Agreed.

-PB

Still waiting for the day he pops in to criticise the LNP. He is impartial after all :lol:

:lol:

-PB

Talking about colonialism isn't a cop-out at all.

It merely creates the context about why these countries are all unstable.

Some of you keep trying to push this into a 'West vs Islam' argument, and that is pointless.

Agree about the Ottomans being massive colonists, so were the Austro-Hungarians, French, Mongols, Huns, Romans....

The reason I focussed on the british is only because the modern borders of the middle east, particularly Iraq, were created by them.

If you want to understand why Iraq is in the position it is in, you need to understand history. Not just say "Duh... Islam!"

For those genuinely interested, the basic dynamic is this:

Iran (previously Persia) is by far the dominant player, biggest economy, most advanced technologically. They are predominantly Shia.

Iraq is a mix of Sunni and Shia, with a sizeable Kurdish minority. The countries south of Iraq are generally Sunni.

IS is sunni, but obviously at the most extreme edge. The Sunni countries are terrified of Iran's power and influence, and what is happening in Iraq is a proxy war being backed on one side by Iran, and the other by Saudi Arabia and friends.

The upcoming nuclear deal is for once uniting Israel and the Saudis in their fear of Iran being rehabilitated back into the international order, rather than being a pariah and sidelined, as they have been since the revolution.

pretty standard response by ballbagz

No worries......where would you like me to start?

At the beginning batty, at the beginning.

-PB

what has the big bang theory got to do with politics?

:roll:

-PB

Because the Liberal Party's claim of 'good government' is also theoretical?

Wherever and whenever you like batty, that's a decision for you as an impartial commentator to make. I'll be waiting :-"

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

-PB

well i would argue that our NSW LNP is doing an excellent job, Mike Baird is doing an awesome job.....;) NSW now the best performing state with a great future and no labor cronies stripping the state of millions of dollars....funny how that court case has faded away and the grubs have not been charged....

Federally well Tony is pretty stiff, much prefer a different leader of the LNP...... as far as the ALP goes Dill Shorten is a union gimp and a corrupt one at that.....the ALP would be best served standing as a independant party without its ties with militant and corrupt unions.....

batshit crazy conspiracy theories [-x

I would say there is less chance of a blow back from arming the NPU then groups in Syria for example. I'm pretty sure the NPU is under the umbrella of the Iraqi govt(a u.s. Ally), further more the Assyrians arent a tribe, theyre an ethnic group, they speak a dialect of Aramaic(the language of Jesus), and were in the region long before Arabs or Kurds, and last but not least they're Christian, so its hard to see them giving weapons to groups like IS.

They also don't have the demographic numbers to go on some big territorial expanding offensive.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/dutton-overhead-joking-about-sea-levels-in-pacific-islands/6768324

Audio of conversation is picked up in linked video

Syria is without a doubt a proxy war, but Iraq not so much, the only main Sunni group is IS which is a proven threat to countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. No doubt IS draw funds from provate donors in those countries though.

Syria is actually quite interesting., the French originally divided it By sectarian lines, However Arabs rose up and unified it, with the exception of Lebanon.

Straight down the middle :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good to have you and rusty back =d>

Saw that on Facebook :lol:

Fucking muppets :lol:

-PB

But but it was out of context. Which some have said trying to defend it

Thomson misused HSU members' money: court


A court has found former Health Services Union national secretary Craig Thomson misused union funds. (AAP)
Former ALP federal MP Craig Thompson

A federal court has found former Health Services Union national secretary Craig Thomson misused union funds.
Source: AAP
11 SEP 2015 - 4:05 AM UPDATED 9 MINS AGO

Disgraced former union boss Craig Thomson is facing financial penalties after the federal court ruled he did pay for escorts and political campaign activities with Health Services Union money.

The Fair Work Commission sued Thomson, seeking penalties and for compensation to be paid to the HSU, for transactions he charged to the union between 2003 and 2007.

On Friday, Justice Christopher Jessup found Thomson did improperly use HSU money during his time as secretary.

Thomson did not defend himself against the workplace relations tribunal's claim.

In March, he left the court and did not return after Justice Jessup dismissed his application to have the matter thrown out on the grounds he was mentally unfit.

On Friday, Justice Jessup published a ruling in which he found Thomson had used union money for his own benefit.

Starting on April 7, 2005, Thomson used HSU credit cards to pay for a string of escorts in breach of the Workplace Relations Act.

