tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37778582012-01-13T00:52:21.920-08:00Blog on, blog on, Voltaire, Rousseau. Blog on, blog on, 'tis all in vaincedricnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-17151280407280242932008-04-09T11:54:00.000-07:002008-04-09T12:01:41.110-07:00

As the Melbourne Age reports, Australian Opposition frontbencher, George Brandis, of the conservative Liberal Party, has contradicted the party’s old-guard leader, Brendan Nelson, and urged the recently elected Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd, to boycott the Beijing Olympics in protest. Meanwhile, however, government frontbencher Anthony Albanese has condemned “disruptions” of the torch relay.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-91277353256772592262008-03-27T00:29:00.001-07:002008-03-27T00:29:39.166-07:00

If you, like I, work in any sort of music-publicity or -journalism capacity, you'll have noticed that record companies are moving away from sending CDs in the mail – expensive, cumbersome... – in favor of sending reviewers and radio stations emails that provide access to digital files of newly released albums. The companies provide either streaming or downloading of music, but stipulate, in

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-33681376952013414472007-12-21T22:21:00.000-08:002007-12-21T22:29:24.714-08:00

The abject morons who run this country wonder why the rest of the world considers its self-serving disingenuousness over Iraq so laughable and evil. Well, it might help if the mighty free press could leaven its fawning support of US military adventurism with some basic measures of journalistic integrity. It's a joke, of course, to imagine that that bloated poseur, Lou Dobbs, would be the one to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-47708858553848759622007-11-15T20:09:00.002-08:002007-11-15T20:12:27.871-08:00

To: Alexander Downer, Foreign Minister, AustraliaRe: Balibo 5November 15, 2007Mr Downer,In view of this:"Balibo 5 deliberately killed, coroner finds," perhaps you can suggest in your delicate diplomatic exchanges with Indonesian government officials who must be treated with kid gloves that, as they are already five gratuitous up on us, perhaps they can give us back five of the Australian kids

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-56643985792549387292007-10-10T22:11:00.000-07:002007-10-10T22:18:56.167-07:00

To: Kevin Andrews, Australian Minister for ImmigrationRe: Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews has condemned an assault on a police officer by a group of youths in Melbourne's south-east as not reflecting "the Australian way of life" ... Police, who are questioning an 18-year-old man over the incident, have confirmed that the group approached by the detective included Sudanese youths.October 10,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-68614755633599528822007-09-25T17:15:00.000-07:002007-09-25T17:19:02.758-07:00

Y'All at Alaska Airlines,I think it'd be best if you didn't insult our intelligence with this kind of pitch. We all know that airline service is becoming drastically depleted, and that the airlines' attitude to flyers is derisive. We all know that food options are not "exciting" and that they do not amount to being "even more" but rather sadly less. Let's be realistic. When one is entrusting

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-19817711109294700422007-09-25T17:07:00.000-07:002007-09-25T17:15:22.807-07:00

Editor, NYT,Your article, "If It’s Hip, Fast and Furious, Is It Cricket?" by Somini Sengupta, strikes me as verging on the fraudulent. In trumpeting India's victory in Twenty20, a new(ish) form of international cricket, the article does not mention, at all, that Twenty20 is merely a more telescoped version of limited-over (40- or 50-over), one-day cricket that has been played at the international

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-77768104098618811322007-07-09T23:21:00.001-07:002007-07-09T23:21:49.371-07:00

I ask you: How long can a person go with virtually no sleep? I just ended five straight weeks of being unable to get to sleep before 6am. Well, I exaggerate, a little: There were three nights in there when I was asleep by 4am. I went to bed at a decent time, most of those days, but nothing happened. I laid down exhausted, and instantly was revived by some sort of strange electricity through my

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-3458493759845081882007-06-12T22:56:00.000-07:002007-06-12T22:58:24.462-07:00

To: Wayne Swan, Shadow Treasurer, AustraliaRe: Prime Minister's charges that the Australian Council of Trade Unions is actually plotting to help Labor overthrow him -- no!!!Mr Swan,The ABC reported today your response to Howard's charges that "the ACTU is only interested in using the Labor leader Kevin Rudd as a puppet to secure power for union bosses" and that its manual on how to influence

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-61869792834915841782007-05-31T03:29:00.000-07:002007-05-31T03:33:55.616-07:00

Dear Editor, NYTAs you report today, the immigration "reforms," as currently contemplated, would "admit foreigners who scored highest on a scale that values advanced degrees, skills approved by the Department of Labor, and fluency in English, much more than family ties."Discontinuing the practice of favoring family ties seems a step towards fairness – why should the childless and those

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-21336755193692321712007-04-17T23:47:00.001-07:002007-04-19T21:27:03.260-07:00

To: Corporation for Public BroadcastingRe: Richard Perle on "America at a Crossroads"The early episodes, by Frontline, were excellent. But now you have a clearly deluded maniac, Richard Perle, serving up the most contradictory, self-aggrandizing rubbish, and it is by no means journalism, but rather is an advertorial for the ranting menace of savage evil.My objection isn't only to Perle's politics

