TANSTAAFL

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35204362012-01-29T21:59:57.078+10:00TANSTAAFLThe Australian diatribe du jour of <a href="mailto:pwright60@optushome.com.au">Paul Wright</a>: Husband, father and aspiring Corporate Lapdog. <br> <br> "These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others" Groucho.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.comBlogger4871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099464677878068042004-11-03T16:37:00.000+10:002004-11-03T16:51:17.876+10:00

Third of the month: New spam Day! Subject: Why I tell it to you Please I do am interested Let's make a small deal - I will show you something and you will help me a little.... =) You have my attention. As a former Internet security specialist, I constantly keep an eye on everything that happens in the Internet. One might say it is a professional peculiarity, habit occupation, pastime, hobby,

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com388tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099459131987938472004-11-03T14:46:00.000+10:002004-11-03T15:18:51.986+10:00

Waiting for the call on Ohio. Looks like Bush will come through handily, but not the Nixon-level wipeout I was predicting. Time for me to pick up sticks, and head home. The Good lady Wife came home today, and we are all the better for it. When things get a little less blurry, I'll write more about the fallout here.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099457177228872302004-11-03T14:37:00.000+10:002004-11-03T14:46:17.226+10:00

And the award for most qualifications in a single sentence goes to the BBC's Florida correspondent, who made sure we knew four times that it was ABC News calling Florida for Bush, that it was a projection, a preliminary calculation, Oh, and it was ABC News.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099456653619454982004-11-03T14:35:00.000+10:002004-11-03T14:37:33.620+10:00

Just as an aside for any US viewers: In Sydney it's about 85 degrees, cloudless skies. Light southeast breeze, perfect for a afternoon sail on the Harbour. Time for another beer.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099456307214765842004-11-03T14:28:00.000+10:002004-11-03T14:31:47.213+10:00

Don King is the uuuugliest person I have eve seen. Period. This is a guy who fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. If I had a dog that looked like that I'd shave it's arse and teachit to walk backwards.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099450761972617122004-11-03T13:58:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:59:21.973+10:00

Maybe it's just me, but James Carville is one scary dude. He looks like a Scooby-Doo villain.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099450662137694362004-11-03T13:57:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:57:42.136+10:00

Who's the blonde dingbat on CNN doing the air quotes. Flaming death from the skies!

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099450578695914082004-11-03T13:54:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:56:18.696+10:00

BBC has a woman from United Food Workers for Kerry. Judging from the picture, she looks like she got mixed up and thought it was "Food workers ARE food".

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099456002541961342004-11-03T13:49:00.000+10:002004-11-03T14:26:42.540+10:00

Bill Kristol has finally summoned his courage and called Florida for Bush. Sort of. It's like watching a slow bicycle race. The consensus here onthe bridge is Bush, but have to ssay it's much tighter than I thought it would be.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099453745349006952004-11-03T13:47:00.000+10:002004-11-03T13:49:05.350+10:00

This election, the big contest is which network will have the stones to call Florida.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099453655326776812004-11-03T13:44:00.000+10:002004-11-03T13:47:35.326+10:00

Tom Daschle has the Fixed Grin of Doom.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099449465513948822004-11-03T13:36:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:37:45.513+10:00

CNBC is showing some polling place that looks it's getting out the Pirate vote.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099453415273732022004-11-03T13:30:00.000+10:002004-11-03T13:43:35.273+10:00

CNN is using Spacial LogicTM to tell us why they can't call Ohio or Florida. I hope they spent a lot of money to reachthis point.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099452583035508122004-11-03T13:28:00.001+10:002004-11-03T13:29:43.036+10:00

Map walking guy on the BBC is prancing about shouting "I look like a giant!!"

