One of the causes of the Revolutionary Wars was the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. During the War, Red Coats and Paul Revere was throwing balls over stone walls. The dogs were barking and the peacocks crowing. Finally, the colonists won the War and no longer had to pay for taxis.

Delegates from the original thirteen states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin had gone to Boston carrying all his clothes in his pocket and a loaf of bread under each arm. He invented electricity by rubbing cats backwards and declared "a horse divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

The government of England was a limited mockery. Henry VIII found walking difficult because he had an abbess on his knee. Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen." As a queen she was a success. When Elizabeth exposed herself be fore her troops, they all shouted "hurrah." Then her navy went out and defeated the Spanish Armadillo.

The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespear. Shakespear never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He lived in Windsor with his merry wives, writing tragedies, comedies and errors. In on of Shakespear's famous plays, Hamlet rations out his situation by relieving himself in a long soliloquy. In another, Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill the King by attacking his manhood. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Writing at the same time as Shakespear was Miquel Cervantes. He wrote "Donkey Hote". The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote "Paradise Lost." Then his wife dies and he wrote "Paradise Regained."

George Washington married Matha Curtis and in due time became the Father of Our Country. Them the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the Constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms.

Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the Autumn, when the apples are flaling off the trees.

Bach was the most famous composer in the world, and so was Handel. Handel was half German, half Italian and half English. He was very large. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.

The nineteenth century was a time of many great inventions and thoughts. The invention of the steamboat caused a network of rivers to spring up. Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick Raper, which did the work of a hundred men. Samuel Morse invented a code for telepathy. Louis Pastuer discovered a cure for rabbis. Charles Darwin was a naturailst who wrote the "Organ of the Species". Madman Curie discovered radium. And Karl Marx became one of the Marx Brothers.

~

i didn't write this unfortunately... but you can read the whole thing here

~
and whilst i'm avoiding trotsky, i might throw this in as well:

An Anagram, as you all know, is a word or phrase made by transposing or rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. The following are exceptionally clever. Someone out there either has way too much time to waste or is deadly at Scrabble.

If you like anagrams, visit the Inert Net Grave Near Mars (also known as the Internet Anagram Server!).

Dormitory	Dirty Room
Evangelist	Evil's Agent
Desperation	A Rope Ends It
The Morse Code	Here Come Dots
Slot Machines	Cash Lost in 'em
Animosity	Is No Amity
Mother-in-law	Woman Hitler
Snooze Alarms	Alas! No More Z's
Alec Guinness	Genuine Class
Semolina	Is No Meal
The Public Art Galleries	Large Picture Halls, I Bet
A Decimal Point	I'm a Dot in Place
The Earthquakes	That Queer Shake
Eleven plus two	Twelve plus one
Contradiction	Accord not in it

11 days and counting. At this point in time, for all intents and purposes, I do not actually have a computer. One and a half computers are currently splayed all over the floor of my dad's bedroom. Good thing my sister has this here laptop handy.

So about this time I have spent not being on the internet/ playing games. It makes onerealise how much of one's life is wasted basking in the artificial glow of an LCD monitor. Makes you think - how much more school work could be pulled off in one week if , say, the Internet went down for that time. Economic collapse notwithstanding.

Tutoring has hit the big time. 6 hours a week. This has suddenly felt incredibly manageable now that I don't have a computer. Good thing Dr. Du gives time-management advice as well. Time to carve 40 hours out of my week for the next 12 months. Time to knuckle down, because the high-velocity shit is going to hit the nuclear fan.

Dr. Du *finishes writing question on board*: "Now - we play with 4 unit maths. You know you think of it in this way - play with 4 unit maths, eat 4 unit maths, drink 4 unit maths...sleep with 4 unit maths- if you think about maths like this, 4 unit becomes no problem"

I'm doing a Morris and posting someone else's ideas, but I think this letter is worth a read:

 

The Honourable Bronwyn Bishop MP

House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Mrs Bishop,

“The point that I’ve made about the headscarf is it is worn by children in school, and it is in public schools where I have said it has become that iconic symbol of the clash of cultures." 1 You said this! I can’t believe people thought you were going to be the first female Prime Minister. Do you really believe that we should ban Muslim girls from wearing a headscarf, from following their religion, in schools? Do you really think that young Australian girls are tearing apart the social fabric of Australia by wearing headscarves? I can’t understand why you would say something like that.

