Roy Morgan might plough on this week with a poll to be dropped next Wednesday or so, but what follows are most likely the last items of polling we will see for the year. The Australian traditionally drops aggregated Newspoll breakdowns in the dead zone after Christmas, but it will only have three polls to aggregate from on this occasion, unless it supplements them somehow.
• RedBridge Group has a federal poll showing Labor leading 52.8-47.2 (in from 53.5-46.5 in the last such poll in early November), though seemingly all reportage of the poll has painted it as disastrous for Labor because the small sample of respondents with trades qualifications has the Coalition ahead. The primary votes are Labor 33% (down one), Coalition 35% (steady) and Greens 13% (down one). The accompanying report includes extensive further questions on national direction, issue salience and immigration. The poll was conducted December 6 to 11 from an unusually large sample of 2010.
• The latest weekly poll from Roy Morgan has a tie on two-party preferred, erasing Labor’s 51-49 lead over the previous two weeks. The primary votes are Labor 32% (up one-and-a-half), Coalition 38% (up one), Greens 11.5% (down two-and-a-half) and One Nation 4.5% (down half). The poll was conducted Monday to Sunday from a sample of 1720.
• The Australian had further results from Newspoll on the leaders’ character traits, which it published in a comprehensive display showing earlier numbers for the results going back to 2008 which is worth seeking out if you’re interested in this sort of thing. Anthony Albanese had higher ratings for trustworthy (49% to 41%), in touch (46% to 41%), caring (61% to 45%), likeable (57% to 39%) and having a vision for Australia (59% to 55%), and was less likely to be seen as arrogant (45% to 57%). Peter Dutton led on experienced (70% to 66%), decisive and strong (58% to 48%) and understanding the major issues (57% to 54%).
• Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles resigned yesterday after nineteen months in the job, amid revelations she had failed to declare a conflict of interest relating to shares in mining company South 32. It presumably didn’t help that a RedBridge Group poll, conducted in the middle of last month from a sample of 601, had Labor trailing the Country Liberals by 40.6% to 19.7% (although the poll found Labor doing little better federally, and its age breakdowns included the implausible finding that the gap was 40% to 11% among the 18-to-39 age cohort). Names mentioned as possible contenders are her deputy, Nicole Manison, Infrastructure Minister Joel Bowden and Attorney-General Chansey Paech.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Kqb7wH_Oi3w
This had me in fits of laughter.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/trump-colorado-presidential-ballot-disqualified-14th-amendment
___________________________________________
Now here’s a test for the US Supreme Court
by way of natural attrition in the national fleet and additional new cars on the road, the average car is safer now than it was 5 years ago. most new cars have systems to avoid a crash in the first place
Crazy what bringing in half a million immigrants annually will do to the road toll especially if they are from our neighbours in the global east.
The problem with corruption and the establishment and the billionaires that own the US Supreme Court, is that they aren’t necessarily very smart. In fact we have seen the Supreme Court under a bit of pressure and they lack resilience, intelligence and integrity.
With that huge caveat, I think the chance for the Supreme Court to get a bit of apparent authority back, and to leave them to rig the system for their billionaire owners, continue entrenching wealth as they only lever of power in the US, criminalising being a woman, disenfranchising as many people as they can etc etc, I think a unanimous vote that Trump is ineligible, protects them and the establishment from what would be a risky erratic Trump rule, it is a no brainer, free kick, that would have idiot centrists praising them as beacons of wisdom and virtue, it would probably pave the way for a Republican president they would prefer to Biden, it just seems a no brainier.
But no brains maybe the count on the corrupt conservative side of the court, including their billionaire owners.
“Crazy what bringing in half a million immigrants annually will do to the road toll especially if they are from our neighbours in the global east.”
WTF?
Boerwar at 10.31 am
“Ain’t life grand?”
I once asked Andrew Glikson, a climate scientist at ANU, in a public lecture in Perth, when he thought the science about human-induced global warming was clear. He said by the late 1970s, a long while ago, even at the time I asked, which was in September 2009. Glikson occasionally contributes to the Menadue blog (Pearls & Irritations) and is increasingly pessimistic and angry about political failures.
On the topic of humanity’s delay in facing up to continuing tragedy, Joan Baez sang this song in 1965:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzhPgPEPiAQ
Isn’t It Grand (sung at Shepherd’s Bush, London, 5 June 1965).
