World Politics

[Don't be late Pedro]

Yep and Rudd is so genuine...please

Abbott comes across as being straight talking and that will be something that is welcomed on the world stage.

I don't know too much about Rudd since Gillard has been in charge since I have been here. Abbott does not come across as straight talking at all. All he does is dodge questions about policy when asked of him and his party.

That's not wholly true. At least this guy had a crack.

 

[darwin553]

At least this guy had a crack.

As I said already in this thread, it will be the last we will see of him.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

As I said already in this thread, it will be the last we will see of him.

I don't know, he has all the makings of the next Tony Abbott.

 

[thrawn]

Yep and Rudd is so genuine...please

Abbott comes across as being straight talking and that will be something that is welcomed on the world stage.

So basically you support the conservatives just because they're not the Labor party.

 

[darwin553]

I don't know, he has all the makings of the next Tony Abbott.

Spoken like a true greenie

 

[movingtarget]

Some same strange results in Australian election. Western Sydney and QLD did not go to plan as per the polls. The Greens dropped percentage points nationally but still held onto the seat of Melbourne which was going to be close anyway. The votes for the smaller parties as well will create headaches for Abbott in the senate.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

Spoken like a true greenie

I'll take that as a compliment.

I get the impression that many people in Australia (at least in the bigger cities) don't really appreciate just how well Australia is doing in comparison to the rest of the world.

When mining take a major downturn (which at some point it probably will) I think people are going to be in for a shock. The least of their worries will be stopping a few boat people. Though naturally it will be blamed on them.

The high dollar is already making exports uncompetitive. I was living in London for many years and think the cost of living in Sydney is higher.

 

[darwin553]

I was living in London for many years and think the cost of living in Sydney is higher.

Not sure. I live in Brisbane and having lived in London for 6 months I reckon London was more expensive. I am aware that out of all the capital cities in Australia that Sydney would be the most expensive - but lucky our wages are higher here in Australia, then in England, huh?

 

[thrawn]

Not sure. I live in Brisbane and having lived in London for 6 months I reckon London was more expensive. I am aware that out of all the capital cities in Australia that Sydney would be the most expensive - but lucky our wages are higher here in Australia, then in England, huh?

I moved from Sydney to London a few months ago. Sydney is easily more expensive.

 

[darwin553]

I moved from Sydney to London a few months ago. Sydney is easily more expensive.

Well there we go...

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

Not sure. I live in Brisbane and having lived in London for 6 months I reckon London was more expensive. I am aware that out of all the capital cities in Australia that Sydney would be the most expensive - but lucky our wages are higher here in Australia, then in England, huh?

I live in Sydney but have been to Perth and Melbourne quite a few times. I would say that (day to day) costs are not hugely different. Average wages are certainly higher which of course affects the cost of living. As does the huge amount of taxable deductions that can be claimed.

 

[python]

to me, by endless threats of using military interventions and actually implementing them, the us (and perhaps the west in general) send a clear message opposite of the one they foolishly convinced themselves of:

'acquire the means of such retaliation that those threatening think twice'

i have little doubt that if syria had nuclear weapons deliverable to one of the us territories, the arrogant threats from the rooftops would be replaced by loud barking like they do in the case of north korea...iran IS getting the message.

 

[Alphabet]

In the last election, the Liberal candidate won with a majority of 55%, and I highly doubt there'll be a swing away from him because he's done pretty well for the electorate.

61% this time.

 

[ToreBear]

The most important country in the world is having an election today. It looks like the right wing will be coming into power for the next 4 years.


If Norway disappears, and you notice, you will know why.

 

[python]

If Norway disappears, and you notice, you will know why.

i personally doubt and am quite sure, as long as northug is proud of owning his norwegian passport (which he is !!!) there is no way norway will dishonour its most famous son by disappearing...

but seriously, i have no concerns re the centre-right winning, because they will have no change regarding the nordic sports dynamics and traditions. they (the politicians) know if they dared to touch the nation's core obsession, they'd be done for ever

 

[ToreBear]

i personally doubt and am quite sure, as long as northug is proud of owning his norwegian passport (which he is !!!) there is no way norway will dishonour its most famous son by disappearing...

but seriously, i have no concerns re the centre-right winning, because they will have no change regarding the nordic sports dynamics and traditions. they (the politicians) know if they dared to touch the nation's core obsession, they'd be done for ever

Well yep, that at least should be safe.

Anyway the city of Oslo had a referendum on applying for the winter Olympics in 2022 and it passed 53,5 for and 43,6 against, so that is good news. The bad news is that FRP looks to be in in the government and they might do something to stop that happening. Then again, their opinions follow the day to day polls, and they will be junior partners in any government, so it might be that the application goes ahead without to much interference.

Speaking of the Olympics, the Russians are going all out to get results legally in 2014.

http://www.nrk.no/sport/russisk-ol-vapen-ulovlig-i-norge-1.11213897

They have invested 30 mil. nok (just under 4 mil euro), into vans with hi tech altitude chambers for restitution during altitude training. That tells me they plan to get their results legally.

