Tim Blair

Tim, I can't believe you didn't celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19.

world car free day must be really good for fast driving with all the hippies off the road.

by the way I hear there is thermite on your virgin blue planes.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10850565%255E421,00.html

This guy got the day wrong, but he was so excited to give up his car he started a day early:

Minnesota speeding ticket record set on motorcycle

Kilometres? What are you? French?

Bring back miles!

Bring back miles!

My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I like it!

At least we dont have to put up with that tragic black and white design Tim had on this site during last years Grand Final week.

I was going to say that it must feel pretty strange for you, Tim, to be at the 'G' on that one day in September and not have the Woodsmen run around. Then I realised that by now, you'd be used to it.

Feel very sorry for the inhabitants of western Victoria. They have the Port Power army invading. Think Snowtown defendants 1000-fold.

Seen this bit of trivia? The 100 year effect.

1900 Melbourne won GF 2000 Melbourne lost GF
1901 Essendon won GF 2001 Essendon lost GF
1902 Collingwood won GF 2002 Collingwood lost GF
1903 Collingwood 2003 Collingwood lost GF
1904 Lions won GF 2004 ?

Get it on, Tim. Why can't you afford to fly?

"by the way, how come there’s no World No Terrorism Day? Just asking."

What about Guy Fawkes Day on November the 5th? The day we celebrate the victory of Democracy over terrorism by blowing things up with fireworks, Thermite and Acetone Peroxide

Guy Fawkes Day...we celebrate...by blowing things up

Thanks Matt in Denver, for that link.
Definitely big brass ones.

Hey - that holy guy in IRaq who was the religious advisor for the group in Iraq beheading infidels, he should have listened about car free day - it seems the US military took that seriously. Tough fine though!!

Being from Adelaide - I say that I hope that Brisbane will win. Crows winning is one thing - bloody Port Friggin Adelaide is something completely different. Sort of like France winning the world cup or something - not good! Sorry for my home state - but go the Lions!!!

Tim,

You have to explain to us Americans the truth (i.e., the real story) about these various towns or cities that have teams in the Grand National Finals. Dish it dude, and dish it good. And make sure you dish it good about the various team's fans.

Bring back miles!

Statute or nautical?

it is like, what... 30 years since miles have been a legal measurement of distance, like there is still a country on this planet using that outdated system.. couldn't be more than one country, surely no more than one country could be that far out of date? surely?

Steve:
Quick question: you are 154 kilometers from home and you are driving 97 kilometers per hour. How long will it take to get home? [fumbles on floor of car for calculator]

Now, you are 113 miles from home and drving 60 miles per hour. How long until you get home? (113 minutes--see any relationship between any of those mile-based numbers?)

That, sir, is reason enough not to switch to that damned metric system. That, and the fact that some countries don't need the geographic viagra that "hectares" offer. My state is 108,000 square miles, and that's the way I like it---280,000 hectares feels like hollow bragging, like telling someone your salary in yen.

excuse me Matt in Denver, but the WHOLE WORLD has switched to metric years ago,, & if you are only 113 miles from home you are most likely already on your own land & the time it takes me to stop, open & close all the gates will totally ruin any calculations I even care to try & make about car speed.

besides MATTY,, what sort of pansy drives at either 97 kmh or 60mph?.. u slowpoke

MATTY, I draw your attention to an invention called SECOND GEAR

Speed jokes duly noted and appreciated. 60 is a good average for me for long road trips (5-10 hours), including stops for meals. At fancy resturants, with EXPENSIVE WINE.

The metric system is fine for some things, but a what the hell do you call a pint of beer, and kilometers are just incredibly lame. I have more metric tools than American at this point, which is probably true for most Americans not in construction.

It was a LOT of fun watching our Canadian cabinet guy rant and rave about our measurement system. His response to my driving query was, in fact, the correct reponse: "While you're driving maybe you can tell me what 15 5/8 inches plus 30 7/16 inches plus 52 23/32 inches adds up to."

Metric, miles -- pah! I say we bring back "leagues" and "stadia."

Hmm, kilometres sound "lame"? I'm afraid in this country we have long since rid ourselves of "rule brittania" & the accompanying pint of beer, (I am prepared to stand corrected, but I believe it is reallly 425ml)
It never ceases to amaze me how many who claim an adherence to the outdated imperial system, are absolutely & completely unable to quote their OWN weight in stones, or the size of their house in roods & perches... *fakers*

Steve, are you drunk, or are you just this much of an asshole all the time?

andrea, not drunk, but I live in hope *sigh* btw, where did you learn to spell? You think there is a hole in my donkey?

Steve, in America the word is "asshole." I am American. We use the word "ass" to refer to a human being's posterior (and, as in your case, the place where some people keep their brains). I use American spelling -- which differs slightly from the spelling used in other English-speaking countries.

By the way, you will be glad to know I have decided that you are not a drunken asshole; you are merely a permanent asshole. One who is about five seconds from getting banned from a comment thread to which he has contributed nothing but insults. Capisce?

u r so nice andrea, thank you for the lesson in the finer points of american culture. Gosh people there don't know the difference between a donkey & their own posterior (always had suspicions, hehehe)

OK, my post (imperial vs metric) started a spat amongst us in the English-speaking world. I still say imperial measures are better. Not only were they not invented in France, but thinking in base 60 or base 14 makes certain mathematical concepts much easier to grasp. And they help with fractions. Moving a decimal point around or striking off a zero is simply not a challenge.

