Bill leak may have a better flowing style than that stuffy Gus but his philosophical bent is crook...

Below is Gus' on economics with a reality attached to it:

Despite lacking a bit in charismatic sponsored bicycling, Shorten knows more about economics that Abbott, Hockey and Cormann combined. The proposition that Shorten considers economics as "crap" is preposterous, Bill. This is serving your masters against the rule 101 of cartooning. What Shorten — and many other people, thank god I am an atheist — opposes is the reckless wrecking way of ruthless "pseudo-economics" practice by the idiotic infantile incompetent right wing nut-jobbing of the Liberal (CONservative) Party... Amen.

UPDATE (4/8/2014): Still no response from The Australian. Not to this post or my email or anyone else’s. Disgraceful.

The death toll in Gaza has well and truly surpassed 1400, with thousands more injured, tens of thousands displaced and no escape in sight. A majority of these casualties are innocent civilians – women and children. As the United Nations, Twitter and anyone with any humanity left in their heart, continue to condemn the actions of the Israeli defence force, The Australian decided it was appropriate to post the cartoon above.

It is completely unbelievable, and when I saw the outrage on social media, I thought the image must have been doctored – it must have just been some propaganda by some misguided activists who were aiming to bring light to the unfair depiction of the people of Gaza in the media.

I was horrified to find out that no, it was in fact a real image. Mariam Veiszadeh wrote an incredible letter to the Australian, which you can read at the end of this post.

It is outrageous that anyone could depict the murder of these children as a ‘PR war’. How vile and inhumane. How disgusting that the pools of innocent blood can be reduced to nothing more than an apparent smoke-screen, intended to fool the West into supporting the people of Gaza. I cannot believe that no one working for the newspaper put a stop to this.

http://unveiledthought.com/2014/08/01/bill-leak-and-the-australian-newspaper-are-disgraceful-gaza/

The media have turned on Tony Abbott, but are his troubles symptomatic of a bigger problem with the way politics is now played? Tim Dunlop writes.

Tony Abbott is not the problem.

Watching the media, particularly the rightwing media, turn on Tony Abbott over the last few weeks has been a sight to behold, and it didn't get any funnier than this particular piece in The Australian.

Under the headline, "How The Oz belled the cat on Tony Abbott five months ago", they re-ran an article from July, saying:

"FIVE months ago, The Australian warned Tony Abbott that he was still behaving as if he was leader of the opposition, locked into the daily tactic rather than a long term strategy with a team characterised by zealous centralised control.

As the Prime Minister ends his first year with discouraging polls and dissent among his MPs, our original article is well worth re-reading."

How bad have things become when the PM's biggest spruikers are suddenly busting to tell us, hey, we actually don't like him either!

And seriously, five months ago? They are boasting that they figured out five months ago that Emperor Abbott is stark naked? (What's their next great insight, that the Beatles are likely to be big?)

I mean, didn't it occur to The Oz at the time of, say, Mr Abbott's interview with Kerry O'Brien in May 2005 - where the then-Opposition leader admitted that he said things for the sake of expediency - that just maybe there were problems with Captain Tony?

Apparently not.

Even the Budget wasn't enough to make The Australian reconsider their commitment to the PM and all his works and pomps. In fact they offered this when the Budget was brought down:

"The Green-Left critics and Fairfax Media and ABC sympathisers badly underestimated John Howard. They are making the same mistake with Mr Abbott. Rather than sealing its demise, this first Abbott-Hockey budget gives the Coalition a strong sense of purpose and a serious reform agenda that, in the medium term, could sideline its opponents. The Australian believes most voters will embrace the budget repair task, so long as the government brings them along in the discussion."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-11/dunlop-abbott-not-the-problem/5959676

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Tony Abbott wows to "sweat blood"... It is an expression that means working so hard that one really works so hard... But working hard is not the question, nor the answer. In this day and age, most rich people enrich themselves of a few millions/billions by working two hours a day and then play with the other rich geezers games such as who's got the biggest private jet and I've got more castles than you. 

Working hard at bashing square pegs into round holes with head-butts is not going to augur well. It's counter-productive even if you bleed from overwork. It's called over doing it and in theatre and movies they use fake blood, like yours anyway.

And please Tony, do not accuse those, who think Peta Credlin — your head of staff and stuff-ups — is doing a nasty, stupid, subterranean or lousy job, of being misogynists or sexist... Had she been a man she would have got far more crap poured over her head from the political slop-bucket and possibly being punched in the budgies, in the corridors of power, by the gremlins of decency — for letting you on the rampaging loose or keeping you on the leach whichever may be. That Julie Bishop needs to ask permission to go to the toilet in Lima or such is a bit much.

We'd rather wish you went on holidays and did nufin' ever... and don't touch anything that looks like an economic decision. Mind you if you decide to punch yourself in the face to bleed from now till the next blue moon, we won't stop you.

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My apologies here, I may have been a bit harsh on Ms Credlin's ability to keep Tony on the straight and narrow... But after some reflection, I have come to the possibly wrong conclusion that some of the ministers' anger directed towards Ms Credlin is not due because she is a woman or a man, nothing sexist contrary to what Turdy implies, but because they need a scapegoat for the turmoil the "Abbott" regime has found itself in. And of course the real culprit for the crap is Tony himself and all the Liberals (CONservatives) who though that driving this thingy was going to be a picnic... Even without an opposition that heckles them, since La vielle Bishop throws Labor representatives out should they ask a pertinent question in parliament, the Abbott team manages to botch everything it does. Sure "the boats have stopped" or actually have been rerouted and sunk after transfer of people — and we really don't know what is happening since we're kept in the dark — but at least we know the Australian Navy has had to break many international laws to achieve this ruthless goal.

In regard to the rest and the economy, including international relations, the Abbott Regime is selling the farm for peanuts and blaming others for its own incompetence. Abbott is an infantile bully, idiotic in intent and a liar to boot. Brother, this country did not deserve this...

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced a major reshuffle of his frontbench as he moves to "reset and refocus" his Government for next year.

Scott Morrison has been appointed the Minister for Social Services taking on an expanded portfolio which includes welfare, families, child care and the paid parental leave scheme.

Mr Abbott has announced David Johnston is leaving Cabinet and will be replaced as Defence Minister by Kevin Andrews.

Peter Dutton moves to Immigration and his former portfolio of Health will be held by Sussan Ley who has been promoted, making her the second woman in the upper ranks of the ministry.

Josh Frydenberg has been promoted to the outer Ministry as Assistant Treasurer.

Mr Abbott said he used the resignation of Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos to have a "significant" reshuffle.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-21/prime-minister-announces-cabinet-reshuffle/5981952

See toon half-way up...