The official launch of his unofficial campaign? FFS.

None of this is accidental: it is the inevitable result of the spooning relationship that exists between the media and the politicians, and it happens because it is mutually beneficial: easy copy for the media; free advertising for the pollies.

And we wonder why people place politics last on their list of news stories they seek out.

John L Robinson, a former journalist and editor in the US, has written at length about the things he did wrong in those roles and how he "missed the future". He notes:

There may be other reasons [I got things wrong]. Complacency, however, wasn't one of them. I never felt as if we were in decent shape, that we could rest, that we had reached our destination. Instead, I was like a kid running around with my arms outstretched thinking I was an airplane...

I am positive about one thing: Had I organized monthly meetings with the public to hear how we could serve them better, it would have improved our journalism, and I would have been a better steward of their newspaper.

Somebody put that last paragraph on t-shirts and distribute them amongst the nation's newspaper editors.

So, as much as I appreciate what Alcorn is saying in her article, its mere existence just reinforces how little distance has been travelled.

As the 2013 federal election approaches, are we really still going to be stuck having the same old arguments while the media and politicians play their usual games?

It certainly looks like it.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4492962.html?WT.svl=theDrum

The mood at the Press Club luncheon was strangely jittery. Abbott gave a typically robotic, empty, speech, devoid of any policy substance — yet the Press Gallery cheered him at the end like he had just delivered the Gettysburg Address. Could it be that most of this tight little polito-media clique were on edge, well aware something big was about to happen? It sure looked like it, because when Lyndal Curtis told Abbott that Thomson had been arrested, Abbott barely blinked — he was utterly unsurprised. (On the other hand, he did blink quickly and repeatedly when holding his hand to his heart to declare no-one in his Government knew anything about the Ashby case.) Then he made a scripted sounding response — not the erratic, bumbling, word-stew he normally delivers when he’s asked to think on his feet.

Thomson had been arrested at precisely the right time for the Coalition — perfect to take media attention away from Abbott’s dismal public speaking, the leaked emails, Gillard’s election announcement and with all the media in the one place ready to smear the Independent NSW MP and, through him, the Government.

A coincidence? There is no such thing as a coincidence in politics. And certainly not on this scale.

So, as Abbott spoke to the assembled press in Canberra, live on camera, seven police arrived to arrest Thomson (two remained in the car) as if he was a dangerous armed fugitive.

...

The police need to explain this discrepancy regarding on the warrant. If the warrant makes incorrect claims, then does this make the warrant unlawful?

Beyond this, it seem the police were so determined to get Thomson at just the right time — even if it meant breaching the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. That’s the one that states in S14(1) that an MP can’t be arrested 5 days before or after attending Parliament. Parliament, of course, resumes on Tuesday.

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/jacksonville-38-the-odd-and-illegal-arrest-of-craig-thomson/

Of course the merde-och press knew in advance what was going to happen, tipped off by someone in the police... 

"They shook out all his items of clothes as he took them off to make sure he didn't have any state secrets in his undies," he told ABC News Breakfast.

The ABC has been told Thomson was given an initial pat down by police before being transferred to a holding cell in the Wyong Local Court where he was strip-searched by corrective services officers.

NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin has rejected suggestions the search was carried out as a form of intimidation, arguing that it is standard procedure for anyone who is arrested.

"That is a safety measure," Mr Severin told ABC local radio.

"People come in all kinds of states and situations into custody, and for their own safety and also of course for the safety of our staff, they are standard procedures.

"They apply to anybody. Anybody who comes into custody is subject to exactly the same procedure."

But Mr McArdle says authorities appear to have changed their story from yesterday.

"When we first said it they denied it had happened. They said 'No, that didn't happen'. Then that switched from 'No, didn't happen' to 'Oh, routine'. Which was it? Didn't happen, or routine?"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-01/thomson-strip-searched-by-corrective-services-lawyer-says/4494808?WT.svl=news1

Karen Doane, James Ashby’s colleague and co-conspirator, has signed a statutory declaration alleging she fears at least one person wants to do her personal harm.

We know this, because the Federal electoral role shows Ms Doane’s residential address in Queensland’s Wide Bay electorate has been suppressed.

Now, the Australian Electoral Commission does not do this lightly. It takes more than a phone call or even a visit to the local Electoral Office — it requires a signed statutory declaration that you are in genuine fear for the physical safety for yourself or your close relatives before you can become a ‘silent elector’.

