Metlink, Melbourne’s public transport corporation are a firm believer in global warming, and have produced a raft of ads aimed at convincing people to ditch “harmful” private vehicles in favour of public transport. I am at odds with their view on the matter of global warming, however I admire their creativity in producing their ads.
One of their ads from last year was about the (I’m sure they would agree, exaggerated) effects of buying a car. The ad was so amusing that I recorded a number of ad breaks on 3AW in an effort to capture this one ad. Enjoy!
And while we’re here, a bit of self-deprecating humour. Whilst recording the afternoon news headlines for AIR News on Tuesday, I just couldn’t get my tongue around a handful of sentences…oh, and I had a wrong figure in there too…see if you can find it.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/headlines-stuffup20090407.mp3] Download MP3
The great joy of pre-recording is that I was able to correct the mistakes in a subsequent take. Normally if I have a tongue-tied moment in a pre-record (it happens every now and then) I either edit it out or re-record, however on this occasion I was amused by it, so I saved it for posterity.
As I am going to be extremely busy with other commitments over the next few days, I’m making a few changes to the Easter weekend schedule for this blog.
Friday Funnies will be moved to today.
Samuel’s Musician(s) Of The Week will be moved to Monday.
The Weekly Poll will be published today.
Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday and Easter Monday will primarily consist of pre-written, scheduled content, mostly videos. I will use the weekend to try to clear the smallish backlog of stuff that I’ve been meaning to write about, but haven’t found the time to do so.
I will be around to reply to comments, but for the most part this blog will be in automation mode over the weekend. I will return to regular blogging on Tuesday, as I intend on relaxing on Monday after my nine days of busyness which wraps up with a climax of busyness on Sunday.
I wish you all a wonderful Easter weekend, and safe travels if you happen to be travelling.
Since writing about the new episode of Red Dwarf which will air over the Easter weekend a few months ago, I’ve noticed a few people landing here by searching for the screening times of the episodes.
Seeing as I would like to know as well, I’ve checked the UK TV guides for Channel “Dave”, and here it is:
Episode one will air at 9PM Friday April 10 London time (GMT+1), which is 6am Saturday Canberra time.
Episode two will air at 9PM Saturday April 11 London time (GMT+1), which is 6am Sunday Canberra time.
Episode three will air at 9PM Sunday April 12 London time (GMT+1), which is 6am Monday Canberra time.
The “making of” special for the three episodes will air at 9:30PM Sunday April 12 London time (GMT+1), which is 6:30am Monday Canberra time.
I’m not going to post the synopsis of the episodes here as I don’t want to read any details before seeing the shows. No Australian network has purchased the rights to the episodes as yet, however I’m sure there will be downloads (legal or otherwise) of the episodes shortly after they air on “Channel Dave”.
I suppose it’s possible that this is a new revenue raising measure for the New South Wales Government who own NSW Lotteries. You can buy a ticket, but you can’t win anything, so all the money goes to general revenue.
Even so, I’m sure the New South Wales Government would find a way to waste it like they’ve wasted almost every other dollar in their budget.
Apparently the NSW Lotteries site has been fixed since the screenshot was taken…but it was so amusing that I couldn’t resist posting it. Many thanks to Frankster for the screenshot.
It doesn’t look like Nielsen Media Research have placed the full results online yet, however Jock’s Journal have this brief blurb:
104.7 has rated No 1 in the latest Canberra ratings (Nielsen Media Research – People 10+ Sun-Mon). They were followed by ABC 666 with 19%, then Mix 106.3 – 16%. 2CA rated 5.9% with sister station 2CC on 5.6%.
I’m assuming that they mean “Sunday to Saturday” and not “Sunday to Monday”.
Originally my plan was to wipe out my debt with the $900 stimulus payment (which hasn’t arrived yet…which is most annoying as when it arrives my net worth, not including debts, will be somewhere in the range of $905). Unfortunately I’m no longer in a position to do that, although I’ll probably have to use some of it to keep my debts in check. At the moment I’m really only in a position to hoard most of the payment and treat it as income rather than a spending spree.
That said, there is one thing which I will be spending money on. It’s US talk radio host Mark Levin’s new book “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto“, and in the spirit of the stimulus payments I will see if any of the local book stores can get it in quickly…but if they can’t I’ll just buy it from Amazon…and probably buy two in order to make the shipping worthwhile. That way I can keep a copy for myself, and give away a copy to somebody on this blog through some form of competition.
