Smilie request for Gurdur

[justaman]

I think a grimacing smilie that shakes his head and then pulls out a gigantic big official badge would be a perfect representation of Gurdur. :giggle: One of you smiliesmiths make it happen.

[Gurdur]

heh, heh. That one could actually be quite useful in other places.

[Zoot]

The sexuality forum.

[Gurdur]

um, no, believe it or not, I really am not like that.

But I am admin of another board, and having a smiley like that might be useful there, at least for the sheer humour.

[livius drusus]

I think a grimacing smilie that shakes his head and then pulls out a gigantic big official badge would be a perfect representation of Gurdur. :giggle: One of you smiliesmiths make it happen.

That would be a great smiley, but I really don't think I could do it justice. Your best bet is that Zikes will pass by and take pity on your blatant need for validation.

(P.S. - Nice to see you posting. Where you been, sugarpie?)

[justaman]

That would be a great smiley, but I really don't think I could do it justice. Your best bet is that Zikes will pass by and take pity on your blatant need for validation.
Oh, I'm sure he will.

(P.S. - Nice to see you posting. Where you been, sugarpie?)
At a conference 3500kms away for all the high-ranking officers in my Corps. My input - as can be imagined - was terribly significant. I also wore the wrong uniform, as if being the only LT present didn't make me stand out enough. I do, however, believe I may very well have changed a word in our doctrine on a specific page in a specific manual from "intelligence" to "information".

I imagine the Governer-General will be by any day to present me with my Order of Australia medal.

:medal:

[raspberrybullets]

I don't think that smiley would be a perfect representation of Gurdur at all. But he sure could have some fun using it. :yup:

[livius drusus]

I do, however, believe I may very well have changed a word in our doctrine on a specific page in a specific manual from "intelligence" to "information".

You mean they took one look at you in your desert fatigues and decided intelligence was clearly not applicable?

I imagine the Governer-General will be by any day to present me with my Order of Australia medal.

He he... You have a Governer-General. :mock:

[raspberrybullets]

oh shut up! At least we don't have a President Bush. :P

[Crumb]

Good point.

[livius drusus]

I'll take that hit.

[justaman]

:smugnod:

[godfry n. glad]

Don't take it too easily... They may not have a chimp-in-chief, but they still have Bansai Johnny, who, according to my Aussie sources, ain't much better.

[raspberrybullets]

Bugger, godfry has a point.

[Crumb]

:smugnod:

[raspberrybullets]

And we can't even get rid of him after two terms.

[godfry n. glad]

Yeah, but ours are procreating...or is it replicating?

All in the family, as it were. There are more Bushes in the bushes.

"Tea break's over! Everybody back on your heads!"

[justaman]

Eh, I don't mind Johnnie and never have. He's going in to bat for us for the whales, which was unexpected and quite cool.

I still think Kevin Rudd needs to be PM, though, in spite of him being a Christian :P

[godfry n. glad]

Eh, I don't mind Johnnie and never have. He's going in to bat for us for the whales, which was unexpected and quite cool.

I still think Kevin Rudd needs to be PM, though, in spite of him being a Christian :P

So... Tell me about Rudd. Rough outline would be fine.

are we any closer to having that smiley...the one for Gurdur...remember?

[justaman]

I figure the more inanity used to bump the thread, the more likely Zikes will see the OP and take pity IAW liv's predictions.

Rudd is probably the most intelligent and certainly most articulate minister in Parliament I think. He is the shadow foreign minister and the Foreign Minister Alex Downer never ever goes head to head with him in interviews. I saw him do it once last year and Rudd handed him his ass.

Rudd is basically one of the very few Australian politicians who doesn't need to punctuate every fifth syllable with an "Ah" or "um". His only vice is the fact that he has the appearance and demeanour of a Liberal (which are almost kinda conservative here, we're a bit backwards) but he's sitting in the Labor party (which style themselves more as the working man's party) so he's not necessarily his party base's ideal pick.

[godfry n. glad]

Ah... So he's in opposition. In the shadow cabinet. A Labour member. Younger? What's his background, that he's a Labour member?

Are you saying he might be too polished for the Labour electorate? Doesn't election to the government depend upon swing districts selecting a Labour representative over others and given that the Liberals have held sway for over five years now, wouldn't an appeal to those just outside the usual Labour fold mean the possible difference between a Liberal government and a Labour government? Or, would it take a considerable swing before you'd be out of some kind of coalition government?

Then... How are ministerial assignments made within a new government? Doesn't it depend upon seniority within the party structure, as well as skill within the specific area of expertise? Then, once assigned, are ministries ever reassigned between elections? If so, why?

