Thursday, March 29, 2012

I know nothing about football either #auspol

And an even *weirder* thing about our politics is this.

Every month or so - someone undertaking an *opinion poll* calls to ask our opinion about Australian politics.

Not football mind you - politics. A subject that by our own admission - we know nothing about.

But that doesn't stop us from giving them our opinion. Because whilst we know nothing about politics - we would be embarrassed to admit that to anyone - especially an opinion pollster.

So we make stuff up to reflect what we *think* is the right answer - based upon what we saw on television yesterday or last week or last month. Sometimes we even "call a friend" first.

And then the folks who *are* interested in politics pore over the results for weeks - to determine the fate of our Government and the potential of our Opposition.

Really, what sort of a three ring circus is that?

Democracy Rule 1a #auspol

Why do you think it is that a large proportion of Australian's are more interested in sport than in politics?

It strikes me as *weird* that Australian's can spend hours and hours watching football but they will only spend moments thinking about and participating in our democracy.

Our democracy is so poorly considered that we worry about it once every three or four years. And then we usually just vote how our parents voted a decade previously.

But football is so valued that we head off to the local match every Saturday, we wear the team colours and wave the team flag from our car window, we insist that our children learn the rules and play all the grades up until they become obese at 16 or so. We shed tears at the funerals of football greats and prop up the club bar with our mates until midnight.

And then we have the gall to blame our politicians for the state of our polity.

So here is the rule - I call it the Democracy Rule 1a.

You value sport over politics - no worries mate? You can watch it and play it and talk about it all day on polling day. Don't bother heading over to the polling booth because you won't get in. You won't be accepted if you fail the simple test at the gate that demonstrates that you have some basic knowledge and are engaged with the political process.

A simple test that has half a dozen questions like "What is a half Senate election"? Sorry - ain't no questions about football at that gate Virginia.

If football is your passion and your religion - that's cool. The rest of us will vote on your behalf.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Politicians On the Nose #auspol

I am not a Queenslander - so I have no idea why the ALP got kicked out north of the Tweed.

But I do have a bit of insight into why the ALP is on the nose further south.

And as usual it isn't a simple story - lots of issues and complications - but there is one huge underlying factor.

Competence. The sort of competence that results from entitlement - as in *I am entitled*. It is probably not appropriate to generalise but I am going to anyway.

One of the big problems for the Federal ALP is that their parliamentary members are simply not up to it. Few have worked a real job; most have arrived at the Federal Parliament via a Union or a State Government sinecure or even worse - been a staffer in a State Minister's office. They turn up in Canberra with their entitlement antennae switched on - but no idea about what is required to govern. And they usually fail dismally as a result.

Don't believe me - check out the employment history of our Prime Minister and her Deputy? And if you are looking for a worthwhile project now that you have become unemployed - you might want to check out and document the rest of the Ministry - Virginia.

They are not up to it because the ALP has an entitlement selection system - as in their MP's get to be members because apparently they have served their time shovelling sh*t for the party. It might take them a decade of smooth talking and a*se licking and 2 or 3 goes at it but eventually they get preselected and end up as an actual certified MP.

It's a club - a bit like the old boys club that fills Australian Board seats. Only worse.

And one is only entitled if one serves out one's time as an ALP or Union hack - surrounded by a bunch of others who are also *entitled*. Truth is their selection process is broken - which is why they end up with people who have no clue about what is going on out here in the real world.

Best way to fix it is to get rid of the tired old hacks, lawyers and yes-men from the ALP - make sure that any new people seeking endorsement are educated, can inform themselves, have at least 20 years working a real job, are able to engage with people - and actually believe in something.

It may help if their name sounds something like "Campbell Newman".

Friday, March 23, 2012

World Class Politicians in Action #auspol

I suppose handouts are a good thing - if you are on the receiving end. The Howard government survived for years after perfecting the art of handouts - to this or that special interest group. It works a treat when you are trying to stay in the big seats.

And the Gillard government is just following along in that grand tradition. A quarter billion here and a quarter billion there and pretty soon you will be talking real money.

$275 million to General Motors - no worries. Ford will be next, closely followed by the Japanese the Koreans and everyone else who can find a Minister with an electoral problem and a chequebook.

I am sure there won't be too many unintended consequences Virginia.