I’ve heard Mark talk about the book on his show (although I don’t hear much of his show so it was only brief) and I was very interested by the hour that Sean Hannity dedicated to interviewing Mark about the book. As a “Hannity Insider” I was able to get my hands on the audio from that interview without ads (although I’ve left Sean’s live-read ad in…it’s the least I can do in exchange for publishing an hour of his show here). If you’ve got 36 minutes to spare (or even if you don’t) I’d recommend taking a listen as Mark outlines what’s in the book and why he wrote it.
Or if you don’t have time for that, enjoy Mark’s shorter chat with KXNT Las Vegas’ Alan Stock which goes for 16 minutes.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/MarkLevinBook-KXNTAlanStock.mp3] Download MP3
Personally, I enjoyed both.
Incidentally, here’s the synopsis that has been sent out to book stores:
Product Description
Conservative talk radio’s fastest-growing superstar is also a New York Times bestselling phenomenon: the author of the groundbreaking critique of the Supreme Court, Men in Black, and the deeply personal dog lover’s memoir Rescuing Sprite, Mark R. Levin now delivers the book that characterizes both his devotion to his more than 5 million listeners and his love of our country and the legacy of our Founding Fathers: Liberty and Tyranny is Mark R. Levin’s clarion call to conservative America, a new manifesto for the conservative movement for the 21st century.
In the face of the modern liberal assault on Constitution-based values, an attack that has steadily snowballed since President Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s and resulted in a federal government that is a massive, unaccountable conglomerate, the time for re-enforcing the intellectual and practical case for conservatism is now. Conservative beliefs in individual freedoms do in the end stand for liberty for all Americans, while liberal dictates lead to the breakdown of civilized society — in short, tyranny. Looking back to look to the future, Levin writes “conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are our founding principles.” And in a series of powerful essays, Levin lays out how conservatives can counter the liberal corrosion that has filtered into every timely issue affecting our daily lives, from the economy to health care, global warming, immigration, and more — and illustrates how change, as seen through the conservative lens, is always prudent, and always an enhancement to individual freedom.
As provocative, well-reasoned, robust, and informed as his on-air commentary, Levin’s narrative will galvanize readers to begin a new era in conservative thinking and action. Liberty and Tyranny provides a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for revitalizing the conservative vision and ensuring the preservation of American society.
About the Author
Mark R. Levin is a nationally syndicated talk radio host and president of Landmark Legal Foundation. He has also worked as an attorney in the private sector and as a top adviser and administrator to several members of President Reagan’s cabinet. The author of the New York Times bestselling books Rescuing Sprite and Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America, Mark holds a B.A. from Temple University and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law.
Canberra airport bosses say a three-year .. 350-million dollar makeover will make it the best airport in Australia.
Managing director STEPHEN BYRON was speaking at the launch of the start of construction on the airport’s new environmentally-friendly southern concourse terminal today.
He says the Commonwealth Bank of Australia .. Westpac and WestLB will provide more than 330-million dollars to fund the project .. dubbed AirVolution.
Travellers will eventually benefit from the installation of international capabilities .. including immigration and customs .. more than double the number of check-in counters .. triple the baggage capacity and quadruple the airline club lounge areas.
About time! As Canberra grows, this is precisely the sort of infrastructure upgrade the city needs. With any luck, direct international flights to Canberra will help with tourism as well.
Some days I’m astounded by the stuff which AAP distribute without any proofreading:
NT: Some communication services restored to NT
Telstra is still trying to get to the bottom of a 10-hour communication blackout that cut the Northern Territory off from the rest of Australia.
Territorians awoke this morning to find internet .. mobile phone and STD land connections were down .. along with most ATM services.
Telstra says a system failure near Kununurra in Western Australia overnight saw network traffic redirected through Marla in South Australia .. but it also failed.
Technicians were flown in to both remoted site .. and NT services were restored about 11am (CST).
Telstra spokesman MARK SWEET says the telco will find out what caused the unprecedented occurrence that left Territorians scrabbling for coffee money .. unable to access ATMs.
I didn’t know that people played Scrabble to get coffee money, or that remote sites could be “remoted”…maybe I’m just leading a sheltered life.
On the bright side, at least today’s stuff is readable. One of the main stories yesterday contained a sentence which I had to read four times just to work out what they were trying to say so that I could rewrite it and make it make sense.
