Broadmeadows pre-selection

It now looks increasingly likely that non ALP member Frank McGuire (or as he will soon be known as, "Eddie's brother") will be parachuted into the vacant seat of Broadmeadows at the upcoming by-election (if he survives the threats of legal action?).
Despite the embarrassment of not even being a member of the party (what do political beliefs have to do with anything anyway?), lives in plush Brighton, and used to work for an ex Democrats leader, the Shorten-Conroy cabal have brushed aside the normal pre-selection procedure to install yet another celebrity candidate (anyone remember Kirsty Marshall?).
While this would normally call for cynicism, I guess it's better than having that branch stacking Turk Burhan Yigit propped into one of Labor's safest seats. And it is oh so safe, the simpletons of the Broadmeadows region are not smart enough to vote for anyone else on an issue by issue basis, they're completely rusted on (and there to be taken advantage of by the ALP).
I guess voters in safe seats get the representatives they deserve at times?

drugged up athletes denying the undeniable

While I was reading a recent article about celebrity (or socialite to be exact) Totti Goldsmith getting busted for allegedly being in possession of cocaine at a rock music festival, her denials of the allegations got me thinking of all those god awful athletes (especially cyclists and track and field competitors) who when caught, immediately switch to plausible deniability mode, and plead that there's been some kind of terrible mistake and that they're innocent of the allegations. Well there's been a mistake alright, they didn't use enough masking agent and got caught! While making no aspersions on dear old Totti, this appalling mindset that exists in professional sport that we just deny everything really has got to change. And perhaps it might if we had journalists who actually took these athletes to task for their crimes, instead we usually see an instinctive maternal response where the media laps up their denials while continuing to portray them in the best possible light.
And if the media are not bad enough, when these allegations finally go before the relevant authorities, (as an example I'll use cyclist Nathan O'Neill) they're found guilty of a violation, yet the Arbitrator slaps them on the wrist with a "no significant fault or negligence" finding! I mean no wonder these guys can just keep blatantly taking drugs, because they know that even if they get caught with something in their system, they can usually come up with a plausible denial that we'll gladly swallow. The media won't vilify them too much, they'll keep their sponsors, and at worst they'll have a short ban for an "unintended" violation. That's how these things seem to work I'm afraid.
And btw, does anybody still remember that Shane Warne is a convicted drug cheat?

footballers causing trouble

Following the recent arrest of Australian Rules footballer Brendan Fevola for the umpteenth time, the issue of unruly sports stars is in the news again.
In recent times some social commentators have taken the view that the sports clubs should take more responsibility in the social welfare of their athletes, and not spit them out when they're no longer useful or have strayed in the wrong direction.
Well I have to disagree with this viewpoint to some extent, (in this case) these football clubs are employing highly paid professionals to perform a task, with the historic trade off being the clubs excusing and/or covering up their crimes (moral and perhaps occasionally illegal?). Top level football clubs are part of an industry - a business that makes money for highly paid players and administrators, and as the blindly parochial are slowly finding out, there's no room for sentiment or loyalty towards the supporters in this game.
But back to my point, all the recent talk about player counselling and sensitivity training is nothing but PR smoke and mirrors, designed to downplay the fact that allot of these guys are just arrogant troublesome jerks with an inflated opinion of themselves. The reputation of "the club" is all that matters....and by that I mean its ability to keep making money for everyone on the gravy train.
So no, I don't think we need to mollycoddle these footballers any more, if their massive PR machine can't hide or downplay their latest scandals, then they need to live or die by their actions. At the end of the day it's a two way street - we'll cover your arse as best we can, but if you keep crossing that line, then you're on your own....and good luck with your futures endeavours.
Ps. Don't wait by the phone for us to ring back...........

celebrities and State funerals

While the recent death of the indigenous talented ex footballer Maurice Rioli is a sad thing, one can't help but cringe at the increasingly epidemic pattern of awarding State funerals to every washed up has been sports star and celebrity. And how undignified it was to see Rioli's brother Sebastian pre-empting the process by publicly demanding a tax payer funded memorial. Maybe I'm a little old fashioned, but I would've thought the classy thing to do is humbly accept a state funeral IF it were offered, not EXPECT one, like some kind of God given entitlement?
But hang you say, what about his service as Member of the NT Parliament, surely that makes him worthy of State honours? Well let's have a look at that record then;
he was caught out pawning a tax payer provided bar fridge from his electorate office to cover gambling debts, as well as lending his car to an unlicensed teenager who then proceeded to crash it.
Not a particularly distinguished career of public service in my view.....and not that you can find much reference to it on google either, it seems to have been airbrushed from history? Another common occurrence with sporting celebrities in this country I would argue.
But my criticisms are not directed towards Rioli per se, so much as I'm using him as a perfect example to highlight this country's obsession with $3 celebrities and the airbrushing of the inconvenient truths. In the great scheme of things some footballer contributes very little to the enhancement of society, yet we embarrassingly fawn on them in a truly cringeworthy way.
I mean when was the last time a scientist or a doctor was awarded a state funeral for some truly worthy breakthroughs in their respective fields of endeavour....in areas that truly contribute to society?.....the silence is deafening I know!

"new age" silliness and simpleton celebrities

I read today that the consumer watchdog the ACCC has come out against those ridiculous "power balance bracelets" see here by stating that "there is no credible scientific basis for the claims". But what's disturbing about the whole fiasco is that we as a society are so stupid that we need to be told by the authorities before we accept the blindingly obvious.
How sad it is that a piece of plastic junk that's probably made in China can be marketed as something that provides better "balance" by working with the wearer's "natural energy field", and we just gobble it all up because we see some $3 celebrity wearing it, so we need to have one too!
But I guess this leads me to ask the question, are the celebrities involved paid to market a scam by the company, or are they just victims who've jumped on the "new age" bandwagon? Because remember, in this shallow empty decadent secular world that your average celebrity lives in, they're easily sucked into the latest fad or new age malakia (sorry, but some words need to be emphasised in Greek!)....or worse.....Scientology or heretical pentecostal Christianity!