Cyprus’s loss is our gain
Uncategorized - - Posted on July, 1 at 1:22 pm by Ken L
November 24, 2007, was a glorious day that will live in my memory forever. Nothing could surpass the joy of knowing that I would never ever hear the words ‘prime minister John Howard’ spoken again in the present tense, but similar sentiments about ‘foreign minister Alexander Downer’ came close.
And now the clown who embarrassed our nation on the global stage for more than 11 years is about to do us all a favour and piss off from the parliament. Predictably, the Howard-hugging remnant are falling over themselves to publish fawning drivel about the man.
Did you know, for example, that Downer confronted ‘Saddam Hussein and the scourge of terrorism’ (h/t Tim)? Gosh, and here I thought all he did was yap in support of the Bush mob from the security of his Canberra bunker after the Man of Steel made the heroic decision to grovel to the USA, while people he was supposed to be monitoring funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars to that same Saddam. (And did you note that even now, there are moronic wingnuts who insist on conflating the Iraqi disaster with some mythical crusade against terrorism?)
A buffoon to the last, Downer’s biggest gripe against contemporary Australian politics is apparently that state governments have stopped him smoking cigars in public places. At least he spared us crocodile tears about the plight of working families.
This piece of nonsense struck me as especially revealing of the character of the man:
“And yes, we call people lefties. Sometimes even shocking lefties. For the Left, raging against something is a vocation. The Left prefers an obsessive campaign. They are very emotionally driven. If one things passes, they go on to something else. Just like climate change. Some clown telling you to sign the Kyoto Protocol and the weather will change. I mean, what next?”
His capacity to misrepresent and trivialise issues is once again on display but his smug comments about the left being ‘emotionally driven’ and ‘raging against something’ are truly hilarious and symptomatic of his utter lack of self-awareness and inability to engage in reflective behaviour.
I challenge anyone to name a member of the government whose public statements come even close to the levels of spiteful waspishness and petty, humourless bile that were par for the course from Alexander Downer.
He will not be missed.
Posted in Uncategorized |
July 1st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
You know, as I started to read the article getting more incensed at it by the moment I stopped and read the name of the writer.
Janet Albrechtsen.
Phew! that explains everything. Janet is amazing in her consistency to be able to write about people & places which are not grounded in reality whatsoever.
July 1st, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Curious - I just noticed that half the comments on that hilarious Albrechtson blog piece have magically disappeared from The Australian site. Even more curious is the piece celebrates ‘the robust free market of ideas.’ Some ideas are obviously freer than others….
July 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Hear, hear Ken.
It’s puzzling how some on the right are so proud of being emotionally vacant. Brendan must be such a disappointment for them.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:07 pm
sorry Ken - comments have reappeared now.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
My father is from Cyprus (luckily for him his village was not in the North).
What a dilemna we Cypriots must face.
If a solution is attained in the next few years, I will probably have to thank this bloke!!!
July 1st, 2008 at 5:59 pm
“Cyprus’s loss is our gain”
Brilliant heading, Ken. Thanks for the laugh.
A flashback to the days PJK regularly ripped new ones for he with a face like a smacked bottom …
Paul Daley, via Sydney Morning Herald, 11 May 2008:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/spoils-of-selfdestruction/2008/05/10/1210131334711.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
July 1st, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Downer was a slimy little turd who must share some guilt for the war crimes we, as part of the idiotic coalition of the willing, committed upon thousands and perhaps millions of innocent people who suffered our unprovoked aggression whilst themselves never having harmed or even threaten us.
No doubt believing he slipped away with it scot free, history will never pardon his gross crimes against humanity, nor those of his evil co-conspirators.
July 1st, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I’m glad Downer is in control of his emotions, not like those awful lefties:
—Pointing out that he is a cigar smoker, Mr Downer goes on: “It just incenses me and it even encourages me to think about going into state politics - that’s how much it incenses me - to have state governments tell us where we can smoke and where we can’t smoke.” —
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23949822-601,00.html
July 1st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I always wanted to know:
why did he get called “Dolly Downer”
Was there a special moment or comment he made?
July 1st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Peter. It may have something to do with ‘Dollys’, alleged ,indolent and stellar ineptitude to the hosiery industry.It may also be that the fellow is a clown and a ponce, there again, only history will judge this.It may well turn out that the fellow will be garnished with the accolades that family history demands and the Prince of the Pacific will fuck up even more if given a wider area of intercourse. Just maybe ,just, he can take over from the UN, sort out Mugarbe, get Cuba to a Democracy, sort out OPEC, save the whale , get an admission for the use of comfort women,(not he) attend to the laws that allow his distress that cramps his style(local). The fello(sorry typo)fellow has been held back, given the freedom from the tax payer, as has all his family suffered from, he will spread his wings. The future with Dolly and the world will leave us agape.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:09 pm
“Dolly Downer” is a general term, synonymous with things like “party pooper”.
