A lot of rubbish on Andrew Bolt’s blog and in his newspaper columns this morning. Here’s a quick round-up — feel free to add comments and additions.
Asia: It's where the Asians live.
- Bolt’s latest rant against Labor and asylum seekers, couched in the “don’t let them drown” framing that he seems to think makes him sound humane, notes that a recent boat arrival had Vietnamese asylum seekers on board. In the process, Bolt managed this superb failure in geography:
Not that O’Connor told us this. Indeed, he pretended they may have been Afghans or Sri Lankans instead, and thus subject to a government decision three months ago to suspend refugee applications from those two nationalities … So how dishonest is that? By then even the most slack-jawed of sailors on the Armidale could have told at a glance that their new passengers were in fact Asian.
I’m not sure which continent Andrew thinks Afghanistan is on (Africa, perhaps?) or where the island of Sri Lanka is located near, but it’s interesting to learn that he thinks Asians all have a particular appearance.
The rest of that column is the usual nonsense, ignoring or waving away any facts while hammering Labor for being soft on asylum seekers and luring them to their deaths. The facts that asylum seekers from Vietnam arrived by boat during the Howard era — and were granted refugee status — is dismissed as a “good try, dear”. The fact that the arrivals won’t be allowed to stay in Australia unless they are found to have legitimate claims of political or other persecution isn’t mentioned at all. He suggests Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor was being deceptive by indicating that their nationality had not been confirmed, when a look at the media release shows that even the number of passengers was unconfirmed (and possibly inaccurate, since Bolt’s column today says 28 rather than 26), highlighting that the interception is announced close to immediately, but details are not available to those in Canberra until later. And so on.
- Bolt’s other column is an attack on the Greens and anyone trying to argue for energy reform and efficiency. Once again, it’s his usual guff — suggesting that if you want to reduce our reliance on energy from fossil fuel sources you must insist on living as a Luddite. And once again, it completely misrepresents the facts. The push to close the Hazelwood coal-fired power station as soon as possible — which, as I understand it, was originally scheduled to be shut down already, and which is an exceptionally high-emitting and polluting station — is turned by Bolt into an implied demand that all coal power stations should be shut down immediately. He even includes a self-congratulatory transcript from his radio segment yesterday, in which he seems to think someone is arguing that the current sources of 95% of Victoria’s electricity should be turned off tomorrow. This helps him to dismiss any argument that we should look at improving energy efficiency as inadequate. He asks:
Hazelwood – and I know this is an irrelevant detail to a planet-saver – happens to produce a quarter of this state’s electricity. You know, the stuff that powers your home, your factory, your office, your hospital, your computer, your trains, your airport, your street lighting, your cinema, your trams, your traffic lights …
Now I don’t want to seem like a spoilsport, but I would just like to be reassured on one small point: how the hell do the Greens then plan to power our state?
A quick search indicates that there has already been consideration of renewable plans that could replace Hazelwood within a couple of years. And so on.
- Bolt delights in the schadenfreude of Al Gore being the target of a sexual assault allegation. We have an image from the National Enquirer’s front page, a blog post that apparently gives Bolt the title of his post (implying that “teh Left” will think that even if guilty, Gore shouldn’t be targeted), and a brief note that the police are going to re-open the investigation — which, to a rational person, would suggest that perhaps we should wait and see what the investigation turns up.
- Finally, some more marginal seat polling, this time by Morgan in four Queensland electorates. Bolt includes this caveat:
That said, again a caution: just 200 or so people were surveyed in each electorate.
Then he adds this:
UPDATE
Some readers in comments below seem to think the total sample size is just 200 voters. It’s actually 200 in every seat – or 800 in all.
Wrong. Commenters were noting that the margin of error on a sample size of 200 is rather large. That is the sample size available for each statistical conclusion — four separate decisions (three going to the LNP, one to Labor). The margin of error on each is based on n = 200. As the Poll Bludger notes, this means the margin of error on each data set is +/- 7%.
Have at it.
67 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
Andrew Bolt should feel lucky that he’s living in a country where he can criticise the government; Viet Nam is run by a so called communist party where the citizens cannot show dissent and there are quite a few political prisoners but I guess they won’t get any sympathy from Mr Bolt if they try to escape to Australia.