An elector must apply to the AEC, complete a Registration As A Silent Elector form and attach to this a statutory declaration compliant with the Statutory Declarations Act 1959. In other words, the person completing the declaration, in this case Ms Doane, agree they will be guilty of an offence under section 11of the Act if they state an untruth (make a false oath).

Ms Doane’s statutory declaration must have contained enough information for the AEC to grant this ‘silent enrolment’.

Is this a can of worms, or what?

We know there are some interesting characters around Mr Ashby and there are probably a lot more who had the brains not to text anyone even vaguely linked to him. We may never know about them — the unknown unknowns.

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/whos-afraid-of-james-ashby/

Craig Thomson's lawyer is threatening to sue the New South Wales Premier over comments he made about the federal crossbench MP.

Chris McCardle this morning voiced his anger that his client was strip-searched after he was arrested and charged with fraud on the NSW Central Coast yesterday.

He says it was an "absolutely extraordinary intimidation of an innocent man".

But Premier Barry O'Farrell says it is standard procedure.

"I'd only be concerned if there was special treatment meted out to any member of Parliament," he said.

"He ought to take a Bex, a lie down or another look at the situation, because this whole situation arose because Mr Thomson allegedly was too keen to get his kit off in front of strangers."

Mr McCardle is demanding an apology from Mr O'Farrell and says his client will take him to court for defamation if he does not.

But Mr O'Farrell says he does not see any need to apologise.

"I hasten to explain to Mr McCardle, who is a lawyer, that I did use the word allegations," he told Macquarie Radio.

"I didn't prejudge the allegations."

Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese says the Premier should not have weighed in.

"That says a lot about the person who made it," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-01/thomson-lawyer-threatens-to-sue-over-ofarrell-remarks/4496618

Gus: "... because Mr Thomson allegedly was too keen to get his kit off in front of strangers.????" says Doctor Bazza O'Feral who prescribes a Bex — which was an over-the-counter (even supermarket?) medicine that was removed from common circulation in Australia for good reason:

Bex contained:

Aspirin – Chemically known as acetylsalicylic acid, this drug acts on the body as an anti-inflammatory, helping to alleviate pain, fever, headache and other symptoms.  The maximum recommended daily dose of aspirin is 1 g (1000 mg), as it can lead to stomach bleeding.  A single bex powder (approximately 1 gram) contained 420 mg of aspirin.

Phenacetin – This chemical was widely used with aspirin and caffeine as a fever and pain reliever.  It acts primarily on the nervous system, targeting the sensory tracts of the spinal cord, the brain and the heart.  It was withdrawn from use in 1983 due to its damaging action on the kidneys and carcinogenic properties. Each Bex powder contained 420 mg of phenacetin.

Caffeine – Found in coffee, tea and soft drinks, caffeine is a powerful nervous system stimulant.  In combination with aspirin, it can give greater pain relief than aspirin alone. More than 250mg of caffeine a day can lead to unpleasant side effects like sleeplessness, irritability and heart palpitations.  A single bex powder contained approximately 160mg.

In the 1960s, housewives routinely used Bex to get through the day. However, once it was recognised that these substances were addictive and large doses of phenacetin taken by habitual uses were resulting in widespread kidney disease, analgesics came under government regulation in the 1970s

http://medicalsciences.med.unsw.edu.au/node/302500715

Not only O'Feral makes unfunny joke out of allegations, he wants to slowly kill Craig Thomson with Bex...

The charges themselves range from the old stories rehashed to startling new revelations that reveal the darker side of Craig Thomson that we were unaware of. Things like Thomson’s hidden secret love of film and ice cream is sure to shock the public and bring the Government to its knees.

The Victorian taxpayers must be thrilled to know that their money is being spent chasing someone for buying an ice cream. I wonder how many police spent how many hours investigating that particular alleged crime before being flown up to lay the charge.

All of the charges relate the expenditure on a union credit card — a credit card that bore Thomson’s name.

The credit card in question is a union card, the details of which were stored on the unions computer network, along with Thomson’s other personal information, date of birth, drivers licence details and a copy of his signature. There were many who had access to this information, including those in opposing factions of the union — such as Kathy Jackson’s.

