blamebrampton (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
blamebrampton) wrote2009-08-12 11:38 pm
blamebrampton) wrote2009-08-12 11:38 pm
Time ... keeps flowing like a river ...
A really really fast river with rapids.
Anyway, a couple of very short political rants today. Christopher Pyne, who is the Gregory Goyle of Australian politics (one of the main sidekicks of Opposition Leader Malcolm 'Draco Malfoy' Turnbull) blathered through a news interview that his party was going to join with independents to vote down the government's carbon trading bill because, in part, he wants to wait for the American model and follow it.
With the greatest respect to American flisters, following American political models is akin to saying 'we would like a complex, expensive and unwieldy system that we can pretend works'. Furthermore, given the fact that the US population is some 15 times the Australian, spread over a mostly similar land area, the American model, whatever it ends up being, will not smoothly translate to this country.
Regarding the US, Investor's Business Daily had a fascinating editorial on why socialised healthcare is akin to instant death, including the immortal line: 'People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.'
Alas, it has since been amended, though they at least admit to the error. A bit.
In happy news today, another friend is in town and we found her a very lovely skirt for $40, which turned out to be on special and marked down to $12. And Ben and Jerry's is coming to Sydney. Now if only Boots and Dalloyau would appear and Perugina would sell their Nero hot chocolate powder here, I might stay forever.
Back to editing, housecleaning, writing and a wee spot of sleep ...
Anyway, a couple of very short political rants today. Christopher Pyne, who is the Gregory Goyle of Australian politics (one of the main sidekicks of Opposition Leader Malcolm 'Draco Malfoy' Turnbull) blathered through a news interview that his party was going to join with independents to vote down the government's carbon trading bill because, in part, he wants to wait for the American model and follow it.
With the greatest respect to American flisters, following American political models is akin to saying 'we would like a complex, expensive and unwieldy system that we can pretend works'. Furthermore, given the fact that the US population is some 15 times the Australian, spread over a mostly similar land area, the American model, whatever it ends up being, will not smoothly translate to this country.
Regarding the US, Investor's Business Daily had a fascinating editorial on why socialised healthcare is akin to instant death, including the immortal line: 'People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.'
Alas, it has since been amended, though they at least admit to the error. A bit.
In happy news today, another friend is in town and we found her a very lovely skirt for $40, which turned out to be on special and marked down to $12. And Ben and Jerry's is coming to Sydney. Now if only Boots and Dalloyau would appear and Perugina would sell their Nero hot chocolate powder here, I might stay forever.
Back to editing, housecleaning, writing and a wee spot of sleep ...
no subject
The last time I was in the US I had a woman ask me how I could possibly feel safe living in Australia after the government came door to door and took all of our guns away (presumably a reference to the gun buy-back scheme and amnesty after the Port Arthur massacre in which a lone loony killed 35 people using high-powered weaponry). I pointed out that this had never happened, and that most Australians didn't own guns anyway.
She assured me that it had happened, and that I was clearly just covering up because I was a loyal Australian.
I pointed out that I am British, and live in Australia.
She tutted 'Socialist' and walked off.
I supposed the difference between socialised services and socialist services has never really been made clear on that side of the Pacific/Atlantic ...
no subject
Yes, British always equals Socialist, we've known that since Maggie Thatcher, right...
"socialsed services and socialist services" - I've got to remember that one.
I always snicker when I read something about someone in the US being deadly afraid of Communists - they wouldn't know one if it bit them in the ass! Over here we've got quite a few of them in active politics, and they average just as many loonies as the other parties do, not a big distinction.