Or so a spammer by the name of Sqnj Egywahy would like me to believe.
Apparently this sister worries about me so much that she arranges for ” Ipolqeogoj” to send blank newsletters (copyright Eigqhux) and images of Viagra tablets to me.
Such a thoughtful sister. Remind me to send her a roll of exposed film and a used bus ticket at Christmas.
My response to Sheridan Voysey’s question “Is it ok for employers to check what their workers are saying online?”, which was posed in regards to Facebook in particular on Open House on Canberra’s 1WAY FM.
Yes, and if you don’t want them to see what you’re saying, use the privacy controls to prevent them from seeing it. If it’s publicly viewable, it’s fair game in my books.
And it’s not just Facebook. I have no issue with an employer or a potential employer checking up on what I say on this website, or on the radio, or anywhere else that is public.
There is a vast difference between what is said publicly online, and what is said privately between friends. For example, if I say “the company I work for will go broke in two weeks if they keep spending money like this” publicly, it could have an adverse effect on the company, whereas if I say it privately to a friend, it’s not likely to have any impact on the company.
In this example, the comment is almost certainly tongue-in-cheek, and most people reading the text version would not understand that because, as I’ve said many times, text is not particularly good at carrying subtle humour.
I’d be interested in hearing what you think about this, but I will ask you to refrain from calling this “Facebook bashing” because I’m close to signing up again at the request and suggestion of a few people who I will not name here.
It’s back, hopefully on a regular (read: weekly) basis, but that all depends on my ability to actually remember to write the article each week.
This week’s award goes to Duran Duran, and the feature song is “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise”.
Now the time has come (has come)
The music’s between us
Though the night seems young (seems young)
Is at an end
Only change will bring (will bring)
You out of the darkness
In this moment everything (everything) is born again
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
Now the fireball burns (ball burns)
We go round together
As the planet turns (turns) into the light
Something more than dreams to (more than dreams)
Watch out for each other
‘Cos we know what it means (what it means) to be alive
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
Feel the new day enter your life
Feel the new day
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life
UP to 340,000 students across Australia are set to pocket a $1850 double bonus from the Federal Government because of a stimulus package loophole.
Under the hastily drawn up economic rescue package, full-time students and apprentices from age 16 will receive a $950 one-off stimulus payment – with those also holding down part-time jobs while studying double dipping for a further $900.
[..]
The flaw will blow a $300 million hole in the stimulus budget and some students have told the Sunday Mail they plan to use the unexpected windfall to head overseas.
Many families will also receive multiple payments under the scheme, with the average family $3800 better off.
More than 1.36 million Australian families already have qualified for the Single Income Family Bonus and another 1.4 million have qualified for Back to School Bonus payments, with some people qualifying for both.
I assume that the only reason this has become a bigish news story today is because of the $300 million figure, because the story certainly isn’t new. I clearly recall the fact that many people will receive multiple payments being a big part of the news stories back when the stimulus package was being debated in parliament.
In fact, the story even goes on to say almost exactly that:
Senator Xenophon said he raised the issue during the Senate inquiry into the Government’s economic package.
“They said that they were aware of it, but couldn’t change the system to prevent the doubling up,” he said.
“So some people have got extra payments because of the way the system works. This is what happens when you rush something through and it’s by no means ideal.”
It’s an interesting story, but it’s a regurgitation of something we knew a long time ago. And if you think the $300 million makes it newsworthy regardless…well, seriously, what’s another $300 million when Lindsay Tanner is predicting, as reported by AAP today, a $100 billion (yes, with a B) deficit or higher over the next three years? Why it’s a mere 0.3%.
What little support I had left for Tony Abbott has now been eradicated thanks to his statement yesterday about apologising to the so-called stolen generations:
LIBERAL frontbencher Tony Abbott has admitted for the first time that the Coalition made a mistake by refusing to apologise to the Stolen Generations while in power, reversing his position and publicly contradicting John Howard.
[..]
“It was a mistake for us not to apologise to Aboriginal people,” the Opposition indigenous affairs spokesman said.
“And I’m pleased when Kevin Rudd did decide to apologise that he was strongly supported by the Coalition.”
My position on the apology hasn’t changed since last year. It was a bad idea then, and it’s still a bad idea now, although I dare say that there’s not a darn thing we can do about it.
That said, there is one thing which I will be spending money on. It’s US talk radio host Mark Levin’s new book “