I don’t know any Muslim girls. It’s not as if your words affect me personally, so why did they feel like a slap in the face? It’s because they made me stop listening without understanding. It felt like I’d been half asleep watching the world go by, and then a bomb went off beside me, “…people actually think like that. People do hate or fear someone because they look different. It’s true. And maybe it’s not going to be alright.” It’s not going to be alright. That’s a big call. I saw a play last night called ‘Myth Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America’. There was a woman in it who said “…throughout my life I never really tried to make a difference, because I thought that it would all turn out alright in the end anyway. But now I realise that it doesn’t turn out alright. Because everyone says it will and does nothing.” 2 You’ve made me realise that if we don’t do something, it’s not going to be ok.

As a country, we have to stop turning our backs, sticking our fingers in our ears and singing ‘In the Ning Nang Nong’ so that we won’t hear what we don’t want to. We have to take responsibility for the people languishing in our detention centres. We have to react when people say things like you did. We need to get motivated when people are in danger of losing their rights, even if those people look different or don’t believe in our God and we don’t know any of them. Otherwise our world will end up like George Orwell’s 1984: controlled, where people are numbers, not individuals. Is that how you see our future?

So why did you say these things? From what I gather, you think it’s a feminist issue. To you the hijab represents male domination. Fair enough, Islam doesn’t have a good record on its treatment of women, but is this relevant in Australia? Maybe I’m naïve, but I think that if an Australian Muslim woman wants to break out from tradition and do her own thing, she has that opportunity. It’s certainly not up to you to tell them whether they’re being oppressed or not. Being told what you should feel is degrading. People have to make their own decisions; it’s not up to someone who has no insight into their personality, religion or life to dictate to them.

You’re also worried that, “The headscarf is being used as a sort of iconic item of defiance.” 3 That’s a bit over the top isn’t it? If you look at it like that, then what Muslim girls are doing is what most other young Australians do everyday by wearing dreadlocks, ripped jeans, nose studs or listening to music their parents don’t like. Do you want to ban those things too? Are you saying that these young girls are to be feared on the same level as manic terrorists (whose values, most Australian Muslims will tell you, are in no way similar to those of Islam)?

Thankfully John Howard has made it clear that a ban on the hijab in schools is not on the cards. I’m glad he has the sense to see that by doing something like that you’re more likely to encourage the Muslim community to distance itself from the rest of Australia. We offer Muslims ‘a fair go’ one minute then tell them to keep to themselves and leave the country the next!

Your words will be forgotten as time rolls on, but to me they will always be the moment when I woke up. I realise now that if I want everyone in the world to have the same rights, then I have to do something. If I want the people who are being degraded in detention centres to have rights, then I have to do something. I don’t know what that something might be yet, but I desperately want everything to be alright. And I’m going to make sure it is.

“What was it about Germany, a country steeped in music, in art, and literature, that enabled those people to succumb to a Hitler? The answer is, that nobody stood up early and said no. And that’s why I think it’s absolutely important that people such as myself stand up and say no.” 4 I couldn’t have put it better myself Bronwyn. I am saying no. I’m saying no to you. Thanks for the wake up call, and thanks for making me care.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Hortle

1. Bronwyn Bishop, ‘The Religion Report’, ABC Radio National

2. ‘Myth Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America’, a play by Stephen Sewell

3. Bronwyn Bishop to Channel 7

4. Bronwyn Bishop, ‘The Religion Report’, ABC Radio National

Can't find the reference, and I know the topic is a little old, but it really did strike me as a perfectly written objection to something in parliament. The play referenced is part of  my HSC drama work (IP), so I might have found it sightly more relevant . . but I thought it was interesting.

Best of luck for the beggining of year 12 everyone! And best wishes to the crazy SB's who are doing parts of their HSC.

 

I'll make it short:

The Lancet Report states that the deaths in Iraq attributable to the US invasion, both direct killings and indirectly as a result fo the disruption to health services etc is:

654,965

This is an average of a number of estimates based on street door-knocking polls in Iraq.  Now this is far more than the highest estimates of the deaths caused by Saddam Hussein's leadership (however they aren't directly comparable because this figure also includes indirect deaths).

Atrocious.

Story from Crikey:

8. A question of torture

Richard Farmer writes:

Well, now it’s official: the Australian Government believes torture is OK but the torturers cannot use any information they extract to prosecute the tortured in a court of law. Justice Minister Chris Ellison gave details of this extraordinary government policy when answering a question from Greens Senator Kerry Nettle in the Senate on Wednesday.

For the life of me I cannot understand why the answer went virtually unreported. It is clearly political cowardice on the part of a Labor Party without principles that sees Opposition Leader Kim Beazley remain silent on the question.