Neither of the parties are offering practical solution but please save me from the crocodile tears of ‘so cruel and let them drown’ from the conservatives. What if Indonesia adopt the conservative’s policy and turn the boats away, wouldn’t they be drowned with no where to go? Idonesia isn’t Australia’s bitch and have to try to keep all the asylum seekers there while Australia turn them away; fair go? please put it in practice not just talk.
Fresh from having his claims about Gore’s “lies” debunked in the ABC thread — a debunking that he didn’t bother responding to — Captain Col pops up in another thread with a claim that Gore is spreading lies. Sorry to break the news, Col, but I’m not upset. I’m with RobJ — the way you’re impervious to rationality is very amusing.
Well, amusing or not, his comment perfectly proves my point about the dog whistling of saying all Asians look the same, and the type of people who respond to such nonsense. In the space of only a few comments we see Shabs defending Bolt by arguing that anyone in Australia would take it to mean East Asians – as if all East Asians look the same. Then Col pops up to say nah, Bolt really means the Chinese, as if all Chinese people look the same. Every day I continue to be amazed at just how ignorant some people can be.
Come on, Tobby. Someone disagrees with my claim that Gore lies and you respond that I’ve been “debunked”. Sorry but it takes a bit more than that. One of the links actually tried to analyse Gore’s lies in his film by having “scientists” vote on the judge’s decision points! Great science. Why bother with evidence when we just have to vote and there’s the truth?
The reason I comment here is “the way you’re impervious to rationality is very amusing”. And the “you” is you bloggers and the majority of the commenters at Pure Poison. confessions always impresses with a closed mind impervious to rationality despite some intelligence peeking through. It’s fun to see how the left’s minds don’t work.
I’m particularly amused to be accused of being un-Australian. Pity that more Aussies think like me than you, don’t you think? Or will you be destined to forever be the tiny minority tilting at windmills?
Try to convince, not insult.
It’s about canvassing a wide variety of opnions, you goose. You know, for accuracy. If he’d asked only one scientist you would have been screaming bias. I couldn’t help but notice you were silenced by the undeniable fact that the judge agreed with the general thrust of the film, that humans impact the climate. You can argue about those nine “errors” until you’re blue in the face but you can’t deny that they lost the case and An Inconveinient Truth continues to be shown in schools through Britain, while Swindle lies unseen and discredited.
I’ve seen some stupid discussions here, but trying to argue whether a person is classed as “Asian” or not (even though they live in Asia) would have to be the stupidest. Radio Stars were right all along – there are no Russians in Russia.
I think its more scary Col that amusing. The pseudo intellectualism that is poured into some of these posts is incredible. Are there really people out there thinking like ‘confessions’? I can almost see the spittle forming in the corner of mouths as fingers bang hard on the keyboard, unable to see the hypocrisy of their posts in a bizarre tirade against Andrew Bolt.
Really, if Bolts post; which remains obvious to 99% of the population what he actually meant – makes you froth at the mouth that much….you really need some serious help.
Faced with the facts Col has vanished again.
I haven’t vanished, Uncle. But I am siting here amused at how you can write rubbish and expect me to respond to your infantile accusations. You won’t convince me and I won’t convince you so there’s not much point adding to my authoritative comments so far.
It’s sporting of you to make yourself a good target, but I’m a conservationist and we need to preserve the diversity of opinion, so you’re safe for now.
Which infantile accusations? That you are wrong?
Let’s go back:
You said:
Facts:
Sounds legally-proven-right to me.
Care to retract?
Attention people! The purpose of the Capn Cols of this world is to draw attention to their imbecilities and cretinisms, then get people with above room temperature IQs (Celsius) to waste their time in attempting to refute his idiocies. This type of Rightwing ‘troll’ doesn’t deserve the oxygen of attention.No amount of rational argument or facts can have any effect because this is the type,identified by Dunning and Kruger as of such low intellect that they are too stupid to even understand how thick they really are, and, hence, habitually over-estimate their intelligence. Not worth the wasted effort. They win if you waste your time on them. The same,of course,is true of their demi-God,Blot and all his ilk.