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099449177668132222004-11-03T13:28:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:32:57.670+10:00

The BBC has a guy WALKING all over a map of CONUS, with states leaping in reliefe, depending of how many EC votes they have. He seems to think there is a raging controversy about the EC. Now the BBC has Star Parker, pro-Bush former welfare cheat. BBCGuy says the Republicans use Libeal "as a stick to beat the opposition". Doesn't mention Kerry has been ducking the label, after his record started

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099452470924151112004-11-03T13:18:00.000+10:002004-11-03T13:27:50.923+10:00

Fox is "afraid to call" Florida, with 83% counted, and Bush ahead by 8%. Methinks they caution too much.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099451719591921812004-11-03T13:13:00.000+10:002004-11-03T13:15:19.590+10:00

BBC compere gets bitch-slapped by Dt Kiron Skinner fromthe Defence Policy Board for his assumption she was a "staunch Republican". Not that there's anything wrong with that/

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099448824139477202004-11-03T13:12:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:27:04.140+10:00

Larry King suggests "there will be no mandate tonight, will there?" Bob Woodward doesn't like the lawyers. He says there are "thousands of egos looking for trouble". Why we need to see an interior shot of Ohio vote counting is anyone's guess. Rudy Giuliani says there is "no question the President can win or lose the election". Gee, thanks rudy. Rudy seems relaxed about New York not going

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099451567833327712004-11-03T13:07:00.000+10:002004-11-03T13:12:47.833+10:00

Love those instant calls exactly three seconds after closing. Somewhere out the back is an old guy slaughtering flocks of special augury pigeons to deliver the necessary opinions.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099447452527807092004-11-03T11:55:00.000+10:002004-11-03T12:04:12.526+10:00

BBC is running a feed from the US Embassy in London; Boston Globe reporter and a leader from Republiicans abroad. Money question: why do so many Brtits want Bush to leave. Globe Boy repeats the usual "no plan to win the peace". Watching Fox project winners and losers from states with 1% of the vote in. makes you wonde why they don't go for true first past the post. Like, a foot race. I like it.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099446770904801422004-11-03T11:48:00.000+10:002004-11-03T11:52:50.903+10:00

established CP at Beaver's house. Beer is cold, pool looks good. Morrow has piked out, due to a bizarre prefeence for paying work. Huh. Watching Fox with some woman who sounds like Carol Channing on speed. Susan Estrich. She really wants Bush to lose. Brit Hume is watching her like she's a mongoose.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099436197124331492004-11-03T08:40:00.000+10:002004-11-03T08:56:37.123+10:00

Despite arriving early at their polling place, hundreds of hopeful voters in the US election are claiming they have been disenfranchised. Officials have told the angry lines of people that they simply cannot exercise any real effect on the outcome of the US election. "They told me I wasn't even on the electoral roll!" said one outraged would-be participant, who claimed he had travelled for

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099281416919521022004-11-01T13:53:00.000+10:002004-11-01T13:56:56.920+10:00

THE OZ GETS IT even if Paul Sheehan doesn't. Their editorial today about Binny's latest video nails it down hard: More than ever before, bin Laden in this tape appears to be appealing to opinion in the West. Indeed, several of his sallies – such as the contemptible claim that George W. Bush did not react quickly enough to the attacks of September 11, or the gibberish about a House of Bush

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099278857326391942004-11-01T11:44:00.000+10:002004-11-01T13:27:42.073+10:00

LET'S FISK AGAIN, LIKE WE DID LAST SUMMER. Paul Sheehan is a writer I much admire, and have bought both his books as soon as possible. Sheehan has written well and perceptively about the Australian political scene, and particularly about the way the Big Media conducts itself here (Conclusion: not too well). But today's opinion piece in the Herald is as skewed and manipulative piece as I would

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099263471096987932004-11-01T08:55:00.000+10:002004-11-01T08:57:51.096+10:00

Handy hint for today: When painting, instead of using undercoat and two top (colour) coats, try tinting the undercoat to the colour of the top coat. This will produce the right colour, while eliminating one entire coat. If you're lucky, you'll get around the whole room in a day.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099257269255834482004-11-01T07:12:00.000+10:002004-11-01T07:14:29.256+10:00

Just a quick note to newcomers. Down below you can see the little Comments link. Please leave a note with any opinions you care to share with the class. Those of you who are frustrated nwspaper letter-writers, this is your chance. Guaranteed Publication!