But let's remember our common heroes (Nelson, Lincoln, Churchill, John Howard), team back up and hit the real enemy - the French.

Some of you may enjoy this site:

Inch Perfect

(Metrics and building)

Okay, little stevie, I've had it with you. I simply can't let you continue to humiliate yourself this way.

Holy Christ, I've stumbled across a group of neanderthals who still advocate the imperial system!!
a litre of pure water at sea level = 1kg
1000 litres = 1 tonne = 1 cubic metre.
1 metre pendulum swinging = 1 second
1000m = 1km
1km sq = 100 hectares.
100km/h will take you 100 km in one hour. Easy.
We count in base 10.
Metric is base 10.

The more you look at the metric system, the more beautiful the tie ins are. Brilliant system. Those croissant eating surrender monkeys got one thing right anyway.

The more you look at the imperial system, the more ugly the tie ins are. Antiquated system.
Those donut eating gun toting seppo monkeys just love continuing down the wrong path.

Metric is easier. Metric is more intuitive. The rest of the world laughs at the USA because of the imperial system. hahahaha
oh, and 1 pint glass in a pub has 570ml in it.

And there are plenty of places in Australia you can buy a pint of beer.

Not coz it's an imperial volume but because it's BIGGER!

Hey Tim, hope you're coping with those wimpy 'pots' of beer down there or do you prefer a 'glass'.

Go (Woods) Port!!

Henley:
Your world must be shaken every time you look at a clock, you base-10 hegemonist, you.

Besides these trivialities, could someone point out to the Gastropod that in his article in the "Australian" of 21 September re ALP schools policy, his "classical allusion" re the soldier and the shield comes to us from the SPARTAN not the Roman culture.

Thanks for the "inch perfect" site @ CJ.
Hensley you have a very good point, although when handling timber imperial measures are MUCH easier to do in your head than metric (strange as it may sound) Pint = is 570ml? Hmmm I believe a pint to be 20 fl oz. Which would beee..... 570ml! I was...er... thinking of the southern measure known as a "schooner" which is 425ml (sorry ppl)

Hey, the US stays with the measurements it does because it can! We just love to tick off the rest of the world! In scince and engineering we pretty much use metric, but in those things which measure common items we use the royal system. I remember when theytried to introduce metric on miles and people's weight and food sizes. In fact food sizes often still are listed in metric - underneath the ounces!!!

Long live the American ingenuity of using both systems, and fie to those who bought hook line and sinker the entire metric!

Hmmm, Rob, as a Victorian I am faced with the same dilemna: let those maggots from SA win a premiership, or let Brisbane reach immortality with four in a row?

When you consider that Brisbane have obvious Fitzroy (ie Victorian) connections, the latter is preferable. Still, the prospect of those cocky bastards like Akermanis joining footy history is worrying.

Anyway, down a few (um, pints?) on Saturday, and carn the CATTERS!

Try this beer glass guide.

Try this beer glass guide.

Sorry.

Should work now.

Keep in mind that French discovery of a efficient, sensible metric system was accidental. They tried to decimalise EVERYTHING after the Revolution including their calendar.

(Decimal week? YAY!)

1 metre pendulum swinging = 1 second

Yeah, but that one just sort of happened. (Actually, the period is very close to two seconds, so one second each way.)

As I recall it, there are very few complaints about the decimalisation of the currency.

CJ, notice how the author at the "inch perfect" link believes that degrees celsius is a metric measurement? Interesting site, but the author seems to be rather fixed in the belief that packing items by the dozen is incompatible with use of metric measurements!

The French Academy of Sciences is generally credited with the invention of the metric system, but didn't it's originator, Lavoisier, have with a date with the guillotine?

I read that as, "I celebrated world-care-free day by driving at 600km/h.". What a disappointment.

Cripes, am I the only American who's frustrated as hell that we're not on the metric system? Imperial measure is idiotic.

What do you neanderthals do when you're confronted with a two-liter Pepsi bottle? "Geez Louise, I can pour myself a glass of milk OK, bein's how it's in a quart container, but this two-liter has me stumped. How do I know how much soda's gonna be in my glass when I fill it?"

I'm sick of subtracting fractions of an inch, I'm sick of trying to remember how many cups in a gallon... goddammit, I'm sick of the whole archaic, stupid system and our lazy adherence to it. I'd count to ten before I explode, but one of you cavemen would probably tell me to count to 12-5/8".

I am one of the most hidebound, change-resistant individuals on the planet, and even I'm willing to give this 200-year-old newfangled invention a try.

Oh, and all you bumpkins who like to shoot holes in the metric road signs better goddamn well be doing it with a .30-30 or a .45. Save the proper 7.62mm for me so I can keep blowing up gallon jugs with it.

I've heard it a lot of times this week, and so have you, tim, but.....

Brisbane were never going to beat Collingwood in the grand final this year.

"Cripes, am I the only American who's frustrated as hell that we're not on the metric system? Imperial measure is idiotic."

Yes.

"What do you neanderthals do when you're confronted with a two-liter Pepsi bottle?"

I buy Coke. Oh -- and then I open the bottle and pour some into a glass over ice. Mmmm.

"I'm sick of subtracting fractions of an inch, I'm sick of trying to remember how many cups in a gallon..."

I've never had any trouble. And I'm not even good at math.

"I am one of the most hidebound, change-resistant individuals on the planet, and even I'm willing to give this 200-year-old newfangled invention a try."

