ABBOTT HAS FOUND THE PLANE EVERYTHING IS OK
And this. What do people think about the recent cyclist dooring incident in Melbourne, that is people who know about it and people who give an actual fuck?
To me there's something about this that seems odd.
Check the video and see if you notice anything:
10 comments:
Was there meant to be a video embedded in that post? I did find it on YouTube and I think the thing I found most odd about it was that the cyclist didn't say something like “Holy fucking, fuck me dead!” when she hit the door. But that's not what you were getting at, was it?
I was going to do a post with some stuff about Abbott, but I guess I'll just stick my thoughts here since, well, there he is. It's about that march in March march, you mentioned over at mine: In the footage I saw, there were signs saying “Abbott is Murdoch and Rhinehart's bitch”, t-shirts that read “Fuck Tony Abbott”, and plenty of pictures of him with a cock-and-balls drawn on his forehead.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it. Would have paid good money for one of those shirts and worn it proudly. But I just wondered what you made of it all in regards to that sort-of-discussion we had about how much of the anti-Julia stuff was sexism and how much of it was the broader culture getting more visibly abusive in general?
Not sure what had happened to the video but it's back now.
Yes that's kind of what I was getting at Alex. She doesn't react, it's almost like she expected it to happen (and maybe bike riders are so on alert, that they do expect these things) but also there's a male rider there just behind the door, he's not reacting. Also she quickly says she's filming. And is very quickly, straight away, asking for details.
On the Abbott stuff, what you're talking about, I didn't see any of those signs anywhere other than a place that was pointing them out. (Which makes me wonder, were they widespread and they made most people uncomfortable and they didn't put pics of them up on their twitter, or didn't even take pics of them?) Those signs made me uncomfortable and those signs were not something I would hold. Nor would I want to stand next to someone holding those signs, ie they didn't express something I would be saying publicly or endorsing.
Who knows - it might just be people getting more dickheady in general; being happier to be more public about it. It might be revenge for the Gillard smears. I did think it was people echoing the Gillard smears and I thought it wasn't very smart but you can't control what people put on their signs. There were some brilliant signs though.
Insurance scam, possibly? Who knows?
So, did you actually manage to get to one of those marches? Like, in person? I see Sarah Toa* did. It's interesting you said you didn't see any of the abusive stuff (there's none in her photos either), because in the news clips I saw, it was everywhere. It goes to show you how little the media portrayal of events can reflect real life. Hasn't the coverage of this missing plane thing been atrocious?
*I must remember to ask Sarah what the go is with the Toa part of her name; since it's not her real name, is it? Or is it? Is it a family/cultural thing? Or is the name on her book a writter-name, alias, thing? Sarah, if you're reading this … ?
The car thing? Cash scam. They charge the excess but don't fix the car. Easy. They are renting out cars with damage deliberately otherwise why rent one to me? They probably only try it on certain people, ie woman, older, with a particular drop off location eg airport where keys handed in far away from where the car has been parked.
I didn't go to a march, I'm lazy like that even though I was horrified by the cause, that we can't peacefully protest without risk of arrest. I think the only thing that would get me out there is abortion becoming illegal, but even then. I am lazy. I think you are too kind to say the media don't reflect real life; I'd say 'they deliberately skew things to make things more shocking/watchable.'
Missing plane thing, terrible. It just seems impossible but from what people are saying, the oceans are enormous and these things mostly sink. I've been researching (before this plane thing) plane crashes etc for something I want to write; some of the accidents around the world throughout the years have been horrific; your worst nightmare. I don't know how you are with flying but I get worse as I get older.
Sarah's name: it's a pen or blog name, Toa - it's explained on her blog, which I had read, but when I saw her I asked again and it means warrior [woman]? Something like that and it's entirely fitting. The name on her book is her real surname...
I actually meant the cyclists in the video might be doing an insurance scam. I think what went on with your hire car speaks for itself.
I might have gone to a march if I'd been anywhere near one. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I am not the biggest fan of Tony Abbott or the kind of politics he represents.