As an American watching from the sidelines, I've always appreciated that a parliamentary government could lose confidence and be swept out in the blinking of an eye and elections are thankfully cribbed to a limited (and blessedly short) period of time. On the negative side, I perceive that multiple parties within such a system gives inordinate power to splinter groups when the major parties are relatively evenly split and that coalition governments can be political nightmares.

[justaman]

Ah... So he's in opposition. In the shadow cabinet. A Labour member. Younger? What's his background, that he's a Labour member?
To be honest I'm not really sure about his history. A limited official profile is here ---> http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member.asp?id=83T

Are you saying he might be too polished for the Labour electorate? Doesn't election to the government depend upon swing districts selecting a Labour representative over others and given that the Liberals have held sway for over five years now, wouldn't an appeal to those just outside the usual Labour fold mean the possible difference between a Liberal government and a Labour government? Or, would it take a considerable swing before you'd be out of some kind of coalition government?
Well see the problem in Australia is the we're largely apathetic folk who fear change. If it ain't broke, don't fix it is a fairly common slogan in various campaigns for various things, for instance republic vs monarchy. So while Rudd's appeal might indeed extend to some of the Liberal supporters, Australia isn't really polarised by any stretch of the imagination into Liberal vs Labor. It's more Change vs Non-Change.

Then... How are ministerial assignments made within a new government? Doesn't it depend upon seniority within the party structure, as well as skill within the specific area of expertise? Then, once assigned, are ministries ever reassigned between elections? If so, why?
Yes, ministries get shuffled about all the time. Mostly it's because someone just got smashed in the press and the PM needs to take action. There are certainly some portfolios which are more demanding and always have senior figures, the treasury is the big one, probably followed by foreign affairs.

As an American watching from the sidelines, I've always appreciated that a parliamentary government could lose confidence and be swept out in the blinking of an eye and elections are thankfully cribbed to a limited (and blessedly short) period of time. On the negative side, I perceive that multiple parties within such a system gives inordinate power to splinter groups when the major parties are relatively evenly split and that coalition governments can be political nightmares.
Certainly these are issues. More concerning - or at least potentially concerning - is the fact that the Senate is there to more coldly ponder the legislation handed down by the House of Representative hot-heads. As of July 1 the coalition will have control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, meaning they can get legislation passed with much less fuss and bother. I don't think this is quite the slippery slope seen in other major democracies - say, Star Wars episodes 1-3 - but it does leave a fairly gaping legal hole for the government to drive through, leaving the opposition with political publicity as its only defence to a given piece of legislation.

And in conclusion, Zikes, make me a Smilie :)

[livius drusus]

He he... You bluestockings crack me up.

Anyway, I should point out that Zikes has had some computer troubles as of late, so he might not be able to scare anything up right quick.

[justaman]

:?

I'm not a girl! And neither's Godfry, dammit. Or the Australian public if that's who the object was in that sentence. Though some Australians - admittedly - are female.

[livius drusus]

Oh I was talking about you and godfry. I wasn't really going for the literal, though; it was more of an atmospheric reference.

[justaman]

:narrow:
I'm not sure the atmosphere quite has the composition you think it does...

[godfry n. glad]

:fart:

[godfry n. glad]

Ah... So he's in opposition. In the shadow cabinet. A Labour member. Younger? What's his background, that he's a Labour member?
To be honest I'm not really sure about his history. A limited official profile is here ---> http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member.asp?id=83T



He looks like a public servant since 1981. Diplomatic service. Foreign affairs, China desk. A lifer.

[justaman]

He does speak fluent Mandarin I know. Not many chumps can do that.

[Ensign Steve]

I can think of about a billion chumps who can.

[godfry n. glad]

He does speak fluent Mandarin I know. Not many chumps can do that.

Wow... That must be handy for ordering take-out.

[justaman]

I can think of about a billion chumps who can.
What do you mean, the Catholics? :?

[justaman]

He does speak fluent Mandarin I know. Not many chumps can do that.

Wow... That must be handy for ordering take-out.
Among other things.

More Rudd propaganda, there's an Aussie dude named John Safran who is a bit of a nutter and is difficult to describe. Mostly he makes documentaries about weird and funny stuff. Anyhow he made a tv series called John Safran vs God which was all about religions etc. On episode he was doing a thing on some Malaysian belief in vampires. He basically went down to parliament house and 'tested' any politicians doing interviews to see if they were vampires. He sprinkled holy water on one, held a crucifix up to another etc.

I'm going somewhere with this.

So finally he comes up to an interview with Kevin Rudd. The interview concludes and everyone starts moving away and John says "Excuse me Mr Rudd! How do you respond to accusations that you're a vampire?"

Rudd stops and comes back and says (I'm going from memory here) "Why have you come here, to a doorstop interview, and asked me this question, when you bear a striking resemblance to one yourself?"

And he wanders off, leaving John spluttering and bemused. He does look vagualy vampirish. I thought it was a gold comeback.