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099256893668718392004-11-01T07:00:00.000+10:002004-11-01T07:08:13.670+10:00

Welcome to Counterpoint readers! If this is your first excursion into the Blogosphere, perhaps a few words of background are in order. Firstly, this is a Weblog, or Blog for short. This is MY blog. I feel no need or obligation to be fair, even-handed or objective. I write about what I like to write about, in the way I like. In my case, I like a good rant as much as the next guy, and you can find

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099223384310506712004-10-31T21:45:00.000+10:002004-10-31T21:49:44.310+10:00

FEAR Is there a level of fear associated with being a Conservative voter. Well, for me there is. It's not a fear of being beaten up, or my kids being laughed at, or a fear that I will be bashed, imprisoned and put on show trial. But there is a definite reluctance to state your opinions in a relaxed, easy fashion. Ask yourself; when was the last time you heard someone express an unsolicited

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099048162934602502004-10-29T20:37:00.000+10:002004-10-29T21:09:22.933+10:00

The infiltration has begun. Starting this week, I will be the featured diarist on the Counterpoint web site. Please feel free to drop by and leave your impressions and comments as we go on. The good news is I get five days on the inside to rant away. The better news is this will include the US election results, for which I intend to get thoroughly polluted. Morrow and I are planning a soiree

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1099046097973771022004-10-29T20:34:00.000+10:002004-10-29T20:34:57.973+10:00

Well, perhaps some housekeeping. It’s been almost two years since I hung up the blog-spurs. During that time, some things have changed. For regular readers, yes, we lost Dad. He went in February last year, and I guess it was fairly easy for him as these things go. I quit my day job, and bought a new business, which has kept me pretty busy. Things are swing back to a more level playing field now

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1098965214856789052004-10-28T21:59:00.000+10:002004-10-28T22:06:54.856+10:00

Regarding the Suicide bombing attack on Australian troops in Baghdad. Interesting compare & contrast from Tuesday’s ABC AM radio current affairs: MATT BROWN: So if there are many military vehicles to choose from, why do you dismiss the notion that the attackers could've picked out the distinctive look of the Australia light armoured vehicle? Then, 90 minutes later ABC political correspondent

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1098435029539742652004-10-22T18:50:00.000+10:002004-10-22T18:50:29.540+10:00

This is another test post

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-1098173888552410372004-10-19T18:17:00.000+10:002004-10-19T18:18:08.553+10:00

This is a test post

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-850039372002-11-24T21:30:00.000+10:002002-11-24T21:30:08.846+10:00

In the Weekend Australian, the father of one of the Bali victims seeks to question what part Australian foreign policy played in his son’s death. Here is my reply. A compassionate view would be to let Mr Deegan have his say, and hope that later he will recover from his grief. However, Mr Deegan is only in the paper because his son was killed, and this gives him a valid perspective from which

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-849084302002-11-22T15:08:00.000+10:002002-11-22T15:08:08.390+10:00

In a blatant attempt to snag some of the traffic Blair has sent this way, I am reproducing last week’s post because the archiving system seems to have gone kerlfooey. There's plenty to choose from. If you would like to see Phillip Adams thrown into a pit with a Tasmanian Devil nursing a neck wound, Press One. Sick and tired of the BLOODY VIETNAM QUAGMIRE PROTEST ALL ABOUT OIL BABY BOOMER

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-849083962002-11-22T15:07:00.000+10:002002-11-22T15:07:12.313+10:00

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-848002932002-11-20T15:10:00.000+10:002002-11-20T15:10:27.973+10:00

Apologies for the unexplained absence. Family troubles will keep me occupied for a few more days, and then hot blog action will presumably return to normal rant levels. Paul Wright

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-846159522002-11-16T19:28:00.000+10:002002-11-16T19:28:39.000+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH: Sool verb to incite or urge (someone). Actually, it is usually the dog that gets sooled on someone, often a Jehovah’s Witness. “Piss off or I’ll sool the dog on you!”