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-2988467189429393552007-04-16T02:43:00.000-07:002007-04-16T02:45:55.289-07:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister of AustraliaRe: Anzac Day hypocrisySo, your campaign to win over the voters with pathetic hypocrisy – "My view is that Anzac Day is a very sacred day and I don't think that anybody should be into trying to give it any kind of political spin." – is in full swing. You should be ashamed of yourself, but it seems unlikely, from the above, as from so much else that

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-50337619116235493932007-03-31T12:38:00.000-07:002007-03-31T12:45:21.451-07:00

To: William Glaberson, NYTRe: Australian to Serve 9 Months in Terrorism Case; March 31, 2007Mr. Glaberson: Your coverage of the sentencing of David Hicks is thorough. Thank you for bringing this shameful matter to American attention. I wonder, though, whether your interpretation of the Australian government's involvement in the dealmaking isn't a bit credulous. The beleaguered and discredited

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-25356087194110917822007-03-27T22:04:00.000-07:002007-03-27T22:14:47.976-07:00

To: Phillip Ruddock, Attorney General, AustraliaRe: David Hicks, Guantanamo Bay detaineeMarch 27, 2007Mr Ruddock,The ABC reports:Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has rejected suggestions the plea was made under duress. "I don't know what the duress is," he said.When you swore an oath to uphold the law and to honour truth, didn't you imagine that it would be a breach of the spirit of that law to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-7950373103404780962007-02-14T14:05:00.001-08:002007-02-14T14:06:00.201-08:00

To: Peter Beattie, Premier of QueenslandMr Beattie,ABC.net.au reports: Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says he has smacked all three of his children and he does not support a push for law changes in the area. … "I think that any parent has the right in my view, within reason, provided there's no permanent damage or injury, to smack their child," he said. Then, instead of going with your

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-54756125686109697042007-02-12T23:01:00.000-08:002007-02-12T14:31:10.366-08:00

To: John HowardRe: Aha, now I understand!John Howard: "My charge is that the consequences of the policy you [Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd] are advocating would be to destabilise Iraq and threaten the security interests of this country through a defeat of the United States in Iraq," he said.Ah, now I see: Your American friends have stabilised Iraq. And you fear that the constant stream of deadly

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-81406791479193320102007-02-12T14:28:00.000-08:002007-02-11T22:49:22.197-08:00

To: Brendan Nelson, Defence Minister, AustraliaRe: Standing up for whom?ABC.net.au reports: Defence Minister Brendan Nelson is standing by the Prime Minister's criticism of US presidential candidate Barack Obama, who wants troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by March, 2008. ... "Our Prime Minister quite rightly is standing up on behalf of Australia and those countries who believe it is absolutely

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-19535974278751358632007-02-11T22:43:00.000-08:002007-02-11T22:48:58.915-08:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister of AustraliaRe: Comments about Barack Obama Go ahead - decline to retract your inane, irrelevant, little-man comments about Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. You make yourself a figure of mockery in the United States; you make Australia a laughing stock among thinking Americans, and a subject of hostility among the vast majority – the non-thinking ones; and

cedricnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-56062679132625346782007-01-28T22:44:00.000-08:002007-01-28T22:46:21.311-08:00

To: Phillip Ruddock, Attorney-General, AustraliaThe Age: “Mr Ruddock said while the US had not yet told him what charges Hicks would face, he was confident the accused terrorist would receive a fair trial.”Can you possibly be this naive?But perhaps I should be asking: Can you possibly be thisdisingenuous? Or plainly dishonest?By the way, with respect to your decision in November:In 2006, Philip

cedricnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-78857643925932516392007-01-19T01:17:00.000-08:002007-01-19T01:35:36.879-08:00

In an update on the treatment of David Hicks, a 5-year-long Australian detainee at Guantanamo Bay, the ABC reports, Friday, January 19, 2007:Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has welcomed the publication of new US rules to put Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Australian David Hicks, on trial.Mr Hicks's defence team and the Opposition have criticised the new military commission system,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1169019900239661612007-01-16T23:27:00.000-08:002007-01-16T23:45:00.253-08:00

I omitted to mention earlier that Montana was picturesque:And, earlier, in Australia, Lake George was as strange as ever, and as empty as it often is:

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1169018168659580022007-01-16T22:40:00.000-08:002007-01-16T23:20:01.063-08:00

So, here's how it went down. I was in the vicinity of Banff:The weather was curious: sleet, driving and freezing rain, slush, snow, sheets of ice, and then winds so fierce that cars were being blown off the road:I drove a small country highway up towards Lake Louise, and saw, first, the usual, standard, laid-on Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. One had stopped some traffic and was licking salt off

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1165181636607148152006-12-03T13:32:00.000-08:002006-12-03T13:33:56.620-08:00