Apparently we are supporting the motor vehicle industry because we want to keep the high value and highly skilled people who work there. The vehicle designers and engineers are supposd to be a vital part of the industrial infrastructure of the nation and we simply can't affort to lose those skills.

These twenty or so people are so vital that they are worth the billions in handout money that we spend. So too are the few thousand blue collar workers who assemble the cars, live in the inner city and who mostly vote Labor.

We need them to stay here to design and build the world class cars and aircraft and submarines and warships that we need.

Or so the myth goes. But it's mostly BS.

Remember Mitsubishi and the kerfuffle that resulted when they pulled the plug on local manufacturing? Their last world class - locally designed and built car was the 380. This thing was so bad that I think they sold 17 of them and 16 of those were bought by the state government.

But wander into a Mitsubishi showroom today and marvel at the variety and quality of vehicles on offer. It's all top notch and hi-tech stuff - but not one is designed or built locally - sorry about that.

Do you think there might be any lessons in that experience for our "world class" politicians?

And remember the GAF Nomad, the Collins Class submarine and the Leyland P76 - Australian engineering excellence in action? I could go on but you get the picture.

And then we have the costs. Why do you suppose it is that our cars cost about twice what they do in the US, the UK and even little old NZ?

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Some thoughts on my next boat - a Demountable Monohull

These notes describe *some* of my thoughts that will drive the development of my next boat - a demountable monohull. I am calling it the DM12 but need to find a proper name soon.

The demountable monohull is inspired by "Phil Bolger's Breakdown Schooner" - featured in his book "Boats With an Open mind". Of course only the five remaining Bolger fans will have any idea what I am on about. This is not a big heavy fibreglass gin palace. More a lean mean contrary style cruiser.

Am thinking it will comprise 2 x 6 metre long hulls joined end to end - with a clever steel tube spaceframe that also forms the frame for the removable cockpit roof. Could even be 2 x 7.2 metre hulls or even something between these sizes if I can't fit everything in that I need.

So 12.0 to 14.4 metre length in total. Around 3.2 metres of beam. Around 1000 kg hull weight (~500kg each hull) using my ply/epoxy construction method - with another 1000kg of ballast and say 600 to 800 kg of rig and people things. No engine. Displacement of say 2600 to 2800 kg. Resulting in a CB up draft of around 340mm. But these numbers need to be developed a lot more before things are finalised.

It will be water ballasted (totally) - perhaps even 1000kg of water that autofills the lower hull - that part of the hull beneath the floor. This will be open to the surrounding water and will completely drain when the boat is hauled. Note to self: Need to model this properly using the hydrostatics software because the structure beneath the floor will contribute almost nothing to displacement. In effect it will be modelled like a flat bottom sharpie. The lower hull frames and walls just serve to keep the ballast water in place - all to make sure that inertia works effectively for us.

It is demountable because of winter storage and maintenance requirements and also to enable it to be built in the existing 12m x 9m facility - which is unable to accommodate a single 12 metre hull. This will result in two hulls built side by side and transported one by one to the nearby launch site. The trailer system will be simplified also because it only needs to haul ~500kg of hull at a time. The major transport challenge will be fitting the hulls into the 2.5metre width requirement - so they will be on edge. Note to self: Could possibly rethink the beam measurements?

Once at the launch site the hulls are floated off the trailer (one after the other as they are delivered) and then assembled adjacent to the shore. Should be an interesting sight for anyone observing!

Assembly involves placing and securing the structural spaceframe and tightening the bolts and nuts that hold it all together. Then assembling the rig, loading her up and sailing off into the sunset. Which will be an even more interesting sight!

The cockpit will be about 3 metres long - and be near the centre of the boat around the joint of the hulls. Perhaps extending equally into the rear and front hulls. The main centreboard will pass through this cockpit. Entry to each hull is via the cockpit.

There will be three daggerboards - front, mid and rear. Retrieved via a winch system. All to give some flexibility with managing pointing and rig balance. After all this is a bit of a radical prototype ;-)

Propulsion will be via two freestanding masts/sails/wings mounted ketch or schooner fashion - one on the front hull and one on the rear. Thinking about 50 to 60 square metres of Dacron across both masts - with CE down as low as practicable. Possibility of additional masts/sails/wings as the concept develops. Also will probably need a kite (as in wind sailing kite) for downwind work.