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-846025262002-11-16T11:44:00.000+10:002002-11-16T19:19:55.000+10:00

ONCE IS AN OVERSIGHT ….. Censorship is alive and well at The Silly Morning Herald. Fascist Howard and his minions do not need to have articles submitted to the handy-dandy political checking machine, when the Herald’s own sub-editors will do it themselves. It is an article of faith that the reason for the Bali bombs was a direct result of our status as a loyal ally of the USA. Occasionally you

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-845494692002-11-15T09:54:00.000+10:002002-11-15T09:54:50.313+10:00

It’s been a year since I last read Machiavelli, but it looks like time to go back. Meantime John Hawkins has a great selection of quotes from the master of Statecraft: "And it will always happen that he who is not your friend will request your neutrality and he who is your friend will ask you to declare yourself by taking up arms. And irresolute princes, in order to avoid present dangers, follow

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-845451822002-11-15T08:04:00.000+10:002002-11-15T08:13:42.000+10:00

La Kingston is angry. Angry! Dissent is crushed, barbarians are at the gate. Australia has been transported back to the bad days of random beatings, midnight arrests and disappearances. You know, the 70’s. On Tuesday, the commander of security for the WTO meeting, one Dick Adams, suddenly announced a black ban on march permits from yesterday to Saturday, when the WTO meeting wound up. I spoke to

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-845396772002-11-15T05:53:00.000+10:002002-11-15T08:48:34.000+10:00

If it’s this easy, why don’t the ratbags get it? James Shikwati, director of the Inter-Region economic Network in Nairobi, Kenya, can explains in 700 words why his country wants trade, not aid. aid gives untrustworthy leaders the resources with which to engage in violent and repressive acts. Mengistu (Ethiopia), Pol Pot (Cambodia) and Idi Amin (Uganda) are among the more infamous recipients of

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-845004082002-11-14T11:23:00.000+10:002002-11-14T11:52:03.000+10:00

MORE WIERDNESS. Enter the realm of the combover spotter. Of course, there is no topping the Atomic Combover. All hail the King! For my money, I have already informed the Good Lady Wife I will not take the genuine combover route, preferring to simply draw on my head with a laundry marker. UPDATE. Thanks to Rebecca for this.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844961962002-11-14T09:47:00.000+10:002002-11-14T09:47:10.193+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH earbash verb 1. to harangue (someone). 2. to talk insistently and for a long time.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844952402002-11-14T09:27:00.000+10:002002-11-14T09:28:13.000+10:00

Read Sullivan about why he won’t quit under the “Is It Over” headline.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844919622002-11-14T08:13:00.000+10:002002-11-14T08:13:58.610+10:00

Extending the “chickenhawk” argument to the anti-globo protests, no-one is allowed to protest if they have never been a Third-World poor person.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844909352002-11-14T07:50:00.000+10:002002-11-14T07:50:26.316+10:00

Finally, someone has found a way to make the game interesting: Triangular cricket.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844895612002-11-14T07:18:00.000+10:002002-11-14T07:18:06.420+10:00

RICH PICKINGS REPORTED ON OZ BLOGS Alan Anderson flails the Fairfax press over their biases and concealment. Gareth Parker’s Drivel Warehouse is on Iraq and the WTO meeting. Bargarz thinks OBL is dead or powerless. James Morrow, who gets an unseemly amount of Instapundit attention, is wondering why the Sydney Morning Herald publishes how-to guides for violent protesters. John Ray talks

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844861882002-11-14T05:58:00.000+10:002002-11-14T05:58:18.953+10:00

WHAT AN INTERESTING DILEMMA. Australia soon faces a challenge that, while a first for us and possibly many Western nations, is a sign of things to come. In about six weeks or so, the war on Iraq will begin, and as loyal allies, we will need to contribute forces. The best we’ve got is our SAS troops, currently stationed in Afghanistan. So where’s the conflict? The Afghanis don’t want us to go.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844454252002-11-13T11:04:00.000+10:002002-11-13T11:05:24.000+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH: hooley-dooley interjection an exclamation of amazement, surprise, etc.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844453082002-11-13T11:01:00.000+10:002002-11-13T11:01:52.563+10:00

Good on Bigwig for catching out the usual suspects who are once again predicting bazillions of civilian deaths.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844439582002-11-13T10:30:00.000+10:002002-11-13T10:33:27.000+10:00

I wonder what American visitors think when they see long barriers put up by this company. Do they think it might be a thumping big raid?