Four of the 150 charges laid against Thomson relate to the same old brothel charges that we have been hearing about for so long now. Charges that Thomson adamantly denies.

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/jacksonville-39-the-engineered-arrest-of-craig-thomson/

The lawyer representing federal MP Craig Thomson says errors in public statements made by the New South Wales Police have damaged his client's case.

Thomson was arrested at his NSW central coast electorate office on Thursday and is facing 150 fraud charges relating to his time as head of the Health Services Union. 

Speaking outside the Wyong Police Station soon after the arrest, Detective Superintendent Col Dyson told reporters that Thomson had been invited by Victorian police to "surrender himself" before Christmas but had "refused".

The claim was quickly denied by Thomson's lawyer, Chris McArdle, who said: "We were invited on December 21 to go to Victoria to be interviewed by the police. It is untrue to say that we were invited to go and surrender our client for arrest."

In a statement issued this morning, Detective Superintendent Dyson conceded the words he used were incorrect.

"The arrest warrant indicated that Mr Thomson was invited to Victoria to be interviewed," the statement said. 

"It additionally indicated that the arrest warrant was issued on the grounds that he was avoiding the service of the summons. 

"I concede the word 'summons' and not 'arrest' should have been used when I referred to the wording on the warrant." 

But Mr McArdle disputes that even a summons had been issued, saying the paperwork provided to the NSW police by their Victorian counterparts was wrong.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-04/police-admit-errors-after-thomson-arrest/4499044

OVER THE YEARS, we have seen many a political stunts go pear-shaped — take Sarah Palin for example.

Here in Australia political stunts extend as far as character assassinations, even to the point of arrests being made under false circumstances. At least they do now.

Some of you may have read my previous article on the allegedly stage-managed arrest of Craig Thomson last Thursday. The article delved into the public statements by Detective Superintendent Col Dyson from NSW Police Fraud Squad that the reason for the arrest in NSW was that Thomson had declined to “surrender himself” to a Victorian Police warrant for his arrest in December. This claim was vehemently denied by Craig Thomson and his solicitor Chris McArdle.

Let’s not forget that the arrest was carried out in the full glare of the media, who had been tipped off about the arrest the night before, smack bang in the middle of Tony Abbott’s speech to none other than the National Press Club.

Thomson and McArdle’s views were dismissed by most — however, I thought that it was the Victoria Police claims that looked rather ridiculous. I struggled to see how someone could be given over a month’s warning of an arrest, I also struggled with the validity of the charges, particularly the ones involving ice cream, as there appeared to be a lot of ridiculous charges, seemingly just there to make the overall number of charges look enormous.

As it turns out, my doubts were justified, as it has now been confirmed by NSW Police that, despite Dyson’s claims, there was, in fact, no arrest warrant issued in December at all.

That’s right, the justification for Thomson’s arrest was a lie.

I suggest at this point you nip out, make yourself a cuppa, and let that sink in for a bit.

If my assessment of the evidently fictitious police arrest warrant was correct, then that again makes me question the timing of this most public of spectacles.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/jacksonville-40-police-lies-and-stitch-ups/

See toon at top and take note: you won't see much of this IA information in the mainstream media...

How can Craig Thomson diligently discharge his responsibilities as an elected representative while dealing with so substantial a legal challenge? asks Jonathan Green.

You know what? It's not just about you. Not just about your entitlements as an individual, your absolute right to exploit every syllable up to and including the last letter of the law.

It seems entirely reasonable to suggest, Craig Thomson, that you should stand down from the Parliament, and resign as an MP. This is not because there is any compelling case to suggest that you are guilty ... that verdict, yea or nay, will out with the slow and orderly passage of due process. You should pursue the clearing of your name with full vigour and with all the volume and resource to which you are entitled. But why shouldn't you do it as a private citizen?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-07/green---craig-thomson/4504810?WT.svl=theDrum

----------------------------

Is this fellow Jonathan Green for real? Is he a rabid rightwing nutcase? Should he be in the same shoes would he leave his cosy ABC employment until his name was clear three years later?

It's actually a case of the public (voters) supporting Craig Thomson in his hour of need, while being charge twice over for having eaten ice cream...

Beyond this, as exposed by Independent Australia:

There has also been a lot of talk of Christopher Pyne and David Bradbury’s appearance on ABC Lateline on Friday night, and the comparisons between the Craig Thomson case and the Mary Jo Fisher case.