The image that I have in my head of this boat is that of Tom Perkins' 88m Maltese Falcon - major difference being that I don't have $270+ million to spend.

The front hull (looking forward from the cockpit) will contain the galley on one side and the shower/head on the other - adjacent to the forward cockpit entry point. Length about 2.4 metres each. Moving forward there will be a dinette / lounge that may also be converted to bunk space. This will be about 3 metres long. In front of this will be wet storage. Is that 6metres already?

The rear hull (looking aft from the cockpit) will contain the main lounge area about 3metres long - followed by the main cabin which is also about 3 metres long. Sounds about 6 metres to me.

All storage will be under seats and bunks etc. Need to find some hanging locker space - somewhere. Should be easy with all that internal volume.

Interior furnishings will be kept to a minimum and will also add structural capability to the hulls. The hulls will be built in the usual fashion - multi-chine ply with stringers and epoxy - sheathed in glass/kevlar. Each is a big monocoque - super strong and super light. 9mm Gaboon ply will probably dominate.

So that is my current thinking - let the development begin.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

She'll be right - something will turn up soon #auspol

It is fairly clear from recent *expert* commentary that the nation is in a bit of strife.

Growth is slowing and jobs and job security are disappearing. Things are going pear shaped rather quickly.

A year from now as we head into another election we will find that large sections of our population are *very* unhappy about how things have panned out.

They will be seeking out the charlatans who feed off disaffected voters - to find a shoulder to cry on and advice about who to blame. If we aren't careful - this could easily become a turning point in our democracy.

Unfortunately our government is not alert to this problem at all and even if it were then it would not be able to react - simply because its leaders aren't able to. Political and economic nous is in short supply on the Labor side. How any political party can elevate such lightweights to their leadership is completely beyond me.

Not that it is much better on the Coalition side. They are a bit more politically astute though and to some extent have forced Labor into this situation.

The quite stupid Gillard/Swan commitment to return the budget to surplus in 2013 is a direct result of a political trap set for them by the Opposition. And it wasn't even a particularly clever one. But the fools fell over themselves to get into it.

Of course few Australian's comprehend the major economic issues because for decades they have been lied to and misled by our politicians and our media. We only have ourselves to blame if our leaders do stupid things - I know that - but it still hurts when they do.

People like myself and the local blogosphere can write about it till the cows come home - all to no effect. Because the great unwashed simply don't read - they have no way of reliably sorting wheat from chaff. Which is why we need some real leaders to help them through.

I am amazed to discover that around half of our population don't read anything at all - so how are they able to inform themselves? And the gerries who scoop up Murdoch lies have become rusted on with one foot in the grave anyway.

And besides we don't have a media that actually works in the national interest. Haven't had for decades. It ain't gonna change anytime soon Virginia,

Whether that results in Mr Abbott gaining access to the big seats is another question. I don't believe that he will - which will be a good thing because he has neither the temperament nor the ability to lead the nation. And neither do his hand picked front bench IMHO.

I suppose "she'll be right" - because something will "turn up". Won't it?

Monday, March 19, 2012

Mona + Lisa #auspol

Today I visited Mona. Doesn't quite live up to the *over the top* hype of the publicity - but it is pretty spectacular.

Some of the art is just outstanding and some is outrageous - but the thing that blew me away was the building and the architecture - and the digestion machine. Superb. I am not going to attempt to be an art or architecture critic - except to say - go visit the place and see for yourself. There is nothing else in Australia quite like it.

The other thing that is impressive is the ferry ride - there and back. If you have never been on the Derwent river in Hobart then you must do this trip and you will need to take a camera to record the experience.

I had the rather unfortunate luck of sharing ferry seats back with three *actual* bogans. My favourite sub-class as you may already know.

And they proceeded to tell me about everything that is wrong with Mona. Plus they didn't like the art. By their own admission they are not *arty farty* people. But I did learn that it isn't up to the same standards of the big *banana* and the big *pineapple* - back home in Queensland ;-)

To add value to the conversation, I told them that many Australian tourists - who find themselves outside their comfort zone - somehow become f*cking stupid. It's a national habit I said.

And it worked a treat.

And the other thing I did today is catch up with my new best friend Lisa. Lisa is one of those young Tasmanian women who are clever, polite, good looking, articulate, friendly and educated. The place is full of them. There is not a bogan gene to be found amongst the local females and I try to celebrate that.

