The IOC sold the world an Olympic lemon

The 2008 Olympics can never be called the 'best ever' for any of its events or features.
Beijing smog so thick that you often can't see the surrounding streets, fake televised fireworks, empty seats in stadiums, no-one allowed to attend the outdoor events, oppressive state security, tickets priced beyond the means of ordinary Chinese citizens.
Day 6 and nobody in my house is even bothering to turn on the t.v. anymore.

Channel 7 and SBS wasted their money buying broadcasting rights.
Those fat cats on the International Olympic Committee should be ashamed of themselves.
Even the 1936 Berlin Games were better managed!

Graphic found at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Update:

Chinese Government ordered featured child performance faked.

Everyone acting too late for the Lower Murray to survive

Isn't it marvellous. After decades of warnings and years of inaction, suddenly the move is on to save the lower sections of the Murray River system.

It's almost laughable that independent Senator Nick Xenaphon is reported in The Age as calling on people power to save the Coorong and Lower Lakes.

Speaking at a protest meeting yesterday in the Murray River town of Goolwa, where about 2000 people observed a minute's silence for a river system dying from the bottom up, Senator Xenophon challenged federal Water Minister Penny Wong's recent assertion that no extra water could be found upstream to save the lakes.
"I say, Penny, look harder," Senator Xenophon said. He urged the rally, held in Alexander Downer's former seat of Mayo — which will be contested by Liberal Jamie Briggs at a federal byelection on September 6 — to use "people power" and public pressure to force the Federal Government to act.....
"Why should we sacrifice Storm Boy country so that big business can grow crops in the driest continent on earth?" Senator Xenophon said. "Why have we abandoned our international obligations to the lower lakes so that managed investment schemes can fatten the wallets of well-heeled city investors who couldn't find the Coorong on a map?"

Where was Nick Xenaphon and those 2,000 over the last six years? Probably still supporting the overallocation of water resources in their own state and local government areas.
Most were almost certainly not camping at the doors of then prime minister John Howard and then federal environment minister Malcolm Turnbull asking for them to act and act now.

Unfortunately for communities on the Lower Murray and the nation as a whole, the Murray Darling Basin Commission is correct when it states that water released from northern basin storage points would not make it down the length of the river system as far as the Lower Lakes in any appreciable volume.

It is of no use whatsoever to blame this state of affairs on the current Rudd Government, which has been in power for only nine and a half months.

The entire nation spent too much time heeding the expedient words of politicians of all persuasions, allowing the rapacious agendas of irrigators to hold sway and giving too much credence to climate change naysayers.

We have all killed the Murray Darling river system in its historical form.

It is now only a myth we can recount to our great-grandchildren.

So you think you can run a council.........

There are nine elected shire councillor positions on Clarence Valley Council.
The line up of candidates for the Clarence Valley local government election next month now stands at eleven according to the NSW Electoral Commission last night.

CHALLACOMBE Jeremy
COMBEN Patrick (Independent)
HOWE Craig (Independent)
HUGHES Sue (Independent)
KRISTOFFERSEN Kurt (Independent)
PEARCE Dennis (Independent)
PHILBROOK Don (Independent)
SIMMONS Jim (Independent) - current councillor
TILEY Ian (Independent) - current mayor
TOMS Karen (Independent)
WILLIAMSON Richie (Independent) - current councillor

Nominations close at noon on Wednesday 13 August for the 13 September 2008 election, but the unproven, very eager Kurt Kristoffersen has been first cab off the rank with a campaign leaflet which turned up in local letter boxes this week.

Small problem for Mr. Kristoffersen though - his leaflet appears to breach the legislated requirements for formal authorisation of election material.

Even if he squeaks through on just a post box address (outside of the suburb where he lives), a mobile telephone number and a Hotmail email address for himself as candidate - there is absolutely no printer's name and physical address anywhere on the leaflet in question.

Click on images to enlarge

Apparently a local tried to give him the hint about this problem, but he insisted that all was proper and correct.
Don't like his chances if someone complains to the NSW Electoral Commissioner.