To: Kevin Rudd, probably leader of the Australian Opposition, later todayMr. Rudd,Winning the leadership vote, if you do, is one thing, but I hope you realize that galvanizing Australian voters will take more than defeating Mr. Beazley, who has been a near-dead dog for years. His problem has been that he delivers all his pronouncements, well-reasoned though they are, with the same, flat

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1162428076160548162006-11-01T16:34:00.000-08:002006-11-01T16:41:16.173-08:00

Premier Beattie,Lord help us, indeed, when a premier of a state of Australia, 150 years after the introduction of general, free public education, can say what you are saying:ABC News OnlineThursday, November 2, 2006Beattie looks for heavenly help for drought-hit farmersThe Premier is urging Queenslanders to get behind a church campaign to pray for rain.Peter Beattie says he asked the heads of

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1161808743597508922006-10-25T13:36:00.000-07:002006-10-25T13:44:23.720-07:00

To: Kevin Rudd, Australian Labor Party Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and International Security.-----Original Message-----Sent: Thursday, 31 August 2006 3:33 PMTo: Rudd, Kevin (MP)Subject: Mr Kevin RuddMr RuddI noticed, last night, while watching Lateline, as I’ve noticed in the past, that you have excellent ideas for the country. Just as important, you have telling comments to make

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1161505459813160122006-10-22T01:22:00.000-07:002006-10-22T12:39:57.466-07:00

TRICYLE DAYS

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1158759768207852982006-09-20T06:41:00.001-07:002007-02-11T22:46:00.631-08:00

Mr RuddI noticed, last night, while watching Lateline, as I’ve noticed in the past, that you have excellent ideas for the country. Just as important, you have telling comments to make about, for example, the current shambles over the AWB rorts.But here are my two concerns:First, like Mr Beazley, your delivery is flat. Your affect is flat. Your demeanour is strangely unchanging. I wonder if you

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1158317685963067812006-09-15T03:52:00.000-07:002006-09-20T06:40:28.803-07:00

The Australian Prime Minister has called for immigrants to be tested for knowledge of English, and to embrace Australian values more uniformly.PM John Howard:I am writing to support your call for immigrants to assimilate to the Australia that they find upon settlement here. I am, like you, outraged by these peoples’ lack of commitment to this responsibility.How do you like your witchetty grubs? I

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1150179556962811452006-06-12T23:19:00.000-07:002006-06-12T23:32:11.133-07:00

The Australian Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, has exercised his supposedly ceremonial powers to overturn the Australian Capital Territory's civil-union law. This is reminiscent of the action in 1975 of "Sir" John Kerr, who used similar supposedly ceremonial powers to dismiss the first Labor government in 30 years.To: Governor-GeneralRe: ACT civil union lawMick,Who do you think

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1148030142184787792006-05-19T02:15:00.000-07:002006-05-19T02:29:25.993-07:00

To: Kim Beazley, Leader, Australian Labor PartyRe: The Tree of KnowledgeFor goodness sake, Mr. Beazley, don't fall into the oldest pit in the paddock by whining on about how ghastly it is that a NATIONAL MONUMENT has been sabotaged and it's all such a terrible, terrible TRAGEDY... blah blah blah.The tragedy is that the Labor Party now lacks any sense of drive and guts. Whining about a tree only

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1144210448335693222006-04-04T21:13:00.000-07:002006-04-05T11:03:25.846-07:00

To: KCTS public televisionRe: Prudery on your station's programmingPuhlease! Can you tell me which silly prude blurred the breasts of the elderly Australian Aboriginal woman on your program about the number one, which is now airing? If your station did, it's only further evidence of how sad your thinking has become.REPLY:Your comments, concerns, and suggestions are welcome and appreciated, and

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1141441460556913112006-03-03T19:00:00.001-08:002006-03-03T19:05:30.730-08:00

To: South Dakota State Senator William R. NapoliRe: Abortion ban legislation You seem to be a sincere representative - a rare enough thing - but you also seem, I'm afrad, woefully out of touch with the reality both of today, and of the yesteryear that you glamorize. The kind of "family values" that you invoke to justify your oppressive legislation never did exist for vast numbers of Americans -

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1141298635991741462006-03-02T03:22:00.000-08:002006-03-02T03:33:33.516-08:00

Governments are prone to rank disingenuity the world over. This Australian government minister would have her subjects believe that it took eight months for her to make "this principled decision."To: Amanda VanstoneRe: Your principled decision in the Jovicic caseMarch 1, 2006We the Australian people should be reassured to discover that, despite your earlier hardheaded denial that this man's case

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1141032469170951432006-02-27T01:27:00.000-08:002006-02-27T01:27:49.180-08:00

Someone, please, tell me I'm not reading "this" in this, the 21st century.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1140034018402821272006-02-15T12:02:00.000-08:002006-02-15T12:06:58.413-08:00

"The US Government had tried to stop the release of this material."Fancy that!