This is the exchange that occurred in the Senate:

Senator NETTLE (2.43 pm)—My question is to Senator Ellison, the Minister for Justice and minister representing the Attorney-General. Does the minister consider sleep deprivation to be torture or does he agree with the United Nations that sleep deprivation is a violation of the convention against torture? Can the minister rule out the use of sleep deprivation by Australian authorities in any circumstances?

Senator ELLISON—We need to look at this question in the context of what is being investigated and the operation which is being conducted. The Attorney-General recently, when discussing operations involving counter-terrorism, discussed the issue of sleep deprivation and said that in some circumstances it would not amount to torture. But he did qualify that remark with the circumstances of it being a counter-terrorism exercise and also the circumstances of its use. In a criminal investigation—and we have legislation dealing with that—there are certain aspects to the way an interrogation is carried out, the way questions are asked and the admissibility of evidence in a court of law. That is a very different situation to that which was being described by that Attorney-General.

I agree with what the Attorney-General says—I think that you have to look at it in the context of the operation. Because if it is a criminal investigation and you are looking at evidence to be adduced in a court of law then you are governed by the Crimes Act and other legislation dealing with the collection of evidence, and that then is relevant to its admissibility in a court. A court could then consider that issue when the defence conducts its case. That is the very point we are looking at in the criminal jurisdiction domestically in relation to our legislation—as opposed to a counter-terrorism operation where intelligence is being sought. We believe that in that environment sleep deprivation can be appropriate, but the question of its extent and manner is one which has to be exercised by those concerned in an appropriate way because, as the Attorney-General said, sleep deprivation per se in a counter-terrorism security exercise is not torture as such unless there are other circumstances which would rule it so—and in that you look at the extent and the manner. You have to look at it in those two discrete areas: one is a criminal investigation and one is counter-terrorism intelligence gathering.

Senator NETTLE—I thank the minister for his extraordinary answer and ask him to address that issue of Australian authorities’ use of these sleep deprivation tactics in both circumstances, criminal and counter-terrorism. Further to that, I ask the minister, given that last week the United States passed a law allowing coercive measures including sleep deprivation for use in US detention facilities for gathering evidence, does the minister think that it is acceptable for David Hicks to be subject to sleep deprivation?

Senator ELLISON—Senator Nettle asked a number of questions in her supplementary question. I say at the outset that this government does not endorse torture in any shape or form. I want to make that very clear. I would also like to say that Australian authorities do not engage in torture and there is no endorsement of that. In relation to how we conduct our operations in counter-terrorism, I am not going to go into the detail of that. That is an operational matter. In relation to criminal investigations, I think it is well established in relation to the practice engaged in by federal police and others in this country as to how their investigations are carried out.

Senator Bob Brown—I rise on a point of order. The minister was asked by Senator Nettle directly whether he condones the use of sleep deprivation with Australian David Hicks. He should answer that question.

The PRESIDENT—I do not believe there is a point of order there. The minister has 16 seconds to complete his answer.

Senator ELLISON—I have nothing further to add.

Grey nurse sharks, these babies don't attack people. In fact, they're quite docile. The only type of violence they commit themselves to is to eat their siblings while they're still inside the womb. True fact.

There's only about 500 of these guys left in Australian waters and are considered endangered by all sources. They breed only once every two years. The female grey nurse shark has two wombs and each contains 20 fertilised eggs each. They hatch inside and once the embryos have developed to a certain size (about 10 cm) they already have a fully functional set of jaws and teeth, then they swim around and cannibalize their siblings. Survival of the fittest. Intrauterine cannibalism!! And so only two babies are born each time.

Imagine if that was the case for humans. The abortion debate would have a whole new twist. You have a 95% chance of dying anyway.

And so that's my contribution in an attempt to not let this blog waste away into silent oblivion. Not much, but it's something at least.

Hope to see you all at the picnic, if it can be reshuffled to another date.

Liya

I have been asked to help resurrect this blog and because I haev nothign interesting to talk about (hard to believe i know) I will just copy other's blog entries:

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend... if you have one."
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one."
Winston Churchill, in response

"I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."
Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy."
Walter Kerr

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt."
Robert Redford

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge."
Thomas Brackett Reed

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them."
James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts...for support rather than illumination."
Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."
Billy Wilder

from

A rag made of maple leaves lol?

Both my arms still hurt. The pain was worse in the left joint yesterday, now the pain has swapped arms. I can't straighten my arms.