So who's stopping you? All rulers come with inches on one side and centimeters on the other, and all cars (AFAIK) have kilometers on their speedometers as well as miles. (I don't know about the ones with LCD readouts.) I haven't heard that the metric system has been outlawed. Use it all you like.

Nobody in Australia knows how tall they are in centimetres. Nor what the police are talking about when they describe a wanted criminal as 188 centimetres tall even though feet and inces have not been around since 1972.

Which it probably a good thing, as that kind of police behaviour is height profiling.

You bastard. Instead of dashing down the Hume Highway to Melbourne and a date with the year's best piss-up and a probably Lion's win, I'll be meandering down the Mitchell Highway from Clermont on the way to Broken Hill. So I'll get to listen to it on the radio and maybe catch the end in some shitty motel room in Cunnamulla. And to add insult to injury, I'll be driving back during the other television event of 2004 (no, not Bathurst, the Election - sad, init?), so will get to watch that unfold from the SAME shitty motel in Cunnamulla - best I can hope for is an early start and maybe make Charleville, just for a change of scene.

Bloody sick rello's - their timing is invariably terrible.

Andrea - LCD readouts can be switched from English to Metric and vice versa.
At least, my '87 Taurus and '92 Dodge worked that way.

"Quick question: you are 154 kilometers from home and you are driving 97 kilometers per hour. How long will it take to get home? [fumbles on floor of car for calculator]"

"Now, you are 113 miles from home and drving 60 miles per hour. How long until you get home? (113 minutes--see any relationship between any of those mile-based numbers?)"

Anybody can rig the question so as to point the evidence in one direction. 60 miles per hour. Come on, that you have to use that simple trick, demonstrates how outdated miles really are.

Metric, imperial, what does it matter.

My grandad could never understand why people bitched and moaned about petrol prices. As far as he was concerned $20.00 worth of petrol still cost $20.00.

And now for something completely different over on Margoyle's website: those filthy stinking jeeeeeeewwwwwwws are at it again!

And now for something else completely different -- it's photo time!

Andrea:

I haven't heard that the metric system has been outlawed.

Of course, in England (all of Great Britain?) they have outlawed the non-metric system.

Hey, I know my height in centimetres, but also in feet/inches.

I have no idea about pounds, stone, miles, etc though. Born to far after the conversion date to worry about ye olde system.

Also, racing just hasn't been the same since metrics.

Bert Bryant: 'They hit the last furlong post and Gunsynd has a nose in front in the Cup... '

Shelby -

No they haven't. They use metric for some things, such as weights for food, temparature (on the BBC weather forecast, though most people I met still quoted Fahrenheit), and Imperial for many more things, like pints in bars, miles per hour on the motorway, feet for measuring heights and so on.

America is mostly Imperial, Brits are mixed and the Aussies are mostly metric.

America is right, the Brits are half-right and the Aussies are traitors.

I use both Imperial and metric systems (comes from being an engineer and a soldier), but I prefer Imperial for most things. I grew up with it.

But both are here to stay for a while. Like my granma used to say when she served spinach for dinner: "Pretend it's garbage and learn to love it".

Victoria is not a state it's a state of mind . Think gloomy ,self interested and preoccupied . Hey . buddy footy can live without your state so get over it.The only thing worse than Victoria is Sydney

"Oh, and all you bumpkins who like to shoot holes in the metric road signs better goddamn well be doing it with a .30-30 or a .45. Save the proper 7.62mm for me so I can keep blowing up gallon jugs with it."

What have you got against a good old .30-06, .303 or .308?

Now, gallon jugs just make sense...

metric is good. My biceps sound way more impressive in metric.

Dave S — What if we use a 12-gauge?

Noooooo not Port - nooooooo!

Surely, in metric a 12-gauge ought to be a 10-gauge?

"Traitor?" Please. The French did one thing right, so lets at least give them credit where credits due.

On a related note, Kerry slagged off Allawi and Iraq today, thus completing his hat-trick of alienating every ally.

Unless his magic promises to lure Germany and France to Iraq materialise, the US under the Kerry regime will be a very lonely power...

Congratulations to Port Adelaide. Well played and well won. I'm a Lions supporter, but I can't be too disapppointed (after the last 4 years especially - yes, second is still FINE by me).

At least a Melbourne club didn't win it! :-)

Is is just me, or did Brisbane seem very nervous a lot of the time during last week (against Gelong) and today? Don't know what was behind that. Go figure...

Richard.

Richard, the Lions were definitely tired, evident late in last week's win over Geelong.

And Port's Wanganeen kicked four in the second half. Eleven years after he helped Essendon to a Grand Final victory.

the US under the Kerry regime will be a very lonely power...

Quentin;

Not to worry, that ain't going to happen. chart of the betting for your entertainment.

Kerry's got a real flair for foreign policy - kiss the asses of the "allies" that flip you off, and slag the countries that support you. Fucking brilliant. That should have wonderful results.

Richard - doesn't 15mm sound more destructive than 12-gauge? Actually, maybe not. And hey, if you think your biceps sound more impressive in metric, how about your dork? "I've got fifteen centimeters for you, baby."

At least it wasn't possible this year for Tim's beloved Collingwood to get thrashed in the grand final.

I would like to make a point here: The U.S. does not, and has never, used the Imperial System.

The Imperial System was established by an Act of the British Parliament in 1824, and came into effect in 1826. One will note that the U.S. was independent for half a century by that point, and accordingly, unlike the subjects of the Empire, did not adopt a system invented after the metric system, with the metric-like declaration that a gallon was ten pounds of water.

