Author: liligans

13 dead in Washington? No way! 12 dead plus the killer

liligans What Pisses me off

Isn’t it about time that we stopped including the killer as one of the victims in a massacre?

Today’s news about the horror at the Washington naval base in which 12 people were murdered has outraged me even further when the media decided to include a perpetrator amongst the victims.

We know why the media does this, of course. They just want to inflate the statistics for publicity’s sake.

There is something grossly immoral about his being listed together with his innocent victims.

In my opinion, this is an insult to their families and to all victims in general.

The monsters should be on a separate list. Name them, by all means, but do not desecrate those who died at their hands. They do not belong together!

McPherson’s could teach Bertocchi an important lesson

liligans So you think you're cultured?, What Pisses me off

I am sitting at my desk opening a package from McPherson’s Consumer Products. Inside the jiffy bag I find a pair of Manicare cuticle clippers.

These have been sent to me as a replacement for a pair of clippers that had become blunt. When I had inquired how long such clippers should stay sharp McPherson’s immediately offered to replace them. I sent them a photo of the clippers to prove that I did indeed own a pair and in a couple of days the parcel arrived.

Now that’s how business should be done! Customer service is extremely important. It goes without saying that companies such as McPherson’s believe in keeping faith with a customer.

Unlike Bertocchi Smallgoods who caused me such grief with their false labelling and when I asked them about the ingredients they informed me that the labelling on their product was incorrect because they were trying to use up old casing.

What they should have done is to treat me with courtesy. But they didn’t and it was up to Woolworths to handle the problem.

Needless to say I have not bought any Bertocchi smallgoods since. However, I would not hesitate to buy a McPherson’s product in the future because they stand by their customers.

The results are in. Rudd has lost and Australia has won

liligans Politics

It was always a personal thing with me. I had met former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, years ago and he struck me then as a very supercilious person who would say anything and do anything to get power.

Years layer I was to have my opinion confirmed when he did a backflip on certain issues that he had sworn by.

I guess all politicians change their minds as time goes on, but in Rudd’s case it was a conviction betrayal. He pretended to support a cause and then betrayed it when it suited him to.

I never forget a betrayal.

If you want an example of how low Rudd can stoop one only has to think of his farewell speech when his party lost the election. He could not resist saying ‘”Eat your heart out” to Dr Bill Glasson who had not succeeded in winning the seat which they both contested.

In my opinion, that is very un-Australian and I was never convinced that Rudd was pro-Australia.

Tony Abbott avoided sleaze during the election campaign

liligans Politics

When you think about it Tony Abbott could have thrown many more blows at the Prime Minister. There was the terrible outburst against the Chinese Embassy staff who did not translate some Chinese message for him. He threw a hissy fit then and even used pretty shocking expletives.

And yet, Abbott chose not to capitalise on Rudd’s bad temper. Abbott also had at his disposal the recorded clips of the former ministers and caucus members of the Labor Party who announced to the whole of Australia and the world how difficult Rudd was to deal with.

They chose to go to the backbench or even resign rather than serve in the government with Rudd.

They couldn’t stand the way he did business.

Abbott had all of this dynamite stuff at his disposal. He could have used it and yet he didn’t. I think it was because he didn’t want to stoop to conquer. He allowed Rudd to be negative and hysterical in his attacks on Abbott.

All this made Abbott look good. He remained calm and in control while Rudd continued to rave on. I’m convinced that in Rudd’s dictionary the words “brief” and “concise” do not exist. He simply couldn’t stop himself from going on and on.

The results of the election aren’t in yet, but whatever the outcome, Abbott has gained my respect.

What’s with the mothers and their battering prams?

liligans Society, What Pisses me off

I find myself cringing as a couple of yummy mummies head towards me with their prams. It wouldn’t be so bad if they looked where they were going.

But they don’t.

Here they come, oblivious of anyone one else on the planet. They won’t see me because they are talking to one another and it wouldn’t matter if there was an abyss lying before them. They would keep on hurtling towards it because they just don’t give a damn.

If I don’t jump to one side they would mow me down with their battering prams. And they wouldn’t even notice.

And if they are not having a chat then they are texting on their smart phones. You often see a solitary pram pusher looking down at the phone, walking along blindly while her baby screeches its head off.

Now it’s times like these that I wish there were some abyss in front of these creatures. Of course this will not happen [unfortunately] but it explains the smile on my face as I imagine them texting whoever. “Fell down a hole. Thank God my phone is okay.” And then they might remember the pram.

Why Prime Minister Rudd hurried to Canberra

liligans Politics, totally absurd

You would have to be an absolute twit to believe that Kevin Rudd has scurried back to Canberra because of the Syrian crisis. This is the excuse he gave today for diverting his election campaign. He tells us that he has to confer with other world leaders (ha!) about what’s happening in the Middle East.

Apparently without our glorious leader the rest of the world would not know how to handle the latest developments in Syria.

Not bloody likely, is what I say.

My take on this is that the polls are looking downcast for Rudd; so he has skedaddled to Canberra to reassess his modus operandi in the campaign. Why he is doing so badly is what he has to discuss with the rest of the Labor mavens. What can be done to salvage an election campaign that is floundering.