You're lucky to live in a state where abortion is legal in the first place. Abortion in QLD is funny in that it's one of those crimes that people commit openly because it breaks a law that's almost never enforced. I think it's technically still illegal to buy and sell porn in the state too, despite the fact that every city has a porn shop operating somewhere in open view. It wasn't always like that though, of course.
And things are getting worse with the bikie laws, and freedom of association. Hopefully it will all get overturned in the supreme court.
The thing with the plane that I find most appalling is the manner in which the news have been jumping on every sensational theory as if it were “the real story”. Meanwhile, the real story is “a plane is missing and nobody has a fucking clue what happened to it”. That's it, move on to something else. Instead, they seem determined to wring every ounce of sensationalism and drama out of it that they can. Even the ABC has been terrible.
I've only flown a handful of times. I don't like it much. Don't like boats much, either. To be honest, I'm not even keen on driving when there's other people on the road. I guess I'm a bit of a cautious/nervous traveler.
Cheers for the info on Sarah. I think the only place I'd heard Toa before is from my Polynesian rellies. I think it might be mainly a New Zealand Maori thing but I'm not 100% sure. Has Sarah got Maori roots?
Oh. The cyclists. No, my feeling was if anything dodgy there it's a reporter thing, ie setting up a situation to either raise awareness of 'dooring' (which until that story, I hadn't known it was being used as a verb in that way) or something. But that's a bit extreme and a bit paranoid of me. It's no secret I do not like the lycra people on the whole.
I don't think I'll need an abortion now, ever, but I want my daughter to be able to have one safely and legally if possible, if she needs/wants one ever. It was only in the last few years I think it became fully legal in Victoria, although for years we've been able to access safe abortion.
Yes, the plane. I agree but again, it's the media doing their thing. And the ABC? Well like the ALP have moved to the right of politics, the ABC has moved closer to the centre of all that is horrific and prurient, don't you think? There has been a shift everywhere and it's harder to get a handle on what's the middle ground.
Don't know about Sarah and any Maori roots. We talked about a lot of stuff but not that. She's certainly got Maori hair. It's fantastically springy and wild. Love it.
I don't even have a daughter*, but I want anyone who needs an abortion to be able to get one safely and legally. *(I suppose I do have a heap of nieces and cousins to worry about)
Yes, the ABC is getting worse. And I anticipate them getting worse still. It'll be interesting to see whether the flack they're coping at the moment from the govt/right-wing commentators will invoke much of a change in editorial policy. More right-leaning opinion, etc. All in the interest of being fair and balanced, of course. I look at the mess that is the American political/media industry and I feel like I'm staring into Australia's future. In ten years, my views are probably going to be considered left-wing extremist.
Also, I don't think I could be shocked by anything dodgy our local media gets up to after that rubbish with the reporters sitting on the helipad a couple of years ago.
I'm late to the conversation but I'll put in my 2 cents worth about the cyclist - there didn't seem to be much of a crash sound - I expected it to be a little more violent but it's almost as if she stopped just before the door, hit it and then 'fell' over...and she was so quick on the follow up, like you said Melba. She didn't even seem hurt at all - strange.
It's really interesting footage.
Taxis drawing to a stop, obviously a door is going to open any moment and some suit is going to step out. The scenario should be a simple act of anticipation on behalf of any cyclist. (And then there is a curb!)
I ride my bike into town most days. Getting sucked into the undercarriages of road trains is what I bother about, not writing down the details of some businessman after I've shot the inside of a taxi rank. She sounds like a right wanker. I know general assumptions are not that great but I'll bet my bottom dollar she's never had a more dangerous moment in her life.
Doored by a suit! Whoo!
Re Sarah Toa, Alex, Melba and I swapped blog name stories on our way back from Fremantle. Mine was born from my time in NZ learning Maori language and being called Xena by the friend who got me into blogging in the first place, Mark Roy at The Nerve.
Thank you for the explanation regarding the name Sarah. I had a suspicion it was Kiwi.
You're right about the bike rider too – you can't not expect someone to be getting out of a taxi in those circumstances.
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