Terrorist Alert redux
Mar 30th, 2004, 08:06 PM
#1
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Terrorist Alert redux
I'm concerned that after a week on the road only 60 odd posts went up. Has the so-called "Terrorist alert" scared off travellers to the Island Continent?
Michi is enroute and we are t- 12 days and counting. Hopefully we'll be allowed through customs.
AndrewDavid
Michi is enroute and we are t- 12 days and counting. Hopefully we'll be allowed through customs.
AndrewDavid
Mar 30th, 2004, 10:18 PM
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It's all suspiciously quiet, isn't it, mate? And nary a sign of a decent blue (Ozspeak for fight, violent dispute).
Come to think of it, I've noticed a sudden increase in enquiries about travel in New Zealand. As my grandmother used to say, "it's an ill wind that blows no good". To which I'd have to quote Aileen Wuornos' last words in "Monster" - "They've gotta tell you something". (A great movie, BTW, if not exactly feelgood stuff.)
Actually the "terrorist alert" offered very little entertainment. Apparently the exercise was designed to test inter-agency cooperation and comms, so we had no black-clad guys sliding down out of copters or anything like that.
Certainly nothing like the memorable exercise conducted in Melbourne by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (sort of Australia's CIA) in the 1980s when the lads got all macho and staged an exercise in Melbourne which caused widespread panic and subsequent counselling in the hotel concerned. It all ended in low farce when they were arrested by Melbourne police before they'd made it out of the city centre and thrown into the slammer until their embarrassed superiors sprung them. The government has only now given them back their guns. At least it showed that the Victoria Police, if no-one else, was on the ball.
AndrewDavid, I look forward to your arrival, accompanied by your fearless leader. I will exchange him for our fearless leader at a suitable border crossing. Stand by for further transmissions. Over and out.
Come to think of it, I've noticed a sudden increase in enquiries about travel in New Zealand. As my grandmother used to say, "it's an ill wind that blows no good". To which I'd have to quote Aileen Wuornos' last words in "Monster" - "They've gotta tell you something". (A great movie, BTW, if not exactly feelgood stuff.)
Actually the "terrorist alert" offered very little entertainment. Apparently the exercise was designed to test inter-agency cooperation and comms, so we had no black-clad guys sliding down out of copters or anything like that.
Certainly nothing like the memorable exercise conducted in Melbourne by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (sort of Australia's CIA) in the 1980s when the lads got all macho and staged an exercise in Melbourne which caused widespread panic and subsequent counselling in the hotel concerned. It all ended in low farce when they were arrested by Melbourne police before they'd made it out of the city centre and thrown into the slammer until their embarrassed superiors sprung them. The government has only now given them back their guns. At least it showed that the Victoria Police, if no-one else, was on the ball.
AndrewDavid, I look forward to your arrival, accompanied by your fearless leader. I will exchange him for our fearless leader at a suitable border crossing. Stand by for further transmissions. Over and out.
Mar 31st, 2004, 12:11 PM
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AND on that note from Neil, we promise to give you AndrewDavid "anything" if you take with you our new so called opposition 'leader ' who stated he was a septic ( really meant sceptic I think but the first quote was probably closer to the mark) and give him a lesson on 1/ Diplomacy
2/ English
3/ speaking the truth
4/ humility - but that might be taking things a bit too far.
5/ and any information you can find on immigration for him to any part of the world that would take a self-confessed hot-head who thinks that assaulting people is OK. On reflection here perhaps we could use the memoirs of Idi Aman, Gadaffi and Sadam even?????
2/ English
3/ speaking the truth
4/ humility - but that might be taking things a bit too far.
5/ and any information you can find on immigration for him to any part of the world that would take a self-confessed hot-head who thinks that assaulting people is OK. On reflection here perhaps we could use the memoirs of Idi Aman, Gadaffi and Sadam even?????
Apr 1st, 2004, 01:06 AM
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Unfortunately our electoral system isn't quite as advanced as that of the New Mexico Democratic caucus, AndrewDavid, so you might strike a bureaucratic obstacle if you turn up at the polling booth. Still, we'll do what we can. If Australian corpses have been known to vote (as they have) we should be able to extend the same courtesy to a living and breathing visitor to our shores, especially if he's brought his money with him. So far nobody has suggested charging the punters a fee to vote, but nothing would surprise me.
Apr 1st, 2004, 11:48 AM
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Neil, just because I think Latham is a septic-head, arm-breaking, wife-abusing thug doesn't mean he is a threat to anyone other than those poor people who are around him and who may cause him to overheat somewhat and cop the consequences - a violent person can only keep his temper for just so-long before they flip again sometime. "ANYONE" who uses physical violence as a form of persuasion does not get one inch of sympathy, attention or understanding from me - they are on a par with people who kick animals and pinch old ladies hand-bags for fun. They are low-life!