Now who’s the target Col?
not so sporting now eh?
No, Uncle. You’ve fallen into the trap of spouting the words of Al Gore’s disciples. Your link proves it. “Richard Littlemore has been trained by Al Gore as part of The Climate Project, an initiative designed to educate the public about climate change.” Might there be a slight chance that he’s biassed?
I said the film had been proved wrong and here’s what the judge said. “I conclude that the claimant substantially won this case by virtue of my finding that, but for the new guidance note, the film would have been distributed in breach of sections 406 and 407 of the 1996 Education Act”.
In order for the film to be shown, the Government must first amend their Guidance Notes to Teachers to make clear that
1.) The Film is a political work and promotes only one side of the argument.
2.) If teachers present the Film without making this plain they may be in breach of section 406 of the Education Act 1996 and guilty of political indoctrination.
3.) Nine inaccuracies have to be specifically drawn to the attention of school children.
So there are nine errors the judge found. What’s so wrong about me saying it was a legally proved wrong movie when the judge found exactly that. I didn’t mean everything was wrong, just those nine, inconvenient, and as yet uncorrected errors. But wait there’s more.
Not all of the inaccuracies in the film were fully considered by the court as the judge requested a sample (to save time) on which to consider the case. Court witness statements list 20 inaccuracies in the film and Lord Monckton has found 35. So the judgement didn’t consider all the errors, but nevertheless found nine. That’s legally wrong.
But as I’ve said before, this won’t convince you, and you won’t convince me so can we leave it there?
quantize, hope you had a BBQ to celebrate the dumping of Rudd. You hopeless leftie.
How’s it feel to be the laughing-stock of the western world now?
I’m well aware of what the judge said, Col. I just want to know how the film was “legally proved wrong” when the judge said “It is substantially founded upon scientific research and fact.”
That, to my ears, sounds like he agrees with it. For the film to have been “legally proved wrong” the judge would have had to have ruled that the film’s central tennant, that man’s actions are warming the climate, is wrong. He didn’t. He said the exact opposite.
Breaching the act doesn’t prove the film is wrong. The act doesn’t stipulate on whether a film is scientifically correct or not, just that it has a political message.
As for my source, yes, I apologise for providing you with a source that actually provided the facts of the matter, and didn’t spin the story to make it look like a victory for Christopher Monckton and the failed Libertarian candidate who took the case to court. Because they lost.
No.
Confessions, I think you might be a little further off-topic than usual. And here’s why. Your “Bolt reckons all Asians look the same” is exactly the opposite of what he’s saying. The point Bolt is making, very clearly to those not energised by outrage, is that there are very noticeable physical differences in the appearance of Sri Lankans, Afghanis and Vietnamese. In fact, he comments that even the “most slack-jawed of sailors on the Armidale” could have noticed the difference.
Arguing against the term “Asian” being used in the common sense to refer to people of the east, rather than the sub-content or middle-east reflects more on Tobby’s pettiness than Bolt’s erroneousness.
Watching you scoop it up and slot it through the wrong goal posts is reasonably funny though.
Bolt clearly never said all Asians look the same. Please stop making things up.
Incredibly, there are people who are still willing to defend such ignorance by bolt. So far we’ve seen stupidity such as:
- Look away, nothing to see here, it’s all about Al Gore.
- All east Asians look the same.
- Asian food looks different, therefore….umm…err…I don’t know. But something!!1!
- All Chinese look the same.
- Al Gore is fat. Or lied. Or something.
- Bolt isn’t really saying what it clearly shows in black and white that he is saying.
Amazing stuff. Keep it coming guys, this is hilarious!
Hi Confessions, As you’re well aware, I’m a halfwit yokel from the ‘burbs. As such, I need to have even the most basic concepts explained to me. Although it’s my burden, it’d be terrific if we could share the load together today.
Please, show me where Bolt has said that all Asians look the same. I need you to be pretty specific, because, frankly, I’m pretty sure you made the whole thing up.
It’d be great if you clear it all up. If it’s “hilarious” as you say, I wanna get in on these big laughs.
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All