We don’t buy books in Australia because they cost too much. And since the Australian government recently chickened out again over making books more accessible to the public things are not going to improve in the near future. That’s a great pity for a nation that wants to encourage reading.

I deeply resent protecting an industry which penalises the reading public. It is simply unfair to make us pay more just to please a small minority of inefficient publishers and their egotistical authors.

This protection policy must be quite a disadvantage for Australian booksellers and so one can’t blame them for wanting this system to be abolished. One has to wonder, also, what happened to the level playing field that Australia moans about when it comes to tariffs in other countries and yet it does the same for books here.

So for this reason we have been buying books from Amazon. com.

Our latest venture, however, in book buying has been from The Book Depository in the U.K. This company charges a little more for each book but there are no mailing costs, so it ends up being cheaper than Amazon. On my last purchase which arrived today, the book cost $8 less than it would have cost at Amazon. Not only that, but the book arrived in about a week, whereas our last purchase from Amazon took three weeks even though it was in stock.

Not bad. Hope The Book Depository continues to deliver. Well done!

Several years ago the wife of one of an Aussie Tourism Minister, John Brown, proudly declared that she had had sex with her husband in his parliamentary office. On his desk to be exact…

It was very risque, she said, and they often indulged in these parliamentary privileges. They have since been divorced. Probably ran out of desk space.

The came Bill Clinton, venerable president of the U.S of A, who preferred his under the desk. It appears that he enjoyed being on the job in the hallowed Oval Office.

Now we have the latest alleged “scandal” about another politician and a desk. Mike Rann, the current Premier of South Australia has been at it at his desk as well.

I am puzzled by this predilection for office desks as stages for hanky panky. Can’t think of anything as uncomfortable as the old, hard plank. It’s painful (I imagine) and if it’s expensive furniture think of the damage to the patina.

While watching The Antiques Roadshow I am constantly informed that patina is crucial. The experts even advise owners of quality furniture pieces not to expose them to the elements. They shouldn’t even place glasses or vases on them for fear of water damage.

One shudders to think, therefore, what they would say to having sex on a desk. Oh the Horror of it all!!! Surely this calls for real protection on two accounts. The patina of the timber, for one, and we mustn’t forget the aching bones. Ouch!

Now I’m not saying to avoid sex on a desk, but surely this calls for using a foam underlay that goes on top of a mattress (or desk). The comfort cushioning could be discreetly rolled up in the cupboard and brought out on special occasions. Now that’s what I call genuine protected sex.

In spite of the Prime Minister’s claims that he had nothing to do with capitulating to the the queue-jumping and blackmailing Tamils on the Oceanic Viking, no Australian is convinced that Rudd is telling the truth. It is simply not his style to stay in the background of any political conflict. Rudd is a controlling personality who tells his three minions what to say and do at all times.

But when things go wrong and he is seen to lose face he pretends to not be “in the know.”

Suddenly he wasn’t there! Suddenly he knew nothing about the offer to the Tamils to be processed ahead of every other “asylum seeker” in Indonesia. And in fact, he denies that this is the case even when the Indonesians themselves have announced the Oceanic Viking agreement. This therefore must mean that the Indonesians are lying.

However, one has to wonder why the Indonesians would do that? What is in it for them? Let’s face it, the Tamils were heading for Australia. It was the Australians who rescued the Tamils and then did not know what to do with them.

We all know that Rudd is gigantically ambitious.

He does not appear to be devoted to Australia’s interests except as a stepping stone to “greater things” on the world stage. If it were a choice between a career in the U.N and betraying the interests of Australia, there would be no dilemma for Rudd. His career in global politics would come first. Such ambition is palpable and I wonder how long it will take before his party and the people of Australia get fed up with it.

Last night I was livid as I listened to Senator Chris Evans, our Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, refusing to answer questions about the Tamil blackmailers being offered quick processing to entice them out of their seige.

I am so sick and tired of political spin. An interviewer asks a politician a question and the answer comes out as a drone on a prerecording. Evans kept on repeating what the government had told him to say, which was that Australia had offered quick processing and that everything was under control because the government is patient.

What a load of crap! He refused to comment on the fact that these Tamils were being offered preferential treatment. It was deplorable to watch a minister going on and on with the same mantra…”Everything is under control blah blah” and his nose grew longer and longer as he spoke.

It just goes to show that if queue-jumpers want to enter Australia illegally, they can do so as long as they are prepared to sit it out. The Tamils had us over a barrel. Why? Because we want to appear nice and goody and “compassionate”. Of course, the reality is that we appear piss-weak in a conflict.

Can’t wait for the next bunch of illegals to see what the government will do about them. They are already packing their suitcases as I write.

Now I read that 20 of the blackmailers have agreed to disembark in Indonesia. I suppose that the government will try to spin itself out of this capitulation by saying that the result is good. Well, it’s not, Mr Rudd. As for Chris Evans, he’s just another of Rudd’s little puppets who is not allowed say anything that has not been approved by Kevin.

What is the point of protocol and legislation and borders etc. if any bunch of illegals will be able to ignore them? Just sit it out, fellas and you’ll be living at the Hilton at our expense.

We hadn’t had one of these quirky “Ballykissangel” sort of location TV series for a while. I must admit I really looked forward to this one. Continue reading →

You have to feel sorry for the Indonesians and I can’t blame them for being annoyed. There are thousands of asylum seekers who would rather die than end up living in Indonesia. Take the Tamils, for example. They are apparently in fear for their lives. They are being tortured and raped in Sri Lanka and can’t wait to get away from all that misery there.

And yet, even after reaching Indonesia and spending some time there, they want to come to Australia. In fact, they will threaten to hurt themselves or go on hunger strikes rather than continue to dwell in Indonesia.

Now Indonesia has a huge population and it even has a democracy. It also has a thriving tourist industry which enjoys the benefits of Australian tourists who think it is a great place to visit. Bali is one of our favourite destinations, after all, and that is in spite of a couple of terrorist attacks.

I am surprised that people who are escaping the violence in their own country feel that they can call the shots on where they go. And yet this is the case with the 78 Sri Lankan Tamils who are refusing to disembark in Indonesia.

No wonder the Indonesians are fed up with this intransigence. How awful must it be for Indonesians to be told that their country is a dump unfit for the likes of the Sri Lankans. Imagine how we in Australia would feel if some asylum seekers refused to come here on account of it’s not their favourite place on Earth. Imagine if they announced that they would rather die than disembark in our wide brown land.

Wouldn’t we be tempted to respond in a manner something like this? If you don’t like it here then go…go…do not stop….just go.

There’s a stench of blackmail here and I hope that the government of Australia will not allow itself to be pushed around by this boatload. Otherwise it will not only continue to offend Indonesia but it will also make a rod for its own back.

I would go so far as to announce publically that if asylum seekers come illegally to Australia then they will be assessed after all the legal asylum seekers have had their turn. Not quickly, as they have been promised, but slowly and in the fullness of time.

This seems eminently fair to me and to the poorer souls who don’t have the money to buy a passage Downunder. After all, don’t we Australians respect a fair go for all?