AFIK, Paul Keating was the one who laid the “Dolly Downer” tag on little Alex in 2005.
<a href=”http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/loyal-hardliner-takes-in-his-new-view/2005/05/20/1116533538017.html”
“THE absurd excelled this week. When Alexander Downer put on a public exhibition, yet again, of what a thorough goose he is, this time with a schoolboy speech on the politics of World War II, even the (mostly) reclusive Paul Keating was moved to respond. The former prime minister issued a ridiculing statement headlined “Dolly Downer delirious again”, a piece of alliteration Keating initially penned as “Dolly Downer Does Dubbo” until he learned Downer had spoken in Armidale rather than its sister NSW country town 450 kilometres away.”
July 1st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Jesus. AFIK = AFAIK, i.e. as far as I know.
Link.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Hardly adult commentary, but all I can really say is Billy Bunter is a piece of shit, everyone else has already articulated it better but seeing as how I loathe the man sooooo much I thought I’d better add my 2cents.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, hard to imagine this “enhancing” the UN in any credible way; at least the RWDB’s will be berating one of their own acolytes when they slam the UN from now on.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Disagree.Downer was the only exercising mind in the Liberals.If ,you listen to any of them again,as to trying to achieve some sort of ongoing thought ,they just didn’t have it.The hate, of Downer ,he knew well, apart from befriending the U.S.A. too closely,and terribly, he was a well spoken person trying to legitimise matters,that sites like here,are obviously quite aware that its impossible to do.I just couldn’t cope with that legitimising,every thing the Bush Regime does seems to be illegitimate. Downer may be very useful in Cyprus,because of his ability to know he can withstand hate!? Can any of you!? Give him the chance to redeem himself as an Australian with UNO support,otherwise,try something quiet,like he isn’t hitting out directly to you! Which I have done to him,and,I see no poisonous letters or anything coming my way saying”your opinion about me and that…….”
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Ken, as you say, Downer is, was and always will be a buffoon.
He ’slew’ Rudd to the extent that Rudd became PM and Downer’s mate Howard lost his seat.
Why doesn’t Janet do the ‘honourable’ thing and resign from the ABC Board? No need to answer that.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Well, look on the bright side. He’ll have the Greeks and Turks shooting at each other within a fornight, what with his 1337 diplomatic skilz.
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
David, all he has to do is threaten them with some of his karaoke and peace will break out in Cyprus for the first time in about 500 years.
If they played his singing at Guantanamo the GUARDS would confess to being in Al Qaeda, never mind the prisoners.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
And his French fantastiqué.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
Continue to fight and you keep Downer, it might just work.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I reckon the UN should tell them they’ve got 3 months to sort it out and give Downer the credit, otherwise they’ll send in the big guns … Man of Steel Howard. If that doesn’t resolve the problem, nothing will.
Doesn’t Tony Blair have some job bringing peace to the Middle East? Anyone know how that’s turning out?
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
“And did you note that even now, there are moronic wingnuts who insist on conflating the Iraqi disaster with some mythical crusade against terrorism?)”
Well and truly noted, Ken. None other than Feith was on Lateline flogging his soon-to-be-released book and pushing exactly that line.
Farewell Dolly; hardly worth a mention, except for the timorousness of the media in barely challenging his pathetic assertions.
Philip sort of has a point. At least Dolly consistently fronted up to the media to rationalise the government view. A lot more than most of the others, even if we could have done with a lot less.
The origins of the nickname, which somebody asked, actually go back to Latham, of all people. In response to a Costello tirade about ALP dynasties Latham listed some of the Liberal ones, concluding that Downer was the equivalent of the clone, “Dolly the Sheep”.
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Downer is quite a piece of work. How he loves to sing & dance & guzzle & make secret deals & bloviate with Crusaders, war-mongers & corporate creeps (think Condi Rice & John Negroponte)…whilst missing crimes of the century right under his nose…too busy smelling his own sun-sparkling flatulence I guess?
I remember his homecomings like they were yesterday…gawd forbid what we’ll get after Cyprus?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOwBJp0-Vew
(When The Toad Came home)
Au revoir Monsieur Enfant Terrible
July 4th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Peter Hartcher todays SMH provides some balance to Janet’s fauning. Alex’s considered response to Dick Woolcott’s opposition to the Iraq invasion:
“Yelling above the heads of the other travellers, Downer called out to the back of Woolcott’s head, “Loser!” he told me later. “Then I ducked down quickly in case he turned around and saw me.” In recounting the story, Downer seemed to think it a very funny thing to do.”
July 4th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
You should be grateful to someone willing to stand up and defend your rights about what you can and cant do in public places. Erosion of rights, even cigar smoker rights, is a worldwide phenomenon that must be stopped. Downer may have issues but you have to admit, the guy is somewhat funny in a strange kind of way.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Realise you have a barrow to push, but ‘you should be grateful, and defend your rights’ and Downer?.
Better do your homework on Downer and rights.