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844374412002-11-13T08:03:00.000+10:002002-11-13T08:03:38.860+10:00

You know that feeling you get when the next step is not there? I can sympathise, after stumbling into the strange and eerie world of Competitive Rock Paper Scissors. I desperately want to believe this is a parody, and if it is, it’s a doozie. There is a World League, desktop games to play, more games, evolutionary explanations, downloadable phone games, stationery, and, God help us, gender

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-844321612002-11-13T06:03:00.000+10:002002-11-13T06:06:27.000+10:00

WELL THAT WAS SHORT LIVED. After yesterday’s momentary flash of sense, today’s Sydney Morning Herald tries and fails to see the reality of the Middle East. The great and general relief at the unanimous agreement in the UN Security Council on Iraq may be shortlived. Not only do the multiple triggers in Resolution 1441 make a breach, and so war, more likely than not. The point of multiple

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843844132002-11-12T08:43:00.000+10:002002-11-12T08:43:34.160+10:00

Tex is Angry about calls to make flag burning illegal. Odd that these tedious pro-statist conservatives are essentially aping leftist doctrine, ie. that "proper thinking" can be legislated. And this: What's the big deal about flag burning anyway? If they paid for it, they can do whatever the hell they want with it as far as I'm concerned. I'll be damned if some self-righteous crusading asshole

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843766582002-11-12T05:52:00.000+10:002002-11-12T05:53:29.000+10:00

What’s up with the editorial in today’s Granny? First up is the prediction that Federal Opposition Leader Simon Crean is a dean man walking, filling the shoes until the inevitable defeat clears the way for a challenge. Labor's shell-shocked demeanour confirms its resilient refusal to believe it lost an election that was there for the taking a year ago. That's a death smell. Mr Crean must show he

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843401362002-11-11T12:22:00.000+10:002002-11-11T12:22:12.380+10:00

MISSING IN ACTION since the US election: Michael Moore has apparently been interned for his political activism. How else to explain the absence of updates from the man who predicted “Payback Tuesday”?

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843375092002-11-11T11:16:00.000+10:002002-11-11T11:16:52.630+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH. dekko noun a look or view. Also, dek. [Hindi dekko look!]

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843343632002-11-11T09:51:00.000+10:002002-11-11T09:51:51.750+10:00

Go cast a vote for the war on Iraq at the Yahoo News site.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843305452002-11-11T08:05:00.000+10:002002-11-11T08:05:24.190+10:00

Some things are so appalling they don’t need comment. This guy has his own version of the Bali Massacre: the ever-predictable Blair as speaking of "the appalling depths to which these extremists will sink." One senses that the Bali tragedy primarily will be spun in the Anglo-American media as yet another installment in this endless battle between overzealous Islamists and the forces of reason

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843256502002-11-11T05:50:00.000+10:002002-11-11T05:50:02.363+10:00

Although he may be an addled old lefty, Phillip Adams can produce good prose, as long as he keeps away from his betters. Over the weekend, this piece on “Ladies Day” in the local court system made for good reading.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843251592002-11-11T05:37:00.000+10:002002-11-11T05:37:10.710+10:00

FOOD FOR THOUGHT from a letter writer. It’s worth reproducing in full: Men are the real heroes People dragged from the burning Sari Club by strangers; a killer wrestled to the ground in a university; people saved from Martin Bryant's rampage by their loved ones lying on top of them and taking the bullets. Firefighters rushing into the burning Twin Towers when others are rushing out, only to die

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-843059352002-11-10T16:44:00.000+10:002002-11-22T15:04:51.000+10:00

Welcome Icon readers. If this is your first blog experience, remember entries are in reverse time order, oldest at the bottom of the page. There's plenty to choose from. If you would like to see Phillip Adams thrown into a pit with a Tasmanian Devil nursing a neck wound, Press One. Sick and tired of the BLOODY VIETNAM QUAGMIRE PROTEST ALL ABOUT OIL BABY BOOMER DINGBATS. Bang your forehead here

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-842707202002-11-09T18:42:00.000+10:002002-11-09T18:42:10.216+10:00