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1139958266984652912006-02-14T14:57:00.000-08:002006-02-14T15:04:26.996-08:00

The Federal Government is also continuing to defend the role of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in the case against the Bali nine. [Some family members had told the AFP that the smuggling was going on, before the smugglers went to Indonesia, but the AFP did nothing to stop the young people from proceeding. Instead, they shared information with the murderous authorities of Indonesia.] Some of

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1139905247321403032006-02-14T00:19:00.000-08:002006-02-14T00:20:47.333-08:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister of AustraliaRe: Death sentences delivered against two Australians found guilty of drug trafficking in IndonesiaAgain, Mr. Howard, you seem to suffer from a basic lack of logic. You say, of the two Australians just sentenced to death in Indonesia: "In the case of two people, their lives could well be taken. You can't expect governments in other countries to take a

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1139567615718904532006-02-10T02:30:00.000-08:002006-02-10T02:33:35.730-08:00

When you read items like this one, you realize that the church remains as venal as ever, and that the public remains simply unable to accord scum like this fuck the disdain and execration he deserves. What is wrong with people?Hundreds farewell slain underworld figureMelbourne underworld figure Mario Condello has been farewelled at a funeral service in Richmond.Hundreds of people filed into the

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1136549450765107772006-01-06T04:02:00.000-08:002006-01-06T04:11:51.250-08:00

Party kids

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1135671912112262182005-12-27T00:24:00.000-08:002005-12-27T00:26:02.040-08:00

A statement that seemed to amuse a psychologist of my acquaintance - and employ: "I know I'm ridiculously rationalist and analytical, and that that makes me even more prone than most to self-delusion."He: "You've got to write this stuff down!"

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1135022722674302012005-12-19T12:03:00.000-08:002005-12-19T12:05:22.686-08:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister of AustraliaGiven how stunningly out of touch you are with the people whom you seek to rule in so disdainful and highhanded a fashion – Howard got it wrong on racism, poll finds – would you please resign, immediately. Now that Costello is properly discredited, here’s your opportunity to pass on the baton to a Liberal with a heart, if there is such a thing on your

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134859527344924772005-12-17T14:43:00.000-08:002005-12-17T14:45:27.346-08:00

This, apparently, is the house I will own the moment the moneylenders seal the deal for a pound of my flesh and 87.5% of my soul. Just NW of Green Lake.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134859003143548512005-12-17T14:30:00.000-08:002005-12-17T14:36:43.156-08:00

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134451731979064862005-12-12T21:27:00.000-08:002005-12-12T21:28:51.990-08:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, & Kim Beasley, leader of the Opposition, blind men at the helm -The ABC reports: "Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has said the Sydney clashes are 'simply criminal behaviour' and Mr Howard says he does not accept there is underlying racism in Australia."How the country ended up with two jokers like you as its leaders baffles me. Which country are you

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134326997991560962005-12-11T10:48:00.000-08:002005-12-11T10:53:28.610-08:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister, AustraliaCongratulations, here is the Australia that your callous leadership is producing, as The Age records: "Alcohol, the Australian flag and raw racism fuelled a violent rampage by thousands of young residents in Sydney yesterday, ... The mob wore varied uniforms. A few sported black swastika sweatshirts, but most the emblem of the Australian flag, the Eureka

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134280473779637842005-12-10T21:52:00.000-08:002005-12-10T22:04:48.766-08:00

Violence flares at Cronulla...One of the messages had urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs". Another urged locals to rally at point on the beach today to take retaliation against "middle eastern" gangs...Welcome to the Australia that Howard, his bigots, and their rule have ushered back in, after it was 25 years in abeyance.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134182815203211762005-12-09T18:40:00.000-08:002005-12-09T18:46:55.203-08:00

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134182348832190972005-12-09T18:33:00.000-08:002005-12-09T18:48:20.716-08:00

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1134182007527920312005-12-09T18:32:00.000-08:002005-12-09T18:33:27.526-08:00

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133641512497574002005-12-03T11:55:00.000-08:002005-12-03T12:41:26.636-08:00

A final embrace before 'calm and inspiring' Van faced fateWe're giving them enough ropeStanding up to the executionerDeath penalty losing groundNguyen lawyer targets USExecution play censoredEnd death penalty: Singapore nun

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133564228455698282005-12-02T14:56:00.000-08:002005-12-02T14:57:08.456-08:00

To: Australian high commission officers Annette Morris and Ross Tysoe, SingaporeThank you for everything you did in the case of Van Nguyen. Your dignified and compassionate completion of the gruesome task of identifying his body after his judicial murder, and returning him to his family, cannot have been easy, and I, as I'm sure so many Australians living in countries that retain this barbarous

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133563730720700642005-12-02T14:45:00.000-08:002005-12-02T14:48:50.723-08:00

Lex Lasry QC, Empire Chambers, CanberraThank you for everything you did in the case of Van Nguyen. Your kindheartedness and determination endured even as the cause of justice suffered in this appalling case of judicial abuse. I can only hope, and imagine, that your work will have, and will, affect fairminded and humane citizens of Singapore, and other countries, including the United States, to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133562248770670592005-12-02T14:21:00.000-08:002005-12-02T14:38:08.546-08:00