Apr 1st, 2004, 12:08 PM
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PS and whilst we are having a little fun talking to AD about voting in Australia perhaps the world would like to know that Australia is in the dark ages when it comes to voting because we are FORCED TO VOTE, it is compulsory, we are fined if we do not, and as far as I am concerned this is undemocratic to the enth degree.
Here is a bunch of self appointed, prone to lying, wonder-men and women who promise the earth ( cross my heart and hope to die stuff ) who cannot be called to account for their stuff-ups in the end force the electorate ( sheep) to vote for them because they have a Masters degree in " head-patting of little babies".
I am quite sure that AD could vote if he finds someone that has died in the last week before an election and uses that name - such is the wonder in this electronic age when you can go around a whole city voting as many times as there are voting booths because all that is ever done is for you to have your name crossed off the role AT EACH BOOTH. Am I a member of the Australian (S)cynical Society aka ASS for the elimination politicians.........SURE AM!!
Here is a bunch of self appointed, prone to lying, wonder-men and women who promise the earth ( cross my heart and hope to die stuff ) who cannot be called to account for their stuff-ups in the end force the electorate ( sheep) to vote for them because they have a Masters degree in " head-patting of little babies".
I am quite sure that AD could vote if he finds someone that has died in the last week before an election and uses that name - such is the wonder in this electronic age when you can go around a whole city voting as many times as there are voting booths because all that is ever done is for you to have your name crossed off the role AT EACH BOOTH. Am I a member of the Australian (S)cynical Society aka ASS for the elimination politicians.........SURE AM!!
Apr 1st, 2004, 02:11 PM
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Liz, we're having so much fun we should let baffled non-Australian readers (if any) into the joke.
So ... Mark Latham is Australia's Leader of the Opposition. He once achieved some publicity during an altercation with a Sydney cabbie, who had impounded Mr Latham's briefcase after he disputed the fare, suffering a broken arm in the ensuing struggle. Latham's political opponents naturally seized on this event and generated much mock outrage until it became evident that most of the punters didn't care and had decided that Latham seemed like a pretty good bloke. (Even the cabbie said that he might well vote for him.)
Naturally all this is driving our conservative government demented, and they're now trying to paint Latham as Osama bin Laden's right-hand-man, but as one journalist pointed out, it's all starting to look like a re-run of Wile E. Coyote's attempts to catch the Road Runner. Every patented Acme "get-Latham" gadget seems to blow up in their faces, leading to yet another rise in Latham's popularity.
What to do? Possibly Liz's reference to "wife abuse" (!!) is a sneak preview of their next tactic - nothing else has worked, might as well try wife-beating.
My only problem with compulsory voting is that it puts us all at the mercy of people who have to take off their socks to count past 10 (or, in certain rural areas, 12) and move their lips when they read the sports pages, assuming they read anything at all. This explains the situation we're in at the moment.
So ... Mark Latham is Australia's Leader of the Opposition. He once achieved some publicity during an altercation with a Sydney cabbie, who had impounded Mr Latham's briefcase after he disputed the fare, suffering a broken arm in the ensuing struggle. Latham's political opponents naturally seized on this event and generated much mock outrage until it became evident that most of the punters didn't care and had decided that Latham seemed like a pretty good bloke. (Even the cabbie said that he might well vote for him.)
Naturally all this is driving our conservative government demented, and they're now trying to paint Latham as Osama bin Laden's right-hand-man, but as one journalist pointed out, it's all starting to look like a re-run of Wile E. Coyote's attempts to catch the Road Runner. Every patented Acme "get-Latham" gadget seems to blow up in their faces, leading to yet another rise in Latham's popularity.
What to do? Possibly Liz's reference to "wife abuse" (!!) is a sneak preview of their next tactic - nothing else has worked, might as well try wife-beating.
My only problem with compulsory voting is that it puts us all at the mercy of people who have to take off their socks to count past 10 (or, in certain rural areas, 12) and move their lips when they read the sports pages, assuming they read anything at all. This explains the situation we're in at the moment.
Apr 1st, 2004, 04:28 PM
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Oh dear! Good heaven's! I do apologise Neil as I have it on good authority that Mark Latham is your brother-in-law. I did not intend to make such lewd aspersions about a relative of yours. Further I wish to let everyone know that actually Mr Latham has done a spot of writing over the years and a good review of this is at this web sites follows. http://www.crikey.com.au/politics/2004/01/25-0001.html
Anyone wishing to avail themselves of some really interesting new usages of the English language-which only an Australian could come up with - should read the article from beginning to end. I feel certain that any visitor to Australia would be able to form an everlasting admiration of a nation who could follow a potential leader with such powers of literary skill and new found uses of hyperbole.