The article is also about Bjørndalen being jealous, because altitude manipulation is currently not allowed for Norwegian athletes.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I don't know too much about Rudd since Gillard has been in charge since I have been here. Abbott does not come across as straight talking at all. All he does is dodge questions about policy when asked of him and his party.

That's not wholly true. At least this guy had a crack.

I met Tony Abbott earlier this year and I must admit that I am not a fan of many people in the Liberal Party but you can not question Tony Abbott's dedication to his country and his honesty. I think his honesty often gets him in trouble to be honest. It has in the past. Warren Mundine (former President of the ALP) put it best when he said that 'if you don't like Tony Abbott, you would not want to meet him because you will come to like him'.

So basically you support the conservatives just because they're not the Labor party.

That is certainly not how I see it. I would regard myself as a social conservative and economically dry/liberal

 

[darwin553]

I met Tony Abbott earlier this year and I must admit that I am not a fan of many people in the Liberal Party but you can not question Tony Abbott's dedication to his country and his honesty. I think his honesty often gets him in trouble to be honest. It has in the past. Warren Mundine (former President of the ALP) put it best when he said that 'if you don't like Tony Abbott, you would not want to meet him because you will come to like him'.

I could not have said it better myself. The proof is in the pudding anyway with his ability to unite the party after gaining the leadership off Turnbull after very close to a split vote in the leadership ballot and there has been no recriminations or challenges from Turnbull or his supporters.

 

[Ferminal]

I live in Sydney but have been to Perth and Melbourne quite a few times. I would say that (day to day) costs are not hugely different. Average wages are certainly higher which of course affects the cost of living. As does the huge amount of taxable deductions that can be claimed.

FFS, you're forgetting about the working families doing it tough, cost of living pressures. This is a major crisis and needs to be fixed, forget about the structural health of the economy which has far more bearing on the standard of living than politicians' feeble attempts to backup their grandstanding.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

The fact is that if a politician is more aligned to your political view you are more likely to find him palatable. imo Abbott, for the most part, refused to talk about his policies. I would agree in that he can be honest and in those moments you see him for what he really is i.e. a bit of a right wing bully. The interviews I have seen of him have not swayed my opinion.

Then again if you like Thatcher it is unlikely we will ever agree on much politically. I saw first hand what she did to much of the country and if you think it was for the better you would be very mistaken.

As for proof of the pudding being uniting his party. You could make the same argument for Hitler (Yes, I know... Godwin's law ).

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

FFS, you're forgetting about the working families doing it tough, cost of living pressures. This is a major crisis and needs to be fixed, forget about the structural health of the economy which has far more bearing on the standard of living than politicians' feeble attempts to backup their grandstanding.

Eh...? Did I miss something?

 

[thrawn]

I met Tony Abbott earlier this year and I must admit that I am not a fan of many people in the Liberal Party but you can not question Tony Abbott's dedication to his country and his honesty. I think his honesty often gets him in trouble to be honest. It has in the past. Warren Mundine (former President of the ALP) put it best when he said that 'if you don't like Tony Abbott, you would not want to meet him because you will come to like him'.


That is certainly not how I see it. I would regard myself as a social conservative and economically dry/liberal

I find him to be quite evasive on policies (read dishonest).

For what it's worth, I have heard second hand from political staffers that he is a nice guy on a personal level. He just has ****ty politics.

 

[Ferminal]

Eh...? Did I miss something?

Maybe.

The whole "cost of living" is a phony and an indicator of nothing. Although real wages haven't seen much action in recent years the typical full-time employed person isn't any worse off than they were six years ago (there are certain "cost of living" indicators and I'm pretty sure they aren't setting off any alarm bells). No government in Australia is prepared to seriously look at the issue and so the only way to ease "cost of living" is via a sustained recession/depression. That is great if you're in stable employment on a fixed nominal wage but for the one million people who would lose their jobs or hours it is of little comfort.

Of course the most hilarious thing is that the same time they squeal about "cost of living" there will be cries of the "cost of doing business" aka "wages blowout" and "productivity crisis" without recognising that it's impossible to fix both problems (if they are indeed actual problems) unless you go to the fundamentals of the economy.

 

[Ferminal]

Tank Abbott will make a great Prime Minister.

Can't believe I missed this one

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

Maybe.

The whole "cost of living" is a phony and an indicator of nothing. Although real wages haven't seen much action in recent years the typical full-time employed person isn't any worse off than they were six years ago (there are certain "cost of living" indicators and I'm pretty sure they aren't setting off any alarm bells). No government in Australia is prepared to seriously look at the issue and so the only way to ease "cost of living" is via a sustained recession/depression. That is great if you're in stable employment on a fixed nominal wage but for the one million people who would lose their jobs or hours it is of little comfort.

Of course the most hilarious thing is that the same time they squeal about "cost of living" there will be cries of the "cost of doing business" aka "wages blowout" and "productivity crisis" without recognising that it's impossible to fix both problems (if they are indeed actual problems) unless you go to the fundamentals of the economy.

I disagree with cost of living indicating nothing. Are you saying CPI (one measure) is of no worth wrt inflation and the effects of inflation on wages?