Icon, therefore I am.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-842001352002-11-08T11:18:00.000+10:002002-11-08T11:18:49.806+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH lurk noun 1. a dodge; a slightly underhand scheme. 2. a convenient, often unethical, method of performing a task, earning a living, etc. Also related to: perk noun a fringe benefit or bonus; something given in addition to one's normal salary. [from perquisite] So a good job may have plenty of Lurks and Perks.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-841995352002-11-08T11:04:00.000+10:002002-11-08T11:10:22.000+10:00

GAWD! There’s more recommendations for a more recumbent foreign policy, this time from Geoff Kitney, again in the Herald. His point? We need to do more to repair the relationship with Indonesia. Who should do it? it won't be the gung-ho gang of commentators who believe that the best way for Australia to respond to Bali is to thump our chests about our superior social and political culture Yes.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-841954552002-11-08T09:29:00.000+10:002002-11-08T09:35:31.000+10:00

Former Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley is widely touted as the “nice guy” of the ALP, a party that could teach Huey Long a thing or two about hardball politics. No explanation is ever forthcoming about how a “nice guy” can climb high in what is widely acknowledged to by one of the toughest political parties in the world. That aside, Beazley was a damn good Defence Minister, a reasonably

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-841465812002-11-07T11:44:00.000+10:002002-11-07T11:44:10.403+10:00

Please welcome the Godlings Glossary to the Blogalogue. A sample: Aqulanche: The sudden (and usually messy) shift of icecubes from a higher energy state to a lower one in the beverage you have tipped up in front of your face

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-841421012002-11-07T09:59:00.000+10:002002-11-07T10:00:33.000+10:00

A lifeboat, filled with ALP State Premiers. Suddenly Victorian Premier Steve Bracks grabs an oar and starts belting the fingers clutching at the side. “Piss off Simon! You’ll drown us all!”.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-841340512002-11-07T07:01:00.000+10:002002-11-07T07:01:47.536+10:00

Congratulations to the US for putting the grownups in charge! 30 days war, go the whoa.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-841338472002-11-07T06:57:00.000+10:002002-11-07T08:19:40.000+10:00

Maybe now we can stop pretending the Indonesians count? Can stop pretending that their system is the equal of ours? That what they say cannot be trusted, ever? The delicacy of Australia's challenge in repairing its relationship with its neighbours while responding strongly to the bombing was further highlighted by damaging misreporting in Indonesia of comments by Ms Megawati. She was wrongly

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840899022002-11-06T11:26:00.000+10:002002-11-06T11:26:56.006+10:00

DAMN! Meryl Yourish has spent her time wisely, collecting a list of information banned and blocked by Saudi Arabia.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840850702002-11-06T09:36:00.000+10:002002-11-06T09:37:46.000+10:00

RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE IN SYDNEY Last week a meeting in Sydney’s Western Suburbs heard a speaker talk about the impossibility of integrating Muslims into mainstream Australian society. The speaker, using a false name, claimed that Muslims are ”not a minority which can easily melt into Anglo-capitalist way of life”. A spokesman for Auburn Council said its rules for renting the town hall were now

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840811182002-11-06T08:12:00.000+10:002002-11-06T08:12:03.123+10:00

Shades of Rohan Atkinson, Live Journal has a terrific piece on terrorists in Hell.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840769212002-11-06T06:38:00.000+10:002002-11-06T06:38:46.313+10:00

A fairly good Editorial in today’s Australian newspaper. As usual, however, the editors carefully avoid actually making a stand: If the Iraqi dictator rejects the resolution, or allows inspectors in but then interferes with their work, a US-led attack on Iraq appears inevitable. While the case against him still stands, the Bali bombing has forced Australians to rethink our priorities. However,

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840749152002-11-06T05:54:00.000+10:002002-11-06T09:39:04.000+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH. Argy Bargy: Strong disagreement, usually without violence.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840734612002-11-06T05:20:00.000+10:002002-11-06T05:20:20.956+10:00

Ahh, the Melbourne Cup. Lost $200 on the race, and another $200 on the replay. Had a racecourse once; raced him three times and beat him twice. The pharmacist arrives back from lunch to see a man leaning against the wall, perfectly still. He asks the assistant what the problem is. The assistant explains the man has a bad cough, but because the store was out of cough supressant, he gave him a