Anyone wishing to avail themselves of some really interesting new usages of the English language-which only an Australian could come up with - should read the article from beginning to end. I feel certain that any visitor to Australia would be able to form an everlasting admiration of a nation who could follow a potential leader with such powers of literary skill and new found uses of hyperbole.
Apr 1st, 2004, 05:36 PM
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Liz, I agree that young Mark sounds distressingly Australian at times. Goodness, he'll never be invited to take tea at Buck House at this rate - or if he is, he'll be confined to talking with Prince Philip.
But, as he said when questioned about his description of the PM as an "a***-licker", "Well, I could have called him a sycophant, I suppose. I know the big words too."
Myself, I'm glad he's getting over that propensity to use big words. This sort of stuff can be dangerous. For a start, when his opponents started to comb through his writings in the hope of getting something on him, most ended up with advanced lip exhaustion after half an hour and Parliament had to go into recess while they recovered.
I do agree though that he has a long way to go in the use of the English language before he matches his opponent, who introduced us to the radical concept of the "core promise" vs. the "non-core promise". The way this works is as follows:
1. In the unlikely event that an election promise is kept it will be classified as a Core Promise.
2. If an election promise (e.g. to "never ever" introduce a goods-and-services tax) is broken it will be classified as a Non-Core Promise, i.e. a non-promise.
3. Such classification is always retrospective and is carried out by the (as the case may be) promiser/non-promiser. His decision is final.
Masterful stuff! (It will surprise nobody to learn that the Prime Minister is a lawyer by trade.)
But, as he said when questioned about his description of the PM as an "a***-licker", "Well, I could have called him a sycophant, I suppose. I know the big words too."
Myself, I'm glad he's getting over that propensity to use big words. This sort of stuff can be dangerous. For a start, when his opponents started to comb through his writings in the hope of getting something on him, most ended up with advanced lip exhaustion after half an hour and Parliament had to go into recess while they recovered.
I do agree though that he has a long way to go in the use of the English language before he matches his opponent, who introduced us to the radical concept of the "core promise" vs. the "non-core promise". The way this works is as follows:
1. In the unlikely event that an election promise is kept it will be classified as a Core Promise.
2. If an election promise (e.g. to "never ever" introduce a goods-and-services tax) is broken it will be classified as a Non-Core Promise, i.e. a non-promise.
3. Such classification is always retrospective and is carried out by the (as the case may be) promiser/non-promiser. His decision is final.
Masterful stuff! (It will surprise nobody to learn that the Prime Minister is a lawyer by trade.)
Apr 1st, 2004, 08:33 PM
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I wish we had compulsary elections here. At our City Council elections on 2 March, 27% of the electorate voted.
Regardless, 100% will complain about council actions. State and national elections are almost as poorly attended.
AndrewDavid
Regardless, 100% will complain about council actions. State and national elections are almost as poorly attended.
AndrewDavid
Apr 1st, 2004, 09:24 PM
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AH Hmmm!! Did a few years of law myself Neil, son-in-law is a Lawyer with Merryl Lynch and youngest son is a lawyer with his own firm - just what is your inference here????? R U saying that lawyers are a sycophantic load of grandiloquent ar......s perhaps, and if so then you really do agree with me?
Apr 2nd, 2004, 04:52 PM
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Bag lawyers, Liz? Perish the thought! I just admire their ability to put a positive spin on the most unpromising situations. (Me, I'm just a bush lawyer from the bush capital.)
AndrewDavid, your 27% figure is what scares me about what might happen if voting became optional here. And don't worry, Australians are champion whingers, with a big aorta problem (as in "Aorta do somethin' about it!"
Most whinge incessantly about the quality of their pols, but it would never occur to them to join the party of their choice and so get a voice in pre-selecting the candidate.
To what extent, do you think, does the custom of holding elections on a working day contribute to a low turn-out? (Our are held on a Saturday, a decision made long ago by a Labor government to remove impediments to the working class voting.)
AndrewDavid, your 27% figure is what scares me about what might happen if voting became optional here. And don't worry, Australians are champion whingers, with a big aorta problem (as in "Aorta do somethin' about it!"
Most whinge incessantly about the quality of their pols, but it would never occur to them to join the party of their choice and so get a voice in pre-selecting the candidate.To what extent, do you think, does the custom of holding elections on a working day contribute to a low turn-out? (Our are held on a Saturday, a decision made long ago by a Labor government to remove impediments to the working class voting.)
