Oh dear, our Prime Minister has been caught out again.
Trying to be Mr Ordinary when asked to engage in a game which objectifies women, he said OK.
The game was to judge a woman on a scale of whether you would have sex with her, marry her or ask her for a date.
It’s a silly game, but underlying it is the challenge to objectifyy a woman.
How would we respond to such a challenge?
It seems like a bit of innocent fun really.
But is it?
To demonstrate how seriously sad that game is, surely the challenge needs to be reversed, ask the challenger to front up first, to use that same scenario, to ‘objectify’ some one close to them, perhaps their partner, or their mother, or if they have one, their daughter.
Bring it close to home, reverse the trap.
Our Prime Minister has had to apologise yet again for falling into a trap set by a comedian on social media.
A simple refusal to play, or to turn the trap around, to show the inappropriateness of that game would have been a better ploy, rather than to be suckered in, and the need to offer another shame-faced apology could have been so easily avoided.
Also by Bert
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Sad isn’t it, to think government is the face and voice of the people?
I am amazed that Albanese participated in such a low grade conversation with a “journo?” who was continually looking for a gotcha moment. But then this tawdry display simply confirms the potty mouth lexicon that persons in power revert to when they presume they are speaking the language of the proletariat. Just what do the Fijian diplomats think of our PM who having cajoled them into an inter-governmental agreement with smarmy diplomacy now reverts to misogynistic, lewd, disrespectful and childish blather that usually emanates from behind the shelter shed? Why didn’t his handlers pull the plug on this “interview”? Shame on you Albo – you totally lowered the standards expected of your high office and mis-represented the decent Aussie way!
To me the PM answered an impertinent question after much pressing from an illiterate reporter. We are seeing too much of this crap from our media.
Of all the stupid tricks to fall for …
You have the Prime Minister with you, and can ask any question you like about the major issues of our time. You choose to find a “game” that will embarrass your guest no matter how he answers. The shame is on the journalist/comedian and his show, and also on all those who give significance to this silly piece of entertainment
Albanese got caught in a Gotcha moment – he must learn from this encounter.
Meanwhile, back at the farm, the boofhead ex-National Party member and former deputy prime minister, Barnyard Joyce, has demonstrated yet again the depth of his mental acuity by managing to associate the recent SLBM test firing of a JL-3 ballistic missile with the current Telstra outage.
He said, on Sky News, that “I hope it’s just a coincidence about the intercontinental ballistic missile that went into the Pacific. I hope there’s no, you know, I don’t want to be paranoid or conspiracy theorist, but we know there is the capacity for … China to affect that sort of software and that sort of network, and I hope that that’s investigated and cleared as not part of the process.”
“I don’t want to be sort of, you know, conspiracy theorist, startled, startled, startled, but I do think a diligent process is to make sure that there’s nothing malevolent in this.”
There you have it, ladies & gentlemen. The planter-box hugging diviner, at his logical best. Donald Horne, perhaps, is spinning in his grave at witnessing the witlessness of this political person’s pronouncements.
Trump enshitifies the whole world, wars and slaughters go on relentlessly, China sends up fireworks, big footy questions demand conversation and a childish interviewer gives our “leader” a question and gets a pustular awkward answer. What an Australian phenomenon and no Kyle, Karl, Pauline or Murdoch maggot needed…why not follow a canetoad for leadership?
I was actually going to write something on this myself… and I still might. Of course the question with politicians always is: Are they really that stupid?
Often the answer is yes, but sometimes we need to think how things are playing out and which part of it was predictable. Then we need to think about whether it went as most people would have predicted.
Steve Bannon spoke about flooding the zone with shit. To what extent is it better to take the hit over this, apologise and move people on from talking about the Budget and to what extent will this do lasting damage? Are Labor strategists that cynical?
Who knows, but there have certainly been less stories about how Labor have reduced the incentive to become a multibillionaire since we discovered that Albanese would pick Kylie…
And, btw, isn’t it meant to be (just to be non-sexist about this): Isn’t the game meant to be “Shag, marry, date” – Tony Abbott, Donald Trump, Barnaby Joyce and the person says:
I’d shag Barnaby because he’d probably be incapable
I’d marry Donald because he’s rich and old and I’d inherit the money
And I can date Tony as being around the 1950s in terms of attitude.