Death-row mates sing for Nguyen at the endBy Steve Butcher and Connie Levett, SingaporeThe Age, MelbourneDecember 3, 2005"DO I have a chance?" he joked. As Nguyen Tuong Van stood in the doorway of his death row cell to face execution yesterday, just a short walk to the gallows, he turned to the Changi Prison guards who had grown to love him.With just minutes to live, he posed the question using

cedricnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133523615958666322005-12-02T03:39:00.000-08:002005-12-02T03:41:21.800-08:00

To: Queensland Independent MP (Maryborough) Chris FoleyThe ABC has you saying: "I am opposed to the death penalty and I feel desperately sorry for the family, in particular the mother of Van Nguyen," he said. "However I believe that it is an insult to war heroes of Australia to afford a convicted drug dealer the same one minute's silence."Good lord, man. If you are so culturally ignorant as to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133488053308817622005-12-01T17:46:00.000-08:002005-12-01T17:48:34.426-08:00

Nguyen hanged in SingaporeThe execution in Singapore of Australian drug trafficker Van Nguyen has been confirmed.- ABC OnlineTo: Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of SingaporeWhat your government has done to Van Nguyen, after doing it to so many other people, is simply murder, and murder all the more grotesque for its cloak of government entitlement. You indulge in barbarity as if appointed by

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133389794249940602005-11-30T14:29:00.000-08:002005-11-30T14:29:54.263-08:00

Joseph K H KOH, High Commission to Australia of the Republic of SingaporeFax (02) 6273 9823December 1, 2005Mr Koh,I grew up a couple of miles from where you live, there, in the comfort of Australia, far from the heat and bustle of Singapore. I know, Canberra is a boring and dreadful place, in many ways, but being a resident in it sure does beat being a simple citizen at the whim of, say, your own

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133339613387762092005-11-30T00:33:00.000-08:002005-11-30T00:33:33.396-08:00

To: The Editor, The Singapore Strait TimesRe: Singapore’s terrorizing death penaltyIn all the Singapore government's righteousness about killing people who possess even minute quantities of drugs, and in all the Australian protests about the Singapore government's impending murder of an Australian, the broader point seems to be overlooked. This is that the Singapore government's actions, like

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1133319599937662582005-11-29T18:59:00.000-08:002005-11-29T18:59:59.950-08:00

To: Mike Rann, Premier of South AustraliaRe: Singapore's murder of Van NguyenMr Rann,If you are correctly quoted by the ABC, you believe that "Van Nguyen is not Florence Nightingale, Van Nguyen is one of a number of people who want to peddle death to our young people and make money out of it and it doesn't come much lower than that."Your response is sadly inadequate, and ignorant. For a start,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1132905045837745302005-11-24T23:47:00.000-08:002005-11-24T23:58:05.806-08:00

To: Peter Costello, Treasurer of AustraliaThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports:...Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has warned against threatening Singapore over the pending execution of [Van] Nguyen.Former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam is reported today as describing Singapore as a "Chinese rogue port city".Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has told Southern Cross Radio that

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1132482353319471202005-11-20T02:24:00.000-08:002005-11-20T02:25:53.353-08:00

To: Alexander Downer, Australian Minister for Foreign AffairsRe: Singapore Government's plans to murder Van Nguyen on December 2, 2005You say Labor and other parties are "childish" in the way they press for Australians to try to assist Van Nguyen. The Prime Minister wrings his hands while assuring us that this is all a good lesson in why drugs aren't good for us, and why being naughty in

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1132304625892849162005-11-18T01:02:00.000-08:002005-11-18T01:03:46.343-08:00

To Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of SingaporeMr. Lee: Of course, your government's intended murder next month of Van Nguyen, as of so many other relatively minor criminals, including those like Mr. Nguyen whose crimes were committed with clear and evident extenuating circumstances, has nothing to do with justice. It is in keeping with the behaviour of so many governments that anathemize and

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1127496682053080242005-09-23T10:30:00.000-07:002005-09-23T10:31:22.056-07:00

On how to evade and avoid censorship in countries that censor blogs:http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15083

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1125968373250855762005-09-05T17:51:00.001-07:002005-09-05T17:59:33.250-07:00

The Village Idiot and Abject Moron is being assailed for failing to react in any kind of responsible way to the disaster along the Gulf of Mexico. But to blame him for operational deficits is going so far beyond what anyone with any powers of observation should even expect of so profoundly stupid and inadequate a man. Americans, I believe, are so benightedly blinded by the historical aura of the

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1125967892488188582005-09-05T17:51:00.000-07:002005-09-05T17:51:32.493-07:00

Martha goes Down Underhttp://www.abc.net.au/dig/stories/s1449381.htm

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1125893532284938492005-09-04T21:10:00.000-07:002005-09-04T21:17:26.450-07:00

