janet albrechtsen
"POLLS predict a Ruddslide on Saturday. Yet, beneath the wave that Kevin Rudd appears to be riding, there are a series of undercurrents that may overturn years of accepted political wisdom. " "For the past six elections in Australia, only a leader who has been ahead or at least competitive as better economic manager has won elections. Likewise, most prime ministers have been well known to the Australian public and have enjoyed an extended national profile. Previously, small-target campaign strategies, more fluff than substance, won elections only if the electorate had baseball bats out for the incumbent. " "A Rudd win on Saturday will rescind all those rules. In a few days we will learn whether precedents in politics count for anything. " BBI: We often ask ourselves if Janet can believe this stuff she writes. She thinks Rudd is style over substance. We think Howard`s economis reputation is a myth. "But while people don’t believe Rudd is better able to handle the economy, this issue apparently no longer counts enough to sway their vote from Labor. " "Historically, other factors about our leaders have mattered far less than the question of economic management. The last time Howard rated highly as the most likable leader was against Keating in 1996. " "Since then history has been replete with likable election losers such as Beazley and Latham. " BBI: Now she describes Latham as likeable. That`s not what she said then. Get over it Janet, Rudd will win, and hopefully show the punters that Howard was a charlatan. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 14/11/07 "IF you’re scratching your head, trying to work out who are the true economic conservatives, join the club. John Howard’s pitch on Monday for aspirational Australians goes to the heart of his dilemma. The more handouts you provide, the more people expect. " "The Liberal Party’s campaign launch was more of the same, enticing aspirationals with non-means-tested tax rebates for parents of schoolchildren and further tax deductions for first home buyers. It’s not a good look for the Coalition. " "Enter Mark Latham. No politician could say what Latham said last week. It would be political death to point out that too many Australians have taken on debt to build big houses, only to then whine about mortgage stress and housing affordability crises, blaming the Government and, yes, looking for help. " "Latham’s whack at aspirational Australians was a long-overdue reality check that explains Howard’s quandary. Those who were once his most ardent supporters, those tagged as the PM’s aspirationals, may end up dumping the Government because the Coalition has fed their expectations, not managed them. " "Latham’s spray last week was a 2000-word reminder of the best and worst of Mark Latham. Nuggets of piercing insight buried in a torrent of bile and vengeance. " BBI: Janet is a bit like her description of Latham, without the piercing insight. "Latham has the intellect to perceive what others do not and the candour to say it. While his utter lack of judgment and archaic, class-driven ideology mean his policy prescriptions will invariably be wrong, his factual analysis is spot on." BBI: Latham does have intellect, and freedom to say whatever he wants, unlike any politician. Mind you, his class driven ideology has always appealed to us. We didn`t know it was invariably wrong as Janet explains. "Latham’s solution, shared by many others in the ALP, is founded on outright disdain for aspirationals. He falls into the trap of other misery-worshippers such as Clive Hamilton from the Australia Institute who mutter about wealth, believing that society ought to return to the simple pleasures of earlier times, eschewing consumerism and the aspiration to build material wealth. " BBI: We have never seen Clive as a misery-worshipper, and in fact agree with him whole-heartedly about where greed has taken this country. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Australian 3/11/07 BBI: Janet has leapt on Peter Garrett`s remarks to Steve Price, which were tongue-in-cheek we are reliably informed, but nevertheless, ill-advised. Garret should know about journos who don`t care for truth, but do care about getting their own name in the headlines. Price is such a journo. "At the end of week three of the election, the Coalition’s best weapon is the G force. Peter Garrett. " "Yesterday morning, in one fell swoop, Garrett may have blown the cover of Labor’s wider election strategy when he told Sydney radio announcer, Steve Price, that we should forget about Kevin Rudd’s me-too politics because “once we get in we’ll just change it all.” " BBI: Janet of course knows that this was Garrett being flippant, but she has a job to do and that is to discredit the ALP whenever possible. If she was going to be an ethical and even handed journo she must have missed Abbott`s behaviour this week. She poses 3 scenarios. "Scenario 1: Kev is telling the truth. He is a safe pair of hands and he can hold the line against Labor’s Left. .. " "Scenario 2: Big Pete was telling the truth and Labor will ditch the me-too policies... " "Scenario 3: Kev is telling the truth, but he won’t be able to hold the line against those, such as Garrett, who have stayed quiet, played the game but have grander plans in store for Labor in office... " BBI: She`s loving this. No mention of Samuels and the ACCC who are a bit disappointed about what happened to Richard Pratt, convicted of collusion and then fined as opposed to being jailed. Oh but he is a mate of Howard and a big contributor to the Conservatives. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 28/10/07 BBI: Under the heading "Why the shame over celebrating risk and success?" Janet espouses the 80`s mantra, greed is good. At least, that`s what we think she does. "Perhaps we are a country so familiar with success that all we have left is contempt. " "Last week, Melbourne businessman John Ilhan died while walking near his Brighton home. The Age duly editorialised about Ilhan’s death .. " "When was the last time we read about the importance of those willing to take risks, often putting everything they own on the line in an effort to build up a business? These entrepreneurs are rarely lauded. Instead, when things go awry, as is inevitable given that it is in the nature of risk that not all will pay off, we are only too ready to bag the losers." "It’s predictable that nostalgic left-wing think tanks still reading dog-eared copies of Das Capital will decry capitalism as a sign of a greedy society. Unfortunately, there is now a sense of widespread shame about capitalism. " BBI: Then she meets a business man with a conscience. She`s aghast. "At a fancy dinner recently, I sat next to an ageing and very successful businessman who told me it was time he started making a contribution to society. But hadn’t he spent years investing in many businesses, allowing them to grow and employ people? I asked. He scoffed at such efforts, embarrassed that this was all he had done in his life. Perhaps it’s the approach of death that sends these guys flurrying, with a religious zeal, to some apparent higher ideal that requires them to articulate a sense of shame about business success. " BBI: There are no end of bloggers taking Janet to task over this article. Read her page, linked above, or some blogs on our page, Favourite Blogs. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Australian 24/10/07 BBI: Under the guise of even-handedness, Janet is doing a bit of Muslim bashing. Its a useful ploy by the conservative party to distract and divide the voters. "SOME election predictions are downright dopey. Remember Malcolm Fraser predicting the Howard Government would deliver us a “Muslim election”? Here’s the good news, Mr Fraser. " "Having scanned the myriad press releases, interviews and doorstops, so far it’s all about tax and the economy. " BBI: Then she uses the rest of the article to arouse anti muslim voters. "The Left’s embrace of cultural relativism has seen it sometimes align itself with opponents of Western values rather than risk appearing to support the cultural superiority of the West. It has been a betrayal of Western values - values originally championed by the Left. " BBI: Janet just doesn`t get it. The supposed superiority of the west is one of the things that offend the rest of the world. "The preference by some leaders to sweep the clash of cultures under the carpet in the name of community cohesion has the polar opposite result in the long term. " "It encourages extremists of all persuasions to flourish, not just those who preach hate towards the West." BBI: She then tries some pretence at being objective, while still pushing John Howard`s ideas with.. "Just as Howard claims only a conservative government can deliver a constitutional preamble on Aboriginal reconciliation by uniting both the conservatives and the progressives on the politics of symbolism, perhaps only a Labor leader can drag the Left to a more sensible centrist place on the clash of cultures. " BBI: We think that the left has always had more feeling toward the politics of symbolism, so does that mean that only John Howard can drag the neanderthals toward Aboriginal Reconciliation? A couple of bloggers have had some things to say about Janet`s article. See Favourite Blogs. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 17/10/07 BBI: Janet is on about Kevin Rudd`s me-tooism. And about Kevin`s opening speech being about him, not his team. Unlike Howard, who apparently is proud of Downer, Abbott, Andrews etc. Not quite so proud of Costello. Front page SMH this date, Howard, on Costello: As a man, a very good family man of strong faith and very honest...I don`t say unkind things about any of my colleagues. I don`t think of him in negative terms. We reckon if Howard describes Costello as honest then he must be admitting to lying himself re the passing of the baton . Back to Janet.. "KEVIN Rudd is counting on this being a presidential election. He has pitched himself as the fresh face of the future, offering “new leadership”, as he repeated ad nauseam in his Sunday press conference. As he stood before cameras to launch his formal bid to lead Australia, his team of shadow ministers did not rate a mention. There was nothing about what the Australian Labor Party stands for. " BBI: She goes on about how Howard is up front etc and a man without fear, taking on the big issues (Like the War in Iraq) and compares that to Rudd who took McClelland to task. With many voters apparently believing that it’s just time to give the other side a go, it’s worth