What do you expect from a PM who attended Kyle Sandilands’wedding? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-29/anthony-albanese-chris-minns-avoid-media-kyle-sandilands-wedding/102282432
Yeah, nah, Abalone keeps proving the rumours that he is a very bad judge.At least, he’s currently entertaining leaders of miniscule specks of dirt in the Pacific, where he’s more comfortable, at least while he’s in the chief bribing position.Is he smarter?Unlikely.
He’s got to deal with the shithead Modi next, and that will be a whole other bag of hypocrisy.
I know he loves the idea of the job as PM, but he should be persuaded to move on , to be with his’family’ and Toto.
It is now embarrassing.
And if he feels obliged to hug Modi, and kiss him, I hope he resiles from the tongue.
Rossleigh,
I’m with you and Michael West, who says “Forget the Albo and Kylie Minogue beat-up. There are much bigger stories out there. #privatisation #auspol #agedcare”.
The Prime Minister’s office has 61 staffers, it would be impossible to believe that there aren’t any staffers vetting with whom Albanese does an interview. Nikki Osbourne, I believe was the host, is far from an unknown quantity. Her comedic schtick is basically bogan with wardrobe does blunt, straight talking; including on sex. Her humour leans heavily on shock value.
It beggars belief that Albanese would be taken by surprise by what Nikki came up with.
The question becomes what was there that Labor would rather we don’t focus our attention on? There is a class action on aged-care rorts, I don’t know what the privatization might refer to unless that is also part of the aged-care rorts problem. There’s the NDIS budget cuts/negotiations as well.
It couldn’t possibly be that Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians continues virtually unabated, despite the supposed ceasefire that Albnanese lauded and did his bit to pretend that it was genuine. Besides Labor couldn’t care less, it is only worried about those who run Labor, those who think their feelings are more important than human lives and who wanted a sham Royal Commission to tell everyone.
Huge segue, will possibly attract zero comments but maybe eyes on will have some impact.
Watching the 2025 American documentary Bugs That Rule the World. Ep. 1 titled Insect Apocalypse. This is not a new or recent topic. A bit like global warming, scientists have been banging the drum for quite a few years.
The narrators in the first episode are unequivocal. Insect loss on a planet-wide basis is massive, and will ultimately have a massive impact on human populations as pollinators disappear, other families that recycle, regenerate, provide food sources for mammals, birds, reptile, aquatic species… all on the extinction train with no respite.
The takeaway message… once the insects are gone, it’s all over red rover for humanity.
Whatever – the intention to distract our attention from existential problems reveals the depths to which Labor staffers will go to to manage the headlines.
The outcome, intentional or otherwise, questions whether Albanese is a suitable person to be our Prime Minister – “conduct unbecoming” comes to mind.
Take a step back and consider that this is the best they can do against Albo. No sports rorts, no dodgy water deals, no drunken performance lying on the footpath, no breaking the bonk ban, the media has to lose its mind over some silly comment. The most crazy bit is how many Australians are buying into the outrage.
Mouse
Good points, this government has been extremely disciplined with no significant scandals that I can think of and there seems to be no evidence of Labor ministers getting pissed and lying in the road.
This Gotcha moment was the best that the Albanese haters could think of, yet it gave SKY-after-Dark the opportunity to go off like a frog in a sock.
If we look at the dirt they have managed to dig on Albo it is manufactured outrage of inane things. Take the stumble/fall off the stage put forward as some monumental lie instead of a larrikin retelling of a non-event. I suspect that they may be used to hide what the opposition parties are or aren’t doing.
Albo even handled the wonderfully outspoken Ed Husic well. No longer in the cabinet, Ed Husic is able to speak out strongly and raise very valid points while remaining a respectful and solid member of the Labor government.
These ‘frog in a sock’ stories run out of puff and become annoying very quickly.