Instead, the United States retained the old English measures, including the Queen Anne gallon. The last gallon ever established by the English Parliament before it was permanently dissolved in favor of a joint British parliament, the U.S. gallon is a real, legitimate traditional unit of measure, unlike the pseudometric abomination adopted in the Imperial System.

Imperial System nostalgia in Britain is a continuation of the British tendency to support faux-traditional institutions, like a figurehead monarchy, a decimalized pound, a Protestant church that celebrates seven sacrements, a House of Lords without hereditary peers or power, and the like.

"Oh, and all you bumpkins who like to shoot holes in the metric road signs better goddamn well be doing it with a .30-30 or a .45. Save the proper 7.62mm for me so I can keep blowing up gallon jugs with it."

What have you got against a good old .30-06, .303 or .308?

I hate to be a nitpicker, but 7.62mm (7.62x59mm NATO standard) is is .308 Winchester.

Now, the AK47 fires 7.62x39mm -- could that be what you are talking about?

FYI -- I fire a lot of .30-06 and .308.....good stuff!

OT.

Anthony Loewenstein posts a fact-starved diatribe about the Australian Jewish conspiracy against SBS. I felt I had to respond.

"I came across your 24 September column (“Closing down dissent, by AIJAC and SBS” - http://webdiary.smh.com.au/archives/margo_kingston/000275.html) - by chance. Your theme is the apparent pressure from “Zionist” lobbyists on SBS, resulting in SBS “routinely holding Israel/Palestine related documentaries, films and current affairs programs”.

Your first example chooses to refute a criticism of a February 2001 SBS news item with a 14 August 2004 SMH article. You gave no recognition to the changes that occurred in the intervening three and a half years.

Your column said the Sydney Morning Herald August 2004 article “confirmed Israel’s violation of international law”. What violation? What law? You fail to note that there is intense debate over whether any violation has occurred.

Those with a history of malice towards Israel (present company excepted, I’m sure!) have attempted to push this “illegal” line. The recent Israeli High Court judgement on the secuirty barrier failed to find any illegality insofar as it viewed the right of the Government to erect such a protective measure. And the Israeli High Court has a track record of dogged (and, at times, infuriating) independence.

You stated “Any program that features a strong Palestinian perspective or eyewitness critical of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) activity receives the same charge of anti-Israeli libel.” Perhaps you are unaware of the official “Palestinian” viewpoint of the role of the media. For information, you only need check out The Influence of Palestinian Organizations on Foreign News Reporting or similar articles (http://www.jcpa.org/brief/brief2-23.htm).

When the senior BBC Arabic Service correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Fayad Abu Shamala, told a Hamas rally on May 6, 2001, (attended by the then Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin) that journalists and media organizations in Gaza, including the BBC, are "waging the campaign [of resistance/terror against Israel] shoulder-to-shoulder together with the Palestinian people", perhaps you may feel that “Palestinian perspective or eyewitness” items may be vehicles for the “shoulder-to-shoulder” campaign.

You said: “Implicit in all (AIJAC’s) complaints is one simple fact: don’t question Western hegemonic power and accept the word of Ariel Sharon. AIJAC even complained about programs that were critical of the US war in Iraq and Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai." That’s a pretty long bow to draw from a complaint of SBS bias. In sport we call that “playing the man, and not the ball”. Why not provide a critique of a few of the complaints (it would need to be better than your SMH example above, though)?

If complaints about SBS’s slanted reporting of the Iraq war and Mugabe’s treatment of the opposition in Zimbabwe are examples of attempts to stifle questioning “Western hegemonic power”, then you seem to have a pretty jaundiced view of the ethical imperative for news journalism to remain impartial, or at least fair and balanced. Perhaps you could cite the SBS news items that provided this balance to the items complianed of?

You say that “Webdiary has information that three acclaimed documentaries have been rejected by SBS due to their perceived "sensitive" nature, most having won international film awards”. Michael Moore’s “documentaries” also won acclaim (at Hollywood and Cannes). Awards don’t make documentaries graduates of news journalism’s school of ethics. News media still have a professional obligation to provide fair and balanced (or impartial) coverage.

You state: “Not dissimilarly to America or Britain, political interference against media organisations is par for the course.” When news media organisation s are owned (or heavily funded) by the taxpayer, then the taxpayers’ representatives need to be concerned about the use of tax moneys for partial news dissemination. In Britain, the recent example of Andrew Gilligan’s lies (vigorously defended by the BBC Board and Chief Executive) were sufficient to cause scandal and political interest. CBS and Dan Rather have recently been exposed for promoting fraudulent documents in an attempt to pervert the course of a US presidential election. Then we have the case of Jayson Blair at the New York Times (fraudulent news postings) and Jack Kelley at USA Today (ditto). There’s enough evidence to at least harbour the suggestion of doubt about the ability of some news media organisations (and their employees) to manipulate the record of events.

As a “dissenting Jew in Australia” you may believe “Throughout the Western world, pro-Zionist groups have become increasingly successful in shutting down true debate on the Israel/Palestine question, preferring to label opposers as anti-Semites or self-haters. It is time we removed this veil and discovered their true motives.” I’ve no doubt that such comments could be found on certain weblog threads (posted by individuals), but you need to provide evidence of your assertion that such actions are being undertaken by “pro-Zionist groups”.

I haven’t read criticism of “opposers” as anti-Semites or self-haters – unless they apply falsehoods or double-standards to their arguments (indicating hostility or undue animosity towards the Jewish National Homeland – Israel). Without evidence to back it up, your argument remains wishful thinking at best, and conspiracy-mongering lending comfort to those who would truly wish to eliminate the Jewish people at worst.