So refreshing.

Vote for me, I know nothing and hate the same things you do #auspol

Just can't stop thinking about the title of Nicholas Gruen's post over at Club Troppo - produced above.

And the content of course. This is so relevant and magnificently sums up the trouble that we are having with our politics at the moment.

There is nothing much that I can add - except to say - go read it a few times and share it widely.

And while I am pointing to top notch Australian sources - the macrobusiness piece on "Understanding the Australian Economy" is fantastic - a clear outline of important *must have* information. You won't find anything like it in our mainstream media.

And Mr Denmore has created a first class review of George Megalogenis' "The Australian Moment". So good it caused me to buy the book.

I won't link to any of them - if you are interested enough then you will find them.

But I can't finish this post without my customary dig at our mainstream media. Fair dinkum, the Murdoch daily rags are hopeless and getting worse.

I am still in Hobart and for the first time in about ten years - scanned a copy of the Mercury this morning at breakfast. My usual breakfast reading comprises picking the interesting items out of my Google Reader feed and following the links - wherever they go. As Forrest Gump said - "life is like a box of chocolates".

It usually takes an hour or so and I like to think that I am reasonably well informed about important issues as a result. Such is my personal delusion.

My scan of the Mercury lasted a full 20 seconds. The *fluff and bubble* that is masquerading as content is just atrocious. Not a single piece was worthy of the term "content". And yet there is so much that is interesting and exciting happening in Hobart - you would have thought that "The Mercury" would be alert to at least some of it.

Nope apparently not. Because like all Murdoch media - they are blinded by ideology and they have an agenda.

As Andrew Bacevich says "Ideology makes people stupid". And Murdoch channels that in an attempt to influence our politics.

Which is why as a nation we seem to "vote for people who know nothing and hate the same things that we do".

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Atomic Cover Up - Greg Mitchell

Just finished reading "Atomic Cover-Up" by Greg Mitchell.

Stunning must read story - it made me weak at the knees to understand how the US Government has been *covering the nuclear stuff up* for 70+ years. And the Japanese people have been paying a huge price.

And many of us thought that the *big* lies were a relatively recent thing. Guess again Virginia.

I think what we are seeing now is an arrogance that is built on the knowledge that they have gotten away with it for decades - so why bother with the subterfuge anymore.

Do the terrible deed. Lie about it and then don't even bother to hide it - because *who* and *what* is going to object?

Certainly not the political muppets that they install in their *so called* friendly nations.

Unfrigginbelievable - so bad that I need another scotch and soda.

Friday, March 16, 2012

And another thing Virginia

In a moment I will quit raving about my Hobart experience and the quality of the place. And you can all go back to watching the fluff on Friday night television.

But there is another thing that stands out and I need to pen a few words about that before I forget.

The *bogan* count is low. Let me repeat that. The *bogan* count is low. Thank goodness actual bogans are not attracted to the place - probably because t-shirts, shorts and thongs don't work very well here ;-)

Clearly they don't come here in large numbers. And as a result there are few monster 4wd's on the roads. Now that is a very pleasant surprise.

What you will see instead are small fuel efficient European and Japanese vehicles - they dominate the transport landscape - as they should.

Now I am not saying there aren't *any* bogans or 4wd's - just that there are a *lot* less than I am used to.

And that Virginia is a very good thing.

Julian Sanchez

This is stunning. Must read the comments.

Hobart - no sign of recession here Virginia #auspol

I am in Hobart for a few days catching up with friends and a bit of R & R.

We lived in Hobart in the mid 1970's and again in the early 1990's. It is fantastic to be back - a great place to be.

Work is another story - there have never been any real jobs of substance here but the locals seem to have adapted rather well and they appreciate the lifestyle.

Had a few drinks and dinner last eve with an old mate and his family at the aptly named *Dr Syntax Hotel* and lunch today with an ex colleague. I am pleasantly surprised by their attitude and adaptability to the economic circumstances of the place.

Am sitting in Hadleys Hotel at the moment enjoying a quiet little drink and live band. This is a fantastic old building that is a bit of a fixture and meeting place in the CBD. Surprisingly it is even older than I am.