WeWantPaul @ #55 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 11:10 am
A not so hidden go at a racist trope is what I see.
JahlinWoodic @ #53 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 10:54 am
New Zealand? Bondi?
Player One @ #56 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 11:26 am
Good point, Australians would be considered in the global east.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/dec/20/us-officials-monitored-pro-assange-protests-in-australia-for-anti-us-sentiment-documents-reveal
From The Guardian:
American officials monitored pro-Assange protests in Australia for “anti-US sentiment”, warned of “increasing sympathy, particularly on the left” for the WikiLeaks founder in his home country and derided local media’s “sensationalist” reporting of the explosive 2010 cable leaks, previously classified records show.
Documents released by the US state department via freedom of information laws give new insight into how the US embassy in Canberra and its security team reacted to WikiLeaks’ release of 250,000 embassy cables in late 2010.
They show the embassy’s regional security office (RSO) monitoring and reporting on pro-WikiLeaks rallies held across Australian capital cities, feeding information to Washington via the embassy…..
Some of these released cables would have indicated the close relationship between Labor right faction MPs, such as ex Federal NSW Senator Mark Arbib and the US embassy officials discussing Australian government polices and popularity of the current ( 2007 -2010 ) PM Rudd.
Apparently it is OK for Australian government MPs, certainly Labor MPs, to discuss government policies and decisions with an other countries officials. And that Julia Gillard’s prominence during the that time was mentioned. Even if she denied any involvement with the coup which led to PM Rudd’s removal in June 2010.
We can see why Assange has received no help from this Federal Labor government, some of whose members were involved in that coup in 2010. Some actively encouraging, others cautioning against it.
Supporting the US has always been their priority.
Irene @ #60 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 11:35 am
Crikey, we had two more coups since then. Australia really is a wild country.
We can see why Assange has received no help from this Federal Labor government, some of whose members were involved in that coup in 2010.
100% bullshit.
Look, Irene, you might be able to push this sort of absolute shite down the throats of facebook idiots, but we know better here. That’s why this is a superior blog. Way superior to anything on facebook or any of the other wingnut social media sites like Xitter. So we actually know that the Albanese government has done more to get Julian Assange released and not extradited to America, than any other government since he was kicked out of the embassy in London.
So, Irene, why don’t you quit while you’re behind? Don’t even begin to think that you’ll eventually win by doing a Bannon and flooding the zone with shit here because there will always be someone who is willing to not just accept at face value what you assert. We will rigorously assess everything you try and get away with here. Every. Single. Time. Because we’re not as stupid or gullible as you may hope.
Mostly Interested @ #57 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 11:25 am
Horseshoe guy thinks he’s Far Left but is sounding more Far Right every day.
‘JahlinWoodic says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 10:54 am
by way of natural attrition in the national fleet and additional new cars on the road, the average car is safer now than it was 5 years ago. most new cars have systems to avoid a crash in the first place
Crazy what bringing in half a million immigrants annually will do to the road toll especially if they are from our neighbours in the global east.’
——————
A Dutton’s Darling at work.
Blatant dog whistling racism.
You can trust the Coalition to lie, to dog whistle racism, to foment resent and anger and to foment fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Dutton’s Darlings: evil arseholes at work.
JahlinWoodic @ #53 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 10:54 am
Racist.
Has Irene praised Shorten for the single biggest social reform since the Whitlam Government – the NDIS?
No?
Just the same old, same old cheap shots from Irene?
”
Mexicanbeemersays:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 10:13 am
Bizzcansays:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 10:07 am
What does it mean to “sell better” political messaging a generally hostile media environment? Just because something is announced, doesn’t mean it gets reported.
——————-
Blaming the media is an excuse because that same hostile media didn’t stop Daniel or any other successful ALP leaders from getting their message out.
”
True. Deliver the policy outcome and services related to it and people will notice it. However, the leader needs to be a great or atleast very good communicator to go over hostile media.
Make no mistake a friendly media or a media, which is ready to pass the message without distortions is also helpful in delivering the message and outcome.
That is the reason Murdoch rags across AUKUS countries were/ are cancer on AUKUS countries societies (as Rudd and Turnbull said).
”
Oliver Suttonsays:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 10:35 am
TPOF: “It’s not our war.”
