New Year's resolution

Yes it is time to stop blogging. A new business venture means there just isn't enough time.

Anyway, my job is done. Tony Abbott is the ops leader, his cabinet looks like the cast from a zombie movie, and the conservatives are shot for the foreseeable future.

Somebody else can now take up the challenge of keeping an increasingly dishonest, corrupt, and arrogant Labor Party in order.

Farewell folks.

It's late

December 18 and I haven't seen a Muslims stole our Christmas/multiculturalism gone mad story in the Hun yet.

The editor should be fired.

RACV.

Insurance companies shit me. After years of loyally placing cash in their accounts, you have the right to expect fast service to no-brainer claims.
Broken Left Leg blog was started as a means of staving off boredom while recovering from a broken left leg.
It was a no brainer claim. I gave the insurance company the match reports (showing my substitution after 36 minutes), the team sheets, the ambulance bill from the soccer ground to the hospital, the x rays showing an obviously fractured leg and even a news story about the game.
It should have taken the insurance company about 1 minute to realise the claim was genuine, and about 1 day to re-imburse me for expenses. Nine months later, I finally get the cash.

My latest insurance claim involves a flooded house due to a broken storm water pipe 15 days ago. It's obvious damage has been caused, and it's painfully obvious what needs to be fixed.

The first guy came round 2 days after the flood. He ripped up the carpet. The second guy came around a week later and checked out the interior damage. He didn't even look at the causes. The third guy was smart enough to diagnose the problem but unfortunately due to the insurance company's go-slow policy, it took him another week to do so.

Since the initial flood we've had two more similar events, and the damage bill just keeps rising.

HEY RACV, THE NEXT PERSON YOU SEND OUT BETTER BE ATTACHED TO A BACK HOE SO THE PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED BEFORE THE END OF THE DECADE.

Don't ever disagree with Tim and John.

Melissa Fyfe is fast become one of Australia's top print journalists.
This story about the increasingly authoritarian state government is a ripper that should be spread as far and as wide as possible.

I guess the ALP have lost the right to criticise the Howard government for their treatment of Scott Parkin and Dr Haneef.

Gagged

I thought it would be great sport watching the wacky conservatives play politics on Tony Abbott's new front bench, but has anyone heard anything from any shadow minister since Tony took over?

What's the point of have barking mad neo-con fundamentalists in shadow cabinet when they hide from the public at all costs?

Coming Tony, let Cory, Sophie, Phil, Barny, and Kevin speak. I'm getting bored.

it's the Libs by default in Higgins.

The Libs have predictably won Higgins but, it can hardly be claimed as a stunning performance.

Here are the results as of 9.30pm

MURPHY, Stephen Independent 872 1.68 +1.68
PATTEN, Fiona Australian Sex Party 1,834 3.53 +3.53
O'DWYER, Kelly Liberal 26,893 51.74 -1.87
ROBERTS, Isaac Liberal Democrats (LDP) 215 0.41 +0.41
HAMILTON, Clive The Greens 18,172 34.96 +24.21
COLLYER, David Australian Democrats 1,228 2.36 +1.15
TOSCANO, Joseph Independent 428 0.82 +0.82
RASKOVY, Steve One Nation 148 0.28 +0.28
BROHIER, Peter Independent 159 0.31 +0.31
MULHOLLAND, John Democratic Labor Party 2,031 3.91 +3.91

...... Family First Party 0 0.00 -0.77
...... Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) 0 0.00 -31.08

FORMAL 51,980 95.90 -1.53
INFORMAL 2,224 4.10 +1.53
TOTAL 54,204 61.49

The biggest loser of this shambles is the Labor Party. If they had run a top local candidate they would have won, especially since the Lib candidate ran a pathetic campaign based on local and state government issues.

Lets look at the figures.

The Libs have dropped 1.87%. When you consider that many traditional ALP voters would have gone to the Libs because they were "never garn to vote for the stinking greenies", the Lib support is looking very weak in this blue ribbon seat.

The big victors of the ALP not running was the DLP. I'm tipping there were plenty of politically ignorant voters who actually thought they were voting for Rudd because they saw the word "Labor" in the party's name.

Another big winner was the informal "party", up 1.53%. If the ALP ran a good candidate, I'm tipping this figure would have gone down dramatically.

When you add up the "1% here and the 2% there" anomalies and consider the fact that the ALP would have sured up most of the preferences of the minor parties, you can easily come to the conclusion that Labor fucked up big time not running a candidate.

Royal commission

.

