Why is the Herald so nasty to Clarkson and Albanese?

[facthunter]

That's all a tax dodge too. The tax you  avoid is paid by more straight forward operators. Discretionary trusts ?? Should be a magnet for the tax man to look at.  Nev

[Bruce Tuncks]

I couldn't find the wealth of the richest 1%. The richest 20% was as close as I could find and that is "only" 3.2 million

There is also the suggestion that the richest 1% made " 150,000 per min for the last ten years" which comes to 800 billion which I find hard to believe.

My best guess is that the richest 1% are billionaires , that is, they are worth more than 1000 million each.

[spacesailor]

I read somewhere that the Rich got a lot richer while , the rest of us got an awful lot poorer. Someones going belly up. the rich can payout a Cent on the dollar to get more , even if they Don't need it .

spacesailor

[Bruce Tuncks]

Well space, the super-rich own the media and it is the media's job to make us all support the rich.

I just wish they would tell us more often that a particular move is only against the top 1% and tell us more details about this 1%.

Yes, the media will still complain, but their present campaign to make ordinary people afraid should take a hit.

[facthunter]

Hate fear and sensation and propaganda, Save trees. Don't buy it. Nev

[Bruce Tuncks]

You are right as usual Nev, but I like the crosswords so I buy the herald. Yes, there is a lot of hate, fear, sensation and propaganda. They don't always succeed though, as Dan Andrews can attest.

But just why they have a vendetta running against that poor footy coach Clarkson is a mystery to me. Sure, he is not a woke person, but what footy coaches are? I always thought he was a good non-racist bloke, who spoke plainly when required.

[facthunter]

Must have upset the rent seekers. Good blokes do that.   Nev

[pmccarthy]

Ah…so this Clarkson is a footy coach?

[Bruce Tuncks]

Yes, PMC, he was the coach that made the hawks (Hawthorne )  into a good team.  Lately, he has become the coach to North Melbourne and yet he is not woke enough for some.

[facthunter]

When you are dealing with GODS  You have to be faultless. Footer replaces religion for the masses. I'm pretty allergic to it. It turns SANE? people into ragting monsters.  Nev

[old man emu]

Contests where the victor prevails due to skill and a smidgen of luck are modern civilization's replacement for the armed conflicts that have occured since ancient times when a new group came onto the turf of one that was already established there. At least the followers of the three oval-ball games show the progress of this civilizing change by violent rampages against each other and often bystanders as well.

 

I think that this carry-over from violent territorial clashes is a reason why women's contact sports have only now, in a more (?) gender equal civilization become accepted. This is probably due to one of the reasons for those ancient battles was the maintenance of possession of the females in the group, and females were expected to make themselves scarce when battles took place.

 

There have been some exceptions to this. The Amazons of Greek mythology may actually have been a female warrior group. The horse cultures of the Scythian, Sarmatian and Hittite peoples likely inspired the Amazon myth. In 2019, a grave with multiple generations of female Scythian warriors, armed and in golden headdresses was discovered in southwestern Russia, near the Don River. Then there are the Briton, Boudicca and the French Joan of Arc.

[Jerry_Atrick]

The Hawks are my team, and I am still a member (though I did drop out for a few years). I have to say, the events at the Hawks over the last few years have been concerning, and that is before the press got their whiff of the stories.

 

In terms of how the press treated him - it was no worse than his one alumni pack. When the allegations came out, AFL based forums I am a member of were full of supporters who had arrested, tried, and hung Clarko. I was shocked at how quickly hawks supproters jumped to conclusions - some I know from game days of years gone by, who I would not normally put in the irrational bucket.

 

I am not saying he didn't do what was alleged, nor am I saying he is not a racist. Serious allegations have been made; the actions may or may not be true; Conducting the alleged behaviour may have been out of racism, or it may have been out of wantiung the fottballer to be there for the club regardless of race. It will hopefully all come out. Until then, I accept the kick in the guts it was, and hope it was false. The reality is it is probably something in between.

 

The press love to lop a tall poppy. Clarko is one of the tallest in his poppy (or poopy) patch

Edited March 9, 2023 by Jerry_Atrick

[willedoo]

55 minutes ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

The press love to lop a tall poppy. Clarko is one of the tallest in his poppy (or poopy) patch

When you look at the average height of the AFL mob, this Clarko bloke must be really really tall.

[old man emu]

Not being a follower of the Australian game, wasn't the racism thing all about a complaint that a player was virtually told to put his commitment to the Club above all else, family included?

 

If you compare playing footy to being a member of a religious sect, as it sometimes is, wouldn't you expect a "priest" of the religion to demand utmost commitment to it? There are plenty of examples from the Jehovah's, Plymouth Brethren, Mormons, Islamist, Catholics and Protestants. Would the coach have demanded exactly the same from a ranga?

[Jerry_Atrick]

Aussie rules is definitely a religion in Victoria - even more-so than when I left in '96. But, for teams, winning is everything, and the team becomes your family. I guess families sometimes ask more of their members than they should.