I wish you l’shana tova."

"CBS and Dan Rather have recently been exposed for promoting fraudulent documents in an attempt to pervert the course of a US presidential election. Then we have the case of Jayson Blair at the New York Times (fraudulent news postings) and Jack Kelley at USA Today (ditto). " — And contrary to the Lowenstein rant, not one of those frauds was exposed or "suppressed" by the government, but by the actions of alert and dedicated private citizens...

That alert and dedicated private citizens did so probably scares the bejesus of this Lowenstein twit.

"Now, the AK47 fires 7.62x39mm -- could that be what you are talking about?"

As much as it pains me to admit, yes, I do shoot that godless Commie round. $180 for a beautifully made, unissued Yugoslavian SKS was too good to pass up.

16 dead on Australian roads this weekend Tim, and you weren't one of them? Not even injured? What a shame. All those innocent lives lost and an asshole like you makes it across 600 kilometres.

There ain't no justice.

Loved your shouting on the tele this morning. typical oafish, right-wing media manners.

Now, that's just mean, lacheruba. Do you understand why? You should really walk over to the sunny side of the street with me! ***Hugs***, Dylan

Sounds like somebody needs a nap!

Dave S — Was that $180 US or AUS? I always liked the SKS but stay away from the Chinese junkers... and where can you find Boxer-primed brass for it?

Hi, Rich-

That was US$180, which is about twice what the Chicom ones go for used. Smoking good deal, since as I said, it's mint unissued.

The quality is far superior to the Chinese. The Yugos couldn't make cars, but their Zastava factory made beautiful guns. The wood is attractive and well-fitted, the bluing is dark and even, and it has a much more substantial "feel" than the Chinese guns. Also comes with a rubber buttplate installed. The rifle shoulders quickly and balances quite well. Accuracy with the inadequate open sights and crap Wolf ammo is 4" at 100 yards (er, meters.) I'll be changing to a peep sight soon, and in conjunction with American ammo, expect 2" groups.

I believe both Winchester and Remington make new ammo (boxer-primed, of course.) I've heard the accuracy is excellent, whch is odd when you consider that US-made 7.62x39 uses .308 diameter bullets, while the Commie ammo is .311 (the US ammo is .308 because Ruger stupidly chose that bore size for their Mini-14, or perhaps it was vice-versa because the ammo manufacturers wanted to use their common .308 bullets rather than tool up for .311 ) Maybe handloading the US boxer brass with .311 bullets (if such bullets are available) would be the hot ticket.

Another nice thing is that stripper clips are a lot cheaper than mags, and just as fast. Not that it matters for killing evil jihadist soda cans, but it's like having a Ferrari - you'll never go 200 mph, but it's fun to know you can.

Forgot to add - they come with a grenade launcher attached at the muzzle. That makes the rifle as long as my Enfield #4, but it does remove fairly easily, I'm told. THat would shorten it about four inches. I haven't done it because, as I said, it balances nicely as is.

I hate to be a nitpicker, but 7.62mm (7.62x59mm NATO standard) is is .308 Winchester.

I hate to be a nitpicker too, but 7.62mm NATO is 7.62x51, not 59.

Alcheringa=A completely outgunned Mike Carlton who showed himself a whining, shallow excuse of a Labor party barracker.

Nah, alcheringa was far too chirpy for Mike Carlton. Must have been Phillip Adams, sitting down at his computer after a big lunch.

I've stumbled across a group of neanderthals who still advocate the imperial system

Not Neanderthals but Seppos.

And Mike in Denver - your missus tells me that you keep claiming that 2.5 inches is in fact 6.

You should go metric that 2.5 inches works out to a bit over 6 cms.

On another extended sabatical Tim, or too drunk and hungover to remember your password? Just when I was thinking of hitting your tipjar for a couple of bucks too. Pity. You'll be blogging nonstop for a long time before I entertain that whim again.

Dave S — Yes, but the Chinese have that whole "blow up and drive the bolt through your forehead" thing down pat...

Lowenstein: finally, a dumb Jew

Warmongering Lunatic is only partially correct.

In the good old days there were different gallons, depending on what was being measured.
Even to-day, we have troy ounces and troy pounds for measuring gold and silver which are different from ordinary ounces and pounds.

Back in US Colonial days there was the Queen Anne or Wine Gallon (231 cu in) and the Winchester or Ale Gallon (282 cu in).

The US stuck with the Wine Gallon for fluid measures. In 1824 the British threw out both the Wine and the Ale gallon in favour of the Imperial Gallon. An Imperial Gallon is 8 pints, and a pint is 20 fluid ounces. The Imperial Fluid Ounce is one ounce weight of water, so an Imperial Gallon of water weighs 160 ounces or 10 pounds.

There are 16 US fluid ounces in a US pint, but US fluid ounces are slightly larger than imperial, so 1 US fluid ounce of water weighs 1.04 ounces.

Just to be confusing, the US uses a different gallon for dry measures. A US bushel is defined as the volume contained in a cylinder 18.5 inches in diameter and 8 inches in height = 2150.42 cu in.
A US bushel is also defined as 8 gallons, or 64 pints, so US dry gallon is 268.8 cu in.

In the UK dry and liquid volumes are the same.