The star attraction of Hobart is the waterfront and the Salamanca Place precinct - it seems to be busy 24/7. The pubs, cafe's and restaurants are everywhere and the quality is just awesome. I had lunch today at Rockwall - simply stunning food and service.

As a bit of an aside, in a prior life I worked on the design and construction of the Salamanca Place precinct - way back in the 1970's - it is still the same today as when we built it. Paved roadways were unusual back then - some things do endure.

But the thing that really grabbed my attention today was the attitude of the Hobart City Council parking inspectors - believe it or not.

Leaving my mate's office in the Salamanca precinct - a parking inspector was about to ticket a work colleague's car - my mate intervened, rang his colleague and asked the inspector to wait. Colleague duly arrived and parking inspector gave him a friendly warning but no ticket.

I was gobsmacked and noticed similar things happening all around us. The HCC parking inspectors are actually working as ambassadors for the place. This is exactly how it should be.

These folks know how to run a high value tourist precinct - I am super impressed.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Calling out our MP's behaviour - just for fun #auspol

One of the things that I want to do in the leadup to the next election is build a comprehensive knowledgebase that is feeding information websites around a few key electorates that have *fools* and/or *charlatans* as sitting members.

The idea is to build a bit of a fact based story around the previous behaviour of these members - to show the electorate what they might be in for next time.

We will expose the lies, dig into the personal relationships, identify the ideology and dogma and follow the money and sex trail. And we will document it all - mostly things that voters don't know much about today.

The focus will be on the facts - not so much commentary - just happy to present the truth about these people.

And then you can decide. A bit like our media should be doing.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Lets have some Radical Change #auspol

The longer I am exposed to the antics of our politicians the more I am convinced we need radical change.

The Coalition are clearly operating from the Republican Party play book - 20th Century version - their behaviour is a severe embarrasssment to our nation. Everyone watching them knows it - but no-one internally has the guts to move them on.

The only reason they are still talking crap is because they think their rusted on's won't notice.

Because if they did then they would vote for a blue fence post instead. And it would probably deliver much better value.

Surely someone in the blue team understands the damage they are doing? When the monk and his crew eventually get the flick then it will take a decade to repair their damage.

Malcolm - you won't want that problem so now is the time to stand up. Or pass the baton and join Kevin on the backbench.

The BS that is spewing forth from the Coalition front bench reminds me of my childhood visits to the circus - when I was 8 or 9. Yes Virginia it is that bad. I just can't remember a less competent frontbench team in my lifetime and I am now over 60. This mob are in the bottom quartile - no question. Perhaps even the bottom 10%.

Even scarier is the way our television and news media are behaving - it's friggin disgusting. The only reason they get away with it is because said rusted on's keep buying the Murdoch mush and watching free to air TV. The rusted on habit is to - consume rubbish media and vote for the Coalition - because they don't know anything else. And their thinking organ is now mostly redundant.

The only way to fix this is to stop them from voting - it's too late for anything else. Sorry Granddad but if you can't sort wheat from chaff then our society will need to do it for you.

BTW - the Fairfax broadsheets do have moments of brilliance - but that is tempered by the absolute crap that now infects the AFR.

I was in Adelaide this morning watching a couple of gerries paw the Advertiser. Old conservatives with nothing else to do but spend their days reading Murdoch mush and watching television. This problem is not something we can fix now - it should have been dealt with 30 or 40 years ago.

The Conservatives designed the system that way. And the Labor party still haven't worked it out.

Which is why we need a radical solution.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Raspberries for Everyone

This has the potential to change the technology landscape forever - IF only we could get US corporate hands off the intellectual property and technology levers AND get our schools and education institutions to embrace the possibilities.

A big ask I know. But there is a chance of success. All we need to do is support the risk takers and stop "the colonisation of the ICT curriculum with lessons on using Word and Excel, or writing webpages" - simple really.

Lets review progress a year from now to see how well we have done.

Friday, March 9, 2012

You may have missed this #auspol

You may have missed this - and if you are a "low information voter" I can guarantee that you missed it because it definately wasn't on Australian commercial or public television. The "preening talking heads" won't want to touch this one Virginia.

Which is unfortunate because what *this* is - is something that you should probably know about - it is US Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr's rationale for *Assassinating Americans abroad*.

Say what? Yep the US has a policy of "Assassinating US Citizens" abroad - particularly those that they don't like very much or those who they alone decide are *bad* guys.

