegraph's twitter accounts are being very proactive in telling me that the van in that photo was not edited and their original photos are missing the S, so it must have been physically removed since the original photo. They're ignoring any questions about why they might have framed the photo the way they did.

Anyone have the time to investigate if they're lying (I just assume they are because they always do)?

I was wondering why they had an image credit next to the photo instead of the usual notice that it was a digitally altered image. I guess this way they can blame a third party if anyone raises a fuss.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:03

Arcanen: Dec 19, 2005

Cartoon posted:

I love how an actual economist uses an example of the US manufacturing recovering (as a result of transport costs improving competitiveness in the US market) and then tries to push the same logic at Australia. A market less than a tenth the size separated from most other markets by enormous distances.

Congratualtions Bob Baur! You are now officially Bozo of the day!

Also, even IF all this stuff is causing the economy to grow slowly...if the cost of good income, lots of holiday time, job stability and low unemployment is that the economy grows slowly, I really can't bring myself to care all that much. Oh no, company profits and the investments of the megarich aren't growing as absurdly fast as desired :effort:

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:09

TheMightyHandful: Dec 8, 2008

MysticalMachineGun posted:

While I'm in a posting mood, look at this load of bullshit:

Sweatshop conditions for all!

That is a special kind of stupid - "US isn't the problem< its everyone else!"

:fuckoff:

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:17

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

No wonder Anidav cant find a job.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:19

Cartoon: Jun 20, 2008; poop

adamantium|wang posted:

I was wondering why they had an image credit next to the photo instead of the usual notice that it was a digitally altered image. I guess this way they can blame a third party if anyone raises a fuss.

Following up on the Photographers name I found these additional images. Now it is possible that someone has tampered with the van's actual signage. The image that made the front page of the Tele has definitely been altered. If only to clean up the lack of the 'S'.

In a way I hope the guy did do it because the consequences for them are already horrific.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:19

markgreyam: Mar 10, 2008; Talk to the mittens.

MysticalMachineGun posted:

Front page of the Advertiser today screams "LIVES FOR TREES".

Curious what the hell this meant, I had a brief look at the article and it's about "greenies" not allowing the road safety authority to remove roadside trees in the hills/country and this is causing driver death. Not drink driving, inattentiveness or speed, nope, it's the trees that are to blame

It's kind of depressing that trying to tell people to pay loving attention on the road, drive to the conditions and not the speed limit, PUT YOUR loving PHONE AWAY and the constant reporting of every fatality on the road in the news like some sort of morbid parade just isn't working so now we have to just accept that people are inattentive idiots and make sure that when they inevitably leave the road they have less to hit.

"Trees are dangerous", said a 20-something male driver in his too-powerful Commodore, flying around the winding, blind-corner filled, bark covered road to Langhorne Creek at 110, occasionally flicking his eyes down to check his mobile.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:20

KennyTheFish: Jan 13, 2004

So, table booked or anything like that for tonight? if not someone going to wear an identifiable hat or something?

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:22

Laserface: Dec 24, 2004

"Trees are killing our motorists, remove the trees"

*lines roads with telegraph poles*

EDIT: I am a certified hoon and I want MORE tree-lined roads. They are awesome.

Laserface fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Mar 3, 2015

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:24

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

MysticalMachineGun posted:

Front page of the Advertiser today screams "LIVES FOR TREES".

Curious what the hell this meant, I had a brief look at the article and it's about "greenies" not allowing the road safety authority to remove roadside trees in the hills/country and this is causing driver death. Not drink driving, inattentiveness or speed, nope, it's the trees that are to blame

Found the full article:

Look, if the tree is in the bitumen then it should go. But it seems like there's so many other factors to tackle first.

Solution: 50-100 metres of racetrack style sand/gravel traps along every single road so that anyone who runs off would not collide with anything.

Your move, greenies!

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:26

go_banana: Oct 13, 2010

Isn't Adelaide the home of the Stobie Pole?

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:34

Senor Tron: May 26, 2006

KennyTheFish posted:

So, table booked or anything like that for tonight? if not someone going to wear an identifiable hat or something?

Just follow your nose.

go_banana posted:

Isn't Adelaide the home of the Stobie Pole?

drat right, I'm always morbidly curious when looking at cracked and bent ones wondering who it was that lost the fight against it.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:40

markgreyam: Mar 10, 2008; Talk to the mittens.

go_banana posted:

Isn't Adelaide the home of the Stobie Pole?

We even give them brown trimmings so they match the trees.

Also it's home to officially Australia's worst drivers.

Incidentally, if you're interested, a suburb called Blackwood has, in my experience/opinion, the worst drivers in the state containing the worst drivers in the country.

I don't know exactly why it's so bad but I've yet to drive through Blackwood without encountering at bare minimum at least one person with a basic lack of understanding of road rules or common decency towards other drivers.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:40

Gough Suppressant: Nov 14, 2008

Bomb adelaide flat and put bitumen on top of the remains, problem solved.

# ? Mar 3, 2015 05:45

asio: Nov 29, 2008; "Also Sprach Arnold Jacobs: A Developmental Guide for Brass Wind Musicians" refers to the mullet as an important tool for professional cornet playing and box smashing black and blood