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840347772002-11-05T11:52:00.000+10:002002-11-05T11:52:48.086+10:00

Staying away last week, I missed the New Republic about a possible solution to North Korea. First, the short, sharp reasons on why Iraq and not North Korea: The immediate answer is simple: We must presume that North Korea now has a deliverable nuclear bomb and could therefore respond to any attack by vaporizing Seoul or Tokyo. That is why the administration's decision not to threaten war

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840299502002-11-05T10:04:00.000+10:002002-11-05T10:04:20.900+10:00

The House of Saud has denied the use of air bases in any attack on Iraq. Some points: By putting this forward, in the absence of any actual request to do so, how is this not “unilateralism”? By stating this position prior to any UNSC decision, weapons inspections or violations, is Saudi not “going it alone” without “pursuing all diplomatic options”? If the right of the US to self-defence/

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840289572002-11-05T09:43:00.000+10:002002-11-05T09:43:47.140+10:00

Not heard from recently: Noam Chomsky Arundhati Roy

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840255722002-11-05T08:32:00.000+10:002002-11-05T08:32:50.340+10:00

Find these people. Find them now. Via Bargarz.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840238152002-11-05T07:56:00.000+10:002002-11-05T07:56:13.166+10:00

Salman Rushdie has come out in favour of taking out Saddam: In this strange, unattractive historical moment, the extremely strong anti-Saddam Hussein argument isn't getting a fraction of the attention it deserves. This is, of course, the argument based on his 31/2-decade-long assault on the Iraqi people. He has impoverished them, murdered them, gassed and tortured them, sent them off to die by

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840210462002-11-05T06:56:00.000+10:002002-11-05T06:56:21.220+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH: Flash, adj. Showy, ostentatious. "As flash as a rat with a gold tooth". from my Mad Mate Beaver.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-840186672002-11-05T06:06:00.000+10:002002-11-05T06:06:17.413+10:00

Natalie Solent has a new definition of hacking.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-839771082002-11-04T10:08:00.000+10:002002-11-04T10:08:41.306+10:00

I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL. After three weeks, Phillip Adams has noticed that something might have happened in Bali, and perhaps it was worth commenting on. An comment he does, naturally focussing the bulk of his words on his favourite subject, Adams, and how he feels about Bali. There is talk of Adams’ experiences with Balinese culture, Adams visiting [insert famous artist name here] in

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-839723032002-11-04T08:03:00.000+10:002002-11-04T08:11:32.000+10:00

Robert Manne is a Professor of Politics at Melbourne’s La Trobe University. Fortunately he is not a Professor of History. If he was, this article would see his tenure assured. Australian history departments being concerned with rewriting history as much as recording it, Manne’s ability to paint our relationship with the US as strictly a Conservative affair would see him the toast of the town.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-839519302002-11-03T19:05:00.000+10:002002-11-03T19:08:50.000+10:00

BACK. BACK. BAAAAACK. BACK. BACK. BACK. BACK. BACK. BACK. BBBBBBBB BACK! Don’t we all wish we had this kind of back catalogue. The Meter tells me I’m still getting referrals from Steve Den Beste, aboard the Good Ship USS Clueless, from a post he wrote on the 9th of September. This is good value, and a sterling reminder that standards need to be maintained. Steven is holidaying in Las Vegas, a

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-837637532002-10-30T20:23:00.000+10:002002-10-30T20:23:06.916+10:00

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Which is better: pre-emptive strikes, or pre-emptive surrender? If France vetoes the American UNSC resolution, how is that not unilateral action? AUSSIE ENGLISH. standover merchant noun one who bullies or intimidates; one who threatens violence to gain a desired result; a hoodlum. Also, standover man.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-837606882002-10-30T18:00:00.000+10:002002-10-30T18:02:19.000+10:00

Kim Weatherall has responded to my questions about The New Piracy. She proves why it’s a good idea to ask lawyers for legal opinions, but only if you’re not paying the hourly rate. I think the first, big legal problem that this scenario faces is not, interestingly, a copyright problem. It's a problem under what us lawyers call "passing off" - where you pass of your work or product as the work or

