Remember this? It took a week or so, but Julia Gillard's office came through for me. They're just a cheap and nasty biro, not at all unlike the government which spawned them, however to me, they're keepsakes. Oddities from a time when Australian society was ashamed to stand up and say, "Yeh, I'm proud to be Australian" because none of us were really. Can we stand up & say it now? Too early to tell, but at least the air's fresher these days, metaphorically speaking anyway.

....without clean underwear.

The employer in the story, a Serbian starionery store owner, is apparently offended by what he says are staff who eat garlic, don't bathe or use perfume or deodorant. He should try Brisbane's Citytrain network during the afternoon rush hour.

Yes, genuinely weird and undoubtedly an open invitation for confrontation with the relevant Union, but the question begs an answer. Just how does Mr Gligorijevic intend to enforce his 'clean underwear' edict? Snap inspections? What if your jocks were clean when you left home, but you happened to fart during the day?

Personally, I reckon two wears from a pair of undies is fair enough. Right way out one day, then inside-out the next. Saves washing.

Another twenty-five basis points today added to the 'cash rate' by which the RBA monitors Australia's economic need to grow or slow.

Today's editorial in the Oz highlights, for me, a couple of things.

Fascinating, isn't it? Former Prime Ministers usually don't hold back when commenting on the current political status quo, especially at home here in Oz.

Phillip Corey's column in today's SMH really does highlight to apparent lack of understanding in the Liberal-National coalition, of current electorate sentiments.

I didn't blog race one yesterday because I was occupied with my other love, flight-simming. It's clear from what I saw and heard in the background thatI didn't miss much.

The highs and lows of Round Two.

Here's another example of a candidate for Brat Camp.

Does this sort of thing happen in Australia? Am I just another naive parent who's blessed with responsible, caring children? Am I just one of the few lucky parents, perhaps?

Whatever the answers, I can't help but feeling that such disrespect for self and one's parents is predominant in English society. What's going wrong over there?

I'll be succinct. Gerard Henderson is having a whine about the Canberra press gallery focussing on coalition deadwood on the backbenches.

As a follow-up to Ford Performance Racing's good and bad Round Two on Sunday just gone, it seems that Steven Richards will front for the dog_and_pony_show at Albert Park this weekend.

So it would appear. Little Johnny Howler is all too ready to make political commentary when among friends, but when in his own country, has opted to opt out of political commentary.

No friends at home? No fortitude or willingness to be exposed should he utter criticisms outside the perceived protection of a closetted collective of like minds, is my view. I'm betting he'll still make himself heard though. There's always the Sydney Institute and H.R.Nicholls Society to shout from within.

Endeavour goes up this afternoon. In fact, in approximately 29 minutes from right now. If you're interested in watching live broadcasts from NASA, via the free NASATV site, I can strongly recommend it.

UPDATE:

Only because I wanted to post this pic taken some 7 seconds after Eneavour lifted off from Launch Pad 39a. Seriously, if you love watching these birds fly while worrying just a little about the danger to the astronauts, you can't beat NASATV.

A serious question, reader. Why does the Murdoch Media pay Dennis Shanahan?

There's a lot of to-do about this weekend's F1 season opener at Albert Park.

Is the JSF, F-35, which Australia has already committed some A$16m to as an international partner along with 8 other countries, going to wind up being another long-winded, expensive F-111 exercise?

Here's something just guaranteed to give those legions (well, the odd right-winger anyway) of ABC-haters the screaming meemies.

There's little else I can offer to this weird tale other than to reiterate the post title.

I think it's disingenuous of George Brandis to claim that inquiring into the Haneef Affair now would compromise an AFP investigation.

No, not the angst of an enraged feline. The ability, or inability as it were, of human beings to recognise the inherent weakness built into our species through genetics, of our sexual desires.

Joel Fitzgibbon has adopted the stance I predicted would be taken. That being, Australia will only ever buy US military materiel.

It seems that someone at the Oz has taken some heed of Paul Keatings plea for rationalism on behalf of the MSM. Albrechtsen is now ranting about total irrelevancies on the ideology front which concern overseas personalities and environments!

As amusingly tongue-in-cheek as Annabel Crabb's piece in todays SHM is, she does make two very valid points

Proof positive of the existence of an afterlife. The blogger colloquially known as "EP" is back in the ether. Aaaaah, the stoushes, the intellectual tit-for-tat (okay, there never was a lot of that) and the mindless ethereal name-calling with intent to maim.

It's good to see that nothing changes, EP. Clearly, you're the same thoughtful, individualistic, libertarian label-maker you always were.

Whether it be a knee-jerk to the former Howardian push for the ethereal JSF, or a pre-emtive strike on probable escalating costs, it looks like the Rudd Labor government is on the right path.

Mind you, the F-22 or a nobbled version thereof, still isn't going to be the replacement we need, but given our choices are limited to Boeing or Lockheed-Martin, a butchered version of the F-22 is still a better bet than a flip of several billion coins into the JSF fountain.

...aaaawwwww....isn't that nice?

Being the totally crass philistine that I am, I must say that Rove's tastes have improved somewhat over his last squeeze.

Seriously though.....does anyone really care a fig what people in celebrity land do, and who they do it with? Am I the only one, apart from Australia's MSM, who thinks Rove/Tassie (what an unfortunate nick. I bet she copped heaps) is worthy of anything other than a blog post?

Whilst I don't - as a rule - promote other bloggers, I feel that as a community service it's well and truly worth promoting the efforts of Jeremy Sear and The Editor in exposing the collective farce which is Andrew Bolt and Tim Blair.

If ever two reprobates deserved exposure for scandalous and seamy speculation based on their own spurious sensibilities, it has to be Bolt and Blair. Liars Anonymous doesn't go half-way towards defining these two.

Overnight, or rather late yesterday afternoon our time, QANTAS flight QF12, VH-OJE, known as 'Wunala Dreaming' due to it's livery, underwent an 'aborted take-off' at Los Angeles International.

Devoted cyclopian conservative Journalist, Piers Akerman, exercises his raison d'être in today's DT 'blog' post

This is starting to become a habit, and one I'll have to break, but for now, it's fun. Besides, there's a purpose.

Blogging's worst tongue-in-cheeker has been held out for examination yet again for more of his Flying Monkey training practices. Amusingly, it's only taken him four days to surface on Club Troppo and only because Mr Parish as seen fit to call him out. Then starts a game of textual badminton with Timmy as the bird and strangely, not a flying monkey in sight. Do go have a gander at the comments. It's hilarious!

Clearly Timmy doesn't have any new material either. It's all recycled stuff, which with Earth Hour coming up, it's good to see some on the 'right' doing their bit for the planet. Even if it is only bloggy stoush stuff.

Oh, while I think on it......I dunno whose house ur outside of, Timmy, but whatever Camry ur scratchin.....it ain't mine.

Reads to me very much like Chris Mitchell, et al, continuing to play Seven Card Stud with the usualdud hand.

Give it away, Chris, and wait for the next deal. You're flogging a deceased equine with this one.

'Man of Steel', good ally, man-of-his-word.....doesn't it all sound so familiar?

What is it with American politics that any behaviour apart from the lily white, starched sheet kind attracts flies like a hot dung pile in summer?

The picture is very misleading, especially when you read on through this one, and it doesn't have wings. Wouldn't you think the media might match picture to story?

The UAV detailed in the story is http://www.defense-update.com/products/h/honeywell-mav.htm