Friends:An anthem for Labor Day, anyone? Given the treatment of the South by the Bushwhackers, the words seem strangely apt, even if the history of Socialism, enacted, gives grounds for sad pause.I hope we can all take the day off and contemplate what is becoming of labor rights, and human dignity, in these times.- cedric(from www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/int/internationale.html)The

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1123897457976711362005-08-12T18:35:00.000-07:002005-08-12T18:44:17.980-07:00

I'm reliving my mid-teen years by laying awake much of the night listening to the cricket broadcasts from England. It's the "Ashes" series – Australia v England – long a source of either gloating or anguish for us, the Antipodean colonials. "We" have crushed the Pommie masters several times in a row, but this series is starting to look shaky.But that's neither here nor there - what do I care,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1114679626516109692005-04-28T02:13:00.000-07:002005-04-28T02:13:46.516-07:00

Hi, my name is Cedric, and i'm a little greedyguts. Today I ate: two tiny chocolates from the Bastyr dispensary (they have vital nutrients etc in them). Then I thought I was doing well, so I risked a small cream puff after pho with a yoga friend (who actually runs food-compulsion and body-obsession workshops)... Then I went to the gym, but was draggin' badly, so bought a 200-calorie dark

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1114504324301452132005-04-26T01:28:00.000-07:002005-04-26T01:32:38.356-07:00

The premier of Queensland, Peter Beattie, supposedly a Labor candidate, is honoring Joh Bjelke-Peterson, the former longtime premier, with a state funeral. Bjelke-Peterson's long record of bigoted rule included banning any unauthorized congregation of three or more people. That was just one of his more benign pieces of legislation. He ruled for decades under a dispensation of juryrigged electoral

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1112745243642927042005-04-05T16:48:00.000-07:002005-04-05T16:54:03.656-07:00

MATCH SCHTICKEver wonder what people say to each other on match.com and similar online dating services? I do, too, but I can’t imagine anyone is ever going to tell me. But I, at least, can tell you some of what I’ve said to women there, and you, dear reader, may, if you like, let me know just how on, or off, track I have been.(I should note, by the way, that so far I haven’t recycled any letters,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1110524706278802032005-03-10T23:03:00.000-08:002005-03-10T23:05:06.690-08:00

To: The Embassy of AustraliaRe: The latest Verizon tv adsMy Dear Countrymen and Women,Have you seen the latest Verizon television advertisements? Those drongos are pronouncing emus "ee-moos." Could you, by any chance, contact them and assure them that it is NOT pronounced that way, and that they are endangering the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement by persisting in their drongocity?Sincerely,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1109039552686086442005-02-21T18:32:00.000-08:002005-03-15T13:18:48.220-08:00

Representative Mike Sells [D] 38th Legislative District of Washington State, has proposed that the state exempt prisons from the state requirement that one percent of budgets for state building projects be dedicated to public art. This would, for example, put an end to such luxuries as mobiles of birds hanging from prison common-room roofs.Mr. Sell,Now there's a great idea - deprive prisoners of

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1107997262515099142005-02-09T16:59:00.000-08:002005-02-09T17:01:02.516-08:00

The AFP reports: Failing to pull up your pants in Virginia could cost you a $US50 ($65) fine if legislators in the southern US state have their way. The House chamber in Virginia's General Assembly has voted 60-34 in favour of the so-called "droopy drawers" Bill to penalise people who wear their pants too low, exposing their boxer shorts or G-strings in a "lewd or indecent manner". "Underwear is

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1103705004301377752004-12-21T23:57:00.000-08:002004-12-22T00:43:24.300-08:00

Public holidays, in general, seem like a dry run for death – public services are suspended, there are no mail deliveries, places close down... – and Christmas is the most gruesome, and even grisly, of them all. No wonder that I begin to grimace about it in July. The fug thickens, and reaches its most toxic about now. It’s not just the sham of almost all of it – the gross consumerism; the aping

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1103698385187751312004-12-21T22:51:00.000-08:002004-12-21T22:54:29.773-08:00

Dear AM, (Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation) I was listening just now to your coverage of the bombing of the American military installation in Mosul, and then to a brief item about what the event might mean with respect to the upcoming "election" in Iraq. Why, can I ask, do you persist in interviewing partisan, ideologue cranks like Richard Perle, if you're trying to inform

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1103623111038370762004-12-21T01:58:00.000-08:002004-12-21T02:01:44.090-08:00

The Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald, Phillip Ruddock said on December 11, 2004, that the claims by David Hicks that he was being tortured and generally abused by his US military captors at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, did not appear credible. After all, said Mr Ruddock, Mr Hicks had earlier said that he was being treated well. Mr Ruddock’s statement is clearly disingenuous, unless it is merely

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1102082430901999852004-12-03T05:59:00.000-08:002004-12-03T06:00:30.903-08:00