Love it how these idioms get thoughtlessly tossed about as if they’re gospel. Has anyone ever actually seen a frog in a sock? Unless you have actual evidence, as in witnessing this hypothetical frog in a hypothetical sock, you actually have no idea of how the said frog would behave. Yet you mindlessly offer the idiom / simile as if it’s uncontested truth.
It’s arguable that the casual & careless use of language is likely responsible for much of the distress and misunderstanding that characterises a large chunk of the lived experience.
It may well be the case that a frog in a sock, if ever anybody is callous or cruel enough to actually do this to the innocent amphibian, will just sit there, inertly, stunned perhaps by this strange dislocation of its usual lived experience. I’m willing to go as far to suggest that only idiots, morons, cretins and rustic dribbling fools would think it fun to stuff a frog into a sock. It brings to mind the woodcut of the English artist William Hogarth, titled The First Stage of Cruelty, which showcased the torture of animals by louts in a London street.
Thoughtlessly tossed about………it’s an idiom, Canguro and is distinctively Australian, often appreciated for its quirky, humorous imagery and is part of the colourful slang that characterizes Australian English, meant to be fun and an expressive addition to casual conversation, not to be taken literally but frequently useful to illuminate those posturing fools at SKY.
Somewhat similar to the dialogue from The Life of Brian : “Blessed are the cheesemakers.”
what’s so special about the cheesemakers?
Well, obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
Or, quirky imagery in the description of a retreating Sophia Loren like two small boys wrestling under a blanket. One doesn’t have literally dive beneath the blanket to appreciate the idiom.
Yeah, Labor have been disciplined.
No tax on most of our exported gas – Labor give it away for free – so generous.
No total ban on gambling ads – Labor’s tribute to Peta Murphy’s legacy.
No money from nominated entitities for Independent candidates – but Labor does.
No consequences for being referred to the NACC over Robodebt – Labor designed.
No mentioning of who will have a nuclear waste dump in their backyard.
No new Virginia subs – apparently Labor have multioptimal pathways.
No amount the USA demands we spend on buying US weapons too much.
No whistleblowers condoned – can’t have the truth getting out.
No extradition to the USA too much trouble – laws made retrospective if need be.
No lowering of the number of people living in poverty – they don’t donate to Labor
No 12 million homes to be built – do the homeless even get to vote?
No more Sportsbets freebies at the Melbourne Cup – or will there?
No evidence of Islamophobia at Royal Commission – who owns Labor?
No testing of false evidence at Royal Commission – who owns Labor?
No FOI request to be met for less than $150 000 – Labor thwarting cyberboogies.
No meaningful action against genocide – Labor are friendly with psychopaths.
No tax on windfall profits from wars – can’t ruin someone’s good luck.
No gas reserve during a ‘cost of living’ crisis – took Dutton to bell the cat.
No tackling inflation directly, let the RBA do its thing – the banks love that.
No more ‘how can we help you’ for Grace Tame – she’s difficult apparently.
No extra staff for crossbenchers – the PM needs more to stay out of trouble.
No deal with Sen. Fatima Payman – why even look her in the eyes when her male staffer will do – apparently Albo thought he’s the adult in the room.
No ministry for Ed Husic – the factional numbers must be balanced.
No calling a genocide a genocide – that’s for Marjorie Taylor-Greene.
No human oversight of roboassessment in aged-care – Labor loves a roboanything.
No charges for war crimes against Herzog – wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings.
No expulsion of Israeli ambassador – wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings.
No restraint on state violence – well, what are the police for if not to bash the government’s opponents.
No taking climate change seriously when new approvals of gas and coal fields are in question.
No mucking about when approving Woodside’s NW shelf project – faster than Dutton promised.
No Mauguan skate allowed in the way of salmon farming – just remove the safeguards even Howard thought were necessary to check corporate greed.
No Makkaratta – First Nations who?
No action on fuel security until a crisis hits – why plan ahead.
No addressing public school funding disadvantage properly – just lock in disadvantage for a decade.
No addressing the tertiary education malaise – let the markets do their thing.
The list could go on.
Labor have been disciplined in serving the interests of those who have captured Labor, corporate elites and Zionists, not the Australian public.