Okay, so I’m a cynic about it all. I don’t believe the Rudd excuse that he intends to solve the Syrian conflict and that the people of Australia are waiting on his report. After all, it’s been going on for TWO Years now. Surely he cannot be that arrogant as to imagine that he has a contribution to make when it comes to the Middle East.

Not even Prime Minister Rudd can have such delusions of grandeur. And that’s saying something.

The Saga continues and our credulity is stretched even further.

It turns out that amidst this Syrian security panic briefing the Prime Minister found time to film a two-hour episode of Kitchen Cabinet. It’s a cooking show with celebrities being interviewed. Apparently, according to Rudd, the other participants in the Syrian saga roundup were not available, so Rudd had to wait for them and during that period he starred in a TV show.

So we are supposed to believe that the Syrian briefing was an emergency but not enough of an emergency, apparently, to make certain that everyone of the people involved turned up at the appointed time. That’s why Rudd had plenty of time to film the cooking show.

Clear as mud or is that clear as Rudd?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd cheated in the debate!

liligans Politics

Imagine you turned up to an exam with some notes on which you relied. Not nice or fair or honest, is it? Especially if you had been told that notes were illegal.

Well, guess what? It’s what our desperate Prime Minister did last night during the “The Great Debate” with Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott. Rudd referred to his notes all the time and this created a terrible impression. He appeared unsure of himself and became boring as he tried to include every point he had ever made.

He simply would not stick to the subject and answer the specific question that had been posed. Nor could he help himself about making long lists and enumerating them with the aid of notes.

Australians feel strongly about “a fair go”. They respect people who play fairly, who play by the rules or else it’s simply not “fair dinkum” and they disapprove vehemently of being conned. Unfortunately, Rudd is not above cheating in a debate as he demonstrated last night.

On being questioned about this unethical behaviour Rudd explained that he did not know he could not rely on notes. Hard to believe isn’t it? But let’s say that he really did not know, then how come his advisers did not tell him not to cheat?

Was it because they didn’t dare correct him since he is known to be such a tyrant who baulks at advice? Or was it perhaps because his advisers did not know about the prohibition of notes because they hail from the U.S.A? You see Rudd did not think that Australian advisers were good enough for him?

He could be right.

I don’t give a damn about football!

liligans So you think you're cultured?, What Pisses me off

If you choose to live in Melbourne, Australia, you will be living in the most liveable city. So they tell us in their logo.

What they don’t tell you is that this city is a sportocracy. You had better watch sport, breathe sport, and follow your favourite team or else. If you actually confess like the witches of Salem might have done that you don’t care, you will be shunned or drawn and quartered. Or even thrown down a well to see if you sink.

All this and worse will happen to you because you will be accused of being an heretic. In summer you will have to talk cricket and horse racing. In winter it’s the good old football and heaven help you if Monday morning comes, as it does after Saturday and Sunday, and you are not prepared to discuss the scores.

Now you would imagine that the followers of football and other games are athletic. You might imagine that they partake of exercise now and then. Maybe on their birthdays perhaps. But no, that is not the case for the majority of fans. Their athletic prowess consists of painting their faces in the team colours and then carting food to the matches where they will hoot and chant in support of “their team.”

So it’s really nothing to do with sport and everything to do with belonging. These fans want to belong to a tribe of supporters of a certain group of gladiators, say. They want to be in on something that will make them feel as if life is not so dreary.

And there’s nothing very wrong with that except that in Melbourne you will be given the results of the sporting match before you hear of any other news.

For those of us who really, honestly don’t give a hoot about this tribalism, things can get pretty tedious.

I am now aware that there is drug cheating going on in football. Now there’s a surprise! I am aware of someone called Andrew Demetriou whose name is mentioned more often than our publicity-seeking Prime Minister’s. No mean feat I tell you if you are familiar with Kevin Rudd.

What I am truly surprised about is that there is surprise at all?

After all, sports is about big business, big money, brief careers during which you have to earn as much money as you can because in a few years’ time you will be forgotten.

So why not do everything to achieve success for yourself and your team?

Do we honestly believe that people will stop cheating in this world of supplements and sophisticated sports medicine?

You can’t stem the tide now even if you have a thousand inquires into cheating etc.

But if it’s a circus you want then by all means follow sport. It’s just another religion.
And anyway, it’s safer than holding demonstrations in some square or other, I guess.

Wow! “Still Mine” – Another depressing film about dementia!

liligans Films, So you think you're cultured?, Society

I just heard a review of a film which is catering to the senior market. It’s called “Still Mine” and is, wait for it, another film about an old person with Alzheimer’s. Now that makes more than four films in the past year that have dealt specifically with one of the characters going bonkers and how everyone copes with it.

The reviewer said that this film is for the senior market because seniors don’t want action movies or silly teenage romances. He is correct there.

But do we really want to see yet another a film about dementia, euthanasia and other depressing subjects when we go out on the town?

I prefer “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” which did not deal with the so-called morbid side of life. It was fun, uplifting and a pleasure to see.

I’m not avoiding the serious issues but I would rather enjoy my outing to the theatre than be confronted by the spectre of death and misery. If I want to see that I only have to switch on the TV to a news channel and I can access all the hopeless reality of this world.

Enough is enough! Give us something positive, worth going out for and spending our money.