Who would want his job?

This is Darshan Singh, who is the hangman in Singapore who most likely will be responsible for dispatching Nguyen Tuong Van to meet his maker sometime in the near future.

According to the report, Mr Singh has been trying to leave his job for some time, but no-one can be found to replace him. Two people who he trained, froze when it came to the real thing.

So, there’s a job vacancy open in Singapore if anyone’s interested. Pays S$400 per hanging.

Candidate for Nobel Peace Prize

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, stands by his remarks the other day, calling for the destruction of Israel.

Further, this voice of reason, not wanting to whip up the flames of Islamic extremists, said:

“anyone who signs a treaty which recognises the entity of Israel means he has signed the surrender of the Muslim world,”

Just what Iran needs too. Dubya and co are just itching to have a go at them, and this sort of statement just fans those flames too.

We could do well if all concerned around the middle east cooled down, and started talking to each other sensibly and respectfully. This includes the Israelis too … I have a feeling they regard the Arabs as inferiors, and this comes across in their dealings with them.

So Mahmoud, shut up if you can’t contribute to peaceful co-existence between Israel and the Palestinians and other Arabs. Israel- get to the table and talk with the Palestinians (maybe also be more discriminating in retaliating against any extremist violence). Palestinian Authority - rein in those extremists, gaol them if they won’t voluntarily stop. Talk to the Israelis …you have to live beside each other, neither side is going to go away or beat the other. Arab and Moslem leaders - stop whipping up the loony extremists who come from your countries …instead crack down on them hard. Israel (and more generally the West) will not be beaten by you - accept that and work on getting along as best you can.

Supermarkets

Why is it that supermarkets only ever have about a quarter of the checkouts open? Why spend the money building and equipping them with cash registers, scanners etc if they’re not going to use them?

Grocery shopping is bad enough without having to wait 10 minutes in line at the end of it. I think a good form of protest would be to simply abandon your trolley full of stuff at the checkout. That’d stuff the supermarket.

Trouble is, by the time you get to do that, you’ve invested enough of your time and energy to not want to give it up (and no doubt the supermarkets know this and this is one reason they know they can be stingy with the number of checkouts they open).

Another thing I’d like to see is someone develop a scanner that you could push the whole trolley through and have it scanned all at once - saving the effort of unloading it, then reloading it.

Nice work if you can get it

A Japanese artist paid to drink 48 bottles of beer then fall over.

All in the name of art.

Chicago White Sox win the World Series

The Chicago White Sox won the World Series of American baseball today.

Another long sporting drought broken this year:

• the Sox hadn’t won since 1917
• the Sydney Swans won the AFL - previous win 1922
• Wests Tigers won the NRL - first time since the 1960’s
• England won the Ashes - hadn’t held them since 1989.

I don’t mind baseball. I even watched a few innings the other day of Game 1.

Only one question - why is the American competition final called the World Series? Isn’t this a bit presumptuous of the Americans?

Workchoices ad campaign a failure

It seems the $15-20m the Federal Government has spent has been a bit of a waste of money.

Knowledge of, and support for, the proposed workplace relations changes, has barely changed in the time the campaign has been running. Surprising ….not, when you consider the ads tell us nothing of substance and are purely feel good propaganda. Propaganda which people aren’t buying.

Just think, $15m for a 2% increase in support for the changes. Another $200m or so should get maybe half the population on side.

So, not only is the Government shamelessly wasting our taxes, they are pissing the money against the wall for no impact!

Come on DEWR public servants, have the balls to send the bills to the Liberal Party.

More Immigration Dept Disasters

As well as the recent Alvarez Solon and Rau cases, further stories are now coming out about people being wrongfully detained, in one case for 7 years. Every time that DIMIA gets a mention, the depths of its incompetence just get deeper. Nearly all the screwups happened on Philip Ruddock’sministerial watch, and it is just a travesty that he hasn’t got the bullet from the ministry. Clearly something was very sick in the department during the time he presided over it. I’m not sure how many public service heads have rolled over all the mismanagement - not as many as should have, I’d bet!

Imagine what the goons at DIMIA could do with the proposed anti-terrorism powers? Scary! I wouldn’t suggest the inept, insensitive, process (rather than outcome) driven administration is going to be limited to DIMIA - its just that their efforts have become more obvious.

While on the subject of Immigration and its errors, look at what some charming redneck morons have been up to lately. Probably vote One Nation, too.

Neighbours

Allegations are being made in court about the widespread use of drugs among the cast of “Neighbours”.

This explains a lot about the quality of the acting …they’re off their faces. I’d also suggest that the scriptwriters are using serious drugs - they must be to come up with the rubbish they keep coming up with!

Bulldogs at it again

It seems some members of the Canterbury Bulldogs NRL team have been misbehaving again.

However, this one seems to be a bit of a beat up - two players retaliated to taunts about the “alleged” Coffs Harbour rape from last year. However, I think the Bulldogs deserve all they get over this …they got off extremely lightly over what appears to have been a certainly unsavoury, most likely illegal episode. So suck shit if they are getting a hard time over it!

Funnily enough, elite sportspeople seem to be exempt from the normal standards of behaviour in society. Rugby league in particular seems very forgiving, no matter how appalling the behaviour. This is particularly so the better, more high profile the player. Only fringe players get the bullet for any discipline problems - then only to assuage media demands for action to be taken. (Mind you, what else would you expect, the NRL itself exhibits exactly this behaviour in its judiciary system - same offence will guarantee a lighter sentence for the high profile player compared to the plodder.)

Back to the bad behaviour off the field, is it any wonder players think they can do anything? Anytime one steps out of line, there are apologists from their club or the league community, who come out with all sorts of reasons why arsehole x is really a decent bloke - if he’s that decent why’s he joining in with team mates going sloppy sixths on some desperate fame junkie? (Actually at the time of the Coffs Harbour events, I thought it would have been funny and just if half the Bulldogs team had come down with the clap or something like that.)

I shouldn’t single out the Bulldogs for bad behaviour - its just that they are the stars of the last couple of years. Others on the roll of shame include Cronulla - over some similar incidents in Christchurch a couple of years, Manly - with their seemingly endless tolerance for John Hopoate, Souths and St George - with their drink driving problems and players fighting each other.

Even the mighty (well they were once upon a time in the dim distant past) Canberra Raiders have had their moments of sin - the “e” users, fighting amongst themselves. Haven’t heard anything lately but there used to be the odd rumours of young local lasses being paid off by the club when one of “God’s gifts” couldn’t accept no for an answer.

Melbourne Cup Day at Parliament House

Looks like next Tuesday is going to be busy at Parliament House, with the government introducing its anti-terrorism legislation into parliament. Now that wouldn’t be to have it buried in the mass of publicity about the Cup, would it? Whats the odds of the industrial relations legislation also hitting the parliament around the middle of next week also?

As I’ve posted previously, the government has been very cynically abusing its power now it has control of both Houses of Parliament. Its one thing to have power, but it doesn’t have to be abused in the way that John Howard and co are doing lately.

I’m actually very disappointed about how the government has carried on since their last election win. By and large, I think they’ve been pretty good since they’ve been in power (1996) but there is a sharply escalated level of arrogance since the last election. I can see a repeat of what happened to Jeff Kennett in Victoria coming up at the rate they are going …they need to rein in the more extreme fantasies some of them are trying to fulfil with the power they now have.