And it's not because of that. Why do all rowers think alike...I had the exact same conversation with Wilson as I did with Andrew. They both said exactly the same thing.

Prefect results came in today. Aww. Didn't make it, but at least Kelvin didn't make it either. Oh well. Disappointed, but liife goes on. Shows that it's still a popularity contest - or favoured towards non-asians. At least I'm still Captain of shooting. I had to sign some awards schemes today. Also need to collect money off of Martin and assorted others...Damn his oily hide! Time to break some thumbs....

Steven was very upset about something today... who knows.

Debate was high-larious. Firaz should've run a little further with the terrorist business. 3rd speaker-  no scratch, that - all the girls got cut hard. Have we no taste?

Alex: "2nd speaker. Verr yum."




How the hell does Boukatos reckon we can do decent essays in one night? Bloody hell. Well, not entirely her fault - we did miss English for maths yesterday. Not that anyone still wants to think about it.

Who is Patrick *censored*from *censored*?

Patrick *censored*is a careful guy who always thinks things through before acting. He's not one for spontaneity and he hates being rushed into anything. He can be shy.

Delightfully vague, yet somewhat accurate.

Who is Kelvin *censored*from *censored*?

Sorry for the delay, bongo knows one Kelvin *censored*who hails from Sydney Boys High school. Bongo has seen Kelvin competiting against David Bannister-Tyrell.

Hmm, bit random, but fascinating nonetheless.

Who is Liya *censored*from *censored*?

Liya *censored*is one clever cookie, and recieved a high distinction in the asia wise comp last year at her school, Sydney Girls High. She can be reserved and Shy.

This is progressively getting stranger.

Who is Dora *censored*from *censored*?

Bonga has seen Dora *censored*at Sydney Girls High school before, like Liya she entered the asia wide comp. Dora is very sure of herself and has a sassy confidence.

This is freaky now.

Who is Aditya *censored*from *censored*?

Aditya *censored*hails from Sydney Boys HS where he is regarded as one of the better cricketers in the year. He really looks upto Rommo Pandit.

Now i'm freaked out.

Bongo - 19926646 - The Truth will set you free.

Ok, so I made up the truth will set you free part.

Maths exam aside, today was good fun.

Ran around Westfields with Wilson and Andrew, talking about all sorts of shit. Both coaxed the system of early leave notes. O yeah.
Wilson was the one who told me about this Bongo thingy. Fascinating, whoever this person is.

Talking all sorts of random shit is just too fun. Listening to and telling stories of various misadventures is one of the most ideal ways to fill time. (Like stories of Nick's Mum's drawer-ful of sex-toys. Sickening.). Paying out Kelvin. Douche.

"(Brightly) Hi Kelvin! (Rolls eyes) Douche." These are days I'll miss. Too bad I don't hang around 'fun' people like Wilson and Andrew more often. I should follow them to some parties more often and get wasted.

He may be a cutout, but he can still keep the kids in line

MEMBERS of the Maine National Guard in Afghanistan and Iraq have never been far from the thoughts of their loved ones - but now they're even closer, thanks to the "flat daddy" and the "flat mummy".

Life-size cutouts of deployed US service members are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children, and relatives at home to ride in cars, sit at the dinner table and even go to church. "I prop him up in a chair, or sometimes put him on the couch and cover him up with a blanket," said Kay Judkins, whose husband, Jim, is a minesweeper mechanic in Afghanistan.

"The cat will curl up on the blanket, and it looks kind of weird. I've tricked several people by that. They think he's home again."

At the request of relatives, about 200 photos of guard members have been enlarged and printed at the guard headquarters. The families cut out the photos, which show the guard members from the waist up, and glue them to a piece of board.

"It's a novel approach," said John Goheen, of the National Guard Association.

"It's to remind the kids that this guy and this woman is still part of your life, that this is what they look like, and this is how big they are."

Mrs Judkins said the cutout has been a comfort since her husband was deployed in January.

"He goes everywhere with me. Every day he comes to work with me," said Mrs Judkins, who works in a dentist's office.

"I just bought a new table , and he sits at the head of the table."

The Boston Globe

Of course, this is completely normal. Completely healthy. Families with loved ones at war take life-sized cardboard cut-outs of their partners to work with them ALL THE TIME.

I know I shouldn't be surprised. God knows those Americans take enough meds as it is. But forget the unnecessary mortal peril those soldiers face everyday- send the troops home for chrissake, before the entire country needs double prescriptions of Thorazine.