Author: Kev

Retired infantry officer. Conservative by nature and politics; Happily married and father and grandfather of eight. Loves V8 powered Range Rovers, Golden Retrievers, good books and technology and think there should be open season on Greenies. Born in the mid forties and overdue for servicing but most parts still work.

Land mines and little kids

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I spent Wednesday down south at the Currumbin RSL at a fund raising luncheon organized by Mine Victim and Clearance Trust (MIVAC). Normie Rowe played MC and sang a couple of numbers and all had a good time for a good cause. MIVAC do wonders in Asia delousing mine fields and UXBs left over from various conflicts in the region. Graham Edwards, the retired ALP MP from WA came over for the lunch and as we were in the same company in Vietnam I attended along with a couple of other Support Company 7RAR mates.

7RAR’s second tour of Vietnam is remembered as much for it’s mine casualties as for it’s honourable service with the two fighting and recce platoons of Support Company suffering a disproportional number of these casualties. Graham Edwards is one of them and well known but there were several others less known publicly but remembered and honoured within the battalion.

Having has such an intimate relationship with mines it is not much of an extension to want to help others similarly inflicted, particularly when they are mostly civilians – woman and children – in countries where the Department of Veterans Affairs has no charter to help. The kids go looking for scrap metal to supplement the families income and often find the metal contains explosives. They are blown up and killed or de-limbed. No one helps..no government department gives them artificial limbs..they just crawl around.

Have a look at the web site, you may be moved to help.

I was.

Uncategorized

America’s Hero Ships, coming soon to a conflict near you

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The US Navy is commissioning a series of Hero Ships named after heros and incidences from the war against terror. One, the USS New York has recycled steel from the WTC Towers incorporated in her hull

Hero Ship

“We’re very proud that the twisted steel from the World Trade Center towers will soon be used to forge an even strong national defense,” said New York Gov. George Pataki. “The USS New York will soon be defending freedom and combating terrorism around the globe, while also ensuring that the world never forgets the evil attacks of September 11, 2001 and the courage and strength New Yorkers showed in response to terror.”

I like the symmetry and can only hope one of the ships gets to give some payback.

More at the USS New York website.

War on Terror

Rudd reaches new depths

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PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd witnessed a heated discussion between US President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, over Russia’s invasion of a tiny neighbouring country as athletes paraded before them in the Opening Ceremony on Friday night.

And then told the press about it …the little lickspittle.

How embarrassing!

Politics

GroceryChoice starts

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The Government will this morning launch its grocery price watch scheme, GroceryChoice. Similar to the controversial FuelWatch scheme, the website will allow people to compare prices for a basket of goods, including meat, vegetables and milk, to find the cheapest supermarket in their area. The prices will be updated monthly through a survey of 600 supermarkets across the nation.

the website will allow people to compare prices for a basket of goods, including meat, vegetables and milk, to find the cheapest supermarket in their area.

Sorry, it’s not going to help the housewife or husband plan their shopping trip. Monthly updates will never beat the weekly brochures stores drop in their letterbox for free. As the site is only updated on the first business day of the month then unless one shops that day or the next the prices will be out of whack.

I can’t see the major players responding to, or being frightened of, a government website that will have neither currency nor item prices. They are already competing with each other on a more frequent rotation and advertise this regularly with letter box drops and TV adds.

Time will tell but it’s typical of this government to set up monitoring websites when there are practical steps they can take. As groceries are delivered by trucks then it might be a good idea to give the bona fide small truck operators a fuel discount like the major companies receive. Now that has a good chance of lowering grocery costs.

GroceryChoice

Politics

Costello has the ALP running scared

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And he hasn’t even thrown his hat in the ring yet!

Clinton Porteous on Costello

WAR GAMING against Peter Costello as the next Liberal leader has begun inside federal Labor ranks and one senior figure believes they have already struck gold.

“We will run advertisements saying: ‘This man is only in politics because he can’t get a job outside’,” the Labor Party source said.

Labor has plenty of material to work with, but the planning is also a further sign of how desperate things have become for the current Liberal leader Brendan Nelson.

True, but that is only one way of looking at it. The other viewpoint is that the planning is a further sign that the ALP are desperate to keep Costello out of the leaders seat.

Costello will crucify Wayne Swan and put paid to his blaming the coalition for all our economic woes. He is an attack dog and we need someone to call the ALP to question.

No one else is, not even the media.

As a matter of interest, I can’t recollect a Government ever running ads to influence the outcome of an election for the leader of the opposition before. A sure sign that the ALP don’t want him anywhere near the front bench.

Politics

Surprise! China is being China

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A HUMILIATED Kevan Gosper has accused the International Olympic Committee of betrayal, condemning the world sporting body for striking a secret deal with China to censor the international media during the Beijing Games.

A red-eyed and crestfallen Gosper, a senior IOC member for 31 years, told The Australian that both his reputation and that of the controversy-plagued IOC had been seriously dented by China’s decision to restrict internet access for journalists covering the Games.

Surely no one ever believed that a communist country would give free reign to foreign journalists or give way on human rights issues.

How much is buck passing and how much was anticipated before hand we’ll never know but one thing is for sure – I don’t believe that the IOC believed what the communists were telling them and they gave the games to Beijing for reasons of their own.

Maybe it will force China into softening, there may be a positive but I really think we are about to be hit with mobs of communist propaganda.

Over the next few weeks I think I’ll stay away from tabloid TV more than I normally do.

Politics

Unions want right of entry eased

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ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence has urged the Rudd Government to ease restrictions on unions entering workplaces after unionists were allegedly forced to hold a meeting sandwiched between two cars in a factory loading dock.

Union officials claimed the Brisbane factory meeting was held under a surveillance camera and garbage trucks drove in and out of the car park during the proceedings.

Terrible, rotten management.

However it appears only four of the 30 staff were union members so I wouldn’t let him in the staff lunch room either and in the long term only two union members turned up.

Jeff, I really think you have wasted your 15 minutes of fame with this little article. I’m sure Kevin would like to help you but there will be little sympathy raised by this little beat-up.

Politics
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