tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post2952543823120821827..comments2024-02-11T19:28:27.997+11:00Comments on Personal Reflections: Placing Barnaby Joyce in his Northern NSW contextJim Belshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-16871028276596012872016-02-15T08:12:22.355+11:002016-02-15T08:12:22.355+11:00I think Tony W would fit with the traditional Getu...I think Tony W would fit with the traditional Getup! pattern. The environmental battles on the Liverpool Plains over coal and CSG are quite intense and Mr Windsor is on the side of the angels, so to speak. He is also well regarded among but not only among the left. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-31572664170637915002016-02-15T05:57:02.880+11:002016-02-15T05:57:02.880+11:00tanners, you could easily infer the "not nece...tanners, you could easily infer the "not necessarily left-wing" suggestion from stuff I've written on Getup! over the years. It ties back to our recent conversation on the merits of various NGOs: I honestly believe some organisations are more about providing a suitable income for the 'head honchos' than the cause or causes they promote.<br /><br />If you look at the various "good fights" Getup! has fought over the years you will see that, while the majority probably align with "idealistic left" notions, the underlying theme is more "what will drive the punters to donate". I have been misunderstood before on this point: I am in no way criticising the idealism of the supporters; more simply running a cynical eye over the end beneficiaries of the monies so raised. But I shall now dismount that particular hobby horse :)<br /><br />kvdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-64964321380817801792016-02-14T22:21:43.727+11:002016-02-14T22:21:43.727+11:00I'm a bit curious. Was anyone suggesting that ...I'm a bit curious. Was anyone suggesting that GetUp! does not pursue a traditional left-wing position/strategy? I'd also be curious to find out if the yes/no vote is because Tony Windsor is not their normal choice of a person to support, except that "he's not BJ" and therefore any TW victory could be partly claimed for GU activism.<br />2 tannersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-14396154780185480742016-02-14T21:12:11.847+11:002016-02-14T21:12:11.847+11:00kvd, your memory keeps us all honest! I don't ...kvd, your memory keeps us all honest! I don't have the email anymore. When GetUp first formed I saw it as an exercise in participatory democracy and then I saw it focusing on certain sets of attitudes. That may have made sense from an organisation viewpoint, but the things that I considered to be important were always going to be excluded. So it became just another campaign vehicle from my viewpoint. <br /><br />Your comment on Simon Sheik is interesting. I hadn't actually caught up with Future Super. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-46782043245389706852016-02-14T17:17:29.499+11:002016-02-14T17:17:29.499+11:00June 12, 2011: Jim Belshaw’s commenter kvd couldn’...June 12, 2011: <i>Jim Belshaw’s commenter kvd couldn’t be more wrong when he says: “GetUp is a very fruitful, very cynical marketing exercise which could be lifted, franchised, into any geographic location with minimal text change and a catchy title.” It really is idealistic! Hard to credit, eh!</i><br /><br />Copied from one of Neil Whitfield's posts - which I guess was copied from one of your own. Ah, memories: they were good times Neil :)<br /><br />So anyway, just for the heck of it, I checked out Getup!s 15-16 list of large donors - and I can see Campact $42960, Purpose $39059, and then back in 14-15 Avaaz Foundation $99985. <br /><br />Purpose is, I think, the present home of Jeremy Heimans, one of the founders of Getup! and Avaaz was, I think, an earlier incarnation - same business models as our very own Getup! <br /><br />Campact is a German "grass roots" of surprising similarity - complete with the obligatory "!" - Campact!. (Again, same business model)<br /><br />And then we have Simon Sheik, late of Getup!, unsuccessful political candidate for the Senate, now heading up Future Super. And trading, it seems to me, upon the punters' (your word Neil, not mine) feel-good emotions to be <b>doing something!</b>. <br /><br />Jim, I'm betting there was a "Donate Now" button on the Getup! email? And Neil, it may be simple envy on my part, but I think I will stick with my original assessment :)<br /><br />kvd<br />ps they should copyright that "!" - if only Hillary! and Jeb! wouldn't mind :)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-13227906561433857032016-02-14T13:47:50.085+11:002016-02-14T13:47:50.085+11:00Thanks, both. I smiled at the cartoons. I understa...Thanks, both. I smiled at the cartoons. I understand your point, kvd. I will update the post.Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-67721022404725002602016-02-14T12:15:43.365+11:002016-02-14T12:15:43.365+11:00Thank you for the chuckle Winton, and for the atta...Thank you for the chuckle Winton, and for the attached history lesson. I actually like the inside/outside the tent one - suitably vulgar :)<br /><br />Jim, I expect he doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but I have the continuing impression (see Winton's reference for several issue examples) that he manages to put a sort of vulgar touch on anything under debate. Some like that approach; I don't.<br /><br />A recent one is the Depp dog saga: I take Australia's need for quarantine quite seriously (I've been through the process three times over the years with dogs, so I know some of the procedures) and I think the two serious issues involved - (i) how did the dogs get past inspection, and (ii) the need for quarantine controls - were to a large extent subsumed by his dramatic posing. It was an ideal opportunity for an international teaching moment lost.<br /><br />He just reminds me of the mad uncle nobody wants to sit with at the wedding, and certainly not "top table" material. Except, now he is.<br /><br />kvdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-74634756494581361562016-02-14T11:09:21.557+11:002016-02-14T11:09:21.557+11:00kvd:
After reading your comment I had another lo...kvd:<br /><br /><br />After reading your comment I had another look at how Peter Nicholson portrays Barnaby. See: http://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/?s=Barnaby<br /><br />Sometimes it is almost a portrait, with the hat floating above his head. At other times he is a cow, a marsupial or an elephant. I particularly like the unpublished elephant cartoon.Winton Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383561940886657594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-65588691859664826402016-02-13T17:33:05.933+11:002016-02-13T17:33:05.933+11:00Care to spell out your views on BJ in a little mor...Care to spell out your views on BJ in a little more detail? You know I have a high opinion of Tony from previous remarks, but I have been a bit put off by the unrelenting negative nature of his tweets. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-39382811566095733262016-02-13T12:56:06.916+11:002016-02-13T12:56:06.916+11:00Will be hard for the cartoonists to draw a caricat...Will be hard for the cartoonists to draw a caricature of BJ, because he already is. On the other hand, I continue to think TW is very impressive, so I hope he decides to stand for office again.<br /><br />kvdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com