Tales of An Aussie Battler by Anthony

State of the Roads Address

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:51:23 +0000

What is up with car drivers or in a lot of cases, van drivers? Where does all that aggression come from? A few weeks ago a taxi drove towards me at speed on a pedestrianized roadway and then proceeded to abuse me. A few days ago I got two fingers from a white van driver who was driving in thick fog with no lights and talking on his mobile. I have recently been almost run over by a Fed Ex van driver.

Apparently a law has been passed which allows van and taxi drivers to drive however they like.

Welcome to the 6 o'clock "We report the bleeding obvious" News Report.

anthony bougatsas — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:36:33 +0000

Don't news reports love stories about the weather? The main headline on on countless BBC news reports is the "Big Freeze". It is reported as if we aren't aware of it. Called me old fashioned but isn't news supposed to INFORM us? I haven't seen the historical records but I do believe that it has snowed in the UK before. It snows at least once every winter. Yes, it has generally been heavier this year but should it really dominate the news? Do they say, for example,

"Something which happens every year has just happened again in parts of the UK."

I recently watched the superb satire of Chris Morris and his show "Brass Eye" from the late 90's. It was a fantastic portrayal of news obsessed with having correspondents "on the scene" that just repeat what we have just been told by someone in the studio; the childish use of graphics to illustrate the simple points; and the journalists as actors when they do their walks to camera. If you watched it now without knowing what it was it would probably look more like the actual news that the so-called serious journalism of the BBC and others.

I am not a journalist but I simply have to look out the window to see what the news is telling me. And I would be aware that it going to cause disruption. The "mainstream" news has reached the point of self-parody. The best satirists in the world couldn't do as good a job as the news itself.

Democracy, A Love Story.

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:43:53 +0000

Treasury memorandum, 1945:

"We have to devise techniques for bringing influence to bear upon other countries' internal decisions."

Definition Of...

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:36:13 +0000

British Government's Definition of Terrorism:

"Terrorism is the use, or threat, of action which is violent, damaging or disrupting and is intended to influence the government or intimidate the public and is for for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause."

Tony Blair, 12 April, 1999, talking about NATO's actions in Kosovo.

"We will carry on pounding day after day, until our objectives are secured."

Getting Your Priorities Right

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:58:50 +0000

Jack Straw, Former UK Foreign Secretary,

"It [the crisis in Iraq] does have to be resolved, yes to deal with Iraq, but also to ensure that the authority of the international order is maintained."

Rupert Murdoch-Champion of Democracy

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:52:41 +0000

Mr Murdoch on China,

"The truth is-and we Americans don't like to admit it-that authoritarian societies can work."

Berlusconi Attack

anthony bougatsas — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:02:40 +0000

In a BBC report,

"An Italian man said to have a history of mental problems has been arrested."

I couldn't work out if they were talking about Berlusconi or his attacker.

Spend Like There's No Tomorrow

anthony bougatsas — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:28:16 +0000

I recently saw an ad by the Teacher Development Agency for new teachers. It struck me as odd as there now so many teachers who don't have a hope of finding work mainly due to the new workforce rules which allow non qualified staff into classes.

I sent them an e-mail asking for information on how much they spend on advertising. Thee figures blew me away.

They spent an unbelievable £8, 082,722.42 on advertising in several formats during 2007-2008. This represents a £500,000 increase from the previous year. That would be enough to employ almost 400 teachers. The money that is thrown at these education quangos is becoming obscene.

Department For Children, Governmental Waste and Consultants

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:17:29 +0000

Out of curiosity I had a look at what sort of budget the above department has. I came across some interesting figures such as:

"We are able to provide the cost of taxi travel claimed by Departmental officials from administrative budgets for 2007-08 and 2006-07 as follows:"

2007-08 £247,738
2006-07 £268,857

"The data provided is based on rail bookings dealt with by DCSF's Business Travel Provider Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Location details are not recorded for travel using hire car and grey fleet, only the mileage is recorded.

The annual travel costs for rail travel between sites are as follws"

April 08-Feb 09 - £840,984

2007-8 - £834,433

2006-7 £1,254,536

"Details of expenditure on private sector consultants incurred by the Department in 2007-2008 is £4,863,000.00.

The expenditure recorded relates to admin costs and does not include costs that may be charged to a programme account."

"The Office for Government and Commerce (OGC) framework agreements for Organisational Consultancy ? Organisational Development Education and Children?s Services, provide rates across a range of consultancy grades including Junior Consultant, Consultant, Senior Consultant, Principal Consultant, and Managing Director/Partner. The daily rates differ for each organisation, but, across all the agreements, the range is £475 to £1900, as at April 2008."