OT. Jose Maria Aznar spoke at the American Enterprise Institute on Friday. I don't claim to be an expert, but Aznar never struck me as someone who would make outlandish claims just to make news. He is also someone who probably has some inside expertise. Anyway, he indicated the possibility of three major forthcoming actions. A "major destructive action" , possibly in the 72 hours prior to November 2nd. Another in late December or early January for the Iraqi elections and another in May for Mr. Blair. Not new ground for sure. However, he is not a crank and does have good inside info and the fact that he is repeating these in open discourse should give one some pause. From "the corner" at National Review.

"I hate to be a nitpicker too, but 7.62mm NATO is 7.62x51, not 59."

Oops! Messed that up. Thank you!

The SKS is a lovely plinking gun, had one once, sold it later, foolish me.

"Just when I was thinking of hitting your tipjar for a couple of bucks too."

Liar.

Warmongering Lunatic was completely correct, he just didn't get into minutia.

You are all infidels! The only proper unit of measurement is the smoot.

Alcheringa,
hope you went to confession yesterday after your little outburst about Tim.

Oh you did, and the priest cleansed your black heart. Geez that was good of him. So the sun shines again on your fair head. Excellent!

And do they offer sandwiches to eat or something like that, while in confession?

No? But isn't that mayo on your cheek?

Christ, I though I was dreaming when I read some of the posts here. Guns? The classic refuge of those who think their dicks are too small. All that loving jargon about ammo and blowing things away. You guys are seriously disturbed.

Tim on Sunday was the epitome of the loud, argey-bargey Republican-style interviewee who just can't let the other side get a word in edgeways. If winning the argument means shouting, interrupting your opponent, talking over him and spouting meaningless assertions at a hundred miles an hour - just sloganeering - then Tim went close to victory. But at what cost?

Do we really want this kind of standard of debate here? Look what it's done to America, where up is down and black is white. We can do better than that. The interview on sunday was a disgrace: pointless, bullying and utterly uninformative.

Cue to the shouter-downerers...

Guns? The classic refuge of those who think their dicks are too small.

Alcheringa - their problem isn't that they "thin" that their dicks are too small. They "know" it.

Actually it was Ch 9 who was a t fault. Trotting out poor Mike C at a far too early on his morning off to face off with the two right wing attack pussies was never going to be rivetting TV.

I enjoyed the spluttering Roscoe Cameron much more.

^^ - must... remember... to... preview... posts.

Great game. It was on here in Canada. I love Aussie Rules.

Cheers

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/feature_stories/article_1650.asp

Alcheringa,
looking at the transcript for the panel discussion, located half way down the page, it appears that the only individual without manners (ie breaking in to what others were saying), was in fact Mike Carlton.

If there was any shouting, maybe that is in reply to Margo Kingston's desire (on a previous Sunday program) wanting some "passion" put into the debate over who should govern.

Still, if Tim shouted on the tele, it still doesn't excuse you being disappointed that it wasn't him that was hurt in a car accident. If you had any real knowledge of the impact car accidents have on people, you wouldn't wish it on you worst enemy, let alone someone you don't like because they have a different point of view to yourself.

Sure, come to this site and debate or post a view and go. It makes no difference how you want to do it but, leave the black-hearted stuff out of it.

Alcheringa,
Look I agree with you.No shouting and cheap American style confrontation on TV.That's not for us Aussies,lets keep the status quo of having one pretentious,snivelling elite have a conversation with another arrogant, superior, arty farty type, being mediated by Margo (the barking moonbat)Kingston.Why would anyone in their right mind want to spoil the smugness of shits like Mike Carlton?

Do we really want this kind of standard of debate here? Look what it's done to America, where up is down and black is white.

That's pretty much dead nuts on. Why just last night, I was dancin' on the ceiling with Lionel Richie. He brought the Commodores, and they are all the color of cream cheese. Also, they had no funk.

None.

Besides, all the Aussies I know are reserved, deliberate people. They certainly aren't a huge hoot down at the bar, and never speak out of turn. What a noble race. Save yourselves, you poor goddamned bastards!

A pretentious putz by any other name is still a pretentious putz. More projecting from the left. This one of your nightmares from downunder guys?

Alcheringa is one of those anti-gun zealots? Hmmm... notice how all those who oppose guns seem unable to refrain from bringing "dicks" into their conversation? Suffering some repressions perhaps alcherings? Like everybody else, we all BELIEVE that is was mayo on your cheek after confession, ;-)

"All that loving jargon about ammo and blowing things away. You guys are seriously disturbed"

Yes, Alch, blowing away gallon jugs and soda cans is seriously disturbed. It's right up there with child molestation. I can see why you're getting the vapors.

"Guns? The classic refuge of those who think their dicks are too small."

Smug, sophomoric Freudian pop-psych? The classic refuge of the intellectually lazy and terminally unclever.

I assure you, Alch, that you are far more obsessed about my dick that I am.

Now, take a whiff of your smelling salts, take a shot from your inhaler, brew yourself up a nice pot of camomile tea, and try to recover from this ghastly horror.

Hey Tim,
Who'd have thought a passing reference to the distance you drove could have turned into this? Perhaps in future you could post distances in both measurements, simply to prove that we superior Australians were taught to do the conversions in our heads waaaaay back in year two maths.

BTW, get any photos of the freakish Port fans?

I'm still scratching my head as to how the Jews made their way into this thread. S'funny that gets let through while poor Steve is threatened with a banning for supporting our dear metric system. Ok, so he made fun of how Americans spell things funny, but that's what we do here (it's not malicious, just retaliation for all those oh-so-old down-under jokes). Methinks Andrea uses that ban button as a personal defence mechanism rather than for the good of the people. She'd do well in local government.

