There was a time when I watched the Olympics with suitable patriotic pride and interest. Then came the baloney of the Sydney bid which I observed at first hand on behalf of businesses desperate to jump on the gravy train, and got an appreciation of the unbelievable snobbery and preciousness that afflicts so much of the ‘Olympic family’, as they are pleased to style themselves. Read more »
The Australian Tax Office and the system it administers suck.
For years now I have submitted my own tax return, using the eTax online software. I ask for my refund to be deposited direct to my bank account. You would think therefore that it would occur to the ATO that I don’t have much use for snail mail. Read more »
No posts lately. Too much work. Marking … bah!
But some things are too good not to share.
Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital
The Chinese government has announced that it will boycott the 2008 Olympic Games.
“We are sick of the faux outrage being expressed by those who have invaded and occupied Iraq and destroyed the lives of its people,” said* a spokesperson for the Chinese government. “Concern for human rights comes oddly from the mouths of those who think nothing of murdering people from 10,000 metres or forcing millions from their homes.” Read more »
Damian posted a week or so ago about the situation in Tibet, suggesting that things might not be quite so black and white as they were being painted in the media. Read more »
The response to my last-but-one post about gun nuts was remarkable. Within hours of it appearing, alert and alarmed gunlovers in the USA had been notified thanks to their trusty Google Alerts that presumably notify them whenever a bit of Wrong Thinking appears on one of the millions of blogs around the world. Somebody sounded whatever alarm they have and the pack came in yapping to attack the unrighteous heretic.
It’s taken a while, but the improvements to the school in the Philippines are slowly being done.
Some practical aspects of the exercise proved to be quite difficult. For example, Filipinos don’t build things like this using Australian contractual arrangements. They buy some materials and pay workers 200 pesos a day to build what they want. When the money runs out they just stop and the project sits there until they can find some more, when they’ll build another bit. So it took a while to get a reasonably precise description of the works and a firm quote. Read more »
Do you occasionally have moments of sudden, brilliant insight? When you’re sober, I mean. Moments when the truth about a previously unexamined part of your life becomes stunningly clear and you see a new future opening up before you? Read more »
There are some people on all sides of politics who do their cause no good whatsoever by the style of their contributions to public policy discussions. They react to code words or phrases with an outpouring of emotion and hyperbole, drowning out any rational discussion in the process. Read more »
You might have seen this story in last Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald:
A PRIVATE school principal sacked for defrauding $2 million in government funding in a failed bid to save his school from closure says he is not alone in rorting the controversial Commonwealth funding scheme. Read more »
How much longer are we going to tolerate blatant terrorist attacks like this?
A 34-kilogram stingray killed a Michigan woman when it flew out of the water and struck her face as she rode a boat in the Florida Keys in the United States, officials said.
Read more »
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