The Bile Duct of the Nation

Murdoch's The Australian bills itself as The Heart of the Nation. Bile Duct of the Nation would be more appropriate. The Australian oozes petty vindictiveness:-

In its Cut & Paste section on 21/7/08 it excreted the following:-

"Food for thought bites aspiring candidate on the derriere: Rose Jackson, an executive of Young Labor, is overwhelmed by a pavlova on ABC TV's Q&A program last Thursday" A member of the audience asked a question in which he used the term "Pavlovian responses." Compere Tony Jones directed it to panel member Jackson, as a young person "about to enter politics." In her answer Jackson confused Pavlovian with pavlova, explaining, when picked up on it by Jones, that "I just got overwhelmed by the pavlova metaphor."

The BDoN followed that with this:-

"The Australian on November 21, 2007, reports on an earlier Jackson moment: The revelation that (George) Newhouse's* campaign manager, Rose Jackson, has spoken out against the Jewish state has the potential to hurt his chances in the marginal eastern Sydney seat of Wentworth, which has the largest number of Jewish voters of any electorate in Australia. In an email addressed 'Dear activists', Ms Jackson wrote to an internet education discussion forum last year: 'I oppose Zionism because it calls for the creation of a Jewish state, and I think all governments should be secular. No Jewish, Islamic, Christian states anywhere in the world, just good, robust, secular democracies', she said. 'By speaking out on behalf of the Palestinians and Lebanese people, we can give voice to those that some governments and media would wish to silence'. Asked if her views sat uncomfortably next to those of Mr Newhouse, Ms Jackson said, 'I don't know George's position on Israel. I'm just opposed to theocracy. I certainly support the right of Israel to exist, but not as a Jewish state'."

The BDoN was right to raise the question of Jackson's position on Israel vis a vis Newhouse's Zionism, and that "I don't know George's position on Israel" is pretty lame. However, although she may not have known the difference between Pavlov and pavlova, she couldn't have been more on the mark in the above email. Unfortunately, the higher she advances in the Labor Party, the more the pressure will be on her to revise her views on Israel (if she hasn't already done so, that is). Both official Labor and the BDoN, you see, require the following Pavlovian response on that one: Israel is a Vibrant Democracy/ A Beacon of Light in a Sea of Middle Eastern Darkness/ The Ant's Pants/ Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice etc, etc. Still, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If opposition to the idea of a 'Jewish' state is as wrong as confusing Pavlov with pavlova, then the BDoN can hardly cavil at support for the idea of an Islamic state.

In his 28/7/08 column, Strewth, D D McNicoll excreted this:-

"Ramsey cut to size: Alan Ramsey, Fairfax Media's long-serving Canberra political pundit, took a dramatic downgrade in The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday with his usual two-thirds of a page cut to just two half-columns as Michael Duffy got the prime spot. Scuttlebut in Canberra suggests Ramsey is the latest staffer to run foul of editor Alan Oakley."

Could Ramsey's crime be that when it comes to Israel (see my series of posts on The Israeli Occupation of Federal Parliament), he doesn't wag his tail and salivate like the BDoN does?

[* See my posts Testing Time for Rudd (21/12/07) & Ahmadinejad: Our Part in His Downfall (29/2/08)]