News and current affairs
The memorial service for the victims of the Kerang disaster was this afternoon. One can only hope that it provided some solace to their friends and family. Life for the rest of us goes on. It’s been interesting to read the thoughts of some of those close to the scene. Katrina, a Kerang local writes ... [More]
So, John Laws is retiring. I liked Matthew Ricketson’s report, which talked about “a conga line of” praising politicians — surely referencing Mark Latham’s “conga line of suckholes”. Lawsy might air on 71 radio stations around the country, but that doesn’t include any in Melbourne. I’d like to think we’re a bit more cynical (particularly ... [More]
A shooting yesterday morning in the city (a few blocks from where I work) left one dead and two injured. Quite an unusual event, which had police and media swarming over the area. A Channel 10 cameraman I spoke to said it was pandemonium in their newsroom. (But no, despite what you might have read, ... [More]
Wanted fugitive Tony Mokbel got busted in Greece last week. Did you see his fake driver’s licence in the newspaper? Take a look. A licence supposedly for NSW has a VicRoads logo on it. That’s sloppy, that’s what it is. How and why would you fake an ID that was so obviously flawed, such that ... [More]
In my years of blogging, I have so far managed to avoid mentioning Paris Hilton. Because up until now, I’d considered her to be nothing more than a waste of oxygen and newsprint. Seriously, I’d hoped that her incarceration would mean she’d be out of the news for a few weeks. I should have known ... [More]
Winter has arrived. The heating’s back in use, and I’ve started wearing jackets to work again, after some time of managing to avoid it. (Normally if the forecast high is at 20 degrees or higher, it’s not worth taking a jacket, since I only end up sweating on the walk from the station, and at ... [More]
David Hicks may be coming home, but Hew Griffiths has been extradited to the USA on charges of copyright infringement. He allegedly cracked software and distributed it for free — with the US-based copyright holders claiming it cost them A$60 million in lost revenue. In 2003, the US Department of Justice charged Griffiths with violating ... [More]
Good numbers, considering it had poured with rain a couple of hours earlier. Human sign, as seen from ABC helicopter. Channel 7 also sent a chopper. We were on the A in “Climate”, where the cross-bar thingy meets the right hand side. Shot after the sign. They reckon about 2500 people turned up in all, ... [More]
There’s not much you can say about the tragic events at Virginia Tech yesterday. Just terrible, awful stuff. But I would note this: After Australia’s Port Arthur massacre in 1996, the State and Federal governments moved to ban a large number of weapons, and tighten controls on others. Since then, there has been no mass ... [More]
So today we’ve had the Citylink tunnels closed due to a fatal crash, a gas leak in Malvern causing the suspension of Frankston and Dandenong trains, a big grass fire in Sunshine, and vomit-inducing fumes last night at a restaurant in Doncaster. And I heard a truckload of (non-flammable, apparently) orange bottles spilled all over ... [More]
Santoro’s out. I think it’s kind of a shame. It’s rare that the Australian parliament can boast his level of alliteration. He wasn’t just Santo Santoro, he was Senator Santo Santoro. A few months ago I mentioned theories about fluoride improving dental health. Now a study has concluded that yes, it’s made a big difference. ... [More]
Was out and about on Sunday. It was Clean Up Australia Day. Not apparent that anybody was actually cleaning up, and I saw more scrap newspaper in the street than in quite some time. I know they tend to concentrate on parks and beaches and so on, and often for bigger problems than litter. All ... [More]
So, did we all get the fake SMS from Connex last night? I certainly did. Looks like lots did. ALLAHU AKBR FROM CONNEX! our inspectorS Love Killing people – If you see one coming, run. Want to bomb a train? they will gladly help! See you in hell! Shame they can’t spell. The followup, later ... [More]
At first glance, to someone living my busy-but-comfortable life, the world is a pretty nice place. The trees are green, the birds noisy but happy, the neighbours are friendly, the paper arrives on the lawn every day and food and drink are plentiful. But you only have to watch the news to know that much ... [More]
The Australian government is going to get conventional (incandescent) light globes phased out in favour of energy efficient bulbs. Obviously this will save people money on their power bills. And it’ll reduce household emissions. Up to 75% of emissions from household lighting will be saved. How much is that? Ummm… Well, not that much at ... [More]
Yesterday at Fed Square, the white stationwagons were a dead giveaway that the TV guys were around. Sure enough, across the road on Princes Bridge, Ted was fronting the cameras. I got my go a few minutes later. (It was one of those days, if you didn’t know.) In the pack I can see Alan ... [More]