I salute Stephen Fielding calling for a royal commission on global warming science, but he doesn't go far enough.

We need a royal commission on the following as well:

1. The bunker in Tel Aviv running the world's financial system.

2. The gay mafia splitting apart hetro married couples

3. Primary school teachers pushing the concept of euthanasia to small children

4. Queen Elizabeth being the head of an international drug cartel

5. The islamic takeover of the west

6. The 7.30 report's deliberate "ignore Fielding" campaign.

7. The media bias against Fred Nile.

8. The "science" of evolution

9. Shrek taking over Joe Hockey's body in a PIXAR takeover of the free world

and 10. the cult of Charles Darwin.

Please stay Malcy, for a little bit longer.

Dear Malcolm,

Please don't resign from the leadership of the Liberal Party yet.

You and I both know that your position as leader is untenable. And we both know that if the Libs went to the polls with a climate change denialist in charge, you lot would be lucky to win even one seat.

These things don't concern me. I'm asking you to hang on for two more weeks for two reasons. Firstly, watching the party that brought us an illegal war, corruption, and the shameful abandonment of long established international laws, is great sport. Two more weeks of the backstabbing would just about render your party obsolete. But more importantly, I'm asking you to hold on to power for a little bit longer so I can win the Groupthink tipping competition in regards to your demise.

Dave from Albury, has picked November 24 and I've got December 7.

Please hang on so I can defend my reputation as the best political tipster on the net.

Hand me the World Cup

When Argentine superstar Diego Maradona fisted the ball into the English net, the term "Hand of God goal" was invented.

The Pommies are still sooking about the incident, long after they forgave Argentina for the Fauklands war.

I'm just wondering how long the Irish are going to cry over Thierry Henry's Hand of God mark 2 goal that put France into, and Ireland out of the World Cup 2010.

Make no mistake people, this incident will create a major rift between the two nations but more importantly the goal threatens the credibility of Christianity.

There will be millions of Irish Catholics leaning over their beds tonight saying "God bless mummy, God bless Daddy and dear Lord can you send a fully loaded bus to run over that cheating snail eating fucker Henry. And one more request God, If you can somehow manage to have the previous mentioned bus to crash into the referee's house killing that blind mother fucker slowly and painfully, I will promise to go to church twice a week for the rest of my life."

Over to you, God.

Pokies in Juc?

Objectives of the Surf Coast Shire's "gaming" policy.

To ensure the location of gaming machines and design and operation of facilities containing gaming machines minimise opportunities for convenience gaming and the incidence of problem gaming.
To ensure that gaming machines are located where the community has a choice of non-gaming entertainment and recreation activities within the venue or in the local area.
To protect the operations and amenity of existing uses surrounding gaming venues.
To protect the township character, tourism assets and amenity of the shire

Appropriate areas as stipulated by the Shires "gaming" policy.

which offer a reasonable choice of alternative non-gambling activities comprising community centres, neighbourhood houses, clubs, hotels, cinemas or restaurants within the same town, operating during the times that the proposed gaming machines will operate.

Appropriate sites as stipulated by the Shires "gaming" policy.

Gaming machines should be located towards the periphery of town centres and tourism precincts, outside of the main transport, shopping, community and civic functions of the centre/precinct or within easy walking distance of the edge of the centre/precinct.
Gaming machines should be located in venues which are a destination in their own right. This is defined as locations where gaming venues will not be integrated with or adjacent to shops, major transport interchanges, foreshore activity areas and key community facilities.

Appropriate venues as stipulated by the Shires "gaming" policy.

Gaming machines should be located in venues which have the following characteristics:
Have a range of entertainment and leisure options;
Offer social and recreational opportunities other than gaming as the primary purpose of the venue;
Gaming machines should not be located where the operation of the gaming venue and associated uses will detrimentally affect the amenity of the surrounding area, township character, or tourist assets...

Decision Guidelines
It

is policy that the responsible authority considers as appropriate:
The affect of the proposal on gaming machine densities in the locality in comparison to the regional Victorian average.
The net community benefit to be derived from the application.
Whether approval is likely to increase the socio-economic disadvantage of the local community.
Whether the location of the gaming machines or gaming premises will facilitate or discourage convenience gaming.
Whether permanent residents will have a choice between entertainment and recreation venues with and without gambling in the local area.
The impact of the proposal on the amenity of the area and surrounding land uses, including the character of the township.

If the shire approve an application for 30 pokie machines in Jan Juc, they simply can't read their own policies.