Year: 2009

Not a problem. Just pick her up a bit. She’ll be right, mate.

liligans So you think you're cultured?

I found the following news item in “The Australian” intriguing.

Hundreds of Chinese homeowners protested outside government offices in Shanghai demanding refunds after a 13-storey apartment building in a complex under construction toppled over. A worker was killed in the June 27 incident in which the building fell over but otherwise remained almost entirely intact.

What I want to know is what brand of superglue were they using to keep the 13 storeys together.

I imagine that there will be a name change in the offing. Something along the lines of “Toppling Towers” perhaps. Leaning Tower of Pisa, eat your heart out! This is true horizontal living.

How naive are female sailors?

liligans So you think you're cultured?

Women sailors in the Australian navy have complained that there have been bets placed on their sexual availability. Apparently, there’s a record called “the Ledger” which the sailors have been keeping. These women have been embarrassed to discover that the sailors have been keeping score and that’s why they are complaining. Now it looks as if there’s going to be a lot of fuss about it all. Continue reading →

Too much choice. Too much confusion

liligans So you think you're cultured?

When I visit the U.S I love going to the drug stores because they have so many choices on offer. Not that I buy a lot because, quite frankly, I can’t make up my mind which is the better product for me. I remember needing a headache tablet once and being confronted by so many kinds that I decided that my headache was getting worse just from reading all the labels. In the end, I walked out of the drug store without making a purchase. Continue reading →

Indian students give admirable service in Australia

liligans So you think you're cultured?, Society

For the last few months I’ve noticed that our supermarkets have been giving excellent service at checkouts and in the aisles.

We have the university students from India to thank for this improvement.

In my opinion, they are much more courteous than our Aussies because they are willing to put themselves out to find a product. Also, they are highly intelligent since this is only their temporary occupation while they study in Australia.

Our supermarkets benefit from their marvellous work ethic. The customers are delighted and I hope that the Indian students receive a good salary because they certainly deserve it.

When they graduate and become doctors and lawyers they will know that they did it the hard way, supporting themselves while they studied. That is a great start to any career and a motivation for studying seriously. Quite frankly, they could teach our young Aussie students some manners!

No surprises in the Iranian election results.

liligans Politics, So you think you're cultured?

I honestly don’t understand how anyone could expect Ahmadinejad to lose the presidential election. He is the darling of the lower classes and there are plenty of poor people in Iran whom he has cultivated.

Does it really make a difference who is president of Iran? The man is a puppet of the ayatollahs and the real power rests with the clerics. They are the ones who rule the country. They are the ones who control the purse strings and nothing will change in Iran until the clerics say goodbye.

If President Obama thought that reaching out to the Iranians was a good idea then he has been taught a lesson. Perhaps. Obama makes pretty speeches. Enough to emblazon on the front of many T-shirts. But when it comes to addressing the Muslim world, nothing he says will change their innate culture. They hate the West. They hate Israel. They hate the U.S. And it doesn’t make a skerrick of difference if Obama points out his name is Hussein. It only makes him look desperate and silly.

When you think about it, the re-election of Ahmadinejad is propitious. At least with him you know where you stand. Nowhere pleasant. It is very important to know who is your enemy and the most dangerous kind is the one who pretends to be your friend and then double crosses you. That was the danger with Mousavi. He was hardly going to be an improvement since he had to obey the clerics anyway.

The latest news from Iran is that Mousavi is under house arrest. That is only a rumour, however. We can’t really know what’s going on in Iran at the moment because the government is interfering with phone lines and broadcasts. Supporters of Mousavi are being beaten up and arrested by police. So much for free elections.

There are now riots in the streets but in the end the government and the clerics will no doubt crush the rebellions since they have the military on their side. What a tragi-comedy!

Quite frankly, I am relieved that things have turned out this way since perhaps President Obama will now learn that Iran is not a country that you can reach out to. Not for a long time anyhow. Not while it is a religious dictatorship.