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade, the only armed uprising in Australian history – at least, that’s the way it’s always put, because the national consciousness readily allows for ignoring any efforts by Aborigines to stem their demise at the hands of the Europeans, both with arms, although hugely inequal, in hand. In 1854, hundreds of miners gathered at Ballarat and took an

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1101996026060959802004-12-02T05:59:00.000-08:002004-12-02T06:00:26.060-08:00

I fear that I shall vent, this evening. A few days back in Canberra, and my wits are at their end. The place drives me to intense distraction. Not that I’m complaining. Cyndi noted last year when she and Bob were here that in this wretched city, everyone moves at the same pace - the vehicles all do, too, regulated closely by constantly changed speed limits on wide avenues and thoroughfares that

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1101537132332721292004-11-26T22:30:00.000-08:002004-11-26T22:32:12.333-08:00

The ABC reports: The Queensland Government is calling for better leadership on Palm Island in the wake of a riot that has destroyed the police station. The violence erupted when the north Queensland Indigenous community heard the details of a post-mortem conducted on a 36-year-old man who died in police custody last week. The report says that Cameron Doomagee had a ruptured lung and broken ribs

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1101507233829487632004-11-26T14:05:00.000-08:002004-11-26T14:13:53.830-08:00

I'm in Neddy's room where I can answer my email. He's listening to Motorhëd's music inspired by the World Wrestling Federation, and improvising battles by his favorite stars. He's standing on his desk and jumping onto a blue star-shaped pillow that represents his adversaries, but when he has finished tormenting it with all the most dastardly moves, including knuckling it as it lies helpless,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1101451716948669412004-11-25T22:09:00.000-08:002004-11-25T22:48:36.946-08:00

Fish and chip shops used to be the province of Greek and Italian immigrants to Australia. It never occurred to me, way back then, that these hardworking family entrepreneurs, slaving away over vats of bubbling lard, were not cooking according to any recipes of their own, or even any overall approach to cooking. Rather, they must have learned the ropes from a previous generation of small family

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1101349236789763612004-11-24T17:56:00.000-08:002004-11-24T18:20:36.790-08:00

Highway robbery, Australian style. Ned Kelly, the vaunted bushranger, was shot 150 years ago, but his spirit of redistributing the wealth of the rich to himself has been adapted, with a telling alteration, by state governments in this upside-down land. Here’s how it goes down – or, rather, went down yesterday, at my expense. I weas driving in a law-abiding fashion into the center of Melbourne,

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1101117582633089722004-11-22T01:33:00.000-08:002004-11-22T01:59:42.633-08:00

My nephew's computer is extremely aggravating because it's infected with all kinds of nasty things - spyware, and the like. And all of a sudden nasty images pop up that even a curious 13-year-old shouldn't have to confront. But the state of his computer makes me think that the saturation of all personal computing with commercial spy and advertising programs will be through teenagers, and then the

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1100997211942534302004-11-20T16:05:00.000-08:002004-11-20T16:33:31.943-08:00

My dinner with Dinah has been had. My, my, it provided some revelations, and was enjoyable, too. She's a straightshooting individual, and clearly a strong character. She worked in television for several years after school, and then in a variety of roles, most recently administrative jobs at the ANU. Lives back in Canberra in part to look after her mum who has Alzheimer's, and partly to be able to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1100664643542706912004-11-16T20:10:00.000-08:002004-11-20T16:04:59.193-08:00

They’ve taken away the convent where the Dutch nuns lived – the ones who tried their hardest to miseducate us all. They lived in the house from about 1961 to 1989, or so, when they gave up and went back to the Netherlands. In that time, they managed to recruit only two novices, and at least one of them was off her nutter – I know this, because I knew her. In fact, she may have been the strongest

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1100308989888855002004-11-12T17:22:00.000-08:002004-11-12T17:23:09.890-08:00

I trudged around Civic, the shopping and office area in the middle of Canberra, looking for free wifi. Unlike Seattle, the city doesn’t have a wealth of such opportunities, but I did locate one source in a handy spot. If you sit at any of the six or seven outdoor cafés in Garema Place, a square at the center of Civic, you can pick up one signal clearly. I sat there answering email and generally

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1100056792587015882004-11-09T19:17:00.000-08:002004-11-12T17:24:24.310-08:00

Report #1, from somewhere over the Pacific, three hours or so from Sydney, in what might otherwise be the middle of the night. The planeload is in some deep torpor, relieved only by a cattle feeding every 6 hours or so, but even though I’m in the plebs section, where I rightly belong by birthright, I’m not too zombified, thanks to years of training in not getting much sleep at all. As I lined up

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1099296590987957222004-11-01T01:07:00.000-08:002004-11-01T00:09:50.986-08:00

To the Australian Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, on the news that David Hicks, imprisoned without charge for the last 2.5 years in Guantanamo Bay after being taken captive as a member of the Taliban in Afghanistan, is now fast approaching a mental breakdown. Ruddock, Your representative suggests that your government is ensuring the welfare of David Hicks, while inhumanely prolonged solitary