Justice Jessup said he was not persuaded transactions relating to an escort visit in April 2005 were in keeping with Thomson's duties as HSU National Secretary.

He found further spending on sex workers in May 2005, June 2005 and September 2006 was also in breach.

A June 2005 job sheet for a Sydney brothel indicates about an hour and a half in the "Red Turbo Spa Room" was paid for by the Health Services Union.

Thomson told union staff to record the spending as "meeting expenses".

In September 2005, Thomson charged $3575.68 for food, flights and travel to the Health Services Union, which Justice Jessup said was also a breach, as it appeared Thomson was spending the time house hunting.

It was around this time Thomson is believed to have relocated the HSU National Office from Melbourne to Sydney.

"From the evidence, it is unclear whether anyone other than the respondent himself ever worked from this office," Justice Jessup said.

Between 2006 and 2007 Thomson was heavily involved in the community in the federal seat of Dobell and was endorsed as the ALP candidate in April 2007.

Criselee Stevens, an employee at the HSU National Office, began working on Thomson's campaign exclusively after he opened his campaign office in April 2007 but remained on the HSU payroll.

For the most part she was occupied doing Thomson's bidding, Justice Jessup said.

"To use the services of Ms Stevens for his own purposes was the clearest of improprieties on the respondent's part," Justice Jessup said.

"It was no different from the manager of a construction company, for example, using the services of a carpenter employed by the company to carry out renovations on his or her domestic premises."

HSU media officer Matthew Burke resigned from the union in March 2007 to work for a senator but was asked by Thomson to continue to help his campaign as a volunteer.

Thomson gave Burke an HSU credit card and instructed him to use it for costs, such as petrol.

Between March and December 2007, Mr Burke spent $10,120.37 on such expenses.

This was a very clear contravention, Justice Jessup said.

During Thomson's election campaign, the HSU paid almost $3000 for newspaper advertisements for community group Coastal Voice of which Thomson was president.

It also paid for tables at ALP functions worth $2000 and $1500, for some furnishings in Thomson's electoral office and an Australia Post invoice for more than $7250 for mail-outs from Thomson's electoral office.

The ALP NSW branch invoiced the HSU for $12,500 worth of advertising and it paid $18,700 for radio ads, among other spending.

Thomson also entered into a major sponsorship deal with the Central Coast Division of Rugby League, committing the HSU to a payment of $30,000 in 2006 and more in following years.

All of these were found to be breaches.

Justice Jessup said the rugby sponsorship was on such a scale it was unthinkable an administrator would commit his organisation to pay this without reference to a higher authority.

Justice Jessup set a further hearing date for November 9 so the Fair Work Commission can make submissions on Thomson's penalty.



facts are facts.....union and ALP corrupt...simple

petty journalism......pretty sure we could all be guilty of quips.........

move along...typical small minded lefties crying over spilt milk

Craig Thompson is corrupt.......simple

Wouldn't even call it journalism, just three fuckwit donkeys who couldn't notice a boom mic :lol:

-PB

Exactly, not a sackable offence but just another sign of how inept these guys are.

The way Abbott's smile is wiped off his face is hilarious :lol:

Hahaha! Immediately blaming the "leftist media".

Clearly it is petty, but it has nothing to do with left or right wing.

Much like Shorten getting laughed at for criticising Subway instead of 7-Eleven, this is just a bit of fodder for the news cycle.

It will be forgotten within a week.

On the upside, at least it indicates Dutton accepts that climate change is real & happening!

Get back into your box Azza. Everyone knows bad media for Labor means they arnt doing a good job, while bad media for LNP is clearly a Jihad!!!!!!!

The president of Kiribati has lashed out at Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, labelling him morally irresponsible for making a "vulgar" joke about rising sea levels in the Pacific.

Responding more in "sadness" than anger, Anote Tong said Mr Dutton has "got to search his own soul".

"What kind of a person is he? As long as there is this kind of attitude, this kind of arrogance in any position of leadership, we will continue to have a lot of tension," he said."............

...........The foreign affairs minister of the Marshall Islands, Tony de Brum, also expressed his dismay over Mr Dutton's remarks.

"Dismayed Aust ministers joking about sea level rise in Pacific. Seems insensitivity knows no bounds in the big polluting island down sth," he wrote on Twitter.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/kiribati-president-lashes-peter-dutton-for-sea-levels-joke/6770034

So the upf are planning to run for the senate and lower house. They plan to campaign for the right to bare arms :lol:

I too support people's right to wear tank tops [size=3]Sorry couldn't resist[/size] :lol: