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[Reudh]

The ad is so much more interesting when you imagine it's being read by this guy:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Makes the close zoom head shots of Kevin much more appropriate too.

"All your budget blowouts look bloody twelve feet tall!"

[Max White]

Oh hey I just realized, the Sniper has a looped slouch hat. I wonder if that is a direct reference to our military or if because of our military we just have a reputation for wearing those hats...

[Reudh]

Oh hey I just realized, the Sniper has a looped slouch hat. I wonder if that is a direct reference to our military or if because of our military we just have a reputation for wearing those hats...

It's because he's meant to be the biggest stereotype possible so it's probably a reference to the looped slouches seen in early 20th century military photos.

[Max White]

So... Ruddy has made arrangements to ship asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea. Any thoughts?

[Jimmy]

I'm pleased they'll have the opportunity to seek asylum from the oppression of their home country and contribute towards the growth and development of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. After all, they're the sixth-fastest growing economy in the world, with plenty of jobs going at a low, low unemployment rate of 1.9% at last census of 2008. And with such a diverse cultural heterogeneity, I'm sure there's plenty of tolerance for non-indigenous refugees.

[Max White]

Yea, I'm not convinced the Greens condemnation was fully thought out. They may or may not be correct in their criticisms, but it certainly is early to be making some of those claims. Ultimately if people are going through several nations to seek asylum, making a slightly closer nation a feasible destination is a pretty good idea.
I mean reasonably we could have made a much better deal on a more international platform, pulled in several other countries that are also dealing with immigrants to share the bill, and set up processing centers a lot closer to Iran and other sources. Although such a larger proposal would have taken a lot longer to settle, and well election.

The point still remains that conditions in off shore processing centers have historically had substandard living conditions, and attempting to increase capacity at the rate expected will only serve to make the problem worse. Further more, I don't see how escorting boats back in any way is feasible. We all remember the recent incident where four people drowned, and that was while being escorted by two navy boats. It is clear that escorting even a short distance has risk, and over a much larger distance in open water that risk is made significantly worse.
Regardless, hopefully having asylum seekers only have to go as far as Papua New Guinea should help undercut the smugglers business model.

[Max White]

So I was initially under the impression that PNG would be used for processing, and then transferred to settle in Australia. Apparently not. We have decided we have no obligation to accept refugees who arrive by some means of travel, and will shift them to a poorer nation, with the bill landing on us.
In the mean time the Nauru Detention Center is burnt to the ground in riots over the poor living conditions and indefinite detention. Do we really think that it is wise to fill a center in PNG with these refugees?

And with such a diverse cultural heterogeneity, I'm sure there's plenty of tolerance for non-indigenous refugees.

Haha nope. It may very well just be the lens of the media, but so far signs are that locals are not happy. They don't like the idea of foreigners being given special treatment in such a poor nation, and many are intolerant of the Islam faith.

I do like to try and be objective about these things, although I am limited to piecing together a story from often bias pieces, but all evidence so far is that this is unlikely to last. The military officers who would be required to implement the policy are skeptical, the refugees are rioting, the locals are forming mobs. The only people who showed any support for this, liberals and liberal voters, are now pointing out the fact that we are responsible for anybody not found to be an asylum seeker, and the Greens are pointing out the insane cost of the operation.
The only thing this policy does is win over uninformed voters who either think this will save lives, incorrectly, or think that boat people are taking jobs, also incorrectly.

Fuck you Rudd.

[GlyphGryph]

Repost from the WTF thread, since discussion would probably make more sense here:

The country I love so much, New Zealand, has had it's military classify local reporters in the same group as foreign spies under "threats to the state" and "subversives" and "non-traditional threats" to state security - which allows the military to take action against them. It's started wholesale attempts to discredit journalists that report things that make the military look bad, and those classifications mean they are able to do quite a bit to dig up dirt on them (and it seems they've partnered with the US to get it, knowing the US has all the meta-data on NZ journalists they could need and providing the US with assistance on spying on NZ nationals in exchange).

I honestly thought we were better than this.

[Reudh]

I always thought NZ was liberal,  far more so than Aus. I guess it's having that conservative Prime Minister in, to do with those journalists... That's not good. Not good at all.

[Descan]

New Zealand, Canada, Britain (?)...

Having conservative governments seems to be fucking the Commonwealth over a good deal, eh?

[Loud Whispers]

New Zealand, Canada, Britain (?)...

Having conservative governments seems to be fucking the Commonwealth over a good deal, eh?

That post sounds like porn, GET BLOKT

[Max White]

And election season is on! September 7th is the date of the ball, and your all invited (In fact it is mandatory)! So get out your reading glasses, because fonts have never been so small.

PM twice and never had a full term, his party hates him and his political strategy is 'Well it seemed like a good idea at the time!', as the leader Labo(u)r please welcome, KEVIN RUDD!

His rival, the leader of the liberals. He hates gays, he hates refugees, he hates women and if he knew what secularism meant then by god he would hate it too! TONY ABBOT!

Please place your bets, and no, Malcolm Turnbull is no longer a valid option, please stop asking.

[alexandertnt]

And election season is on! September 7th is the date of the ball, and your all invited (In fact it is mandatory)! So get out your reading glasses, because fonts have never been so small.

PM twice and never had a full term, his party hates him and his political strategy is 'Well it seemed like a good idea at the time!', as the leader Labo(u)r please welcome, KEVIN RUDD!

His rival, the leader of the liberals. He hates gays, he hates refugees, he hates women and if he knew what secularism meant then by god he would hate it too! TONY ABBOT!

Please place your bets, and no, Malcolm Turnbull is no longer a valid option, please stop asking.

Ugh, I have to wake up to vote for one of these people idiots

[GlyphGryph]

Vote for someone else instead, then. You guys DO actually have other parties...

[MetalSlimeHunt]

That's just going to give the Liberals even better odds.