But … but … “if we don’t stop them over there, they’ll come down here!”
(Well, that was the ‘argument’ that got us into Vietnam in 1965 …)
”
But this is a ‘Holy war’ because we will defend Holyland. In the process if we have to make sacrifices so be it, isn’t that true?
Taylormadesays:
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 8:44 am
Meanwhile, Brittany Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz have departed Australia to reportedly start a new life in France after a gruelling couple of years of court trials.
_____________________
Good luck with your new life.
Courtesy of an Australian Taxpayer who helped fund it.
It’s amazing what you can do with 3 million.
Pied pipersays:
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Hmm alleged sexual assault victim now decamped to the south of France thanks to fed labor gov giving them millions.
————————————————————————-
“Who’s the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?”
My money is on the Cooker from West Cook. As i sense there is still some good left in Taylormade.
Note: I made a name change
Quote: “In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!”
I don’t mind comparing and contrasting state and federal leaders but we should be mindful that Dan Andrews would have lasted about 5 milliseconds in Queensland.
The challenges for Federal Labor are not the same as the challenges for state and territory Labor leaders. The notion that ‘If only Albanese does what Andrews did then…’ is fatuous.
Same same: why Dutton is extremely successful in Queensland and a dead weight in Victoria.
Ven: “But this is a ‘Holy war’ because we will defend Holyland. In the process if we have to make sacrifices so be it, isn’t that true?”
Indeed. My grandfather didn’t talk much about his experiences riding a horse around that territory — under a slouch hat with emu feathers — but he was proud of having “seen the place where Jesus was born”.
Dr Doolittle says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:22 am
Boerwar at 10.31 am
“Ain’t life grand?”
I once asked Andrew Glikson, a climate scientist at ANU, in a public lecture in Perth, when he thought the science about human-induced global warming was clear. He said by the late 1970s, a long while ago, even at the time I asked, which was in September 2009. Glikson occasionally contributes to the Menadue blog (Pearls & Irritations) and is increasingly pessimistic and angry about political failures.
On the topic of humanity’s delay in facing up to continuing tragedy, Joan Baez sang this song in 1965:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzhPgPEPiAQ
Isn’t It Grand (sung at Shepherd’s Bush, London, 5 June 1965).
=====================
I don’t blame the politicians. Too easy. They can only do the possible. Good politicians can stretch the possible a bit here and there. But that is about it.
Basically if the sum total of human individuals want to consume their way to global warming they will get what they want.
”
Dr Doolittlesays:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:22 am
Boerwar at 10.31 am
“Ain’t life grand?”
I once asked Andrew Glikson, a climate scientist at ANU, in a public lecture in Perth, when he thought the science about human-induced global warming was clear. He said by the late 1970s, a long while ago, even at the time I asked, which was in September 2009. Glikson occasionally contributes to the Menadue blog (Pearls & Irritations) and is increasingly pessimistic and angry about political failures.
On the topic of humanity’s delay in facing up to continuing tragedy, Joan Baez sang this song in 1965:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzhPgPEPiAQ
Isn’t It Grand (sung at Shepherd’s Bush, London, 5 June 1965).
”
Inspite of that, POTUS George Bush Sr. said that ‘American way of life is not negotiable. Period.” However, apparently other countries cannot say that.
” Do as I say but not as I do” has been AUKUS countries motto.
Baby boomers are now saying that we had a wonderful life. We thought it was thanks to our parents and our governments. Now we know it was at expense of 90% of the world. Now we ask that 90% of life to make sacrifices so that our children and grandchildren may half decent life we had. When asked what about your sacrifices. Well they it is too late.
The NDIS cuts and cost shifting will no doubt be a contributing factor in Labors low 30’s primary vote polling.
Rex Douglas @ #73 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 12:20 pm
Another one-liner of absolute crap that doesn’t tell the full story.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/dec/20/australia-news-live-albanese-hails-significant-progress-in-pacific-diplomacy-rain-eases-nsw-fires?page=with:block-65823fb08f08de6aa1100671#block-65823fb08f08de6aa1100671
Thank goodness common sense seems to have prevailed. Of course, it is because we have no ships available that are suitable to send rather than for any other reason.
Still, sometimes the breaks can go in your favor.
Some Bludgers seem to be caught in a Vietnam War time warp.