So we are all losing our jobs because we are not "economically viable" but the department can spend almost £5 million on consultants in one year. The more I look at stuff like this the angrier I get.

Livin' High On The Hog

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:07:54 +0000

With all the talk about budget restraint and belt tightening while supply teachers see their jobs fly out the window I had an interesting look at the deadweight GTC's budget for 2009-10. Read them and weep:

Registration: £4.4m

Communications - £3.7m

Regulation: £3.6m

Governanace, fee collection and administration: £3.5

Networks and the TLA: £3.4m

Policy and research: £2.5m

So that's a total of a staggering £21 million of teachers' registration fees. Of that they are spending £3.7m on "communications" which I assume means advertising etc. Then there all the other departments such as OFSTED and ESTYN, the TDA, the DfES, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and so on. If it wasn't serious it would be funny.

Nice Way Of Putting It Part 3

anthony bougatsas — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:09:45 +0000

'It's not torture. Pyramids can be used as a control technique... Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year?'

Guy Womack, defence lawyer for a US soldier court martialed in the Abu Ghraib detainee abuse scandal.

Nice Way Of Putting It Part 2

anthony bougatsas — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:07:40 +0000

"Servicing the target."

US Army term for killing the enemy.

Nice Way Of Putting It

anthony bougatsas — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:05:54 +0000

'Shortening the list of politically sensitive individuals by means other than detention.'

Assassination of political enemies, as described by the South African State Security Council in the Apartheid era.

Desirable

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:23:50 +0000

Paul Meyser, Lehman Brothers;

"We must shift America from a needs to a desire culture. People must be trained to desire. People must want new things before the old have been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desire must overshadow his needs."

When We Get Behind Closed Doors

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:19:43 +0000

Edward Bernays (one of the forefathers of modern propaganda) in 1928,

"Conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organised habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of this government."

You Know It Makes Sense.

anthony bougatsas — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:38:02 +0000

"Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it. "

Noam Chomsky

Statement from Admiral Michael Boyce, Chief of the British Defense Staff.

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:48:27 +0000

Referring to the bombing campaign in Afghanistan in 2001, he said,

"The squeeze will carry on until the people of the country themselves recognize that this is going to go on until they get the leadership changed."

[The deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime under Geneva Conventions.]

The Unpeople

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:39:56 +0000

I was reminded of a quote of a US ambassador during the Reagan years when he talked about the "unpeople" of the world living "miserable lives" and therefore not important if they are the victims of our crimes.

I was thinking of this when watching the news reporting the death of 5 UK soldiers who were killed by an Afghani police officer. We had the interviews of family members and fellow soldiers. It was followed by today's news of Gordon Brown's recommitment of his intentions to keep British troops in Afghanistan. Clips from his speech were followed up by interviews with a military 'analyst' and the mother whose son is in Afghanistan. This took place on a so-called 'alternative' news channel.

The victims of crimes usually have a different view of things. What is outstanding about all this coverage is that even the concept of asking the local population for their views on what should be done in their country is unthinkable. What would we think if a country invaded the UK, killed a few thousand people in bombing raids and then discussed amongst themselves what the next course of action should be but no matter what that they should support their 'boys on the frontline'? Also you would have the President or Prime Minister of that country arguing, quite rightly, that continuing the occupation is necessary to stop international terrorism. What would we as the victims think of that?

Does anyone even realize how the Taliban came into existence? Well, they were a very disparate, small group in Afghanistan opposing a government of Noor Mohammed Taraki. His government instituted such outrageous reforms such as legalizing unions, canceling all debts of farmers, introducing progressive tax and giving men and women the chance to go to school. Even after the Soviet army left in 1989 most of the local population fought on the side of the government for another 3 years but succumbed to the seemingly bottomless pot of the estimated $6 billion war chest provided to the fanatics courtesy of the CIA. We all know what happened after that.

The "unpeople" who have a history like that might have a more relevant opinion on their own affairs if anyone bothered to report it.

Pie In The Sky

anthony bougatsas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:34:57 +0000

I was watching some morning TV today and was watching a mouthpiece from British Airways give his thoughts on BA returning its first ever loss. He said BA was going to "reduce its cost base". That is an original euphemism for job losses, I have to admit. He then went on to proudly boast that they have shed thousands of jobs and will probably shed a lot more.

What sort of economy have we created when you can now publicly boast you are going to sack thousands of people?

The UK is plunging towards depression if it isn't there already. And yet,despite this the major political parties are racing to the bottom in announcing how many cuts they are going to make. The lunatics are definitely running the asylum. The true unemployment rate could be closer to an unbelievable 25%. This would make it on par with the Great Depression of the 1930s which lasted almost a decade.