Christopher Pyne said that it was unfair and inappropriate to compare the two cases — and if anyone is an expert on the inappropriate, it’s Pyne.

I’m afraid that on this one it seems, I am going to have to agree with Pyne. But before your jaw drops so far that you wish you were wearing steel caps, let me explain why:

• Thomson was not charged with a violent crime; Fisher was charged with assault.
• Since the story became public, Thomson has had no allegations of other alleged crimes; Mary Jo Fisher was a re-offender.
• Allegations against Thomson related to a time prior to his becoming an MP; Fisher’s were while she was representing the Liberal party in the Senate.
• Craig Thomson has not been found guilty of anything; Mary Jo Fisher has been found guilty in a court of law.
• Craig Thomson has been suspended from the Labor party pending the outcome; Mary Jo Fisher, despite the guilty outcome, is still a member of the Liberal Party — in Pyne’s own state even.

So, an unfair comparison indeed.

AS VICTORIAN POLICE slowly work their way through over 40 boxes of evidence in their investigation into Kathy Jackson, she still has some cheerleaders in the far right realms of the media.

We continue to wait for the conclusion of the investigation into over the scores of boxes of credit card statements, signed cheque requisitions, payments for childcare, cheque stubs for cheques made out for cash, putting her fiance’s children on the payroll, cash payments to ex-husbands and ex-members of staff, and an ex-employee who was still collecting a salary eight years after leaving the union, based on the signatures of Kathy Jackson and the man who employed her Michael Williamson. A long wait it is becoming too — almost as long as the list of allegations.

As a reminder of a fraction on the evidence uncovered here, below are links to Kathy Jacksons spending habits, and details of some of the many highly suspicious cash payments made to her:

• Statements HSU 3 Branch July 09 to July 2010
• HSU 3 Branch Cheque Account Breakdown
• Kathy Jackson Cash payments

Below is some more of the evidence we have uncovered, which is now in Vic Police hands — including cheque requisitions and remittances, bearing what appears to be Kathy’s signature for payments made to her own company Neranto #10; company details, and details of ownership which include Kathy under her maiden name, Jackson; and a former director with the name “Furphy”

...

Now we have Tony Abbott, on cue, talking about putting a Private Members Bill through Parliament to amend the Fair Work Act to increase penalties for corrupt union officials to $340K and five years jail. Geez, I wonder what could have brought that on? Hmmm?

Looks like “Thomson The Musical” still has further to run in its season. I wonder which town it’s headed for next.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/jacksonville-42-craig-thomson-in-the-land-of-shock-jock/

Yes Peter (Wicks). But you have to acknowledge that, so far, there is no record of Kathy's signature on a brothel credit card voucher...

Today, apparently Greg Combet said that Tony Abbott was a "bullshit artist"... One of the Liberals (conservatives) said that this was offensive and Combet should retract his words to which Geg Combet said something like there was no need to retract since what he said was was true... I'll be the juge, jury and executioner here... Greg Combet is found not guilty, while Tony Abbott may or may not be a bullshit artist, but he certainly is a lying iddiott...

See toon at top...

There is much Malcolm Brough could add, but even though we have repeatedly asked him to answer a series of reasonable questions, he has never responded once.

Tony Abbott said about Brough:

“Look I will leave claims about what Mr Brough did or didn’t do to be answered  by, by, by, Mal, erm, he’s been very up front about this. He’s done lots of interviews about it and, erm, if you’ve got a question for him, I think he would be only too happy to take it from you.”

What rot.

The simple answer to this is that Mal Brough hasn’t answered any of the questions he should have because ‒ despite Brough assiduously attempting to avoid scrutiny ‒ the other journalists haven’t researched enough to ask the right questions.

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/mal-broughs-dry-gully/

TODAY IN the Federal Court, the case against Craig Thomson weakened, as Fair Work Australia appears to have backed away from its allegations against the Federal MP.

Fair Work Australia has decided to adjourn the hearing on virtually all of its civil matters against Thomson, including allegations around travel, accommodation, meals, cash withdrawals and, of course, those of brothel use.

All that remains of the civil matters is the allegations surrounding Thomson’s use of union funds for the purpose of campaigning for the Federal seat of Dobell. These are claims that Thomson has not denied and in fact was quick to point out that the HSU, which was affiliated with the ALP at the time, did indeed provide campaign funds for the seat, as it was one of the seats that the ACTU had targeted as focus electorates for that campaign.