asking what Rudd will do once in power. There are few clues as to what genuinely drives Rudd, beyond his desire to become prime minister. In the coming weeks Rudd will continue to try to deflect criticism of his flim-flam policies by claiming the Howard Government is pursuing the mother of all fear campaigns. It’s an attempt to Teflon-coat himself, his policies and his people to protect them from rigorous testing during the heat of an election campaign. Given Rudd’s chameleon nature, it’s time to turn up the heat. BBI: We enjoyed a blogger`s work on Janet`s page.. Its early days yet Janet. Don’t get too carried away by little Johnny’s apparently improving electoral stakes. No doubt you and your fellow conservative apologists are pinning your hopes on Howard’s drunken sailor spending spree masquerading as visionary policy. I refer to the 34 billion dollar tax package announced by the hopefully soon to be ex PM. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Australian 14/10/07 BBI: Janet is on about Al Gore. Doesn`t she know there is an election on? Of course she does, she is covering a bck-door for the Conservatives. If she can persuade a few voters that Greenhouse isn`t really as serious as the lefties say, its all to the good for the Libs. The conservative journos are all going to be on little side-paths to see what Howard can turn into an issue. "efforts to spread the gospel on climate change can’t be trusted on their own. That is what a UK High Court judge found recently when he ruled the UK Government could allow schools to show Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” only if accompanied by a dossier of corrections advising students which parts of Gore’s Truths are lies. " BBI: We don`t think that lies were the word used by the judge. "Justice Michael Burton pointed to nine specific errors made in the movie which the judge found promoted “partisan political view”." BBI: Oh, a partisan point of view? If they are lies Janet, the you may have told a few porkies, you have often (read always) had a partisan point of view. "It did not stop the converts over at the Sydney Morning Herald declaring that with his Nobel Peace Prize under his arm, Gore ‘s call for Australia to sign the Kyoto Protocol would “now resonate throughout the election campaign.” Climate change converts will continue to revere Gore. " BBI: Climate change converts indeed. We think that most of the world are climate change converts, its just to what degree of change they argue about. But not you and Andrew Bolt.
The Australian 6/10/07 BBI: Under the heading "Biased? Don`t take our word for it?" Janet writes a truly biased article about John Buchanan, one of the authors of the recent research on Work Choices. "IMPUGN the independence of an academic? Perish the thought. No need. John Buchanan has punctured his own academic independence. "... "We are entitled to query whether this academic, who admits “I am a socialist” and a former workplace delegate and talks about positioning “ourselves as unionists” for the future by building up “militants and its militant base”, is the best person to offer up non-partisan research on Work Choices. " BBI: Janet continues on with her proof that Buchanan is an old leftie but makes no comment on the actual survey . She is too busy denigrating the author to check out the data given. She does say, however.. "Ultimately, Buchanan’s study will stand or fall on its own merits. Yesterday in The Australian, academics Sinclair Davidson and Alex Robson kicked off that debate, pointing out the flaws in the methodology of Buchanan’s report, which suggested that low-skilled workers were being done over by Australian Workplace Agreements. It’s all part of free debate. But we are also entitled to know about Buchanan’s politics. His self-declared political leanings raise serious questions about an academic who claims to being an independent and neutral observer just telling it like it is. " BBI: We wonder just what the political leanings of Davidson and Robson are. We also wondered if the use of The Australian and academics in the same sentence was an oxymoron? One of Janet`s bloggers Ben from Perth put it this way.. Typical right wing tactics. Attack the messenger, not the message. Swamp the facts with allegations of “bias”. It’s also the tactic of last resort and anti-intellectual. It’s safe to say, that when the whinings of bias come up, there is nothing left and is done purely out of hatred for what a study, media or figure says, rather than any real attempts or wish for “truth”. It’s unthinking, and a brilliant shut down on important facts and issues that are usually very worthy of open public debate. I’ve seen it done far worse in the US. Over there, there really is so little public debate. At least in the mainstream. The public are fed a steady mantra by right leaning figures in the media, that the media itself is heavily left wing bias, and to trust nothing they say. That they are against everything America stands for and cannot be trusted. This of course you know, yourself being strangely on the board of the ABC, an institution you consider heavily bias towards the left. ( we’ll ignore all the right wing think tank people ABC radio always seems to be talking to I guess then. ) Well done Janet, keep feeding the “bias” beast when factual information that is in the negative for your right wing causes shows up. Keep taking us down the path of simplistic anti-intellectual public debate so we can be just like America with it’s right wing smear tactics. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 3/10/07 BBI: Janet defends the conservatives supposed "smear and fear" campaign saying it is just policy testing. Then she proceeds to call Kevin a "girly-boy". Now that is testing his policies. "The only ones who should be afraid are Rudd and the federal Opposition, as their people and policies finally receive the blowtorch necessary before voters decide who should be running the country. " .. "Did Rudd imagine that the Government would give him and his policies the easy run that large swaths of the media have given him to date? " BBI: We think she means swathes unless she is inventing new words, but more to the point she feels the media have given Kevin Rudd an easy ride. Certainly not the Murdoch Press. And two weeks ago she said Howard should be replaced. No more of that sort of talk, eh Janet? "Allegations of smear campaigns are just code for the fact that, four times in a row, the Government has taken on the Opposition, testing its mettle and its policies, and each time voters have opted for the Coalition. " "The Government is again doing what it ought to be doing. Now that Rudd is on the receiving end, theLabor girly-boy is waving the redcard." BBI: There she goes again. Name calling is attempting to smear, Janet. "None of this means politics is open slather. Civility still applies. And, by and large, both sides abide by civil rules of political engagement. " "But as for Rudd crying foul over the Howard Government’s fear campaign, let me offer Rudd the same advice I gave Latham three years ago. Dry your eyes, princess. " BBI: A blogger on Janet`s page, Sally from Adelaide, has this to say.. Albrechsten’s “political” columns are nothing more than a (paid) blog - just someone’s opinion. I’ve read blogs from Joe Average that are sharper, wittier, and a lot better researched than this drivel masquerading as journalism. The only thing more incredible than this infantile bile being printed with monotonous regularity, is that someone, somewhere, actually thinks it’s worth paying for. Quit the rants, and get a job on the Liberal campaign team Janet - see how you go in the real world. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Australian 26/09/07 BBI: Janet attacks the 'climate change charlatans.' These people are apparently on the left side of politics. She doesn`t say much about John Howard`s new green tinge. "WHAT is it about climate change that attracts charlatans? While the focus has been on the Howard Government these past few days, what about the political snake-oil salesmen who would have you believe that we can reduce carbon emissions and fix global warming in the near term? " "That we can pull it off without noticeable economic or political pain and without worrying about what developing countries do. All bunkum. But you wouldn’t know that just by listening to the siren songs of the federal ALP or the Greens. They tell us breezily we can have it all, no worries. Where is the probing, sceptical media when these sorts of porkies are told? " BBI: Here is sceptical Janet, probing away. "Labor’s climate change policy represents the sort of brazen deception that Hugh Mackay would have no hesitation labelling “shameless mendacity” had it been offered up by the Liberal Party." BBI: Well the Libs do have a reputation for shameless mendacity, don`t they? Janet goes on about NSW Labor government and their policy of more coal burning. At BBI we are not impressed by the NSW state government either, and we`ll be having a close look at them after the Federal Elections. "But it would be nice to think that when this inevitable deceit (that of a clean, green future) is practised upon us, it would be fearlessly exposed. To think that the left-wing faithful, the artists, poets, actors and playwrights will complain about a lack of public decency in public life, led by Mackay, excoriating the mendacious in public office. To think the intelligentsia will moan about being lied to and write books titled, Not Happy, Kev. " "Not likely. I guess that’s my own utopian fantasy. But don’t say you weren’t warned. " BBI: We think that the ALP don`t go far enough (How are you feeling, Peter Garrett?) but we are sure that they are a lot greener than Howard`s mob. We actually suspect (don`t laugh now) that the Libs don`t really believe what they are saying re climate change, but are just poll driven once more. Sad, isn`t it. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ The Australian 19/09/07 BBI: Janet is having a go at teachers, a bolshie lot if ever there was. "IN the gentle, uplit sunlands of Kevindom, our public schools will be places of particular virtue. Happy, peaceful places ensuring equality of opportunity, producing clever students and driving national productivity. This will be Labor’s education revolution. So we’re told. " "Sadly, the available evidence is to the contrary. Indeed, so confident are they that victory is theirs, teachers unions are dropping any veneer of respectability and giving us a frightening insight into a public education system run by teachers unions.
"..
