Who is Tony Abbott? Do we know him? I would not ask these questions, for example, of John Howard. His family was very much fashioned by World War I – both his father and grandfather enlisting (one incredible story has them meeting up, on the battlefield, a few hours before the lethal hostilities resumed). John Winston Howard, born in 1939, got his middle name from Winston Churchill. John Howard is what was once known as an Australian Briton.

Cardinal George Pell, former archbishop of Sydney, has departed for Rome to take charge of Vatican finances. His last acts in Sydney involved rationalising the contradictions in his leadership style caused by the chasm between moral and spiritual leadership of his community, and legal and fiduciary management of its assets and finances. For 30 years his has been the authoritarian, cold, unfeeling, and arrogant face of the church corporate in Australia.

The Federal Opposition has accused Bronwyn Bishop of "serious partiality" in her role as Speaker of the House of Representatives and sought to move a motion of no confidence in the Speaker.

Back to the future... Uncle Bob (before he became the only Australian Knight of the Order of the Thistle) talks to the COMMUNISTS... Somewhere in Africa there is a "massacre plot" confirmed as usual and the Aussie Cricket team in India and Pakistan is "disappointing"... Nothing new.

These gems presented to you from Sir Gus de Leon y Die Kartoffel's own collection of old Granny clippings (recovered from under old linoleum and rotting roof eaves) going as far back as the birth of christ-knows-who.  

Tony Abbott yesterday announced a bold, innovative plan to deal with pressing issues from the past century. Without consulting his cabinet or party room, the Prime Minister has decided to reinstate the old honours system that was done away with in 1986. This decisive step backwards was made because the existing system was for “eminent Australians” whereas the new knights and dames of the Order of Australia will be for “pre-eminent” Australians, said Abbott.

Wanting to distract and deflect, as well as punish and shame his Opposition counterpart, Tony Abbott abruptly came up with his plan to ennoble Quentin Bryce, writes Bob Ellis.

There's a young bloke who calls himself a "comedy hypnotist" who occasionally does shows at our family's pub.  It's been interesting to watch him over a couple of years and see his practice and confidence evolve him into a clever portrayalist of how easily many people's behaviour can be influenced.

Watching people who would need to have been extraordinarily consumnate actors to fake their behaviours do silly stuff like lose the number 7 from their counting, thinking that you're a genius but unable to remember your name, thinking your name is E I E I O and getting more quietly  pissed off every time someone"forgets"   I watched and giggled, kept watching as, in response to the implanted suggestion, one of the hypnotised blokes remembered what had occurred onstage by raising a drink to his lips- the play of emotions across his face said it all..

Mal would be spitting chips unless he has learned to be "philosophical" about Tony's budgies and being a prick...

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has brought back the titles of knights and dames for "pre-eminent" Australians, nearly three decades after the honour was abolished by the Hawke Labor government.

Here we go again.

Everyday, I worry that there won't be a subject to vent my spleen... What would be horrific for a toonist is that all issues would have been solved and the world is all nice and spice... No need to worry.

Attorney-General George Brandis has defended the Government's plan to amend a key part of the nation's racial discrimination laws, saying people have "a right to be bigots".

Everything is not awesome. The merry theme song of the LEGO movie invites us to believe that everything is. That is, until our plastic protagonists discover they are mere pawns in the game of "Lord Business".

from mike carlton ….

Shed no tears for Arthur Sinodinos. It was greed and folly that brought him down, a lethal cocktail for politicians at his level, and all his own work.