Canguro, you must have lived a sheltered life if you haven’t heard the saying ‘like a frog in a sock’. Try using your imagination with a touch of humour.
Thommo, if Ed Husic was still in cabinet he would not be free to speak out as he does now. Your list sounds like a shopping list for Sky news, or the coalition of rwnj’s I have read and heard that one of Whitlam’s mistakes was to try to do too much too quickly. Albo and Labor are not ticking all my wish list off, but they are achieving a great deal more that is being discussed in the media.
I fear too many Australians are no longer larrikins, but enjoy whinging and going off like a frog in a sock, going off like a drongo, a GOF (Grumpy old Fart).
PS, I do love the Aussie larrikin lingo.
Anon.E.Mouse,
the point in regard to Ed Husic is that in choosing Labor’s cabinet balancing the factional numbers took precedence over merit – or are you saying that Ed Husic was incompetent and had to lose his portfolio? or that he gave it up to become outspoken?
The next part of your response is to simply attempt to smear the messenger so as to dismiss the message – that reflects more on your lack of logical argument to put forward than my message.
Gough Whitlam pretty well got the program instituted; it only took his government 3 years – what is mistaken about finding out Australia’s needs, designing a program to meet those needs, and actually getting your program done?
The mistake Labor supporters seem to make is to believe just holding power and doing a couple of things is sufficient to be a good government.
What is the purpose of having government if you’re going to let the country go to wrack and ruin in the meantime?
If Labor is achieving so much, just what social challenge has Labor gone a long way to solving? Poverty? Homelessness? Climate change? wealth inequality? honoring the social contract with the young? an education system in decline? aged-care? a hospital system in decline? manufacturing in decline? mental health in decline? national sovereignty? closing the gap? fixing the structural deficit in the budget? transparency and integrity in government? NDIS? environmental decline? biodiversity decline? Media concentration? our relationship with a declining empire going rogue? supporting and following International law?
You say that my post was akin to a SkyNews shopping list – name a butcher’s dozen from the list that SkyNews have been pushing for. How about a half dozen?
Linking any criticism of Labor to being far right is easier than defending Labor’s track record, right?
That should be a ‘baker’s dozen’ not a ‘butcher’s dozen’ – no need to bring the Irish into this.
I read a report on the Labor Party Convention recently held in Sydney that included the by-line that both Albanese and Minns arrived in Labor Party cars showing pro-Zionist decals!! If true that just shows the penetrative power of the Zionist phallus into the guts of Australian politics; and worse still the sycophantic adoration of our politicians to accept and normalise these genocidal maniacs into the Australian way of life without reference to the Australian electorate. Not good enough!!
Thommo, I am pretty cynical about the way politics work but I know that if Albo had wanted to silence Ed Husic he would have kept him in the ministry. I have no doubt that there were factions involved and no doubt Ed was disappointed, however he has spoken strongly on many issues and has not earned the criticism that Payman did.
Politics is a game of strategy and statesmanship, and Ed Husic is one politician that I follow with great interest and hope.
As for the Zionist label, its odd that both sides accuse Albo of blindly supporting the other. Politics.
Anon.E.Mouse,
The Zionists are never happy no matter what concessions have been made in their favour. They will label Albanese as being unfriendly towards Israel and of failing Australian Jews all day everyday to push him to go to even greater lengths of appeasement ; Australians opposed to genocide label Albanese a supporter of Zionism because that’s what he does. Nothing odd about that.
Sen. Fatima Payman was basically forced out of the Labor party because she stood up for the Labor platform and Palestinians and crossed the floor over a motion to recognize Palestine. She was the only Labor MP prepared to cross the floor in defiance of caucus but in support of Labor’s own national platform.
She did come under criticism before that, who can forget Penny Wong’s ‘I had to wait for 10 years for marriage equality’ as if Palestinians had to endure slaughter at the hands of Israel for something in the order of another 9 years 6 months before Labor should be expected to do anything?
Arguably, Ed Husic hasn’t come under the same criticism as he is a former minister who chose to support caucus solidarity rather than support Fatima Payman’s support for Palestinian recognition and stand on the right side of a genocide. Has he called it a genocide yet?