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-837581832002-10-30T16:34:00.000+10:002002-10-30T16:34:35.000+10:00

NO BLOOD FOR OIL! How often have you seen this? It’s all about ooooiiiillllll. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear someone talk about Saudi money going into Wahhabi schools that preach the most vile ant-Semitism and religious intolerance? How about State-run Egyptian television producing thirty episodes of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, for screening during Ramadan. Say it with me: NO OIL FOR

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-836549852002-10-28T20:27:00.000+10:002002-10-28T20:27:28.503+10:00

KA-CHING! Which Oz Blogger is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald? Gareth Parker, 20, the blogger behind the daily "My Two Cents", holidayed in Bali in February with his girlfriend and has implored his web readers: "We must return." "I want to go back. Not now, but soon. Without tourists, these people will have nothing," wrote the young West Australian. Fame, fleeting fame.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-836542132002-10-28T19:55:00.000+10:002002-10-28T19:55:32.323+10:00

AUSSIE ENGLISH Khyber noun: rump; buttocks: a kick up the Khyber. [rhyming slang Khyber Pass arse] From The Macquarie Dictionary.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-836540922002-10-28T19:50:00.000+10:002002-10-28T19:50:22.710+10:00

Phillip Adams maintains his perfect record; it is now two weeks and two columns without a single mention of The Bali attacks. I know that the Sari Club would not have been a place fit for Adams to be seen in, and the clientele well below his standards. It’s likely that he harboured a deep distaste for that much sweaty hoi-polloi in too close a space. And there’s little doubt he will approve of

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-836536132002-10-28T19:29:00.000+10:002002-10-28T19:29:41.000+10:00

HOW LONG before someone decides that Australia should “just get over it”? The charming woman I was forced to sit with at dinner last year thought that five months was long enough for the US; I wonder if that is the benchmark? And how long until the Government begins to feel the pressure to remove travel warnings? The Indonesian President thinks a few weeks is long enough: Speaking at an APEC

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-835745602002-10-27T11:37:00.000+10:002002-10-27T11:37:33.853+10:00

Apologies for lack of bloggage yesterday; 15 hour day blah blah. Also thanks for answers about the Fallaci book. I will post some responses soon, but quickly, Ralph Buttigieg, Director of the Infinitas Bookshop in Parramatta, says he can get it in. You can reach him at infinitas - at - bigpond.com Today is Number Two Daughter's birthday, and the house is bulging at the seams. It seems that a

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-834993382002-10-25T15:35:00.000+10:002002-10-28T19:20:01.000+10:00

This book sold a million copies in Italy. Is it available here?

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-834931062002-10-25T12:57:00.000+10:002002-10-28T19:28:13.000+10:00

Stephen Den Beste has everything you need about the UN wrangling. Iraq owes France and Russia billions of dollars each. If Saddam is deposed, the chance of those debts being paid is nil. Both nations also have made various sweetheart deals for future trade with Iraq which would be worth even more, and those deals will become scrap paper if the US invades. … Therefore the only way France and

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-834890602002-10-25T11:24:00.000+10:002002-10-25T11:24:38.733+10:00

For a bit of prescient writing, take a look at Dean Ing’s Soft Targets. Ing uses a strategy of ridicule to reduce the power of terrorists.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-834851692002-10-25T09:48:00.000+10:002002-10-25T09:48:47.373+10:00

Some thoughts about Harry Belafonte, and Colin Powell. Belafonte has basically said Powell is a “house nigger”, and wants him gone because Powell agrees with Bush. The reason given is that Powell wants to keep his place “in the white man’s house”. Belafonte does not seem to acknowledge that Powell got where he is through sheer ability and determination. Indeed, if Belafonte’s views of the US

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3520436.post-834827812002-10-25T08:48:00.000+10:002002-10-25T08:49:29.000+10:00

More Aussie slang, this time from the indispensable Macquarie Dictionary shagger's back (noun) any pain in a person's back, jocularly attributed to the strains of indulging in sexual intercourse. And may I recommend you scroll down on the “S” page to gaze in wonder at 48, count them 48 usages of “shit”.

Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09355731367907959499noreply@blogger.com0