Moving right along to the present, Australia has a major clear national interest in freedom of navigation.
We are a trade-exposed nation. Our COL is intimately dependent on freedom of navigation.
China, Iran, the Houthis and Russia are all in one way or another highly committed to reducing freedom of navigation. They are all using force, or supplying weapons and finance, so to do.
Apparently resisting these inter-related sets of international bastardy by outright international thugs is somehow bad. Do wake up!
The actions of the Houthis will, one way or another, ALREADY have caused economic disruptions of the sort that will raise the cost of living in Australia. The impacts include supply chain disruption, increased shipping times and costs and increased insurance costs.
One need only to spot the ‘MAERSK’ marks on the containers in any Australian port to get an idea of the direct impact.
MAERSK has already stopped its Red Sea trade.
So does the Trump ruling merely mean that he doesn’t appear on the list of candidates or does it mean that he is ineligible to run, rendering even write-in votes invalid? If the former, then he would still win with a write-in campaign.
Not that it matters anyway as the GOP are not really looking to win Colorado, although in a red wave election with Biden being so unpopular, it could be very close even there.
The net effect of this ruling is that even more of the MAGA types will turn up to vote for Trump in the states that are really competitive. Trump will probably win all the states he won in 2016 plus Nevada and Minnesota.
Integrity supports the NDIS provider grafters, thieves and crony capitalists who descended on the NDIS under the Coalition.
Now. Why would that be?
‘MelbourneMammoth says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 12:28 pm
So does the Trump ruling merely mean that he doesn’t appear on the list of candidates or does it mean that he is ineligible to run, rendering even write-in votes invalid? If the former, then he would still win with a write-in campaign.
Not that it matters anyway as the GOP are not really looking to win Colorado, although in a red wave election with Biden being so unpopular, it could be very close even there.
The net effect of this ruling is that even more of the MAGA types will turn up to vote for Trump in the states that are really competitive.’
————————
True. You have several points. There is nothing quite as insane as a rabid right voter in the US or in Australia.
OTOH, there are a substantial number of GOP voters who have indicated in polling that they would not vote for Trump if he is convicted of a felony.
It’s a race. Will Trump be POTUS or prisoner?
3.88 billion tons of garbage a year by 2050.
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/ba7feea4-0abe-59fb-bc60-ce6b60eb1ceb?campaign_id=54&emc=edit_clim_20231219&instance_id=110553&nl=climate-forward®i_id=93131229&segment_id=153010&te=1&user_id=dcc6b4a3e33d4d142bd3a398d8772a6a
I see Boerwar conveniently parroting Littlefinger by putting the entire NDIS cuts and cost-shifting behind the ‘grafters, thieves and crony capitalists’ line. Nothing to do with Labor’s budget surplus fetish and S3 tax cut losses to general revenue of course, so they say.
‘Ven says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 12:18 pm
….
Inspite of that, POTUS George Bush Sr. said that ‘American way of life is not negotiable. Period.” However, apparently other countries cannot say that.
….’
—————————
They can say exactly that. No-one is stopping them. Modi and Xi have been saying that. Loudly and repeatedly. So they are burning billions of tons of coal.
I certainly don’t see any problems with that!
Just do it!
After all, it is not as if heat- and weather- induced reductions in food production and the consequent famines, heat-induced global pandemics, coastal flooding and riverine flooding, more intense storms and bigger and more intense fires are going to affect Xi’s citizens or Modi’s citizens.
Integrity is another who cannot praise Shorten for introducing the biggest single social reform since the Whitlam Government.
And if Integrity can’t do that then Integrity certainly can’t praise Shorten for trying to fix the Coalition’s NDIS shambles.
Stokes media xmas present to Ir laws fed labor.
Federal MPs expenses on travel, printing revealed in pre-Christmas dump
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The West Australian
Wed, 20 December 2023 9:40AM
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his staff racked up almost $685,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses in just three months, newly released figures reveal.
WA’s only cabinet minister, Madeleine King, had the highest bill among the State’s MPs in that period, claiming almost $320,000.
MelbourneMammoth @ #77 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 11:28 am
Read the Constitution. It’s clear enough (emphasis mine):
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
The court found that Trump 1) took a relevant oath, and 2) subsequently engaged in insurrection. He therefore cannot hold any office. He can appear on ballots (except where courts say he can’t), he can run, he can even get the most votes whether via write-ins or otherwise and “win”, but he cannot assume any public office. Unless two-thirds of Congress votes to allow it.
