I solemnly promise that the day a group of young people turns up at a cosmetic surgeon’s practice and asks for wrinkly and sagging skin, I will eat my words. But until then, I maintain that we don’t want to see old people in the nude doing commercials. They have every right to do so, but it’s not a pretty sight. Continue reading
Month: September 2007
Football fever and other religions
It’s a brave politician in Australia who will admit to not giving a damn about sport. If you want to get elected here you have to follow a football team and a cricket team and rave on about our sporting prowess. Continue reading
Marcel Marceau and the sounds of silence.
This week the world bid farewell to a great performer. Marcel Marceau, the famous mime artist, died at the age of 84 after a lifetime of brilliant communication without words. I’ll leave it up to the eulogies to sing his praises. What I want to write about is what he actually said on a visit to Australia many years ago. Continue reading
In the name of Friendship- a review
My book club encourages me to read books which I would not normally choose. This is a good thing in itself because it broadens my experiences. By nature, I am a classicist and enjoy Victorian and Edwardian literature simply because it has style and excellent characterisation. And because I am a literary snob. Continue reading
Another silly survey.
The headline in today’s Brisbane Courier Mail bowled me over. “New mums feeling the strain from sleep loss”. I picked myself up from the floor after that shattering revelation and reread the results of yet another useless study about Mummies and their problems. I had to make sure that I had not misinterpreted the article. I hadn’t. Continue reading
Go, already!
It’s no secret that I don’t particularly like the younger generation. Continue reading
Joseph Wakim – you can’t be serious.
Today’s Brisbane Courier Mail newspaper had a piece in it that was written by Joseph Wakim who describes himself as a freelance writer and founder of the Australian Arabic Council. This Arab has the audacity to try to get some mileage out of the APEC security measures in Sydney to whinge about Israel’s security fence for which the Palestinian terrorists are entirely responsible. Continue reading
Would you believe?
In a previous blog I mentioned that in a family of more than one child the children’s names often start with the same letter. I also observed that if there is a third child that trend may not continue. Well, I have found an amazing example of such a phenomenon. Continue reading
Forgive them for they know not what they do
President George Bush has arrived in Australia and now we will have to endure another onslaught from “protesters” for whom life is too easy. Continue reading
South Korea is funding more murders
Seoul denies that it paid for the release of the kidnapped missionaries in Afghanistan but according to Reuters the South Koreans are lying.
Apparently, according to a senior Taliban terrorist who wants to remain anonymous, the Seoul government paid about $24 million for the release of the missionaries. The Taliban have vowed to carry out more kidnappings and why does that not surprise me?
The senior Taliban rep said that with the money they will “purchase arms, get our communication network renewed and buy vehicles for carrying out more suicide attacks.”
I’m not saying that this is what the senior Taliban rep really said, but only that this is what Reuters reported he said. I have always been sceptical of Reuters, but whether it was actually said or not really doesn’t matter, because anyone who negotiates and gives in to the terrorists is aiding and abetting them. It certainly doesn’t take a genius to conclude that when you give in to kidnappers’ demands for ransom, it has to encourage them. So therefore, Seoul is funding further murders in Afghanistan.
Very ironic.
After all, even the most basic of beings works on the reward and punishment strategy. For the Taliban this is a reward and so why should they change their m.o?