Talk about a bunch of sensitive girlies. Someone comes on to your precious looney blog, stirs things up a little and you go to water, raving and ratbagging like the Viagra Queens you must really be.

I have nothing particularly against the right wing, but after living in America for the past five years, Tim's behaviour on the Sunday Show reminds me too much of the naziesque bigots that Fox News trots out so monotonously. the "dumb Jew" remark above only confirmed my opinion.

You girls are seriously demented. You seem to exist on the pure air of hatred. Next time you get you gats out, put the barrell in your mouths and do us all a favour (don't forget to pull the trigger either).

Can I remind people that John Howard is an "anti-gun zealot", if that's what you soldiers of fortune want to call them? Remember gun law reform? Remember Port Arthur? I won't be voting for Johnny, but at least I appreciate his anti-gun stance.

And Steve, you may be proud to be a gun-toting homophobe (spouting your crap at any mention of the word 'dick'), but I sure aint proud we've got people like you in our country. Next time Andrea wants to ban you, I'll put up no protest. Do us a favour and deport yourself.

Actually, reading that transcript gives the impression that Tim was being rather withdrawn, relatively speaking. You can count the number of times that Jana throws to him for comment - she doesnt need to do that with McGuiness or Carlton, as they jump in happily.

I think alcheringa et al saw what they wanted to see - anybody who is right wing must be 'rabid' etc. Look at Carlton's performance, he was yelling like a little girl.

"...yelling like a little girl."

Is this necessary? First, little boys yell too. Second, this is just as much an exaggeration as the claim you were trying to refute, Attila, and every bit as cliched as the perception that the right-wing is "rabid".

(it's not malicious, just retaliation for all those oh-so-old down-under jokes).

Those are lame. If you hold a globe North pole down then The U.S. is down under.

Suddenly I'm in the mood for a Foster's.

BTW, An awful lot of masoginistic girly references Alcheringa, everything ok?

Can you name a Fox Nazi?

There are at least 2 NPR reporters that I can think of off hand that contribute to Fox, Jaun and Marah, are they Nazis or Nazi-sympths?

It was hyperbole I admit. I do note that in the post immediately prior to one of yours, you don't admonish Alcheringa for this:

"You girls are seriously demented. You seem to exist on the pure air of hatred. Next time you get you gats out, put the barrell in your mouths and do us all a favour (don't forget to pull the trigger either)."

Hmm - mentions girls, dementia, and suggest suicide - worthy of comment?

Alceheringa also claimed:

"Tim on Sunday was the epitome of the loud, argey-bargey Republican-style interviewee who just can't let the other side get a word in edgeways."

Allow me to excerpt part of Carlton's performance:

TIM BLAIR: What about Mark Latham? Mark Latham said he would repeal the GST. In 1999 he said that if GST was introduced, he would revoke that. Now he is not saying that. Is he a liar? Does that mean he's a liar? He said that tariffs put economic ...

MIKE CARLTON: That's nothing to do with the issue at all. That's a gross red herring.

or

TIM BLAIR: It was either one of two things. Either he was responding to media calls that he should arc up a bit and be the old angry Mark Latham or he's someone more sensitive than someone with third-degree burns. I mean that question was nothing - it was about school, it wasn't about his child. And to suddenly start screaming about poor little three-year-old Oliver I think was ...

MIKE CARLTON: I think when you drag out the tots for the cameras and hold them up as a - you're giving away you're a family man.

Can Alcheringa now please provide a similar example of Blair talking over the top of someone like that...

I suspect that after the pair of Aussie and U.S. elections have passed and Howard and the evil Bushitler (along with his Nazi minions, digital brownshirts et al.) have both been reelected, it will rather be Alcheringa who will "put the barrell (sic)" in his mouth...

I must admit though that it's rather entertaining, in a car-wreck sort of way, to watch such a raving lunatic rush in here and make a total fool of himself by projecting his own all-encompassing hatred onto everybody else. (And thanks for pushing another dozen lurking swing voters into the respective Bush and Howard camps - we really do appreciate it.)

From the extensive quotations of the transcript, I assume you didn't actually watch the show on Sunday. the transcript doesn't do Blair justice for the complete loudmouth, intergecting asshole he really was. The quotations cited just above were questions asked of Carlton. BTW, but Big Tim just steamrollered over everyone. Rude, crude and very unattractive. The lengths of Blair's interjections even in transcript - speak for themselves.

A complete motor-mouth, ignorant, nasty and utterly uninformative. Just like you.

You may not have noticed it, but this is the most ridiculed, laughed-at, joke of a blog in australian politics today. You're only linked as a joke; as an example of how pathetic the rabid right actually is.

The whole world's laughing at you with your guns and your anti-Semitic trash talk. Tough guys who'd squib it at the first whiff of real gunfire.

Pathetic.

You complete failure to engage in anything resembling reasonable discourse is an unintentionally ironic contrast to your claims that members of the right are "rude, crude and unattractive", or "ignorant, nasty and utterly uniformative" In between your personal attacks, how have you informed anyone?

As for the transcript, lets have a look at the longer version of my second quote:

JANA WENDT: Mr Latham reacted rather angrily last Sunday, I think, when he was asked about where his son would be going to school, public or private. Again, was this a moment in the last week of the campaign that had any significance, Tim Blair, did you think?