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1096349723036286562004-09-27T22:28:00.000-07:002004-09-27T22:35:23.036-07:00

Let me just preface this by saying that I am under no illusion at all that I can do anything, at this point, to alter the parts of Australian culture that I found most obnoxious when I grew up there. However, it does do me good to put on paper some things that I think about the sorts of fuckwits I had to tolerate for years on the sports fields, and off them, even if the recipient is unlikely to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1095224226979624772004-09-14T21:55:00.000-07:002004-09-14T21:57:06.980-07:00

To: Andrew Demetriou, CEO of the Australian Football League Mr. Demetriou, et al: As a longtime fan - 15 years a player in Australia before coming to the US, 25 years ago - may I urge you to reverse your trend towards the Americanization of Aussie Rules, which is evident in the franchising of teams that have no club base, like Brisbane; in the increased use of the national anthem, as if footy

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1094366831960214942004-09-04T23:46:00.000-07:002004-09-04T23:47:11.960-07:00

The ABC reports: "John Howard says the Coalition Government, if re-elected, would commit $30 million to initiatives designed to protect children from sex criminals." I just have to say, Mr Prime Minister, that your level of self-serving cynicism is breath-taking. For decades, centuries, your party (and others in Australia, for that matter) has aided, through its complicit silence, the carnal

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1093894084129390862004-08-30T12:26:00.000-07:002004-08-30T12:28:04.130-07:00

To: Senator Jan McLucas, chair of Australian parliamentary inquiry into abuse of children in foster care Senator McLucas As a survivor of a Christian Brothers boys high school, in Canberra, I am pleased to see news of your report on abuse of foster children under institutional "care." However, I do have to say that it continues to appal me that bodies that perform these kinds of studies express

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1090992398097822672004-07-27T22:25:00.000-07:002004-07-27T22:26:38.096-07:00

To: Barack Obama, Illinois state senator; candidate for US Senate Mr. Obama, Thank goodness there are optimistic, ableminded people like yourself running for public office, and I wish you well in your campaign, and in many campaigns of increasing importance, to come. However, one thing you said in your speech today at the Democratic convention bothered me, and I wonder if you might consider my

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-10905221665150912004-07-22T11:49:00.000-07:002004-07-22T11:51:18.836-07:00

The next big thing in beauty.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1089913258282388272004-07-15T10:39:00.000-07:002004-07-15T10:42:42.056-07:00

This is quite extraordinary. A decade or more ago, French intelligence agents, too, were found to be operating in a hostile fashion in New Zealand - they bombed a Greenpeace ship.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1089261263633444582004-07-07T21:27:00.000-07:002004-07-07T21:34:23.633-07:00

Sen. Patty Murray replies (see June 22, below). A little mealy-mouthed, it must be said. Thank you for contacting me regarding the "federal marriage amendment". I am glad to know your views on this matter. In 1996 the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was enacted into law. DOMA created the first federal definition of marriage: one woman and one man. This law also lets states choose whether to

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1087928379666948862004-06-22T11:18:00.000-07:002004-06-22T11:24:05.940-07:00

Dear Washington State delegation to Congress, As your constituent, I urge you to oppose any amendment that would write discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans into the Constitution. To use the Constitution to discriminate against any group of people is shameful - and in this case, it's plainly hypocritical. It is not compassionate, and it is conservative only in

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1087885775133191762004-06-21T23:29:00.000-07:002004-06-21T23:30:38.560-07:00

To: John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia John: The ABC reports you saying that using funding to coerce schools to fly the Australian flag is: "perfectly compatible with the attitude of Australians; the display of the national flag by Australians now is far more regular, far more visible, far more a part of life than what it was when I was 30 years younger." So this is what you discuss with

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1087516839600497932004-06-17T17:00:00.000-07:002004-06-17T17:06:02.550-07:00

June 17, 2004 Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to a constitutional amendment that prohibits desecration of the American flag. It was good to hear from you. In this Congress, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced Senate Joint Resolution 4. This resolution would amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit physical desecration of the U.S. flag.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1087445714456073132004-06-16T21:12:00.000-07:002004-06-16T21:15:14.456-07:00

Dear Sky Mall, While flying somewhere or other, a few days ago, I sought distraction from the aggravations of modern air travel (the ridiculously scrunched seating, the dry, tasteless ham buns for which they charge you, now, an appalling $8...) by turning to your SkyMall catalog. There, my eyes happened to fall on the headline: "Your toothbrush could make you sick" – and, intrigued, I read on.

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3777858.post-1087330804692131612004-06-15T13:18:00.000-07:002004-06-15T13:25:54.933-07:00

Senators Murray and Cantwell, As your constituent, I urge you to oppose HJ Res. 4/SJ Res. 4, a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the flag. This legislation would undermine the very principles for which the American flag stands. All the obvious reasons aside, this is a blatant attack on the American way of life. I mean, how will people hypocritically put the flag to commercial or

cedricnoreply@blogger.com0