Chris,

"poirot, politics is politics."

I recall that you were quite strident in your denunciation of Alan Austin for posting articles highlighting the Coalition's "creative" interpretation of the economy.

You got reasonably hot under the collar in reply to Mr Austin for questioning the Coalitions assertion's, and for his defence of the healthy state of the Australian economy in the wake of the GFC.

Now, when Mr Hockey seems to have swept all under the carpet, you meekly mutter "...politics is politics."

Yes, it is...however misrepresenting the Coalition's intentions and the state of the economy to the Australian electorate deserves at least a little hot sauce - don't you think?

http://m.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/joe-hockey-blowing-hundreds-of-millions-to-make-himself-look-good-20131029-2wcy3.html

"So “Labor’s” deficit blows out to about $40 billion this year, but Hockey’s heroic efforts to reduce the debt in the years ahead will be enhanced by a rich stream of dividends from the RBA. The last time the Aussie had a sharp fall, the RBA paid the government a dividend of more than $5 billion. Trader Joe is playing the forex market with borrowed money.

Last week the RBA deputy governor, Philip Lowe, said the level of the bank’s capital reserves had not been keeping him awake at night. The board had wanted to rebuild the capital level over time but the government wanted to do it immediately."

Here's a good one:

"The official line from the Treasurer is that he found the world to be a dangerous place on his trip to Washington. Today Glenn Stevens said:"

poirot, the coalition will do a better job in terms of budget than Labor. This is something I am confident of.

I am not really interested in football commentary; I will leave it to others.

The people have spoken, and I am interested in how new govt will deal with problems ahead.

Labor has enough problems on its hands with Shorten in charge, and another poor choice.

Thanks, Chris.

"I am not really interested in football commentary; I will leave it to others."

Hilarious!

You were quite the partisan and vocal commentator when you were slamming Austin.

".... and I am interested in how new govt will deal with problems ahead."

Judging by Hockey's choice to waste no time hiking the debt ceiling by so much, Id say they'll deal with it pretty much the same as Labor has.

But of course, when the LNP does it, it good fiscal management.

Lol!

[Deleted for abuse.]

Hi Shadow Minister,

Just wanted to mention that I have it on very good authority (ie, Graham) that it is prohibited on this forum to call people liars, or to state outright that they are lying or have lied.

One can intimate that fellow posters are being loose with the truth, but calling them liars is not on.

So I'm looking forward to a retraction.

(btw, my name is "Poirot")

if the state can organize effective and prolonged violence against dissent, it spawns reactive revolutionary violence, or what the state calls terrorism. Violent revolutions usually give rise to revolutionaries as ruthless as their adversaries. “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster,” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote. “And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

Violent revolutions are always tragic. I, and many other activists, seek to keep our uprising nonviolent. We seek to spare the country the savagery of domestic violence by both the state and its opponents. There is no guarantee that we will succeed, especially with the corporate state controlling a vast internal security apparatus and militarized police forces. But we must try.

Corporations, freed from all laws, government regulations and internal constraints, are stealing as much as they can, as fast as they can, on the way down. The managers of corporations no longer care about the effects of their pillage. Many expect the systems they are looting to fall apart. They are blinded by personal greed and hubris. They believe their obscene wealth can buy them security and protection. They should have spent a little less time studying management in business school and a little more time studying human nature and human history. They are digging their own graves.

Our shift to corporate totalitarianism, like the shift to all forms of totalitarianism, is incremental. Totalitarian systems ebb and flow, sometimes taking one step back before taking two steps forward, as they erode democratic liberalism.

This process is now complete. The “consent of the governed” is a cruel joke. Barack Obama cannot defy corporate power any more than George W. Bush or Bill Clinton could.
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2013/10/30/229339-our-invisible-revolution/