[facthunter]

Plenty of the youth are pretty directionless. If you find one with ability you still need to be sure the COMMITMENT is there  to make the investment of time and effort worthwhile. I came to Victoria in 1965 and even though it's almost compulsory the attraction of fanatical Football of any kind doesn't appeal to me. I'm more of a loner and prefer to make or fix something where you can SEE some result for your efforts.   Nev

[Jerry_Atrick]

I have had an on and off affair with Aussie rules, but while I am a fan, I am no fanatic - in fact, I couldn't even tell you the names of all the Hawthorn players, let alone any of the other clubs. And I do get, with my international membership of the Hawks, a watchafl.com subscription meaning I can watch any game live (if I can be bothered waking up at 3 - 4am), or replay - I watch maybe 1 game every 2 weeks.

 

To me, though, as a sport, it was one of the most entertaining to watch. But, when I last lived in Melbourne (2003 - 2006). even I got tired of it; it consumed TV, the newspapers, and the discussion at work. The AFL is, if nothing else, one of the most potent sports marketing clubs in the world.

[willedoo]

The secret to being a fan of any sport hinges around knowledge of the rules and knowing what's going on. People who are not from AFL states and don't follow it see it as an erratic mad scramble if they don't understand the rules. The same applies to the two Rugby codes for a viewer not familiar with them.

 

I never liked or understood Grid Iron until I spent a night snowed in at -30c in Alberta when their Canadian Football grand final was on. Very similar to American Football where they keep stopping the clock all the time. That stretched the game out so long that I started to figure out most of the rules. By that time, I was starting to get an interest in the game only because I could finally comprehend it. Admittedly, coming from a Rugby League state it is easier to take to Grid Iron because there are some similarities there. Grid Iron is very structured with set plays; League is also quite structured and territorial with an element of grinding attrition. Neither are as fast or free flowing as AFL.

[Jerry_Atrick]

My son played Rugby over here for a short time. I understand most of the rules, but I have to admit, I can't see what the gubbins is going on when those packs form; the referee blows a whistle and even the commentators sometimes are perplexed why. I have been to a few games a Twickenham, and it is very stop start compared to paddock Rugby. I am guessing it is because of TV ads or something, because the players just stand around for about 30 seconds, then the whole thing picks up again. I know in Aussie rules, between the goals, the umps have to wait for the all clear to bounce for the very same reason. But, I guess, because there aren't as many tries as there are goals, the opportunity for the networks to throw on an ad without interrupting the run of play is much less.  Interetingly, when the BBC are telecasting a game, there doesn't seem to be as many waits.

 

The games are great to go to, because, like Aussie Rules, and I am guessing NRL, the crowds are generally passionate about the sport, but relaxed about the opposition supporters. I went to one game of soccer here, and it was enough to say never again.

[old man emu]

My mate is the Western NSW Youth Development Officer for Rugby Union NSW. He is finding the Aboriginal kids are taking to the game, and leaving Rugby League because Rugger is a faster, non-stop game. That type of fast movement seems to suit their athleticism. If the Aussie Rules mob ever come up here, there will be four sticks at each end of paddocks all over the place.

[willedoo]

4 hours ago, old man emu said:

My mate is the Western NSW Youth Development Officer for Rugby Union NSW. He is finding the Aboriginal kids are taking to the game, and leaving Rugby League because Rugger is a faster, non-stop game. That type of fast movement seems to suit their athleticism. If the Aussie Rules mob ever come up here, there will be four sticks at each end of paddocks all over the place.

I can see the logic in that. I recon Aboriginals would take to AFL like ducks to water. A lot of them are tall, skinny and fast; well suited to the code. There's always a lot of Aboriginal players in League, but not many bulldozer like forwards. Quite a few of the Aboriginal NRL players have the build and speed to play AFL.

[willedoo]

9 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

My son played Rugby over here for a short time. I understand most of the rules, but I have to admit, I can't see what the gubbins is going on when those packs form; the referee blows a whistle and even the commentators sometimes are perplexed why.

Jerry, when they form a scrum in Union, It's much the same as it always was where it's a genuine competition to gain possession of the ball. Whichever team has the feed is supposed to throw it in the middle of the scrum, then they all push away with the intention of the ball going out the back of the scrum. The pack has to be formed properly with heads locked in and a lot of ref whistle blowing is to stop play and get them to pack in properly. It's a pain in the bum to watch; sometimes they push each other all over the paddock before getting a result.

 

League used to be like that, but it was slowing the game down too much. In League, a scrum is now just a token thing and over in a flash. It's really just a penalty awarded to the team that has the ball feed as they throw it diagonally straight into the second row. The other team never gets the ball. Over the years it's been debated whether they should do away with the scrum completely in League, but maybe they keep it as a link with tradition.

[facthunter]

Union is for the Boofy sweaty types who like to be close to other blokes and get the odd STOP in their face. Didn't like playing IT.,  Nev

[onetrack]

Wasn't it Oscar Wilde, who opined? - "Rugby is a game for barbarians played by gentlemen. Football is a game for gentlemen played by barbarians".

 

Of course, Wilde was referring to soccer when he said "football". It's a good job he never saw AFL played, he would've simply said, "A game for barbarians, played by barbarians!"

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by onetrack

[facthunter]

Having a "roundball makes it easier for the less coordinated".   Nev