"Mr. Holder’s assertion that the decision to kill Americans abroad rests solely with the executive branch and requires no judicial action or oversight".

So if I were you I would be very worried. Why?

Because as you may be aware - our politicians have been sucking up to the US big time. Our Prime Minister has recently authorised the establishment of a US military base in Darwin and where the US goes - we follow along very soon thereafter. We have become loyal little lapdogs.

So it probably won't be very long before our Government adopts a similar policy - of "Assassinating Australian Citizens" abroad.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Sent back to Harvey Norman #auspol

The political commenteers carry on about how the Government is in trouble because of this or that imagined balls-up and the Coalition are sho-ins for the next election because of this or that dynamic and so on. Mostly all BS manufactured by nobody's.

And the talking heads will pontificate out the wazoo - while preening themselves in the reflection of the lens. Mr Uhlmann I am looking at you.

But the "Low Information Voter" is oblivious. He and she are far too busy earning a modest living, running the kids to school, shopping for food and feeding themselves, paying the mortgage, buying another 4wd and shopping at Harvey Norman - with a little bit of time left for watching sport - to be paying attention to anything related to politics or politicians.

It is hard enough for them to avoid being ripped off by big business - without expecting them to pay attention to politics or democracy.

Because the "Low Information Voter" takes our democracy for granted - they know nothing else. They have never lived in Burma or even been anywhere near it. The closest they have been is Bali and that was very nice thanks - and they will show you the photos to prove it.

The "Low Information Voter" has no knowledge or interest in understanding how the *mining magnate* makes his quid or how and why *Treasurer Swan* is picking on them. All they know is what they see and hear on Channels 7, 9 and 10 - and that is what forms their view. Which is why Gina is spending up.

And what causes them to buy stuff. It might be that said channels push made up political BS at the "Low Information Voter" but what they also do is present them with *advertisements* for stuff.

And it is that stuff that they desperately want because mostly it is *shiny and new and big and flash and modern* - all the stuff that "Low Information Voters" buy. And they do in droves. Which is why Gerry Harvey and John Singleton have perpetual smiles on their dials.

The "Low Information Voter" exists to acquire retail stuff - please don't confuse them by asking them to pay attention to our politics as well.

Which is why we need a test - a simple test to sort wheat from chaff at the entry to the polling booth. Pass it and you get through the gate - fail and you will be sent back to Harvey Norman.

Monday, March 5, 2012

How Australian Politics and Media interact to shaft us all #auspol

The political class have it all worked out - they know how to say and do things that *push buttons* with our media and through them they influence the "bogan class" and capture "low information voters".

Tonight we had "big Joe Hockey" telling all and sundry on two networks and in front of talking heads and many thousands of viewers that he would guarantee "to have a lower tax to GDP ratio than Labor".

The thing is that he is lying and it is BS - and yet no-one has called him on it. And no-one will.

OK - Stephen Koukoulas has written about it - here and here. But not a single MSM journalist has - or will.

It has now become the assumption of said "bogan class" and "low information voter" that the Coalition are better economic managers - simply because *our media* choose to present the Coalition point of view - without comment or criticism.

A few of us with slightly longer memories know that Joe is lying - because he has form.

He duped the voters of North Sydney back in 2010 and he clearly intends to do it again in 2013.

But no-one would know that by watching Sky or ABC tonight.

Friday, March 2, 2012

US Centric Foreign Policy #auspol

OMG - things are so bad with Federal Labor that the "bogan in chief" has to re-cycle ex-premiers to get someone with half a blue clue.

What is that about?

Is there no-one in the Parliament who is good enough to be Foreign Minister?

We have to parachute in an ex-premier who spends his days reading biographies of dead white men who were once US Presidents? And then pontificating about what he has learnt.

Someone who might be competing with *blo-hard* Beasley for the title of most informed Australian person - about the USA.

It's almost as if the US *is the sole* focus of our foreign policy? And Israel of course ;-) Mental note to never forget about the ultra-right wing warmonging client.

Perhaps it is in the eyes of the "BIC" - but that is probably because she has never visited "Europe" or "Asia" or anywhere else that comprises our world.

Or maybe that the *client* is so out of control that President Obama needs all the help he can get to stop the *dickheads* from attacking Iran.

Sad - so sad.