TIM BLAIR: It was either one of two things. Either he was responding to media calls that he should arc up a bit and be the old angry Mark Latham or he's someone more sensitive than someone with third-degree burns. I mean that question was nothing - it was about school, it wasn't about his child. And to suddenly start screaming about poor little three-year-old Oliver I think was ...

MIKE CARLTON: I think when you drag out the tots for the cameras and hold them up as a - you're giving away you're a family man.

Hmm - looks like a question asked directly of Tim.

Or the first:

JANA WENDT: OK, whatever we might think around this table, Tim Blair, can I try with you, do you think then that the electorate believes that John Howard has told lies or do they err in his favour on this issue, Tim?

TIM BLAIR: I don't think it's news to the electorate that politicians occasionally fudge the truth. I think that's why the Howard lies hasn't gained ground.

MIKE CARLTON: I don't think he has gained ground. Nobody sets store in Mr Howard's promises any more.

TIM BLAIR: What about Mark Latham? Mark Latham said he would repeal the GST. In 1999 he said that if GST was introduced, he would revoke that. Now he is not saying that. Is he a liar? Does that mean he's a liar? He said that tariffs put economic ...

MIKE CARLTON: That's nothing to do with the issue at all. That's a gross red herring.

Question asked by Jana to Tim, response by Carlton, response by Tim, interjection by Carlton.

So when you say:

"The quotations cited just above were questions asked of Carlton. BTW," You are utterly wrong.

As for this blog being a joke, why do so many lefty trolls feel the need to hang around? This isnt the ABC, your money isnt being used to fund it. I dont hang out at lefty blogs and tell them what a pack of wankers they are. Trolling says a lot more about the troll than it does about the author of the blog.

Feel free to respond with some factual assertions, otherwise, feel free to fuck off.

Al--"anti-Semetic trash talk"?

Sigh.

Tim, please phone home.

Hey lefties, the right gave you better economic management; reduced welfare payments to get you lazy indolent bastards - literally - back to work (well, in the US at least); a backboned position on murdering terrorists who want to kill you (especially you, leftie: weak-kneed head-nodding co-operationists with murderous regimes - who view you with the disgust you deserve) and policies designed to champion the family (yes, that unit of society which is so crucial to the wellbeing and outcomes of every individual) ...

... all that and you still steal the Right's insults.

'Talk about a bunch of sensitive girlies ...'

Sorry lefties, 'girlie' (Schwarzenegger's 'economic girlie men') is taken. You got in a month or so late.

Make up your own insults, lefties!

Tim, like ushie said, PLEASE phone home.

"Do we really want this kind of standard of debate here?"

dicks..asshole..suicide..dumb Jew..Viagra Queens..naziesque bigots

Thanks for elevating the standard of debate Alcheringa. I'm not surprised to see you're hung up on dicks and assholes, but what's up with the dumb Jew reference.

Add "I can't read" to your qualifications, Arty. From earlier on in this thread:

"Lowenstein: finally, a dumb Jew

Posted by: trojan at September 27, 2004 at 02:48 AM"

You guys are the stuff Nazis are made from. And just as laughable.

So, one guy makes a comment about the intelligence of one Jew, and we're anti-Semitic now?

That's stretching it a bit, don't you think?

You can criticize Isreal or Jews without being anti-Semitic. It's only when the criticisms are based on the fact that the target is Jewish that you become anti-Semitic. So when Tim or non-troll commentors start calling for the eradication of the Jewish race, then you can start calling us anti-Semitic.

Until then, fuck off.

I'm confused. I was almost banned here by Andrea for being too left, now I am pilloried for being anti-Semitic for a remark that was plainly complimentary to Jews. It's amazing how many clever Jews there are, so a relief of sorts to we gentiles when a dumb one (Lowenstein) reveals himself.

David said: It's only when the criticisms are based on the fact that the target is Jewish that you become anti-Semitic.

My point precisely, David. The statement was anti-Semitic by your own definition.

So now you're defending anti-Semitism? Excusing it? I thought the Jews were your friends?

Alcheringa:

When you actually read what I posted, then you may comment on it.

Gosh Karl, you think anyone is going to forget that John Howard is an anti-gun zealot? Why you think Pauling Hanson is so popular? Even Gough Whitlam & Paul Keating NEVER took guns from people, as I delight in reminding adherents of the ever diminishing National Party.

You belive I am a gun toting homophobe? How you know this? You got crystal ball? Perhaps I am a 12yo kid typing from my schoolroom in some cappucino sipping suburb, or maybe I am a dear old lady dictating to my grandchildren, who sit & type for me by my sick bed?

You not proud to have me in Australia Karl? Then please reimburse me with my share of what my tax dollars have done for you... & do it forthwith!!

I read the Trojan post about "a dumb Jew" Algeringa. I just threw in the question to see if you'd run in circles on command.

Add "obedient pooch" to your qualifications.

It's time to shut down your computer, turn the lights back on and pull up your pants Al. Go outside and get some sunlight.

Hm. I come out from under yet another hurricane to find a bunch of screaming toddlers have infested Tim's blog. So therefore I am closing this comment thread.

By the way: trojan, I am not sure where you got the impression that you were "almost banned... for being too left"; I do not ban people on the basis of their political leanings. I do, however, ban persons who have proved themselves to be nothing but time-and-bandwidth wasting trolls, who infest this place in order to hijack conversations to their own obsessions, who do nothing but sling insults at everyone, and suchlike behavior. Sadly, most of these people also seem to be those whose politics lean to what is known as the "left" end of the spectrum. What this says about left-leaners in general would not seem to be very good, would it?