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Diary of a B+ Grade Polymath ([personal profile] tcpip) wrote2006-04-17 10:22 am

Zombie Jesus Holiday News, and The Cole Commission.

Big event for Zombie Jesus day was playing GURPS Bunnies & Burrows with some fellow rabbits. It is a game certainly deserving of its cult-status. The night before [livejournal.com profile] caseopaya and myself took [livejournal.com profile] log_reloaded out for her 21st birthday with her partner Jase and her mother and her partner (got all that?) also in attendance seeing Ross Noble at the Melbourne Town Hall. He's not bad; sort of a Northumbrian version of Billy Connoly, but not quite as funny (yet - he's still young).

Once a year [livejournal.com profile] caseopaya and I consume red meat (well, I have a taste here and there) and when most other folk in Christendom are not; Good Friday (aka "Dead Jew on a Stick Day"). This years meaty feast was Hungarian goulash. You just can't have too much paprika.

Our trustworthy Prime Minister claims that he never saw any of the 21 diplomatic cables between warning of AWB bribery claiming that AWB tricked him. But he acknowledges that he was aware that sanctions were being broken. So is he incompetent or a liar? In either case he is not fit to hold office. Trade Minister Mark Vaile knew nothing and did less as he ignored 31 cables.

Summary courtesy of [livejournal.com profile] greylock on Mark Vaile's performance

* "Incompetent" and "buck-passing" – Dennis Shanahan, The Australian
* "The Trade Minister doesn't have a clue." - Neil Chenoweth, Financial Review
* "Quietly and with an air of polite resolution, Mr Agius carved the minister up". – David Marr, Sydney Morning Herald
* " ...at best, totally naive and, at worst, frighteningly incompetent." – Michelle Grattan, The Age
* "Vaile floundered." – Matt Price, The Australian
* "It can be fairly said that Mr Vaile has probably enjoyed better days in his political career." – Kerry O'Brien, The 7.30 report
* "... a picture of incurious and incompetent ministerial oversight." – Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald

Weird links of the week goes to the Anarchist Icecream van and O RLY the Owl.

[identity profile] mortonhall.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
I think Ross Noble probably peaked a few years ago. We've seen him every year at the Comedy Festival and I don't think he's as sharp as he was the first 3 or 4 times. I reckon he's losing his touch as he gets older - or maybe it's that living-in-Melbourne-thing that's killing his comedy

[identity profile] tabouli.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
Zombie Jesus Day! Heh heh heh...

[identity profile] caseopaya.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
It would have been even better if I could have actually tasted the goulash! (damned colds)

[identity profile] stephen-dedman.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
My favourite comment on the AWB affair came from crikey.com.au:

Here in the Crikey bunker we have been furiously hunting the Cole Commission
transcripts for a tally of how many times the memories of our government
ministers, officials and AWB executives have lapsed. How many times the key
witnesses at the Cole inquiry have answered questions with phrases like: "I
can't recall", "not to my knowledge", "I don't know", "I'm not across that
detail", "I'm not sure", "I'm not certain" and "not that I'm aware of".
So here it is - the 2006 Australian Leadership & Competence Index:
John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia - 2 times at least (subject to transcript)
Mark Vaile, Deputy PM and Trade Minister - 44 times
Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs - 62 times
Andrew Lindberg, Managing Director of AWB - 733 times
Trevor Flugge, Chairman AWB - 201 times
Michael Long, General Manager, AWB International Sales and Marketing Division -
138 times
Peter Geary, Domestic and Global Trading International Sales and Marketing, Risk
Management - 275 times
Paul Ingleby, CFO AWB - 30 times
Charles Stott, Marketing Chief AWB - 24 times
Ian Donges, International Chairman AWB - 74 times
Richard Fuller, Company Secretary and Director AWB - 37 times
Jim Cooper, Counsel and Company Secretary AWB - 94 times
Brendan Stewart, Chairman AWB - 43 times
That comes to 1757 expressions of ignorance, denial, obfuscation, memory lapse, vagueness and incompetence we can find by a range of people in influential leadership positions in Australian government and business.

TICU...bat chain puller or the best batch yet?

[identity profile] imajica-lj.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Why do I get the feeling that the vans "come hither" music would be a perpetually looped tape of everything Captain Beefheart ever produced?

Happy miss-appropriated fertility festival guys.

Terminology

[identity profile] laura-seabrook.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 10:47 am (UTC)(link)
Zombie Jesus day

I love it - yes! Much better than "Ressurection Sunday" which I read the other day.

[identity profile] evil-genius.livejournal.com 2006-04-17 12:27 pm (UTC)(link)
You know you want to move to New Zealand......

[identity profile] horngirl.livejournal.com 2006-04-18 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
You just know I have to comment on this...

AFAIC, that is not a recipe for gulyas, if you're trying to be authentic. I know it says everyone has their own version, and that's probably true, but the stuff I was brought up on has many more vegetables and no dumplings.

So there ;-)