Yes, always Christmas, unless you happen to be a 'detainee' in which case it's hell on Earth. And yes again, The almost complete demise of a peoples' culture in 200 years flat. I'm sure it's not a record but up there. Nice new avatar btw, he managed to completely whiten himself in about 20 years. I'm not very happy with my current epidermic hue (kind of weathered tan) I wanna go grey, my skin not my hair, any ideas, other than drinking 3 and a bit litres of wine a night?
Isn't the 3 and a half litres doing the job then? Three and a half litres of wine a night is excessive. Think of your liver. Try to cut down to about 3 litres.
Still none the wiser. We're a bit touchy about cultural imperialism. Or, at least, we like to think we are. Yep, although "elevator" is gaining ground in Australia. Also, in general, our buildings have floors that go: basement, ground floor, first floor, second floor etc., whereas you guys seem to like basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor, with no ground. It's more or less an insult. Even "aborigine" is falling out of favour. The preferred term is "indigenous Australian". Also, "aborigine" is a noun, "aboriginal" is an adjective. So technically you can't have "an aboriginal", though you can have "an aboriginal man".
The irony here being that I hear "faucet" used less and less in America these days, at least in conversation. Everybody seems happy with "tap." "Faucet" only seems to show up on signs at the hardware store. The only one of these differences that actually bugs me is the Anglicism where you abbreviate "mathematics" to "maths" instead of "math." In the first place, it's awkward to put an "s" right after a "th." And in the second place, the word "mathematics" is not plural to begin with. It's like shortening "physics" to "phys's".
What has Bob Katter got to say on the matter? Bob is one of the new Kingmakers, who will decide who wins the drawn election. God help us, he's as mad as a hatter. (Is that one rhyme too many) Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Just one of his erm, unusual opinions: On Climate change. "I mean, if you could imagine 20 or 30 crocodiles up there on the roof, and if all that roof was illumination, and saying that we wouldn't see anything in this room because of a few croco-roaches up there," he continued stating that "Are you telling me seriously that the world is going to warm because there's 400 parts per million of CO2 up there?" I bet Bob never says faucet. It's a bladdy tap mate. "Skippy, turn on that tap, yer liddle squinty eyed smartass"
People make fun of Katter. They call him a racist and a host of other terms. But in reality, Bob Katter put his own political career on the line to serve his constituents. And he was rewarded with loyalty from them. He represents people who are struggling and have been struggling for years. He knows how they struggle, because he shares it with them. I am not a fan of the man, but I will defend him in that he is doing what politicians are meant to be doing. Serving the interests of the community instead of themselves. He has faced ridicule and abuse from the National Party, the party he left when he saw that they had stopped serving the people they were meant to be representing. He ran as an independent and they abused and ridiculed him even more. He has beaten them in every election since in his seat and the man is like a bulldog when it comes to protecting the rights of those who live in his electoral seat. Yes, he is a climate change skeptic and yes he has made disparraging comments about migrants and homosexuals. But the truth of the matter is that the man is no fool. He supports his people regardless of their nationality, sexuality and regardless of whether they are rich or poor.
Yes, apart from the climate change and the homophobia, and the racism and the croc shooting, I'm sure he's a good bloke.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! "Skippy, nip down the newsagent and get me a racing paper will yer. I've got a feelin' this is me lucky day. Oh, and let me know if yer spot any Crocs on the way."
Or that in news papers and on the internwebs when Brits/Aussies talk of Football, Cricket and Basketball, they call that portion of the news service "Sport" and not "Sports". When I watch the BBC (which is often, shame we don't get an Aussie channel here), the announcer will say, "Today in sport." And I'm left saying loudly so that my boyfriend laugh, "Ssssss", it's "Sports!" ~String
How can I put this.. His constituency is has quite a few migrants. He does not discriminate against anyone in how he serves his seat. I am not a fan of the man because of what he spouts in the media (in fact, I have a fair amount of dislike for him), but the man actually does quite a bit of good for his constituents. He supports them first. We are talking about a man who virtually committed political suicide by leaving a major party and running as an independent because the major party was not doing enough for the people in his seat. And he has been running and winning as an independent ever since. And he has over 75% of the votes in his seat, not a mean feat. They adore him. And that is because he is looking after their interests first and foremost. The rest of us cringe and want to cry each time he opens his mouth.. but the man is no fool.
Sounds a bit like the Northern Ireland MP Ian Paisley. Was a rabid bigot, and a loud mouth, but universally acknowledged as a hard working and even handed constituency MP.
Pretty much. I mean the man is a bigot and a plethora of other things, but the one thing he cares about is rural Australia, who have for the most part, gotten a raw deal in the decade or so. There was a type of Q & A today with the independents and the media. While I disagreed with a lot of what he had to say, he raised an important point. There was a time where farmers were committing suicide at an alarming rage - I think he cited 1 every 4 days. It is unacceptable. But what is even more unacceptable is how the Government (Federal and State) turned their backs on rural Australia entirely and destroyed the inudstries that came from the rural sector. There was no support put in place to help farmers facing extreme hardship. And it's stuff like that that makes Katter angry.. The man is a loon, but he is a loon who cares about those who live and work in rural areas who struggle to even feed their family with 3 meals a day. And he does do all that he can for their benefit on the national stage. My favourite quote from Katter so far, since this whole election storm has blown in is this: That is classic Katter..
Well, Bells, I must try to live up to my new Avatar. I vow to battle for the weak against the strong, and be as crazy as possible;.
Whose. You know, I've heard this before. I believe it was Fraggle who said as much. Yet I'm given to wonder exactly which accent it was the Americans were supposed to have remained closer to. The British do have rather a lot of them. So do the Americans themselves. Seems to me all he had to do was pick one which sounds reasonably close to what he imagines some of the English once spoke, and come up with a parochial observation. Wow. From what I've read of this Bill Bryson, he doesn't make a supreme effort to let factual information get in the way of a good story. Not to mention that he is American. Oscar Wilde had a fairly good handle on you folks.
Nah, he's a humorist. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!And this is a nearly year-old thread
So it is. Heh. That happens to me from time to time...old threads appearing near the top of the lists. Heard of it happening with others too. Don't know why. Nonetheless, my apologies.
S'ok, I like excuses to post pretty zombie girls... (poster is deeply in touch with inner 15-year-old-boy)