Yeah, sure. And the Dems, Indies, and non-MAGA republicans will be turned right off, and reminded why they need to get out and vote for Biden even if they don’t like him.
Go bet your money on it then. 🙂
In a scenario where Trump is actually incarcerated before the election is scheduled (I consider this unlikely as he is going to continue to stall), Trump does in theory lose some electoral equity as he cannot personally campaign or make speeches from jail. He would not be eligible to use the Internet as a mouthpiece, although of course he could appoint a proxy to do it for him.
There remains a chance that Trump wins the election even if he is in jail, and then he self-pardons on January 20, 2025 and quashes his own convictions. It would be a sight to behold. All Hail New Voldemort!
I noted William’s comment yesterday that the ban on Nath has been lifted. I hope he starts posting again soon (if he hasn’t done so already).
Sure he’s got his foibles, but so have most of us here, truth be known and I like his subtle way, often with good humour, of exposing the flaws and inconsistencies in the arguments of those he disagrees with.
Oh noes, this is unfair for women candidates as she will use all her
remnant ‘manly’ wiles to win preselection*… Oh, wait…
“Liberal trans woman Rochelle Pattison wants to succeed Josh Frydenberg”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/liberal-trans-woman-rochelle-pattison-wants-to-succeed-josh-frydenberg-20231220-p5esmv.html
*so says Ms Deves
‘Pied Piper says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 12:49 pm
Stokes media xmas present to Ir laws fed labor.
….’
—————–
Oligarchs will be oligarchs, eh?
How much did your hero piss away supporting the litigation of suppurating liberals?
Pale into insignificance?
‘MelbourneMammoth says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 12:51 pm
In a scenario where Trump is actually incarcerated before the election is scheduled (I consider this unlikely as he is going to continue to stall), Trump does in theory lose some electoral equity as he cannot personally campaign or make speeches from jail. He would not be eligible to use the Internet as a mouthpiece, although of course he could appoint a proxy to do it for him.
There remains a chance that Trump wins the election even if he is in jail, and then he self-pardons on January 20, 2025 and quashes his own convictions. It would be a sight to behold. All Hail New Voldemort!’
————–
True. Rabid right voters who find that dictatorships are not all that enjoyable may yet live to rue their insanity.
Stokes need not spout his rubbish after his bank rolling of certain media figures.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/stokes-seven-west-media-has-fallen-into-a-dark-hollow-20231212-p5equ0.html
‘davo says:
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 12:53 pm
Oh noes, this is unfair for women candidates as she will use all her
remnant ‘manly’ wiles to win preselection*… Oh, wait…
“Liberal trans woman Rochelle Pattison wants to succeed Josh Frydenberg”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/liberal-trans-woman-rochelle-pattison-wants-to-succeed-josh-frydenberg-20231220-p5esmv.html
*so says Ms Deves’
————————
Jacinta Price* will be saying ‘No!’
Again.
Price has already announced that her next holy crusade after helping Dutton win the No! so resoundingly was to be on trans rights.
*Prime Minister to be?
There’s also nothing which establishes that a President can self-pardon. The general consensus among legal scholars (and also the common-sense position) is that nobody actually gets to do that. For a precedent to be set either way though, someone first needs to be stupid enough to try.
Are you expecting Trump voters are capable of write his name?
If we’re discussing the scenario of Trump Self-Pardoning, you may be interested in this discussion of exactly that, between David Frum and Charlie Sykes:
https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/david-frum-a-dark-path
They go right back in American history to outline their case and forward into the Trump Dictatorship Day 1 and following that.
It would be pretty easy for Trump to self-pardon even if he nominally couldn’t do it himself. He’d just order his appointed attorney-general or Vice President to do it. At most, it would delay his return to the White House by a few days or weeks.
Russia are still on track to win the war on Ukraine before the end of that winter.
Boerwar at 12.17 pm, Ven at 12.18
I refer you to Don Rumsfeld’s press conference 6 weeks before the invasion of Iraq, on 22 Jan 2003. It became notorious for the way the media picked up and ran hysterically with a nonsensical distinction (in the terms he used) about what Rumsfeld (of German extraction) called ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Europe.