Henry Kissinger in a 1970 memo to Nixon

anthony bougatsas — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:38:04 +0000

"The example of a successful elected Marxist government in Chile would surly have an impact-and even precedent value for-other parts of the world, especially in Italy; the imitative spread of similar phenomena elsewhere would in turn significantly affect the world balance and our own position in it"

Miranda Devine Has Lost It Again

anthony bougatsas — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:39:33 +0000

The reactionary Sydney Morning Herald "journalist" Miranda Devine has written another one of those hate mongering pieces; this time about cyclists. Not unlike some other sad people such as Jeremy Clarckson, who say stupid things in the hope of getting a reaction because they believe in a school of thought where a lot of people saying bad things about you is a lot better than far fewer people saying nice things.

It all came about when some CCTV footage was released in Australia of a cyclist riding illegally on a motor-way who narrowly escaped getting run over by an overtaking bus. The CCTV footage inside the bus then showed the cyclist who had caught up to the bus abusing the driver in a very aggressive manner.

Nobody is defending the cyclist's abusive tirade but to use this incident to then make ridiculous sweeping statements without a shred of evidence is simply spreading hate and encouraging people to be even more aggressive.

For example she says;

"The road is not there to share. Roads are built for cars. Pretending otherwise is unfair to motorists and cyclists alike."

What an ignorant statement. It also ignores points of law which says that bicycles are legal vehicles that have to obey and follow road rules.

She then continues to embarrass herself by saying that gridlock is mainly caused by bike lanes; other sports enthusiasts such as joggers and rowers are far less aggressive; there is a conspiracy to create slow, unsafe roads to force us out of cars; and that cyclists behave like "jackbooted Soviets."

Whatever she's on I think she needs to go into rehab.

I've Got the Brain, You've Got the Brawn, Let's Make Lots of Money !

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:21:08 +0000

"The [2004] tsunami that cleared the shoreline like a giant bulldozer has presented developers with an undreamed-of opportunity, and they have moved quickly to seize it."

Seth Mydans, International Herald Tribune, March 10, 2005.

Kubark Counterintelligence Interrogation, CIA Manual, 1963.

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:11:22 +0000

"Direct physical brutality creates only resentment, hostility and further defiance....Interrogatees who have withstood pain are more difficult to handle by other methods. The effect has been not to repress the subject but to restore his confidence and maturity."

Abram Sofaer, US State Department legal advisor.

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:57:11 +0000

The world majority "often opposes the United States on important international questions," so that we must "reserve to ourselves the power to determine" which matters fall "essentially within the jurisdiction of the United States as determined by the United States."

Justice Jackson, Nuremberg Trials

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:49:51 +0000

"If certain acts of violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the US does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not prepared to lay down a rule criminal conduct against others which we would not be willing to have invoked against us."

Noam Chomsky, 'Failed States'

anthony bougatsas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:43:50 +0000

"Among the the most elementary of moral truisms is the principle of universality: we must apply to ourselves the same standards we do to others, if not more stringent ones. It is a remarkable comment on Western intellectual culture that this principle is so often ignored and, if occasionally mentioned, condemned as outrageous."

George Orwell is laughing at us.

anthony bougatsas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:12:21 +0000

One of today's headlines was the trial in the Hague of Radovan Karadzic. We had the pictures of weeping women and forensic scientists at sites with buried bodies, etc. Phrases like 'ethnic cleansing' were used. A quote from one of the prosecutors at the trial in the Hague is as follows:

"When you speak to a woman who tells you that 21 members of her family have been assassinated, you can easily measure the importance of this trial."

There are people with similar experiences that are from Chile, East Timor, Argentina, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Brazil, Columbia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Iraq, Palestine, Haiti, South Africa, Angola, Sudan, Uganda, areas of Yugoslavia that were bombed by NATO, Rwanda, just to name a few. Ask yourself why the people responsible for these crimes are NOT on trial.

This is just another example of the truism that war crimes are committed by 'others'. We are involved in 'conflicts', 'transitions', 'right to self defense' or 'defending democracy'.

Orwell must be having a huge laugh.

'New Republic' Editor, Michael Kinsley

anthony bougatsas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:42:44 +0000

On the US war against Nicaragua,

"...a sensible policy [should] meet the test of cost-benefit analysis" of "the amount of blood and misery poured in, and the likelihood that democracy will emerge at the other end."

Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein, 1955

anthony bougatsas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:37:42 +0000

The choice facing the world is "stark and dreadful and inescapable: shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?"

The Lord of the British Admiralty, 1921.

anthony bougatsas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:10:34 +0000

"If we secure the supplies of oil now available in the world we can do what we like."