Mr. Kristoffersen gets 8 marks deducted for failing to read the relevant legislation, 1 mark off for not proofreading his work to avoid an unnecessary misspelling, another mark off for promising to freeze rate revenues if elected to a cash strapped regional council and, 1 mark awarded to him for a photograph which demonstrates that he at least knows how to use hair gel.

Leaving this candidate with 1 out of 10.

UPDATE:

Further candidates listed this morning, bringing the field up to fourteen:

BLOOMER Liza(Independent)

CLAGUE Grace

MAHER Maurie

Australian Law Reform Commission deserves a medal

You've got to admire the guts shown by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC).

With the Rudd Government still dragging its heels on implementing the very moderate reforms to sedition laws recommended by the commission two years ago and within a week of the Iemma Government giving NSW Police carte blanche to bug our phones and read our emails without first getting a warrant; the ALRC presents its report "For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice".

I'll be blowed if I know why it hopes that pollies will be bothered to even read the executive summary, public servants be moved to do anything but buttress their 'right' to supadupa unsafe data bases or business curtail that endless quest for more and more information it can crunch into digital form and on sell - but I appreciate the incurable optimism displayed.

I almost feel like yelling G'arn The Weis!

Here is the Executive Summary if you feel like a read.

Here and here are press articles.

Obama cult reaches new highs and lows, with nasty language on the side

There appears to be a new way of greeting Barack Obama on the move in America according to USNews.

The Loyalty Inc creative agency has come up with this hands above the head salute:

Image from Washington Whispers column.

Obama's campaign website also continues its links to help the faithful fight the smears he alleges are being spread about him and the finger is pointed at Republican ad man Floyd Brown.

Now Floyd has a somewhat dubious history with campaign advertising, but just in case you thought that Obama supporters were pure souls on the side of angels Expose Obama has rather naughtily created links to some of the more colourful language used in reply.

Here are three examples *Warning: language is graphic*

Date: Jun 20 2008 09:04:15 PM
From: anonymous

Date: Jun 21 2008 03:45:14 AM
From: anonymous

Date: Jun 20 2008 10:03:45 PM
From: anonymous

Northern Rivers Tourism launches new website

Northern Rivers Tourism has revamped its website to showcase Australia's rivers of life.

Stretching from the mighty Clarence River up to Tweed Heads on the Queensland border and out to the foothills of the Great Divide, the Northern Rivers region of NSW is an intriguing blend of old- school and new-age. It’s where the world’s largest expanse of subtropical rainforest meets mountains forged from ancient volcanoes, overlooking more than 300 kilometres of spectacular coastline.
In this one compact region, you’ll discover the endless stretch of Pacific Coast beaches that gave rise to the Australian surfing legend; lush rolling countryside dotted with quaint and quirky townships; rugged cattle country; mystical rainforests; and deep river gorges disappearing up into the mountains..
Counter-culturalists, environmentalists, farmers, artists, academics, entertainers, entrepreneurs and more co-exist in a unique collection of communities. If nothing else, they have this in common; an appreciation that this region offers an unrivalled quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

Sure that we locals can vouch for the truth of this. Why don't you come and see for yourself?

U.S. officials now standup comedians

Sometimes I wonder how unnamed government officials feel playing straight men to those clowns in the Bush Administration.

This turned up in the Google online news yesterday.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia's use of overwhelming military force against Georgia, including strategic bombers and ballistic missiles, is disproportionate to any threat from the former Soviet state and could escalate tensions in the volatile region, a senior U.S. official said Saturday."

Oh please Dubbya, this is exactly what yaw'll did in Iraq, with a little help from Howard and Blair.
Do you seriously think the Russians are going to listen to such a morally bankrupt mob as yourselves?
They must be roaring into their vodka and slapping their knees since that little gem came down the wires.

After all, the West's behaviour since 9/11 virtually gave them permission to act like a Vandal horde.