"The NSW Labor Government made half-hearted attempts to tell the teachers to stop proselytising in the schoolyard, but the union told the Iemma Government to go soak its head. So it did. It knows who’s boss. " BBI: She doesn`t like Howard but she certainly doesn`t want Labor and Unions to be in charge. Nasty lot. "The scale of the ALP’s bald-faced hypocrisy is the first thing to strike home. The first to complain about the politicisation of the public service, the ALP appears content to sit back and watch public schools become propaganda arms for Labor. The ALP says it stands for a free, secular school system that respects diversity and abhors discrimination on the basis of political or religious beliefs. With one caveat, perhaps? Provided your beliefs coincide with the militantly left-wing teachers unions. ".. "The tragedy of all this is, of course, that children will suffer. And underprivileged children, those with no chance of escaping the public school system, will suffer most of all" BBI: The poor kids who can`t escape to the private system will be stuck with this indoctrination by the union led teachers. No wonder the country is going down the tubes. "The test is whether Labor will take on the teachers unions, which have been the single biggest hurdle to education reform in Australia. That they are handing out shameless election material to children suggests they are looking forward to flexing their muscle even further under a Rudd government. Welcome to Kevindom. Even Kevin won’t like it. But he won’t have a choice. He won’t be in charge. " BBI: The biggest hurdle has been the unions? Not the fact that the Feds have been pushing the private school system at the expense of the public system? And then this blogger on Janet`s page says.. Under the bed 19/09/07
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 12/9/07 BBI: In Janet`s article entitled The Man of Steel and the Iron Lady she compares Maggie`s reluctant resignation to the possibility of JWH stepping down. "After APEC and as Liberals gather for a Coalition party room meeting today, this appears to be the last moment the PM can leave, if not at the top of his game, then on a high nonetheless. " "Indeed, for those with an eye to history, the similarities with Thatcher are both dazzling and haunting. Thatcher was the Iron Lady, after all. Howard is our own Man of Steel. " "Both Thatcher and Howard were the dominant conservative conviction politicians of their time, challenging entrenched orthodoxies, unwavering in their belief in the power of capitalism and the individual. They challenged political correctness long before it was fashionable to do so. " BBI: We`re not sure that challenging political correctness as Howard has done is fashionable, Janet. "Towards the end of her prime ministership, Thatcher became a sad caricature of herself, promising “I fight on; I fight to win” while her husband was saying “Don’t go on, love”. " BBI: Now there`s a parallel for us. "The PM deserves to be remembered as a political hero. " BBI: Not at the Institute ....................................................................................................................................................................... The Australian 6/9/07 BBI: And just two days after (see below) Janet bites the hand that feeds her when she says.. "The Howard factor made it cool to be conservative and delivered success; now it presages defeat." "THIS is one of the hardest columns I will write. John Howard has been the finest prime minister Australia has had. He has overseen extraordinary economic success, created... BBI: She goes on with a lot of sucking up, but tearfully she is resigned to the fact Howard must go. Many of us reached that point some time ago. "But now he must go." "It’s not easy saying that. The economic numbers certainly do not warrant it. All the numbers are in the right direction. Unemployment at historic lows. " "The Howard factor is there. Where once it meant success, now it presages defeat. A defeat that perhaps can only be avoided if Howard steps aside. What makes it so depressing is that so many conservatives and senior Liberals remain in denial." BBI: She then plugs for Costello, comparing the situation with Britain who were sick of Blair and now the ruling party has been rejuvenated by Gordon Brown. She finishes with.. "Unfortunately, politics being what it is, telling the Prime Minister that he should make way for a new leader will be seen by some as an act of treachery. Yet, having the highest respect for Howard means providing fearless opinions. It’s time to hang up the pads." BBI: Does this mean Janet will resign from the ABC board? After all it looked like a reward for service that had been given to her. Hmm.. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... From The Australian 4/940/ "Growing anti-American sentiment and domestic disillusion may turn the US inward ." "HATE George W. Bush? Wish the US would just butt out of everywhere? Well, be careful what you wish for. You might just get it. And you may not like it when it happens. " BBI:Janet goes on to tell us that we would miss the Americans `cos who would fill the void? She finishes with.. "But acknowledge the scorecard: the full spectrum of US hegemony, from its brute military muscle to the soft seduction of American ideas, has been an overwhelming force for good." BBI:This is a blog placed on Janet`s page which seems to tackle the issue very well. From noirot, Melbourne 4/9/07 the US international presence clearly fills what would otherwise be a dangerous vacuum in world political influence. But then again vacuums are not fussy, and would just as soon be filled with belly button lint, pizza crusts, dismembered lego-men and dirty sports socks. ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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