tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169263172024-03-14T03:35:41.475+10:30Casting a short shadowSo many questions, so few answers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.comBlogger673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-21652033944926135632012-02-26T21:36:00.000+10:302012-02-26T21:36:13.029+10:30Labor strains
Just about everyone else in these parts seems to have expressed an opinion on the matter of tomorrow's ALP leadership, so, for what it's worth, here's mine.
I believe that Kevin Rudd was shabbily and grossly unfairly treated when he was deposed in 2010. I find it hard if not impossible to believe, not so much the stories about his alleged poor management practices, quick temper etc, that Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-80521315703577876452012-02-19T20:29:00.000+10:302012-02-19T20:29:48.504+10:30Seventy years on
Today is the seventieth anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Darwin. The event, which has never previously received much attention relative to Anzac Day (and perhaps some others), was commemorated today with a substantial (and IMO too long) ceremony in Darwin and various associated activities.
Unlike the Gallipoli landing, few tales of bravery, let alone heroism, emerged from the attack whichAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-23096107218944258662011-12-16T20:44:00.000+10:302011-12-16T20:44:00.739+10:30Christopher Hitchens is dead
Christopher Hitchens is dead He was 62 and died perhaps a little sooner than expected after a public and seemingly stout defiance of oesophegal cancer.
He will be missed, though his ideas and his trenchant prose will live on in his writings, many of the best of which have been collected in "Arguably", a book I dip into often. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-81060153731404166262011-09-11T20:38:00.003+09:302011-09-11T20:50:51.935+09:30Twin Towers 10 years onLest we forget.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-31485030889877463032011-08-28T21:31:00.002+09:302011-08-28T21:36:12.702+09:30Local ritualAnnual hard rubbish collection tomorrow in my neighbourhood, which means today (1) putting unwanted items on street outside house (2) waiting for the roaming recyclers/ scavengers/ gleaners/ totters to remove whatever they think they might be able to use. Stage (3) is tomorrow, or the day after, when the council (or their contractors) will remove what is left (IMO about half of what was Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-80883821822400676712010-11-12T10:34:00.005+10:302010-11-12T11:06:35.914+10:30Remembrance DayHave been overseas, hence no posts for some time.Yesterday was Remembrance Day, aka 11 November, Armistice Day and (in the USA) Veterans' Day.Here are two pics showing that while the day is still widely observed the manner of its observation changes.I bought my poppy from the Chelsea pensioner who kindly allowed me to take her photo at Sloane Square tube station on 1 November.The other photo Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-79622574624656329852010-09-11T21:35:00.008+09:302010-09-11T22:40:12.700+09:30Former PM demoted to Foreign Minister, former Finance Minister lands good jobPhoto taken today in a local car park. A reminder of how things change. Without necessarily remaining quite the same.Today Prime Minister Gillard announced her new ministry , which includes Mr Rudd as Foreign Minister. I find it odd that the Kevin07 who led Labor to victory and then, in the opinion of the party's backroom people, had to be deposed because he ineptly took his party to the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-35010231965916643762010-09-08T21:31:00.003+09:302010-09-08T22:17:50.339+09:30Resolution?The Independents have spoken (Mr Oakeshott at great length) and we now have a Labor minority government with Julia Gillard confirmed as Prime Minister (and Mr Abbott, despite his disappointment, graciously acknowledging this).Expert opinion is divided as to whether the government will last a full three year term. Mr Windsor has stated that a major reason for his decision to support the ALP was Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-59661455605875506642010-08-27T18:28:00.001+09:302010-08-27T18:29:29.079+09:30Pakistan floods: how Australians can helpToday ABC radio is conducting an appeal for relief of the Pakistan floods devastation. The lead agency/beneficiary is UNICEF but the ABC website has links to several other charities.Speaking of the ABC, Sally Sara and her support team have been doing an excellent job bringing the magnitude of the disaster to Australian viewers. In doing so they have justified the ABC's extensive network of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-54580410259619972572010-08-22T22:02:00.003+09:302010-08-22T22:32:48.267+09:30Hung ParliamentA late night last night watching the election results come in and the media pundits attempting to draw conclusions and make predictions about the outcome.My prediction about the result was wrong, though not too wide of the mark. Neither the ALP nor the Coalition look like getting the 76 lower house seats required to form a government in their own right. It's generally assumed that both Adam BandtAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-80784585464046995712010-08-20T18:42:00.003+09:302010-08-20T19:04:18.917+09:30Election EveSince I last posted I've not changed my mind about the result, which, taking my lead from the many published polls and proliferation of expert and other (set the boundaries if you wish) opinion, is that the Government will be returned, probably narrowly.That said the coalition has held fairly firm and Mr Abbott has come across as a better leader and more plausible PM than I expected. If the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-12581075864942022032010-07-19T21:13:00.003+09:302010-07-19T21:35:04.098+09:30Election 2010I'm not trying to be the last Australian blogger to comment on the election which Prime Minister Gillard has called for 21 August (or "August 21" as she called it, North American fashion, on Saturday). I'll follow the campaign with interest though expect that most of my comments (and I'm not proposing to make many) will be in short form ie Twitter (@Pathfinder79).For now I'll just say (and I'm Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-65952063102424968552010-07-04T23:07:00.006+09:302010-07-06T23:25:30.501+09:30Double ineptitude: BankSA and CGU Insurance's negligence shafts longstanding customerFor the last few weeks I have suffered at the hands of BankSA and CGU insurance. Here is an edited summary of my claim against them.1. I am a longstanding customer of Bank SA.2. I have been a CGU Insurance Customer for several years and currently hold Home & Contents and Motor