What this means is that FWA does not believe it holds enough evidence to mount a civil suit against Thomson on these matters and will await the outcome of the criminal proceedings. According to advice received by IA, if Thomson is acquitted in criminal proceedings, then the whole matter is dead and buried and no further cases on these issues can be made against Craig Thomson.

The criminal case against Thomson has been dealt a massive blow by this court action today, as the civil proceedings run to a vastly lower standard of proof than the criminal proceedings. The chances of Thomson being found guilty of any of these charges in a criminal court can now best be described as remote as there appears to not be enough evidence to even support a civil case.

Thomson’s Barrister, Chris McArdle who attended court today claimed that today’s news

“…further vindicated his client”

read more: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/jacksonville-46-one-step-closer/

There is something wrong in this country when someone who is a Federal MP ends up on the verge of bankruptcy trying to prove his innocence, in a case that has been dragged out and regurgitated in two different States by what looks suspiciously like vested interests, and then tried and found guilty by the media.

There is something hideously wrong when Thomson’s accuser, who is also under police investigation, is allowed to leave to country and marry the vice president of the very organisation that condemned Thomson in their investigation — an investigation that was slammed and torn asunder by an independent report they themselves commissioned. Then again, that VP is Michael Lawler — an appointee of none other than Tony Abbott.

For Craig Thomson, the notion of innocent until proven guilty seems to be far too expensive.

In Thomson’s case, it seems more like presumed guilty until bankrupt and unable to defend.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/jacksonville-47-the-craig-thomson-defence/

The stench of the conservatives (liberals) shit is overwhelming in this case...

We are also supposed to believe in unbiased reporting in the mainstream media. However, somewhere along the way that seems to have gone a bit AWOL.

I’m not talking about shock jocks like Ray Hadley, and Paul Murray, or opinion writers like Miranda Devine, Andrew Bolt and Piers Ackerman, we all expect them to be big on mock outrage and light on fact. I am talking about news journalists and investigative journalists.

Now, I would have thought that an unbiased journalist would want to see somebody in the public eye have the best defence possible in a trial that may as well be held at a stadium for the public interest it will carry.

That is why it is so intriguing to see Fairfax journalist Kate McClymont come out on the attack for attempts to obtain a decent defence for Craig Thomson.

Fairfax journalist Kate McClymont seems to have taken on the Kathy Jackson role of Thomson attacker over the last week or so. Kathy still needs a mouthpiece since she has either taken off overseas for her lavish wedding to FWA (now FWC) Vice President Michael Lawler, or has wisely decided to keep a low profile while under police investigation — something McClymont has noticeably chosen not to report.

McClymont’s public attacks on Thomson, and the attempts by others to help him raise funds for an adequate defence, do not portray her in a neutral light. To the casual observer, it seems like she is out to get Thomson; to the curious onlooker, it may even make them wonder why she has stuck her neck out so far.

http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/business/media-2/kate-mcclymont-what-a-way-to-win-a-walkley/

-------------

It is not a surprise to see that when journalists get some great information "from a whistleblower', that they subsequently defend the whistleblower and the report — no matter the reality that they may have been sold a stupid smelly pup. We have seen this this time and time again during the ugly war on Iraq... Journalists were given access to "exclusives" with defectors (whistleblowers) that would tell tall tales compounding the "necessity of war" while the truth was far from this picture...

Thus in the story presented by Kate McClymont, only one side she will tell... If the whistleblower is a crafty liar and the journalist takes the word of this person as gospel without doing any proper checks, the journalists can "make mistakes"... or in this case may reinforce fake information with deliberate slanted other "sources" fed to her by hidden interests...

I will give the benefit of the doubt. It is most likely that Kate McClymont was thus victim of a clever double cross on the Craig Thomson affair, being deviously informed from various "liberal" (conservatives) outposts...

But, like when many other people who make mistakes, journalists like her can defend their stories to the hilt while knowingly being wrong or being PROVEN TO BE WRONG... It is a shame that Kate McClymont seem to have chosen this path... It is obvious that she has been wrong on the Craig Thomson situation but I understand why she will defend her sources, even if they can be proven to be complete liars.

UNACCEPTABLE from someone like Kate.