Australian Federal Election 2016: Cash and Nash think twice

Australian Minister for Employment and Minister for Women, Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash took down this retweet on Saturday 14 May 2016:

As did the Minister for Rural Health and Minister for Regional Development Nationals Senator Fiona Nash on the same day:

Even Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals MP for New England Barnaby Joyce thought twice about what was being retweeted and deleted it after half a minute.

So what were the official Liberal Party and @MathiasCormann tweets that caused these three politicians to disappear their approval?

Why it was the same one - this one:

For Cash,Nash and Joyce it was a clear case of ‘Don’t mention the plan!’

* All tweets found at Politwoops

ISIS called and heard this response: sorry, I have a life

Sky News reporting on ISIS response to increased air strikes, 27 December 2915:

The Islamic State group has released a new message purportedly from its reclusive leader, claiming his self-styled "caliphate" is doing well despite an unprecedented alliance against it.

In the 24-minute audio posted on Saturday, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi says air strikes by the international coalition only increase his group's determination and resolve.

He also mocks a recently announced Saudi-led Islamic alliance against "terrorism" and warns Israel that "we are getting closer to you" every day.

To Israeli Jews, he says that they "will hide behind trees and stones" from the IS.

Al-Baghdadi urges Muslims world over to join the fight, saying it is their Islamic duty to rise up everywhere.

The authenticity of the audio could not be independently confirmed but it was posted on IS-affiliated websites and Twitter as have past IS messages.

A selection of Twitter responses to this call to “rise up”:

"White. WHITE. white." *WARNING: offensive language & racist comment*

[@fulani]

It’s the 2015 Australia Day long weekend and the Aussie arm of the twitterverse has been discussing everything from patriotic cake decorations and barbeques through to invasion, colonial occupation and race-based discrimination.

All is as expected. Some tweets are happy, some sad. Others are hurt, angry or defensive. Many more are insightful, balanced and supportive of other people’s views.

At some time over the last two days I began to realise that my Twitter timeline was showing signs of a savage argument developing somewhere else and, that a number of people living in Australia were having their racial and/or cultural identity questioned in some manner.

I peeked at this ongoing argument. Big mistake. I fell into a sewer.

The main focus seemed to be the fact that a well-known young Aboriginal woman was erroneously having her identity questioned because the colour of her skin, hair and eyes were judged to be too light for her to be recognised as indigenous. Shades of journalist Andrew Bolt!

However, I was surprised at both the degree of vitriol spewed across the Internet and the places it originated.

Along the way, other Australians were gratuitously insulted as well.

In no particular order here are just some of the comments made by those seeking to denigrate the Australian indigenous experience (click on any of the images to enlarge):

And the vileness spread far and wide:

This attack went on and on and on. Leaving a bad taste in the mouth and a tarnished holiday weekend in its wake.

@ebswearspink, @upjulie and @StringStory didn’t deserve the hate sent their way.

UPDATE

In which two individuals (one with a doctorate) apparently decide to mistake an adjective describing an argument for a noun allegedly indicating a person(s) in an effort to justify their tweets:

To make matters clear to those doubters, deniers and downright abusive tweeters, this is a brief snapshot of Ebs background:

Descended from Kamilaroi and Dharug peoples of New South Wales;

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Australian Indigenous Law;

Graduate Diploma Legal Practice;

Admitted to the bar by the Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB) of the Supreme Court of NSW;

Represented traditional owners in NSW Native Title applications;

National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples inaugural delegate.

I am confident that Ebs achieved this because she was both embraced and accepted by the Aboriginal community and loved by her large extended family.

A somewhat prophetic blast from the past

In which journalist Latika Bourke slaps down then Opposition Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and now Federal Minister for Maligning All Asylum Seekers Arriving By Boat, Scott Morrison, and suggests we all note his answer.....

Abbott's adviser deletes Twitter account now the damage is done - blames death threats

Mark Textor an adviser to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has deleted his Twitter account @markatextor after employing the same boots and all approach to Australia-Indonesia relations as Abbott himself.

Textor claimed he could not tolerate the 'death threats' received since he sent the tweets set out below, however if these alleged threats happened they must be thin on the ground because the Topsy archive carries little or no trace of these threats as far as I can tell.

Indeed the twitterverse was more likely to respond with comments such as You are a bogan moron, end of story or "Conduct unbecoming?" Don't f*cking flatter yourself, no one expects anything better from you.

Time online 22 November 2013:

Textor has admitted he slipped up. "Twenty-five years in politics, one or two mistakes, this is certainly one of them," he said Thursday.

As we ponder what the other mistake of his career could be, here are some of his mud-slinging tweets preserved for posterity.

The one where he brought up the 2005 suicide attack in Bali and linked to a photo of the bombers

"Last time I looked no Indonesians were ever bombed in Australia" (removed from Twitter)

The one where he slammed Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's propensity to use Twitter

"What sort of head of state communicates with a head of a neighbouring government by twitter FFS? SBY" (removed from Twitter)

The one where he gave tips for saving on apparently alcoholic beverages to the leader of the country with the biggest Muslim population in the world

@Drew_Bowie @Colvinius @SBYudhoyono @TonyAbbottMHR I think he should sack his foreign service and just do twitter. Save on the drinks bill

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 19, 2013

The one where he predicted journalists would find Indonesia's relationship with Australia sexually arousing…

Indonesian junior official criticises Oz Government. 2 things happen: left media gets hard on. Govt gets more domestic support

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 11, 2013

… but that anyone who mattered didn't care if Indonesians were offended

"No one gives a rat's arse in the real world. The bubble at work." (removed from Twitter)

The one where he described Indonesia's ambassador to Australia as a chess piece

Indonesian ambassador Read: Pawn of Indonesian domestic politics #indonesiavotes2014

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 18, 2013

The one where he implied the Indonesian President was senile

"Poor old bugger SBY is confused." (removed from Twitter)

The one where he re-tweeted a political reporter's response to his porn star slur

@latikambourke @markatextor Personally I disagree Mark. Marty looks more like a bad 70′s Bond villain.

When he reacted to the controversy over his porn star slur

@cathywilcox1 @jonathanvswan it's dull. Silly, gossipy and moronic. Compensated for by fake moral outrage and intellectual snobbery.

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 19, 2013

The time he claimed Indonesia's reaction to the spying controversy was fake

@PetefromHayNSW I think we act peacefully. But the fake indo outrage posturing is frustrating.

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 19, 2013

The one where he demanded Indonesia apologize for spying in 2004

SBY should apologise. "Indonesia 'bugged' Australia By Brendan Nicholson National Security Correspondent Canberra November 15, 2004″

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 19, 2013

The one where he took a dig at Australia's public broadcaster and gossip columnists

@latikambourke Where did i mention SBY exactly? More ABC inaccurate nonsense. More ant rooting from glorified gossip columnists

Front page mock up courtesy of @lol_trotsky

A quick turn around Twitter after the Australian leadership spill