Vehicle Insurance policies. I have previously held travel insurance and other motor vehicle policies.3. Bank SA and Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-17907622977559625622010-06-24T23:15:00.005+09:302010-06-25T15:14:19.231+09:30Backroom machinations lead to change of PMAs The New York Times put it succinctlyParty officials decided to replace Prime Minister Kevin Rudd with his deputy, Julia Gillard, who becomes the nation’s first female prime minister.This came as a surprise. The Rudd government has clearly been in trouble with public opinion lately but I'd have thought (and hoped) that he and his inner circle would have been put on notice to improve. What Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-78443696796320902022010-06-14T22:11:00.002+09:302010-06-14T22:41:04.140+09:30Honours recipients support republicToday is a public holiday in South Australia, ostensibly for the Queen's birthday.As far as I can tell nobody who's entitled to the day off has refused the offer because of their republican principles. I expect that people (an increasing number) who rely on casual work may have opted to spend a day or part thereof at the coalface (or waiting on the bistro table) to help make ends meet. Nor, to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-64861103241073599052010-06-04T08:59:00.007+09:302010-06-04T09:51:17.559+09:30Victoria to get ICAC as Premier backflips: will SA follow suit?I've been on a brief visit to Melbourne. Yesterday morning I was pleasantly surprised to see the story about Premier Brumby's "backflip" on the front page of The AgeJust six months out from the state poll, the Premier has dumped his staunch opposition to a commission and will install an anti-corruption system with sweeping powers to investigate police, members of parliament, public servants Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-55636792730753224142010-05-30T21:13:00.005+09:302010-06-01T22:57:48.254+09:30Dennis Hopper dies aged 74Vale Dennis, man of many talents, not all of which he used wisely, though in movies like Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now he showed his class.Earlier this year I saw the excellent exhibition about his life and work at ACMI in Melbourne. Until then I hadn't realised what a good photographer he was or that his acting career reached back to the time of James Dean.Update 1 JuneOf all the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-39133084174174816022010-03-21T21:56:00.004+10:302010-03-22T15:14:58.932+10:30Labor likely to be able to govern in own right after SA electionThe ABC reportsSouth Australian Premier Mike Rann is in a strong position to deliver the Labor Party a third term in government despite a voter backlash. Mr Rann and Liberal leader Isobel Redmond both said the result was too close to call on the night. But Mr Rann is the frontrunner with the ABC's election computer predicting Labor is set to hold 25 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-41410812959924026322010-03-19T17:44:00.007+10:302010-03-20T09:28:49.138+10:30Election eveI've followed the ups and downs of the state election campaign probably more closely than most voters, though nowhere near as closely as those who post regularly and sometimes argumentatively on blogs and websites such as The Poll Bludger. I have tweeted a few times @Pathfinder79, usually with links to articles and, space permitting, sometimes a comment. The consensus among the experts (both Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-67406538163938213442010-03-06T20:12:00.007+10:302010-03-10T22:19:16.478+10:30Can I just try that again, it's a little bit jumbled?On Friday South Australian ABC TV Stateline viewers were short changed by a sudden (and unexplained) truncation of a debate between Treasurer Foley and Shadow Treasurer Griffiths.What went to air (including presenter Ian Henschke's apparent lack of awareness of what had happened) can be viewed here. .Despite the ABC's ineptitude, what it did screen was interesting for a number of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-15999007408776099282010-02-07T21:46:00.003+10:302010-02-08T12:16:59.093+10:30Committee and people choose different Words of the Year Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year 2009 (chosen by a Committee) is shovel-ready, It means, according to the report on the website " adjective: (of a building or infrastructure project) capable of being initiated immediately as soon as funding is assured." I can't see why tweet didn't win: in fact it (at least the verb) did win the People's Choice Award . (The Committee did at least give Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-32076416888897673852010-02-04T19:00:00.007+10:302010-02-04T20:33:59.582+10:30Court rules in favour of David over Goliath re copyright"Film industry loses iiNet download case" reports ABC News.The case against iiNet was filed in the Federal Court by a number of applicants including Village Roadshow, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Disney and the Seven Network.The legal action followed a five-month investigation by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-37171774315066348982010-02-03T20:35:00.009+10:302010-02-04T21:16:46.244+10:30A-G backs down ... but not outAttorney General Atkinson has backed down but won't resign report the ABC and Adelaide NowFor me and probably many South Australians the question now is how can we have confidence in Mr Atkinson as chief law officer of the state when he appears to be thumbing his nose at the basic principles of Westminster democracy and even Premier Rann. That he could falsely claim that that one of his online Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-81478592709338740492010-02-02T22:23:00.004+10:302010-02-03T12:26:56.857+10:30Attorney-General's hamfisted attempt to censor internet make SA look foolishAt the behest of Attorney-General Mr Michael Atkinson the South Australian Parliament has amended s116 of the Electoral Act to require that all comments made on the internet during state elections are accompanied by the maker's name and address(not post office box). Even though both major (and perhaps most minor parties) supported the move it has many of the trademarks of Mr Atkinson's Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16926317.post-26479943016425475122010-01-14T18:13:00.003+10:302010-01-14T18:38:42.810+10:30HaitiAnother natural disaster in a place which is already burdened with much more than its share of troubles.What can one say or do? Express sympathy, donate money and hope that the scale of the suffering and loss is less than the initial media reports, which talk of more than 100,000 deaths, suggest. I wish I could do more.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07998239049099393011noreply@blogger.com0