That was a tired and misleading distinction, given when he was almost exasperated by a journo. The distinction was misleading because the new unified Germany was always the core of the new Europe.
The tired point was an erroneous shift of focus. Having said, based on his diplomatic experience, that Europe “always” responds to US persuasion, Rumsfeld had to comment about why Europe in 2003 was not following the US. The German FM Fischer told him publicly, “you have to give the rationale, and you haven’t”. So what Rumsfeld did, in a tired way, was try to count his allies elsewhere, adding up small east European countries as if, mistakenly, they could be compared to Germany or France.
Anyway, Rumsfeld’s answer to the next question was better. He said that politicians should lead.
Both sets of questions and answers are copied below:
“Q: Sir, a question about the mood among European allies. You were talking about the Islamic world a second ago. But now the European allies. If you look at, for example, France, Germany, also a lot of people in my own country — I’m from Dutch public TV, by the way — it seems that a lot of Europeans rather give the benefit of the doubt to Saddam Hussein than President George Bush. These are U.S. allies. What do you make of that?
Rumsfeld: Well, it’s — what do I make of it?
Q: They have no clerics. They have no Muslim clerics there.
Rumsfeld: Are you helping me? (Laughter.) Do you think I need help? (Laughter.)
What do I think about it? Well, there isn’t anyone alive who wouldn’t prefer unanimity. I mean, you just always would like everyone to stand up and say, Way to go! That’s the right to do, United States.
Now, we rarely find unanimity in the world. I was ambassador to NATO, and I — when we would go in and make a proposal, there wouldn’t be unanimity. There wouldn’t even be understanding. And we’d have to be persuasive. We’d have to show reasons. We’d have to — have to give rationales. We’d have to show facts. And, by golly, I found that Europe on any major issue is given — if there’s leadership and if you’re right, and if your facts are persuasive, Europe responds. And they always have.
Now, you’re thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don’t. I think that’s old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east. And there are a lot of new members. And if you just take the list of all the members of NATO and all of those who have been invited in recently — what is it? Twenty-six, something like that? — you’re right. Germany has been a problem, and France has been a problem.
Q: But opinion polls —
Rumsfeld: But — just a minute. Just a minute. But you look at vast numbers of other countries in Europe. They’re not with France and Germany on this, they’re with the United States.
Now, you cite public opinion polls. Fair enough. Political leaders have to interest themselves in where the public is, and talk to them, and think about that, and then — and provide leadership to them. And you’re quite right. You can find polls —
I can remember a poll — I won’t — it was back in 1964. I watched it over something like a three-month period. It went from zero in favor of a certain topic to 55 percent in favor of it, down to 13 percent, all in three months. Now, does that suggest that polls can be fickle and rise and fall, depending on facts, depending on circumstances? Of course they can.
And that’s — that’s what political leaders are supposed to do, is to lead. And they — they’re responsible for engaging facts and making assessments and then going out before their people and telling them their honest conviction as to what their country ought to do. And if a country doesn’t agree with us, heck, that’s happened lots of times in history.”
https://web.archive.org/web/20140228200949/http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1330
Rumsfeld was completely wrong about Europe and completely right about the duties of politicians.
Bystander @ #87 Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 – 12:53 pm
And then there’s his other side, which he exposes not so subtly, of abusing women on this blog with abhorrent and vile comments. I’m assuming, Bystander, that you’re male, and so that sort of thing doesn’t bother you overly about nath?
Daily mail now! Surprised they beat Stokes media to this!
Linda Reynolds’ extraordinary move to stop Brittany Higgins and fiancé David Sharaz from starting their new life in France after the couple bid ‘au revoir’ to Australia just a couple of days ago
Linda Reynolds’ extraordinary move to freeze Brittany Higgins’ assets after she left
NEW Linda Reynolds (left) is suing Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz (centre) for defamation and will apply for a freezing order in the Supreme Court of Western Australia to stop her from moving or selling assets. Ms Reynolds’ legal team wrote to Ms Higgins’ lawyer Leon Zwier on Tuesday, pointing to various media reports stating the couple had bought a home in Lunas, near Bordeaux, (right) and left the country for good. The move comes after she landed a $2.4million compensation settlement with the Commonwealth over claims that she was not supported by her bosses, including Ms Reynolds, when she first made her rape allegations in 2019.